Mack73

My Golf Rally Car Build

PICTURE GALLERY

With the car completely stripped and all
of the tar and glue removed, the reinforcement
could begin. I purchased a Millermatic 135 Mig
welder. I went with the 135 for ease of use as
it is 110v. I could run it off of standard home
wiring and a smaller generator out on stages.
When the time comes to weld anything of any
substantial size (>1/8") Tig will be used.

The first step was to stitch weld all of the
seams. I used a spacing of an inch and a half
of weld with one inch between welds. This is
overkill I've been told. Oh well, live and learn.

Finally my spot in line finally came and the car went to Dave Clark Motorsports for a roll cage. It does not include an X in the main hoop as required by Rally America. Both Dave and I felt that this is overkill and made egress through the rear of the car virtually impossible. Therefore the cage was built to current (2007) NASA rules. Dave did an amazing job.

The next project became strengthening the frame for a front tow hook. Since the car is eventually going to need a hard pull out of a ditch or off a tree stump, the mount needs to be very strong. I started by drilling holes in the frame and welding pipe through it. This would prevent the boxed frame from collapsing when the bolts are tightened. The frame was then skinned. A ~3/16" plate will then be bolted to this with a tow hook that will eventually protrude through the bumper.

With the car on its side for the final time to finish stitch welding the bottom, I took the opportunity to strengthen the front subframe mounts. The OEM capture nuts were drilled out. Then a rod of DOM tubing was inserted through the frame. A top plate was made to create a double shear mount. The tubing was drilled and tapped to accept the stock subframe bolts.

Now that the front has been upgraded, it was time to tackle the rear suspension. The OEM rear beam is a key weak point in the rear suspension. The design does not allow for an effective way to brace the wheels to prevent bending the beam. I stumbled across a picture of a corrado race car where a front subframe was relocated to the rear. I decided that this would be perfect for the rally car. It would provide me with a cheap, reliable independent rear suspension and I will only need to carry one set of spares as the front is identical to the rear. The rear floor was cut out to allow easy access during assembly. First holes were drilled through the chassis where the bolts would be located. As with the front subframe reinforcement, a rod of DOM tubing was inserted through the frame and welded to the frame with top and bottom plates. This rod was tapped to recieve the bolt. Since the rod is only designed to secure the bolt and not carry the load, 2x2 box was built around the rod and fully welded. The subframe was measured countless times to ensure everything was square in the chassis as well as level front/back/side-to-side and with the correct wheelbase.

With the car back on its wheels, the major body modifications are complete. Now Stage III - Assembly/Rally Upgrades could begin.