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Man I love the look of that Maserati! It was so cool and a crazy challenge getting that 1UZFE in there. It had electrical gremlins, needing data from the transmission etc- it would do a burnout, so that's all that mattered. No idea where it is now. As far as the "purists" theory? Oh they exist. I go round and round with them all the time lol As far as the "rat look" brigade? Not a fan of "rat rods" per say, but more a fan of ancient, original looks with performance from today. I like naturally worn, weathered vehicles that when you look at them- they tell a story. What kind of life it must have lived, how it was cared for and who may have used it for all those decades. Very cool. I remember saying that I wish I had a car that looked old but handled well and had the reliability of a new car. I was telling my friends that- forty years ago. Now I create them. The VW 411? We like the way it looks. It reminds me of a Reliant Scimitar, a Volvo P1800 and a Datsun wagon. All very cool, quirky little things. Now imagine 165hp+ front engine, four wheel drive? Manual shift? Come on! That sounds like silly fun to me. We're off in a couple hours to measure one up.
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Hi grenade Went to collect a rear bumper 50 miles from home today. Home conversion to Subaru power. Shortest video to maybe (unlikely) influence your decisions. I'm leaning towords the Subaru but if I do use one- I'm keeping the entire front engine layout and modern suspension. This vehicle I have is a 1972 and to get a new engine under the thing, with old steering/brakes- ahhh, yeah that part is unlikely. But the Scooby platform bonded to the VW shell? Now this has potential. We're looking at one on Saturday
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Oct 30, 2023 20:00:40 GMT
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That's right- he did say that it was a bus engine, and these axles are specific to them. When it stops raining I'll empty the thing out and see what is exactly inside of it. I know the engine and gearbox are not inside, I was offered a frozen Porsche 914 engine with the stuck original engine but I struck a deal without those, for obvious reasons
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Oct 30, 2023 16:52:30 GMT
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Nobody's freaking out, because nobody likes type 4s. They're not separate chassis like Beetles or type 3s, though. I don't know whether that screws your plans or not. Oh yeah I've been reading that nobody likes these, but it wouldn't matter if everyone loved em, it's still going under the grinder/saw. Might take in a Jag Etype into the saws one day- I like interesting vehicles and if I get a vision, it's happening.
Chassis on this thing is also meaningless because I plan on removing the entire floor & firewall of the thing and setting it on top of a unibody floor pan that is powerful and fast. The rest? Yeah we'll take the leap and build our wings on the way down.
It's going RWD V8 almost assuredly. Or AWD like maybe an Audi TT or similar...
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Oct 30, 2023 15:12:14 GMT
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The wife and I are always sending texts to each other with cool, interesting cars. She sends me a link to this and I say "Hey- that's pretty cool". Next thing you know, it's only an hours drive and we are standing in front of it. It's a 1972 VW 411 Wagon. Beetle engine, not there, no auto gearbox either. Lots of trim/brightwork in the back and a good title. Cheap as chips too, I might add. Very nice guy that had it- he never got around to starting the project. The Purists are going to be mad at me for what I'm about to do to this thing... But I can tell you it's NOT getting a Durango/Hemi chassis haha! The wheelbase on this is 99-100 inches. So I've been searching around and have discovered the Fox body Mustang is close enough, some older Camaros & S-10's have a similar wheelbase. The Nissan 300zx... See where I'm going with this? Rear wheel drive, front engine tire shredding power in a tiny can. Yep. The old VW floor pan and suspension are of little use to me, I want modern handling and power. Of cousre, budget minded.
I'm open to interesting suggestions- I'm visioning a wild little drift car or street racer style. Not sure yet!
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Yes! a stretched checker cab! lol that's it! I've got some window decals coming and some fog lights, but it's moved in the right direction. The engine on this thing sounds so good, that's where the fun is!
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Oct 26, 2023 22:37:52 GMT
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Oct 25, 2023 20:28:59 GMT
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Last Edit: Oct 25, 2023 20:30:52 GMT by grenade
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Sept 30, 2023 20:07:58 GMT
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So I've changed the wheels. It helped, I think.
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Sept 29, 2023 22:12:03 GMT
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The BRONCO LIVES! It drives finally. Here's the latest Video in the series. Thank you for watching!
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Sept 28, 2023 21:30:39 GMT
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Exactly! I took a pic earlier for ya-
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Sept 27, 2023 20:39:27 GMT
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Thanks Jimi! For the life of me I can't remember why I sent you a 1966 texas license plate! Perhaps I was just in a Christmas mood? There had to be something else? Either way, very cool. I seem to remember I wanted to say thanks for the TwoBrutal help I received wiring my first Lexus/Camry V6 swap.
Currently working on a trade for the Wagoneer- a Drag Racing truck with a blower on it... we'll see!
