No.89 Element VW build

[89Industries]

I figure I should do a quick (but long winded) build thread on my latest project. Its certainly not to the level of some builds, and documentation is my least favorite thing to do, but never the less here goes.

I started with a used Element Sendero HD slider/chassis I found on Ebay. Pictures showed it was in good shape and little used as there were not many scratches on normally heavy wear surfaces. Sorry no pictures of just the slider but you all know what it looks like.

Then I added the Element IFS2 kit. Also no pictures (did I tell you I am not a fan of documenting stuff).

Everybody does Toyota's for their IFS builds but my 1984 Toyota truck had a solid axle and honestly I am more of a car person than a truck person. So for the body I decided on the ProLine VW Beetle body (link) since Beetles were one of the most modified into whatever crazy thing you could think of in history.

Then since the bug body was going to present tire clearance issues more than truck bodies I went with ProLine BFG Krawler Class 1 tires on black 1.9 imitation Method wheels (I didn't realize they were knockoffs until after I got them and somebody else posted pics of the real thing).

Anyway, the real build starts after getting the rolling chassis together with the body mounted since no off the shelf bumpers were going to really match up to the body. So I decided to make front and rear bumpers and might as well do the sliders as well.

Started with getting the body cut, tires clearanced and then the sliders. Made with 3/16" steel round rod and 1/4" steel square rod dremel sandeddown to 6mm to fit the stock Element side plates. Mig welded and cleaned up.

Then I moved onto the front bumper which I started by using Scale Metal Supply bumper tabs and made a wood jig to bend the 3/16" rod to proper shape 4 times (2 for the front and 2 for the back).

Bent lower tube with Harbor Freight tubing bender and mocked it up with magnets to figure out cutting off the mount tabs:

MIG'd this together and cleaned it up like the sliders and moved onto the rear. Rear was almost identical. Difference is I had to make offset mounting brackets out of 1/2"x1/8" steel plate to drop the bumper height to help clear the body as well as keep front and rear at similar height from the ground. I still had to clearance the body a bit but it looks like the cutouts on real VW Beetles where the exhaust pipes came out so win for a bit of realism (though the real bumper protruded through the body, oh well). I don't have pictures before paint but after everything was welded together, fit and cleaned up I painted everything with rattle can truck bed liner.

So then I got the body painted and went out and tried it out on my backyard rocks before I even got the overspray film off.

More in next post

 

[89Industries]

Ok, so I removed the overspray film from everywhere but the windows and sprayed the outside with Tamiya PS flat clear and applied the family number and some decals and details. The black weather stripping around windows, silver marker lights were all done on the interior with the paint or paint marker (silver) so they don't just scratch off. Headlights, taillights and the orange marker lights are decals.

Time for some inner fender wells so it doesn't fill up with dirt and decomposed granite out on the trails.

I freehanded some paper dolls.

Then once it all fit and worked I cut it out of black styrene sheet and carefully bonded it all together. Vertical stuff was .040" thick and the curved part is .020" thick. And I added a couple of support strips on the inside of the body side. Left and right sides are symmetric so I cut 2 of each piece and just assembled the curved top portion in opposite directions. Did some trimming (scissors) after all was built as well.

FYI, I am an engineer who got burnt out on sitting in front of a computer making cad models, so all of this (bumpers, sliders, fenders) are done freehand. No drawings or models or 3d printers. Kind of my preferred building method currently.

The funny thing about the fenders are that the rear fender wells were the hardest part because the rear body fenders are not a single curvature. The front fender wells going around the battery box were actually pretty easy for me.

Other details of the build:
- Installed a Scale Metal Supply IFS2 steering rack bearing kit. Much less slop than the stock bushings.
- I made adjustable length tie rods for the steering so I could adjust toe. Used long m4 set screws and Axial capra rod ends which have less slop than Element rod ends.
-Made the drag link from the servo horn to the steering rack out of element rod ends and a long M4 set screws so I could get the steering centered without just correcting it in the TX settings.
-Holmes Puller Pro 2700kv 540s motor
-18t pinion
-Castle Mamba X2 micro esc
-FT high clearance rear lower links, 114mm (I discovered these work great and really help on the class 1 tires on this truck)
-NSDRC rs700v1 low pro servo and VP 20mm horn (pulled this out of another truck)
-3d printed tire inserts via Poptartprints on Etsy. Soft 1.9x4.19
-stock Sendero HD shocks front and rear with 30wt oil. Element gray rear springs and Element Black front springs for the IFSv1. IFS2 kit came with plastic bodies and shorty losi-type spring set up which has no preload adjustability.
-Radiolink TX/RX
-upper shock mount relocation plates to lower the rear (you can see them in one of the pics above).

