Building custom cars in my backyard

Before I can flip the VW bug's frame back over upright, I need to add a couple of front torsion mount stiffening brackets. When I had the frame all put together before I noticed a slight bit of deflection when trying to turn the front wheels. These brackets should stiffen things up well.

I can now cut out the front VW bug strut link with my cut-off wheel. The video stops for some reason during the first cut, but I finally get it all cut out. I have to expand the tubing a bit on the ends so that the MR2 spherical strut mounts will fit. But a [...]

With my MR2 front strut link template created, I can trace the profile to the steel tubing. The template is made from 1/4" foam board and the link itself is 1.5"x1.5" steel tubing. I will now cut the steel tubing a bit longer and slowly grind it down to fit.

Now that I have everything lined up and all my measurements, I need to construct the VW bug's top strut link from 1.5"x1.5" steel tubing. I slowly cut a 1x2 board down to the correct length and clamped it to the MR2 strut mounts off setting it a bit so I can place the foam [...]

Now that I have both of the front MR2 strut mounts finished, I put a small bend in the tabs to align them straight across. I then cut a board to fit across both mounts and clamped them to the tabs. With the foam template in place under the board it appears that everything [...]

I have finished building the front MR2 strut mounting brackets. I had to cut the mounting bolts down a bit for better clearance but I can now test fit them under the VW bug fenders before I build the strut link member.

I now have the grade 8 bolts welded through the MR2 spherical strut top mounts. I had to clean them up by grinding down the bolt heads a little so the bearing would slip neatly through. I will be cutting the bolts down once the entire assemblies are bolted together.

After some time with the bench grinder, I finished cleaning up the front VW bug/MR2 strut mount tops. I now have to fit them to the spherical bearing mounts. I plan on welding some grade 8 bolts through the holes and then put nuts on the other side. I have to design these so I [...]

I now have my spherical MR2 strut mounts in. I am starting to build the top structure to hold these bearings in place. I cut out 2 pieces of 3/16" steel plate from the foam template I made. I now have to grind them down and make them look good and then through bolt them [...]

Now with the MR2 steering knuckle modifications complete, I can reinstall them. I have removed the wood boxes from around the tires so I can test the movement of the steering. With this initial fitting I have discovered that spherical bearing strut mounts will be required. I explain that pieces of wood are supporting the [...]