Rocco, my 75 Baja

[poomwah]

Hello from Ohio.
  I've only made one purchase from chirco back in february.  A pair of empi 34's.  I have emailed with Don who gave me some great advice on my carbs and also some VERY timely advice too, I couldn't believe how quickly he responded.  I've talked  to Joe on the phone about some future orders, and he was great as well. My shopping list keeps getting bigger and bigger :]
 I have SO many things I want to do to it, but I'm having trouble making decisions.
I want so bad to have a car more like Smokey, so many things about that car are exactly what I would like to do.  But at the same time, there is something about my car I don't want to lose, it was recently described by someone as "old school character" so, I'm looking for a middle  ground of aggressive baja but old school cool at the same time.  That's where I'm having trouble deciding what to do to it and what to leave alone.

[poomwah]

so, the complication, I'm having trouble seeing the end result, wondering what will take away from the old school character, what will add to it, what will not effect it, what will clash between the old school cool and the aggressive baja.  As an example, as gorgeous as Smokey is, put steelies with beauty rings and chrome smoothie hubcaps would just look WRONG.
My wife, although she like the baja better when I got it, says now it looks like "its ready to get some sh#t done"  I like that about it.  I don't want to lose that either.
so, I am TOTALLY open to suggestions on how to keep the "old school cool look"  and keep the "look like its ready to get shi#t done" look, IF that's possible.

Things I would like to do.....and feel free to tell me if this would work with the above criteria
 One piece front end (would LOVE to trim it like Smokey's)
 4 bumper lights
  roll cage
  General Grabber AT2's  205/75 15 front and 265/70 rear
  stock steelies up front with chrome smoothie hupcaps and beauty rings
  widened steelies (10 inch) in back with smoothies and rings
  graft in ragtop roof
  flip and trim current front fenders and put them on the rear.
  I've got a few ideas for re-welding the exhaust (it was a quick fix to keep the rain out) but I'm open to suggestions.


one thing for sure, I will NOT give up my "whips" I like them too much :]

[poomwah]

heres what it looks like with stock vw caps

[buggyman]

 
Dayo poom ,

Hello from Ohio.
  I've only made one purchase from chirco back in february.  A pair of empi 34's.  I have emailed with Don who gave me some great advice on my carbs and also some VERY timely advice too, I couldn't believe how quickly he responded.  I've talked  to Joe on the phone about some future orders, and he was great as well. My shopping list keeps getting bigger and bigger :]
 I have SO many things I want to do to it, but I'm having trouble making decisions.
I want so bad to have a car more like Smokey, so many things about that car are exactly what I would like to do.  But at the same time, there is something about my car I don't want to lose, it was recently described by someone as "old school character" so, I'm looking for a middle  ground of aggressive baja but old school cool at the same time.  That's where I'm having trouble deciding what to do to it and what to leave alone.

Asthetic changes are a personal choice which pretty much no one else can advise you on,me personally,that looks like someone/you took a lot of time to create a clean setup as it stands now .
The one thing that stands out about it's functionality though is :"I've got a few ideas for re-welding the exhaust (it was a quick fix to keep the rain out) but I'm open to suggestions."

just installing the proper springs between the individual pipes & the collector

from
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=831&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=vw+aircooled+tri-mil+exhaust&btnG=Search&oq=vw+aircooled+tri-mil+exhaust&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=156204l171877l0l175642l19l14l1l0l0l0l701l7011l5-12.1l13l0

from
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=182_419_494&products_id=2928
because without those tied tightly together you're just gonna keep getting cracks at the head flanges .
"(would LOVE to trim it like Smokey's)"
OK,show me Smokey's
"flip and trim current front fenders and put them on the rear."
Running white lights visable from the rear of the car aside from reverse lights while moving backwards is illegal in all states.
"My wife, although she like the baja better when I got it, says now it looks like "its ready to get some sh#t done"  I like that about it.  I don't want to lose that either.
so, I am TOTALLY open to suggestions on how to keep the "old school cool look"  and keep the "look like its ready to get shi#t done" look, IF that's possible.
Just an extra bar across the lower turn of the engine cage to accomodate a tow hitch while rechecking that the engine cage is securely attached to both the body & frame :

from
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3911212
set up to abide by all local http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/ laws  .

Lookin' good poom 

[poomwah]

thanks buggy man.  yeah, I've been putting off getting the srpings because I wasn't sure if I was going to modify the collector and wind up needing shorter ones or not.  The previous owner had some  super rusty bolts in there instead of springs.
 I like the u bend that you posted, thinking of something similar probably.
thanks buggy man.  yeah, I've been putting off getting the srpings because I wasn't sure if I was going to modify the collector and wind up needing shorter ones or not.  The previous owner had some  super rusty bolts in there instead of springs.
 I like the u bend that you posted, thinking of something similar probably.
I wouldn't be leaving the headlights in the fenders, they would be  cut similar to the ones that are on the rear now.  They would just be wider and the arch would be a little more open.
I would have to bolt them up before I could decide exactly where to cut them, but something along these lines


Smokey is an incredibly cool baja built by a forum member  named Preston, there are pics on this page http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/smf/index.php?topic=207.350

[VIN]

i used original steel front fenders for my rear fenders.  work great.

[poomwah]

those look really good vin.  do you have a build thread, I'd like to see more of your car

[VIN]

It's kinda half of a build thread, but here she is http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/smf/index.php?topic=2914.0

[Louis99]

Now, at the risk of sounding conceited (believe me I'm not), I believe I took a nice baja and made it VERY nice. Now, I come to my problem.... IF I were to keep it as a baja, there is WAY too many things that would have to be done to it for me to be truly happy with it. Things that are WAY beyond my means financially. I won't be happy without a stronger engine/transmission, coil overs, long travel arms, full cage, etc etc etc.
And here's the kicker, I have NO place to drive it off road legally anyway :[
So, even if I had the money, I'd be making it MORE off road and it would just stay on the street most of the time anyway, if not all the time. What is the VW equivalent of a mall crawler? whatever you call it, I've got one.
So... its time to turn it into a volksrod.