Help with classification

[notfarnow]

Would a modified replica production body be legal for special construction? A Porsche 356 with fender skirts, windshield removed, single seater windscreen, (maybe a full canopy) etc., would be damn clean, and building a kit on a VW pan, you could retain the VW title, bypassing all the special construction road licensing hassles.

Great thinking, and I had considered those 356 kits. Downside is they are rear-engined. Not a problem with a light aircooled engine; but I'd be concerned abut the weight of a cast iron diesel. I suspect the inate "snap oversteer" issues would be exasperated by a heavier engine. There are mid-enined Porsche 550 kits, but they are way spendier than I can handle.


When I imagine a fiberglass streamliner body on a Formula Vee chassis, I conjure up images of the old Cooper bonneville streamliners from the 50's:

[tortoise]

When I imagine a fiberglass streamliner body on a Formula Vee chassis, I conjure up images of the old Cooper bonneville streamliners from the 50's:

And beautiful images they are.

I think by the time you built a legal roll cage, (which in most cases doubles as a chassis) and extended the rear, there wouldn't be enough Formula Vee chassis left to be worth the purchase. The bits to convert to center-steering would be about all that would be useful. The VW customizing crowd narrows the front suspensions to get the wheels in under the fenders to allow lowering them more -- something you should look into: it's nice to not have to reinvent the wheel.

Good luck.

[notfarnow]

I think by the time you built a legal roll cage, (which in most cases doubles as a chassis) and extended the rear, there wouldn't be enough Formula Vee chassis left to be worth the purchase. The bits to convert to center-steering would be about all that would be useful.

Well, a transmission with a flipped diff + all the linkages, and the rear suspension... there would be quire a bit of useful stuff...

But you make a very good point. I may be better of starting from scratch and attaching Vee front & rear suspension. Maybe run a 914 5sp transmission. The upside to having a Vee chassis is that it's sometimes easier to add/delete/modify than it is to try to conceptualize something from thin air. Well, for me anyway. Some of you guys are pretty amazing at designing from scratch.

The VW customizing crowd narrows the front suspensions to get the wheels in under the fenders to allow lowering them more -- something you should look into: it's nice to not have to reinvent the wheel.

Great tip! Thanks!

[tortoise]

Well, a transmission with a flipped diff + all the linkages, and the rear suspension... there would be quite a bit of useful stuff...

When parts-scrounging, don't forget mid-engined dune buggies use this stuff, too.

[notfarnow]

Well, a transmission with a flipped diff + all the linkages, and the rear suspension... there would be quite a bit of useful stuff...

When parts-scrounging, don't forget mid-engined dune buggies use this stuff, too.

Jeeze, another great tip. That's a great lead; plus, they've developed many adaptations of the VW transmission, so there would be a variety of gear sets & diffs. I'm going to look at Porsche 914 transmissions too; they're already configured for mid-engine, and there are TONS of different ratios available. Quite robust as well, certainly up to the task of a ~90hp diesel engine.