Breaking the Mold Ed Roth Style!

I have a friend Dave who also has an Ed "Big Daddy" Roth VW trike like I have. But, somewhere along it's long life, some one butchered the seat on it, and glassed in a fiberglass dune buggy style seat ????? What the hell man? (My Ed Roth Vitamin E style VW trike.) So Dave, knowing I am the worlds biggest Roth fan, asked me to make a quickie mold off my trike body, so he could undo the ugly terror that had been done to his. I like to think I did it the way Roth would have. I painted the area I would be working on with latex house paint, three coats. After it was dry, I gave it a real good slathering of paste wax. Then I just layed up three layers of fiberglass matt on top of it all. It was a bit of a bitch to start pulling it off, but once it got going, it really did just "pop" right off! (The area in question, the baby blue is the house paint I put on as a mold release.) (This is the piece I popped off of my trike for Dave. Down and dirty and done!) This is all I really got done over the last week. I have been finishing up some doo dads on the "Baja Bandeeto", and am waiting on a brake fluid reservoir to come in so I can finish making and fitting a few things. Then I can disassemble the rolling chassis for paint and chrome. After that I will focus on the body. What have you guys been building? Let's see it! Get out there in the garage and build something! Fritz

More fun then a barrel of wet newspaper and plaster!

We got a bunch done over the weekend gang! After I fiberglassed the panel behind the seats, I turned around and went after the dashboard. It's not much, just a little something to hide the bracing that holds the steering shaft, and an area off to the passenger side for buttons and such. The first pass with plaster and newspaper spit wads. Plaster and vermiculite mix, plastered over the spit wads and gooping it into shape The dash after it was fiberglassed and some of the plaster knocked out of the back. Jason rock of Rocksrodandcustom.com came by and gave me a much needed hand lifting the body off the frame. You can see I have a bit of clean up and scraping to do to get all the plaster and newspaper mix cleaned out and tossed in the trash can. All the goop was still clinging to the fiberglass, but it does peel off easy. If you bought my dvd you know how easy it is to do. More plaster mess to get cleaned up and trashed. A view of the body off and on its side. Jason and I got it up and onto a dolly I made from old shopping cart wheels and square metal tubing I got from old weight benches people tossed out for trash. Well, thats where I am as of this weekend gang. I'll be plugging away every night after work and I'll keep ya posted as I "get 'er done" I took this pic for you guys that think yer garage might be to small, or you don't have enough room to do a project as crazy as this. I'm working in a two car garage that is attached to my house, and I'm making it happen a little bit at a time. Don't make excuses guys, just decide that its gonna happen and get out there in the garage and build something. Fritz

Fun with Play Doh!

I made a ply wood panel,(out of the old shipping crate my "Outlaw" body came in), to cover the battery, screw motor and gas tank. I want it to be easy to get at them, and not have to lay on my back to swap stuff out or do a repair. I welded 4 small tabs and threaded them so 1/4 X 20 bolts would hold the panel in place. To make up the difference around the removable wood panel, I mixed up some of that gooey plaster and vermiculite concoction and dipped my wads of newspaper into it, and started to build up a shape that would not interfere with the goings on in the engine compartment area and the cockpit area. I have it all shaped out and painted with old house paint. So, all I have to do now is wax it up a few times, and then start laying up fiberglass matt over it. I'll grind up the sides of the inner body, so when I put the fiberglass out I will glue it right to the sides of the car body and that will be that! After it all cures, I'll pull the body off and do some fiberglass touch up work and scrape the plaster off the back side. I think I will make up a dashboard before the body comes off cause I have all the stuff out to do it, and it will get me that much closer to being done quicker. What have you guys been building? Let"s see those projects! Get out in the garage and build something! Fritz

Bandeeto Stuff

Been doing all sorts of odd ball stuff. Posting parts on ebay to sell to get a few extra bucks to buy things for the "Baja Bandeeto". Cleaning up old junk in the yard, and making a scrap metal pile so I can cash it in for some extra money. It aint cheap to build these fantasy bubble top cars ya know! I have gotten some work done though. I got a little gas tank made and bolted it into place. It should hold about two gallons of gas give or take a coffee cup or two. Really, all I need is enough to drive it in and out of my car trailer and maybe toll around the fair grounds at a show. The one thing that did take some time, was getting the bubble top inner ring set up, cut to size, make a hinge, machine up spacers, and all that jazz. It took some time, but it all works fine. I got it all in place, and used a small set of jumper wires to test it all out. Next thing I should probably do is drill the inner ring out so I can bolt the bubble and outer ring to it for fitment. A good view of all the workings that will be hidden behind a removable panel. Here's a close up of the gas tank and the screw motor in it, tower all mounted to the inner bubble ring. I have made some nice progress on the Volkswagen engine also. Got the long block built and painted black, then a little at a time, I have been bolting on all the "CHROME!" You gotta love this stuff. I do have to say That I got all the parts from "Mid America Motorworks", when I ordered everything I was told only the main bearings were on back order. Funny thing is they were the first thing I got in the mail, and I am still waiting for two months now for the last of my order to be shipped! Two months WTF? I don't know how they have been to any of you other VW fans out there, but I probably will never order from them again. I feel screwed. One thing that does baffle me, if the chrome on the fan shroud is really nice for a made in Taiwan piece, but a baffle on the inside is in the wrong place, and hits the oil cooler when you try to install it. So, you'll have to whack it with a hammer or what ever to move it over. You get what you pay for I guess. Usually I like to pay the freight and have factory parts chromed, but I had to work with what I had, and didn't have it in my hands. The parts were OK, and I got what I expected, but their customer service sucks! What do you guys think? I'd love to hear from ya. Now get out in the garage and build something FRITZ