Truck weighs 6.1 lbs with a Helios 3700mAh shorty battery

Still plan to add some sort of an interior. maybe something more like what comes in a Capra rather than a full scale figure, etc. I'm just not that scale.

 

[89Industries]

And Tuesday I finally got it out on my favorite trails and rocks.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I don't know why I've never built a Beetle. Looks cool!

 

[high plains drifter]

Your favorite trails are gorgeous! And fwiw the flat clear really takes this body where it needs to be. Looks great.

 

[89Industries]

I'm old but not so old that I don't remember many of these that were still glossy, especially growing up in the Midwest. My parents sure wasn't glossy though I barely remember it.

The flat clear on the outside is also amazingly durable. I rolled this down rocks a few times already and you can't really notice any damage to the clear.

Same on my usfs Jeep build where I just used it on the black hardtop.

 

[JimrC]

What an awesome looking rig, matches the terrain you got

 

[4wd4ws]

Sweet!
I'm really diggin' the red oxide primer.

 

[89Industries]

Sweet!
I'm really diggin' the red oxide primer.

Ha! I guess it is really close to primer red thinking and looking at it now.

Looks a bit different in person but I was going for kind of a bit darker than just red. It's Tamiya red backed with black.

For me personally it's "Boston Baked Bean" which was the color of the first Surly Steamroller frames circa 2000. Not mine but he's a pic I found on the Internet Steamroller pic

Or kind of like this VW rally beetle

 

[4wd4ws]

Never heard of a paint colour named ''Boston baked bean'' before. I like it alot.

 

[cooper_xl]

Nice build! quite different

 

[hnoroian]

Red bugs are awesome!

 

[89Industries]

Red bugs are awesome!

I hope that's yours. It's nicely done. Not too low or shaved. Still has the wipers and chrome trim and all. What kind of Californian are you?

 

[hnoroian]

I hope that's yours. It's nicely done. Not too low or shaved. Still has the wipers and chrome trim and all. What kind of Californian are you?

It is mine, definitely a 20/20 car right now. Really miss my others but they had to go when we moved a few years ago. This one is a keeper. Yes a Californian, born and raised in the arm pit of the valley, but 2 hours from the beach and the mountains, I call it home.

 

[89Industries]

I guess really most of the shaved, dropped to the ground, excessive camber, stretched tire, no wipers, no chrome cars were really LA area.

I lived in the Bay area for about 14 years until about 3 years ago. I guess there was plenty of that there too but still lots of well done mostly original with tasteful updates/upgrades. Way too many stretched tires though.

I need to get back to work on my 510 someday.

 

[Sherman]

Great work on that bug! The custom inner fender work is impressive

 

[ktse]

That's awesome, especially the handmade fenders.

The matte clear on outside really compliments the vintage aesthetic.

 

[89Industries]

Thanks for the kind words on the fenders. With this body it left huge gaps and looked like it weird without the fenders.

Also nice to keep more of the dirt out since this is mostly a trail vehicle.

 

[Sherman]

Thanks for the kind words on the fenders. With this body it left huge gaps and looked like it weird without the fenders.

Also nice to keep more of the dirt out since this is mostly a trail vehicle.

I'm thinking i'm going to have to design the same thing for my Bronco body. The Element inner fenders don't line up with the bronco body in the front at least. I never had the rears installed, but i'm going to check the fit before I have to design anything.

 

[89Industries]

I'm thinking i'm going to have to design the same thing for my Bronco body. The Element inner fenders don't line up with the bronco body in the front at least. I never had the rears installed, but i'm going to check the fit before I have to design anything.

I thought the rc4wd Bushido fenders might have worked on the beetle but I just couldn't justify taking the risk of paying $80 to find out they didn't.

I made a set like these for the rear of my VP vs4-10 Phoenix which were pretty easy. On that truck I just safety wire attached them to the rear cage so they lift up with the body.