Both VW bug main frame rails have been reattached and are in place for the final time. I have also reinstalled the MR2 lower control arm mounts. All I have to do now is to cut a bit more off of the front of the main frame rails to line up the front frame member. Once everything is correct I will weld it all together.
The lower MR2 control arm mounts have been cleaned up and are ready to be put back on. I also have to reattach the VW bug’s main rails to the rear engine frame plates to get the correct length measurements to attache the front nose piece. I had to go ahead and paint the back up plates for the main frame members, because this is the final assembly of the main frame.
With the VW bug lower control arm tabs drilled out, I can now refit them to check to see of everything lines up OK. I will be able to move the tabs front and back along the main frame members to adjust the mount locations of the MR2’s front suspension. I now need to clean the mount tabs up a bit and make them look better.
The MR2 lower control arms must be the correct distance from the ground to maintain the VW bug body at the right ride height. After locating the hole locations in the lower control arm mount tabs, I need to drill them out for the size of the bolt and bushing hole. I did not drill through these tabs as clamped together in the video. I used the old bushings to get the spacing right before carefully drilling them out.
I need to locate the bolt holes in the Vw bug lower control arm tabs. After getting all of the MR2 front suspension lined up again, I am using masking tape to try and locate the lower control mount holes. I do this a couple of times to get good markings. Anyway it did work.
With the Vw bug lower control arm mount tabs bent to the correct angles, I can position them on the main frame rails. I have temporally clamped the MR2 lower control arm bushings between the mount tabs to insure that everything is going to line up OK. Using this idea for mounting gives me adjustablity front to back before each mount can be welded on.
I now have the pictures of the creation of the VW bug’s front frame member. This is the member that contains the MR2’s front suspension strut bar mounts.
The VW bug needs lower front control arm mounts. I am building these from 3.5×3.5×3/16″ box tubing. After cutting each mount out, I need to bend the tabs over to create the actual mount points. I am using a small piece of the 3×3 inch tubing for leverage. Once clamped in the vise I just need to add a little muscle to bend them over.
With the VW bug’s front frame nose piece in place, the next step is to create the mounting brackets/tabs for the front lower control arms. I will need to reinstall the main frame rails to line everything up.
Before I can set the main rails back in, I must set the MR2 front lower control arms in their exact locations. The VW bug frame spacing has been determined by the hub to hub measurment of the MR2 drive gear.