Building a Volksrod

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Here is what I started with... It's a 1964 body that was sitting in a friends back yard for as long as I can remember. He didn't have any plans for it since he started working more on the VW busses. I had a few bus parts he could use so we traded.

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This shot is when I got the body home. I had set it on a Ghia pan and flat towed it to my place.

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I used a swing axle pan for the chassis. The Ghia pan that it was first sitting on will be used later in the build.

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Cleaned up and welded on new floor pans.

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Since the lower have of the body was rotted out I had this section from a parts car I picked up that was in much better shape.

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Here is a shot of the body after I sectioned it 4 inches. I took the body off the chassis so I could start working on the suspension next.

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Raised the torsion housing 4 inches...

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Here is the Ghia torsion housing after I cut it out of the pan and widened it by six inches so the tires can sit outside the body. I sat it on top to show how much wider the rear will be.

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Tacked in place, alot more gussets and bracing will be welded on later. You can see how low the car will sitting from the ground.

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I combined two beams to make the front 6 inches wider to match the rear width.

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Added sleeves to strengthen the tubes...

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Second beam cut longer to achieve width...

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Then welded together...

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Now the fun begins. The body is bolted back on the pan and braced for the chop.

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