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I bought this coupe a few years ago, solicited advice on registering it in NV on this site way back when. I still haven't registered the car. I probably have a full 24 hrs in to the DMV process here. I'll get it done I'm certain

I was new to these type cars when I bought it, when it arrived I was surprised by the spartan interior (through my own ignorance of what the cars are more than anything).

I decided to redo some things on the car, collected a bunch of parts, started, and then due to other commitments set the whole thing aside for a bit.

The shutdown gave me time to get reengaged, and even though I haven't done much actual work, I've got a road map to finish.

Knowing what I know now, I should've just built one, but hey the journey is the fun part.

Here's the car in current state:FF3F9E7C-5648-43E9-B8E0-3DE8A6604EFE_1_201_aE78C72BC-C104-4BA8-9348-C476A044FA3A_1_201_aB43B25B8-E4EA-4BE5-9C65-8D9BD62C26A8_1_201_a

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Most of what I want to do is on the interior. 

For seats I chose these. They'll be polished before installation:

B0825BAE-4D8A-4650-B9B6-79927CCFF726_1_201_a

This is the shifter:

573846A6-15C5-4A81-91AA-7753201EA536_1_201_a

I decided to do some exposed polished aluminum in parts of the car, detailed with cosmetic rivets. I picked up replacement 356 panels etc and will adapt them to my purpose.


Luggage deck. It is riveted, trimmed, not yet polished or installed:

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I found this piece for the tunnel. It will need to be trimmed, cut and then welded. Welding is beyond my skill set, fortunately I have a friend who is a top level fabricator. This and 2/3 other items will be the next step, the car will go to him in two weeks.

C1243343-B59A-45F8-B42F-7BC033CF80FE_1_201_a

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Last edited by vegas356

Some more interior thoughts. I got the idea to rivet signs together from the rat rod culture, I've seen license plates used in rat rods.

I decided rivet european road signs etc together and use as the roof liner. I took pics along the way of the process, no I can't seem to locate them. I'll shape and trim them further. The idea is the will be "wedged in" between the roll bar and the roof as well as glued in.

The larger piece is partially trimmed and shaped hard to see the rivets on the big piece:

3B46A21A-5C2D-4671-80E6-1C79C7531FF6_1_201_a

I'm not sure what the current pedal setup is, but it is going:

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To be replaced by these. Pics are  on the workbench at Pedal Works. The mounting up of the new pedals will be part of the fab work done by my friend

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Last edited by vegas356
@edsnova posted:

Very cool project!

That car looks familiar. Anyone here remember who built the one with the exhaust ports like that?

I don't know who built it but I remember that car as well, Ed, although I couldn't tell you much about it.

@vegas356- Lovin' the holes in the pedal cluster!  Are the rims aluminum or steel? And my apologies- I don't remember your first name?  Al

Last edited by ALB
@ALB posted:

I don't know who built it but I remember that car as well, Ed, although I couldn't tell you much about it.

@vegas356- Lovin' the holes in the pedal cluster!  Are the rims aluminum or steel? And my apologies- I don't remember your first name?  Al

Al my name is Frank, excuse my manners for not properly introducing myself!

They are aluminum, here's the link to where I got them  www.alloyreplicas.com

The holes are cool!

I'm still going back and forth with myself on taking out the dash and replacing it with something this:

297130BA-D0CA-4981-B485-331E04DE8279_4_5005_c

I do think it would be cool to have a polished aluminum dash. It also would be a lot of work. I haven't bought the dash yet, so not fully committed to this part of the project.

I bought these stopwatches to mount on the dash, just because i like the look:

64D2A790-CFB6-49B9-B764-0E168D17F3AB_1_201_a

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Last edited by vegas356

When I went to remove the headliner I saw it was wrapped around the cage. I the first pic you can see the remnants of the foam layer the was put on first. The dilemma then was how to get the foam off the cage and not ruin the paint. I figured out saving the paint wasn't an option, so I stripped it down to bare (mostly) metal and cleared it.

I need to grab a pic of the finished product, here's a few of the process:

B4435265-B196-4A38-9176-6642CDCD8128_1_201_a8DA0F1EA-F996-46ED-8A7D-BEB71F59BDE7

I also decided to embark upon sound deadening. I went ahead and did the entire cabin, not uin patches like I've seen recommend. I did the doors as well, no pictures of the doors.

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Last edited by vegas356
@edsnova posted:

Lotta work for sure. fwiw I like the coup dashboard. It looks good already.

Re the pedals: if you swap in the modded VW set you'll probably have to move your clutch master cylinder closer to the brake MC.

Keep those pics coming!

Good point, Ed.  @vegas356, it looks like you've got something along the lines of a Wilwood pedal set up, which I would consider superior to the VW-based one, regardless of the "cool factor"  Your choice, though.

Last edited by Lane Anderson

Neat project, Frank, you're doing some very cool stuff.  Those aluminum rims are the bomb at 11 lbs a piece!  They'll look great on your car darkened up, polished or as is.  Instead of chroming (which is always questionable in terms of durability on aluminum) have you considered dark anodizing them?  Is there enough room in the back fenderwells to widen them 1" to the inside to run wider tires? 205's would look pretty outrageous!

Is that a 356 tunnel section? It will be interesting to see how your buddy does with that.  Is the car built on a modified Beetle pan?  As said, the Wilwood pedals are considered superior (I've never driven a car with them so don't have any experience) but the drilled pedals look great.  I've been known to drill the odd hole in a few parts but haven't touched the cluster yet- it's definitely a future project.  Were things by chance weighed before and after?

Here is my parking brake (and related pieces)- if you're going for the drilled look it would look stupid cool in your car.

lightened hand brake pieces- Al's

I'm paying attention to weight lost in the things I drill as well (which is why I asked above)- the handbrake itself went from 346 to 234 grams, the ratchet plate from 81-54 g and the pivot pin 42-21 (you can't see it but it's hollow) for a total weight reduction of 160 g (5.64 oz.). FYI- the ratchet plate is surface hardened (on both sides) to a depth of 30 or 40 thou; you'll need carbide bits (which are not cheap) to drill into it, and be gentle when transitioning from the (relatively) soft middle to the harder other side- you'll break the bit if you're not careful. I broke a few drilling transaxle parts and I"ll let you guess how loud I yelled when I broke a $50 ¼" bit.

I may have gone a wee bit overboard on the handle- we'll see how it holds up.  Al

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  • lightened hand brake pieces- Al's
Last edited by ALB

Re the pedals: if you swap in the modded VW set you'll probably have to move your clutch master cylinder closer to the brake MC.

The stock VW pedals use a cable for the clutch engagement.  Your appears to be by hydraulics.  I'd just put nice billet petal pads on the existing setup.

On the dash.  I greatly prefer the existing one with the glove box.  It makes it look less kit car-ish.

@WOLFGANG I'll probably do the pedals anyway, even if it is tech step backwards, in this case function will follow form. I found a metal dash that is exactly like mine, I think I 'll go with that one, although these are kit cars anyway, no?

@Theron @goofer thanks for the pictures& history, helpful

@ALB the hand brake currently in the car is somewhat drilled already, but nothing like your work of art. I really liked the handbrake Seduction Motorsports made, if anyone has one they'd like to sell, I'm a buyer.

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