Now that I have the small 90 degree angle brackets cut out, I can start to attach them to the main frame rails. These brackets will be used to attach the floor boards later when all the plumbing is finished.
All the plumbing will be concealed within the lower framing, I will need to panel everything in with floor board panels. I don’t want to drill holes into the main frame tubing, so I will need to mount the panels in some fashion. I am creating and welding on some angle brackets to attach the floor boards to.
The main coolant plumbing will be concealed within the lower framing under the floor board. I am constructing a few brackets to support these tubes. I don’t want the tubing unsupported for more than a foot or so, so these brackets will help.
I want to put a roll bar/cage on the inside of the VW bug’s body shell. I will need to construct this cage later once the body is on for good. I am creating the lower roll cage mounts from 3/16″ steel angle that will have nuts welded to the back of them. This will allow me to proceed with the build knowing that I have the mounts for later.
Trying to think ahead a bit. I need to reenforce the front sway bar mounting tabs and I also need to attach something to bolt a roll bar to. I am attaching these bits of steel now so I can have something to bolt to later and not have to weld anything onto a already painted frame.
I am still working on the fuel cell box. I am enclosing both sides with some 16 ga. steel that I cut and bent to match a paper template. I will weld the entire box together and then close it off with a cover that I will construct later on in the build.
With the sway bar location determined, I have another thing to do before I can flip the frame over again. I need a box to contain the fuel cell. I will build this out of 16 Ga. steel and weld it all to the frame so I can put a cover on it later.
I now have the front sway bar in the correct position. I will mark all the locations and finish the mounts when I turn the frame over for finishing.
There is one more major item I have to fix before I finish up everything for painting. I was unhappy with my first attempt at lining up the front sway bar. I have now cut the drop links to allow the sway bar to be located directly below the shock mounts.