Half Bug Trailer Project
I'd always wanted to build a half-bug trailer, so when the local garage (Bolwagen
in Sheffield) had a rotten bug on the way to the scrappy and said I could have
the rear half for free (delivery too!), I got thinking. The main problem I had
is that I needed to build and store it in the small back yard with only a narrow
alley between the houses to get it out. This has meant that I've had to make the
body easily removable from the chassis so I could carry them down the side to the road when completed, so if you are wondering why a few bits have been done in a bit of a funny way when they could have been done better that's why. It would have been much easier if it could have been made as one.
Also was a project on a very limited (read: as little as possible) student budget.
Caused the housemates no end of amusement.
The first job was to cut the rear body off the pan (as they wanted to keep that) and remove the roof. First cut was across the roof between the door pillars, then the mounting bolts under the back seat and in the rear wheel arches. After a bit of shaking to and fro the shell came off and the roof was removed just above the window line.
What about the heater channel bolts etc? Well, they were so rotten there was nothing in this area. Not a lot else happened until I managed to pick up a second hand 5ft x 4ft angle-iron trailer chassis
cheaply - hence the mini wheels.
The shape of the trailer chassis can be seen below.
Fitting it together
How to attach the two? It was decided to bolt the body to the underneath of the rails that run down the inner sides of the shell
(the one that the regulator is mounted on to) and to cut two notches in the rear inner wings just at the bumper mounts at the back so that the back could be bolted to the chassis cross member. The firewall, the metal shelf behind the back seat and the wheel arches were cut out to save weight.
The picture above shows the chassis shape plus the mods needed.
The brick shaped frame near the front had to be built out of angle iron so that the 'sills' had something to rest on.
The two bits now fitted together so it was beginning to take shape.
A visit to the local DIY shop later and it had a plywood floor. The holes were then drilled for the bolts to join the two bits together - two at the back and three on each 'inside sill' bit at the front which is quite secure and safe as you can lift the whole thing up by the trailer body and it won't come apart.
The pillars were then capped. Next inner wheel arches were made up out of some wood
to reduce the size and weight.
Electrics
Next step was the lighting which is set up the same way as a beetle - using tombstone rear lights and the stock number plate set up that were up in the attic.
The wires were run along the body and attach to the cars via the normal trailer connector.
The front plywood panel was fixed on using self tappers and 4 nuts and bolts.
It works!
After getting the whole thing in primer I had to move house - 200 miles away.
So a day was spent carrying the two bits down the narrow side
passage and welding them together on the road outside. I then gave it a blast around the block on the back of the bug to see if it
(the bug) could cope with the weight and
everything else was good & safe.
It worked great the next day, loaded right up with stuff and the bug (stock 1600 t/p) didn't find it a problem even up Snake Pass.
There was nearly a few accidents on the motorway - not by me but by people staring as they went past. Since then it has also been used to
move house twice/ tip runs etc etc.
Cover / lid
I needed something fairly secure as a cover and only has two days to fit it up (moved house
again!).
I decided to use plywood as it could bend with the lines of the body top and could be fitted in one piece.
It was attached by welding up-ended bolts to the body and cutting out holes in the plywood. This was then bolted on with large washers being used to spread the weight.
Paint
I found a ford colour in spray cans quite similar to the '72 so I painted it in that.
Some chrome trim I had spare was added to finish it off.
Pic below shows it almost finished the wood was later stained darker and a bumper
was been added:
Since we got the van it had hardly been used so I sold it to VW Curtains, so you might see it out and about at shows
like at Stanford Hall above
Nearly 10 years later it's re-emerged on Volkszone &
it's still on the road!