Work on the center console continues. I am trying to determine where the MR2 shifter and parking brake handle will be located as well as how to build the console itself. My plan is to use 2 3×3 inch steel tubes with the top tube longer than the bottom one. The top tube will be longer so that I will have a little play on where to mount the shifter.
I now have the shifter cables in their correct location and will probably have to lengthen the cables. I have also partially mounted the e-brake cable. You will see that I will have to change this later.
With the radiaor mounts finished, I am now working on the VW bug shifter. The shifter will need to penetrate the rear fire wall to enter the passenger cabin. I am using a cardboard cutout to determine where the hole should be. I first made the template to fit in the firewall and then moved it to the rear motormount to find the hole location. I can then move it back to cut out the hole.
The VW bug’s radiator and condenser is now in place. There are a few more items to complete before I can start tearing everything down to paint the frame such as the shifter and parking brake assemblies.
The A/C condenser will be held to the VW bug radiator with 3 small tab brackets. This is the first filling so I will remove them and drill them out. Once drilled and mounted I will remove them and clean them up.
Now that I have determined where and how to mount the top of the radiator/condenser assembly, I have constructed 2 brackets to hold it all in place. I bent the 2 brackets and then clamped them in place and drilled them out. after I mounted them I marked the excess and then removed them to clean them up. I will still need to make the brackets to hold the condenser to the radiator.
Now that I have the bottom of the VW bug’s radiator and condenser assembly bolted to the body/frame, I need to support the top of the unit. I am constructing a couple of brackets made from 2″ wide flat steel strapping. I built a poster-board template to fit and then cut the steel.
With the condenser mounted to the VW bug radiator, I can now mount the assembly into the front of the car. There are 6 screws holding the condenser to the radiator with the 3/4″ aluminum channel in between. I will now need to make a few more brackets to hold everything in place.
With the VW bug radiator mount figured out, I need to finish up the front end steel work. I have bolted the front angle piece on with all the bolts and have also attached the angle to the frame. Once I remove the VW bug body again I will finish welding the mount tabs on.
I can now mount the radiator into the front nose of the VW bug. I left a small amount of the original sheet-metal in place along the lower edge of the front compartment. I am using this small strip to mount the bottom of the radiator to the chassis. 6 10-24 screws will hold it in place. So far all of the clearances look good.