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Sept 27, 2023 14:02:33 GMT
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Impressive build, but couldn’t help thinking, and please don’t take this the wrong way, didn’t you google what the wheelbase of the wagoneer was as well as measuring one to double check if it would fit. I had done that in the past and dismissed these things but for whatever reason- when I measured the one in person and I saw what I thought I saw- I assumed there were different wheelbases and I must have got lucky or missed something somewhere! Oh I missed it alright
hahaha It's ok, it survived well enough I suppose :/
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Sept 26, 2023 19:30:47 GMT
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I do! I sent a bunch of plates out that way over the years. Crazy to think that TwoBrutal (now woodsport MR2 site) has brought together so many cool characters! I think I sent that directly to you, with some other parts or something? ECU's maybe? 10yrs ago, there's been a ton of beer spilled since way back then! Freakin sweet
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Sept 26, 2023 15:39:38 GMT
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Very cool rig! My first thought on the wheelbase issue was, could you have moved the rear axle forward and shortened the driveshaft? But I am an informed hack mechanic, obviously sheet metal work was a much more expeditious fix. Oh it could have been done that way but the issue lies in the frame. It has no flat, straight sections. It's a straight rear axle with a four link setup on coils. It also has a watts link. There's no geometrical way to move the rear suspension without chopping the frame off and building a new one. Then you also must consider the OEM fuel tank & filler, plus drive shafts and brake lines. All of that would need to be replaced with bespoke components.
Additionally, you'd need to get the evap as well as the ABS system completely happy to prevent the ECU from thinking there was a problem and sending the engine into limp mode. Once you travel anywhere near that setup- a chassis swap is no longer viable.
I almost threw the entire project in the bin! But I'm glad I kept on going. It's a good truck. Looks goofy, but if you squint, it's mint. lol
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Sept 26, 2023 12:34:26 GMT
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Thanks! The hidden dash panel is because these chassis swaps need the cluster matched to the column & ECU. There is a way around it, but it's very expensive and time consuming. As far as the older style grill, I prefer the other one too! This was here and intact. To switch the grill to an older style would have cost 1k +. The best part about this truck is when you pull out on the road and press on the pedal. Man- it really puts a smile on your face! I don't think this would fit on UK roads, but it sure would look cool over there! Thanks Y'all
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Sept 26, 2023 1:50:26 GMT
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Last Edit: Sept 26, 2023 2:13:05 GMT by grenade
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Sept 26, 2023 1:42:21 GMT
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Hello RR! It's Autumn in the states. With the leaves turning colors and temps finally cooling off, I was just thinking that I need to post on RR, this latest tragedy- I mean latest BUILD... It's not that bad, but it didn't turn out like I'd hoped. First off, these things are Uuuuugly! They're big, heavy, underpowered and nobody wanted them for years and years. In the last 10yrs or less, they've picked up the pace and why not with the release of the new Grand Wagoneer from Jeep. Nice examples are bringing strong coin, but this- ain't that.
When a company returns to production with an old name plate- it usually brings up the value of the original ones. Like it has done with the Bronco, although the new ones are nothing but a shadow of their former selves. I prefer to think of the new ones as something altogether new, rather than resurrected historic name plates.
Anyway- I saw this truck on marketplace and thought "It's cheap enough, but I need to get it muuuch cheaper" I don't need the frame & axles afterall.
It was listed at 1750 USD with no engine or transmission/transfer case. That's about 1433.37 in GBP. I went and measured one of these things nearby and I swear I saw 119 inches on the Wagoneer's wheelbase. As it turns out, I'm over 50 now and I wasn't wearing my reading glasses... the tape measure read 110 inches, I thought it was 119.
In my head this thing would be perfect. I watched the guy continue to lower his price and then he posted that he was going to send it to the crusher! I offered him scrap value and he declined. A few more weeks went by...
This wagoneer was also about 500 miles away. I eventually worked a deal where they guy delivered it to me with paperwork, the complete body, trim and interior. He turned up with this giant metal box sat atop a flatbed trailer. No frame, no axles. It took about 2 hours with floor jacks and cribbing, blocks, rollers & jack stands. We got it on the ground. I started cleaning out the headlining and rear tailgate- it was full of mouse/vermin/STINK mess. But it didn't look that bad! After all, it had the same wheelbase as a Durango! It was gonna be epic. Or so I thought. I like to keep a 2004-2009 Hemi powered Durango on hand whenever possible, and I had one already taken down to the floor pan. A really good runner, too! The next day I got started thinking "This is gonne be great". Delusions of grandeur, apparently.
When I lowered that body down on to the chassis- I was deflated. I saw that they weren't even close to a match! I was not happy to say the least. I wrestled with how this could've happened- how could I have made such a mistake! I can usually just look at a car body and see if a Durango would fit on it. This one- took me a few days to figure out how I screwed it up. Darn glasses. Too many beers. Night time with a tape measure and I simply read it wrong.
I wanted it to work so much, that I never checked again until this very moment. I almost scrapped the whole thing. I went inside. Back at it tomorrow. I'll figure something out.
I looked at it for hours, distracting myself with the obvious tasks that needed doing. I ran through design scenarios in my head each time I looked at the awful rear wheel arch. I came up with what I call "well, that's as good as I can get it without sectioning the entire body".
I settled on "I'll just move the wheel arch and try to blend it into a factory body line. Somewhere, somehow."
I had done all I could do. I made a pattern of the rear arch and started cutting. I cut the same shape out of the car and made a weld in panel for each side. I made inside wheel arch panels, to keep the "jeeze this is bad" to a minimum. I then set out to get the steering and pedals done, make the lights work and take it for a test drive.
This first ride height- too high. I took it back inside and lowered it as much as I could whilst keeping the steering column useable. Plus- I wanted to keep the original dash intact. It looks so cool and wasn't in bad shape. This is how it looks today. Now- after the first few test drives, I noticed a large amount of oil under it... The oil pan was rusted through. I had to pull the engine and replace the pan. I set off... Engine came out, went on a stand and got a full service with several upgrades.
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Aug 20, 2023 13:49:14 GMT
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What I really mean is this:
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