Project fox: The progress continues

[FoxSt]

Woah.. That hood looks as good as I always hoped it would. Can't wait to see your attention to detail in the finished project.

Carry on.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Thank you sir, much appreciated. Its been a slow process as of late, many other tings going on that take precedence, and frankly when the time is free I need to find the motivation. This stage of the fox is nearing the one year mark… I guess this is the typical curve: very motivated and energetic in the beginning, loosing a little drive but still plugging away at the ½ way point, then finally falling to the other side of things near the end…. Waiting for that shot of enthusiasm as things start to come together.

Its hard to think that I have been rather steadily working on this car for almost 6 years now, almost looking forward to being done with this stage and just enjoying being behind the wheel.

[FOXER]

Nice to know I am not the only Florida Foxer out there!

[Criznazee]

nicely done..... took forever to read through it all, and i skipped some! makes some of the crazy things i want to do with my fox wagon not too crazy! there are a bunch of foxes in some junkyards down here, message me if you have trouble finding some parts!

i'm gonna keep an eye on this thread.... its been going on for years! nice work!

[DON'TGETBIT]

I'm new to the site... Just browsing around seen your door handles looks great keep up the good work

[oRANGEJULIUS]

thanks

Just a non update I haven’t forgot about this car, its been sitting in the shop under wraps for a good while now while a tend to other things. Plans are to get serious and get this car back on the road by this summer. List of items that need to be completed: Finish bodywork on hood, fit: front doors, fenders, hood. Fabricate a bracket for the front bumper, paint, re assemble, finish headlight wiring, and freshen up the interior. Looking forward to being behind the wheel of this thing again.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

A real update!?!?!?!

Finally started work back up on this car. Put it together and had her out on the road (for the first time in 2 years) for 6 mile drive to a new location. Car ran fantastic. I ended up finishing the hood and laying down a coat of primer. Next up is to fabricate a cage around the radiator (for protection as it sits so low), fab up a bumper rebar and cover mounts, then continue on with the rest of the body work. Time permitting, im hoping to have the car in paint within the next 3 weeks. Feels good to be back at it.









ill have "real" pictures up at some point

[dubstepper]

I've been waiting for this! Keep it coming.

[reddfoxx]

Woohoo!

[sippin.fnordies]

yay! updates.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Thanks for the support! Had a little more time in it, started working on a cage to support / protect the portion of the radiator that hangs below the core support of the car. It consists of 1” steel tubing and is very, very stout. A fine mesh will then be placed in front of it to guard from road debris.

I am considering something a little different for bumper placement; rather than mounting it in the stock location, I am considering modifying the cover and mounting it about 2” higher up. This would cover the filler piece between the headlights and the existing bumper location as well as provide more room for a proper air dam. We will see how this goes.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Did the cage, 1" in the back under the rad, 1/2" in front. Going to mount some wire mesh to keep the rocks out. More body work and a test fit of some pieces today as well. Im going with my bumper idea, original, looks clean. Looks like it may be ready to paint before the week is out.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

As I type from the phone in the shop...

http://instagr.am/p/JBRQgQwp3j/

Paint tomorrow

[steveo27]

[oRANGEJULIUS]

thanks steveo... seeing if i cant get this thing into shape for the pgh classic. Still have a solid 2 weeks so we will see what happens.

All painted up, 5 coats of urethane in cool white.

Lastnight:





Coat 1



#2



#5

[oRANGEJULIUS]

[steveo27]

Heck yeah!


PGH classic?

[oRANGEJULIUS]

prob not Tons of detail work to do, and there is no interior yet.

[efritsch]

Shove the drivers seat in. No other seats means more room for 'drink' coolers.

I drove my Syncro for 4 months in 2010 with nothing but the front seats, dash and door cards.

Either way, want to come up here and do the work on mine?

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Shove the drivers seat in. No other seats means more room for 'drink' coolers.

I drove my Syncro for 4 months in 2010 with nothing but the front seats, dash and door cards.

Either way, want to come up here and do the work on mine?

Valid point we will see how it goes but i would rather not put the car in a show unfinished. Send yours down and we got a deal

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Car is coming together quickly now; got a big hit of motivation and put a few 10hr days in on it. Wiring is all done, exterior ( sans front spoiler, and minor trim cleaning + small details) is completed, Interior is starting to come together with the door cards installed, new carpet to come, and the engine is properly tuned and running great.

[reddfoxx]

Looks awesome!

[efritsch]

Valid point we will see how it goes but i would rather not put the car in a show unfinished. Send yours down and we got a deal

I usually just go to shows to hang out with friends. I enter them cause the parking can't be beat.

I sent my car South of the Border once for work. Didn't work out so well but seeing what you've done to yours, I'm not above getting some panels commissioned by you.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Thanks ReddFoxx! I may have to bring it back up your way one of these days.

efritsch:

I agree with what you are saying… its more about the camaraderie, the swapping of stories and ideas as well as atmosphere, but un like a GTG, a show is a show after all, and at a show you expect to see some level of completeness and overall quality and work out on the field. Unfortunately, I ended up getting the car to about 80%, (good enough) and the show was called off due to the pending storms sweeping through the area.
I appreciate the comment, thanks; I do have family in Hamilton if I find myself up that way in a good time window for the both of us, that could be a possibility.

