Wheel Base?

This has probably been discussed before, but the manuals say cut 10" out of the VW pan and on some of the pictures in the photos section, it looks like the front wheel should be moved forward a couple of inches? Is 10" correct or does the original front wheel on a Porsche speedster sit back just a bit? Thank you for the information.
Darryll

There's a good chance that the original pre-historic molds that the bodies were splashed out of and the subsequent molds taken from those bodies, have shrunk a wee bit; like maybe an inch or so. It's what fiberglass does as it cures, a part of the process which allows you to successfully get the stuff out of badly made and prepared molds. It what seems to have happened with regards to the horrible way that the repro shells look in relation to the front wheels.

The wheelbase of the original 356 is 82.7 in (2,100 mm)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_356

The original wheelbase of the Beetle is 94.5 in (2,400 mm)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Beetle


Removing ten inches isn't going to put you at the original 356 wheelbase. But it SHOULD put you where you want to be with regards to the body shell of the replica, just an inch and a smidge more than what they traditionally have.

You could custom shorten your pan to a different length than what has become "standardized," but then you'll have to alter the inner fiberglass bulkheads in order to have them bolt up to the front and rear "Napoleon hats," another problem.

Maybe shorten the frame to fit the centers of your wheel wells and move the forward Napoleon hat rearward until it mounts up with the body shell correctly, but now you have the pedal cluster to deal with, replace or re-work accordingly. Then the shifter would end up more than an inch too far forward and it's already to far forward as it is. Then the steering column and shaft will need to be lengthened and so on.

Best case, buy a good used BMW Z3 and enjoy your new life ! ! ! That's my plan as soon as the coin from the Pre-A arrives.


. . . may be wrong, may be crazy . . .

Luck,

TC



Oh, I'm totally lying about the Z3, sweet ride, but it'll never compare to a Speedster, honestly, I borrowed one for a weekend. Just live with whatever quirks there are with the Speedster, it's where the charm and grace lies, it's a part of the car and what makes it all that it is. So VERY much more than the sum of it's parts for sure ! !

The early CMC build manual says shorten it 11.81" but the later build manuals says cut out a 10" section and overlap it so you shorten it 11.81 inches. An 11.81" reduction in wheel base is darn close to original!

Early build manual:
https://www.speedsterowners.com/library/cmcmanual1/images/CMC%20006.jpg

Later build manual:
https://www.speedsterowners.com/library/cmcmanual2/images/cmc16.jpg

I followed the later build manual and the build in steel CMC perimeter frame lines up with the holes in the original VW chassis and the wheels are centered front-to-back in the wheel wells. (There is a 1/4" difference sided to side in the back of the car's wheel well --- which try as I could I could not rectify. Appears either the mold is not symmetrical or the steel sub-frame is mounted off to one side. It does limit tire, rim width and rim offset choices on a standard bodied Speedster in the rear.

My JPS was shortened - probably on the Vintage chassis jig - they did a lot of cooperating back then. My body had the "front wheel cutout to far forward" look from the beginning. Later, I embarked on a new front suspension (five inch wider beam, covered on another thread) to eliminate wheel spacers and move the front wheels out flush with the mild body flairs.

OOPS. Tires rub the body big time - as in, I can't turn the steering wheel!

One huge advantage of owning an outlaw is that authenticity is no obsticle to functionality. I simply drew a nice radius from the front wheel center onto the rear of the offending wheel opening (which never was radiused to start with), got out the jig saw, and a short time later - all is well. And it even looks better.