I bought them from Karmann Konnection over here in the UK, they were originally for my Oval, but that's still not finished.
I bought a set of original split rim Empi 5's from a guy that was thinning his collection for not alot of money, for some reason, I think because I bought the ARE's, a few years later I decided to sell them, doh!
They are too damned expensive. Is anyone watching the recreation of the 1937 on Samba? None exist to copy so it's all built from pictures, amazing metal work.
Any of you guys created more leg room in a VW pan? My Dune buggy has a shortened pan, looks cool but not enough legroom for a 6'2" driver. I am thinking about cutting the pan out in front of the seat, lowering it and lengthening it. I know I will have some brake/clutch/gas pedal issues. The fabrication doesn't concern me too much, but I thought I would ask the VW crowd. My buggy is lifted, off road style so I am not concerned with ground clearance. Is there any reason you can think of why I should not/could not mod the car in this fashion? I am thinking 2"- 4" lower (maybe wedge shaped, lower in the front tapering up to the seat position) and kick those pedals as far forward as possible. I would also do that clutch pedal adaption and move it over to the left. Thoughts? Experience? Criticism?
So if the green line represents the current pan, the orange line is what I propose, or maybe bring it back and drop the seat height but I think the higher seat and lower foot well will create more leg room for me. I would have to mod my forward roll bar mount obviously.
the brake master cylinder would need to move forward to your red line and there is no room for that. My thoughts would be to change seats to a less bulky type, so they could mount further back. those Beard type seats are great for comfort, but they are bulky....
Longer pan means longer buggy. I have thought about it, buying someone's abandoned project and using all of my stuff on it. The short ones look much better IMO. Food for thought tho. Thanks
Wondering if you could shorten another 'pan, but less than usual. Have the front wheels moved forwards, out from under the fenders a little. As long as the front axle is still hidden under the body, you might be able to gain a few inches. Thinner seats are probably a lot less hassle though!
I found this on ebay and have been chatting with the seller. It comes with a slave for the clutch (mine is cable currently). This unit measures 4 3/4" from the bracket forward (reservoirs) and 7 1/4" from the bracket to the pedal. My Olds has my lift tied up so this will wait a week but what I can see under the front end is there is about 10" of space under there. If cut the bulkhead and leave the floor pan alone, I could easily move this pedal forward 6" from where my current pedals are positioned. That may be too much, 4" would likely make it quite comfortable and allow me to drop the steering column a couple of inches. It would require trimming a brace that is located at the base of the bulkhead (the brake bracket currently bolts through this). This horse collar shaped brace is welded across the torque tube or whatever that hump is called on a VW. I have a 4 point cage so I am not too worried about integrity unless one of you VW dudes has reason not to go there. With the brace trimmed back I can locate these pedals anywhere I chose in the void under the tank. Because it has a hydraulic clutch I don't need to worry about lengthening the cable. I will have to install a longer throttle cable and do some brake line repair. I could easily fab a new bulkhead from steel (currently fiberglass) and bolt it in. 4-6" would make a world of difference and if I sell it to a short person, the seat has 2 sets of mounting holes as I already scooted it back.
@Bandit Billy I would not recommend cutting that brace out that the master cylinder bolts through. It is what supports the pan halves from sagging and is a part of the strength of the pan. and also helps with the front beam not twisting.
Although I wouldn't want to cut it out, I don't see why you couldn't notch the brace (it's called a Napoleons Hat in VW slang), to fit the pedals further forwards, as long as you don't take all the strength out of it. Maybe weld in a boxing piece over the pedals to put the strength back?
Well, that is why I ask questions on here. Napoleon's Hat, I like that. If it wasn't for the exiled emperor's chapeau my idea is an easy one. You can see from his stock photo I snipped off the net that brace prevents me from moving the pedals forward. Basically I want my pedals where that brace is or slightly forward of it. I can also see what Porkshop posted about the brace being integral. I can box that brace but you can see in the pic I would have to trim it back all the way to the tunnel to get the pedals past it. There wouldn't be anything to box. I could add a brace of my own design and fabrication under the pan to take its place? An "I beam" for strength side to side? As I said, I have a roll bar that is bolted to the pan at the spot where the pan begins to narrow and behind the seats before the riser that helps with rigidity. What are your guy's thoughts on that?
I dunno, I was wondering if something like this would work, to allow you to push the pedals forwards. Clearly you'd need to box the back in, and it'd take a bot more thinking about that what I've done.
@Bandit Billy bracing it might work. With my fine editing skills I drew it up....lol. the line from the top of hat to left front corner would be above pan below tank. the rest under the pan. I have owned and built a ton of VWs over the years and bent many a beam head from off roading and wheel stands with non modified pans. That's were my concern comes from. Also the squares where the pan narrows represent were your roll bar attaches
@James D clearly has better line drawing skills than myself... Maybe a combination of Ideas.... Also you could build a tube chassis for it and that would cure it. That's what I did to a MANX back in 1982.
I like this idea. It goes along with my whole "pedal box" idea I'm working on. Easy to attach a foot cover made from aluminum or steel to it. I could fab it outside the car and attach it. Working inside the car is next to impossible. De-bodying it is the best move, but it is too late in the year for that now, I'll never get to play with it. I appreciate the beetle knowledge from both of you. Having never seen one of these things up close I am out of my comfort zone...but that doesn't mean I won't cut it up. I sat in the car last night making vroom vroom noises and test fitting my feet. if the pedals were not there it is quite comfortable. I could easily drop the column a few inches to give a more sporty driving position. 4-5" more leg room would be luxurious! More room than my roadster. I may go for 6" and move the seat forward so I can recline it a notch and give me more headroom. Worse case I take the body off next winter. I need to replace the fuel sending unit in the tank anyway so I can stop using the yard stick method and there is no way to it without removing the body (one piece body). At that point I can sure up my bracing. I need to ask that seller of the pedal if the master will handle my 4 wheel discs.
There's probably a world of aftermarket pedals. Maybe there are some that take up less length. Perhaps some hanging pedals would be a solution, or remote reservoirs? I guess the only thing to watch out for is the space you need for the steering arms, but that's easy to check, especially with the body off. And the gas tank.
Yesterday I tilted the driver seat forward and there is 4" between the seat and rear bulkhead. The seats are too wide to mount any further back. I have 2 new seats (glass shells with foam and upholstery) coming next week from amazon. 30 day returns of if doesn't work. I'll see if I can gain any legroom that way before tearing up the footwell. Thanks for the suggestion. This new OT forum is pretty cool.
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