In other updates, all the wiring is finished, the exterior has been color sanded, buffed, polished and awaiting sealer. I have a few ideas in regards to bumpers and the exterior is finished. The interior is getting new carpet, and the seats will be re upholstered before calling it finished. I am now legal as well; car passed inspection and emissions with flying colors.

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Making progress. Aside from a phantom misfire issue, things are coming along well. Not happy with the front bumper fitment; thinking about retrofitting a big bumper mkII piece and seeing how that goes.

[steveo27]

I have a junk bumper skin if you want it

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Steveo, thanks for the offer man, its appreciated… im actually swimming in a pile of MKII parts as we speak. I am parting out a 90 Jetta (1.8, mt, complete) and preparing a 91 jetta for sale. If you need any parts, or know any locals who do, let me know.


Had a few spare moments last night to mess around with the MKII bumper. I cut roughly 3” of the top inside portion of the cover, as well as 2” from the top side portions and it fits quite well. I still need to do some minor tweaking, specifically removing the hump found at the top corner of the bumper, as it throws my turn signal alignment out of whack. I would also like to find a couple of rectangular air vents I can put in place of the turn signals in the factory location (aid in cooling the motor), and figure out a way to keep the front lip from bowing in the center. All in all, I think it will look good once finished.




(Crap picture I got on the way to work this morning)

[steveo27]

Actualllllllly..........

IM me with some info on what ya still have from it

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Had some time today to finish color sanding / buffing / polishing / sealing the paint… figured it was about time for some “real” pictures.













0 post editing on this one:

[efritsch]

There are only two things that I don't like about your car. The headlights and the front bumper sits too high for my liking.

Either way, you have done some stellar work!

[oRANGEJULIUS]

There are only two things that I don't like about your car. The headlights and the front bumper sits too high for my liking.

Either way, you have done some stellar work!

Thanks for the comment. I am on the fence my self with the lights, I think they are rather fitting for the look, but in order to aim them correctly in my not so straight core support, its puts them at an angle I’m not a fan of. The angle was not quite as noticeable with the factory lights. So if anyone reading this is interested; I would be up for a trade: my lights and all mounting hardware, 4 good bulbs, for your CLEAN foxII light assemblies, mounting hardware and shipping for both sets of lights.

Don’t have to justify the bumper , as I think it looks great...bottom line being the car is for my enjoyment first, and if others like it, that’s cool, if not that’s just as cool.

[rival323]

man to bad this things a 4 door, if it was a 2 door, you'd have the nicest fox i've ever seen lol, it still is one of the nicest fox's i've seen i've been following this car for a while, you've done absolutely well and it's great!!! hope to see you doing more little things, like the start of the build now that it's at a good driving level and such!!!

hope to see me for sure!!

and p.s, the bumper looks hella flyy

[vwfanatic69]

there are 3 things I love about your car......the rockers, the hood and especially the headlights. if those fit an '88, i'd be all over them

[oRANGEJULIUS]

Thanks guys . Ill be honest, 6 years in the making and I feel as though I have done just about everything I wanted to try with this fox. I learned a ton about the platform, honed my metal working skills, more paint experience, and kept up on the electrical and mechanical fun. Aside from small changes here and there, I think this will be close to the end product of this car. Its time to just drive and enjoy it.

Time permitting, I will begin on a new project... this is what I have in mind: A 1.8t Saveiro clone that would look as though it could have came from the factory, but with a modern interior and power train. The basics being a stock drive by wire 1.8t from the b5 platform, full swap including engine management. Potential of utilizing 012 or 01W manual trans by making custom mounts (need to confirm ideas about axles). Starting with a wagon, switching to a fox II front, making the obligatory cuts, use a rabbit pickup (preferably) or other compact truck for the rear window and surrounding steel, bed rails, tailgate, and formed bed floor. ?fuel tank with custom mounts in stock location, with filler under rear license plate ala 60's, 70's American cars in a custom, yet stock appearing rear bumper (this is in order to have an unobstructed bed). full side molding in black. Urban grey exterior. Black leather seats with adequate bolsters, modified b5 dash and all the trimmings.

[alaincopter]

Great work man, truly impressive fab skills! Would love to see that in person some day. I am not the biggest fan of the headlights either but then the car style is not my personal choice either, but it all fits together and I really like how it's totally custom, basically the car is your canvas

This though:

I will begin on a new project... this is what I have in mind: A 1.8t Saveiro clone that would look as though it could have came from the factory, but with a modern interior and power train. The basics being a stock drive by wire 1.8t from the b5 platform, full swap including engine management. Potential of utilizing 012 or 01W manual trans by making custom mounts (need to confirm ideas about axles). Starting with a wagon, switching to a fox II front, making the obligatory cuts, use a rabbit pickup (preferably) or other compact truck for the rear window and surrounding steel, bed rails, tailgate, and formed bed floor. ?fuel tank with custom mounts in stock location, with filler under rear license plate ala 60's, 70's American cars in a custom, yet stock appearing rear bumper (this is in order to have an unobstructed bed). full side molding in black. Urban grey exterior. Black leather seats with adequate bolsters, modified b5 dash and all the trimmings.

sounds amazing! With your skills and attention to detail, you're definitely the guy to do it!