Started: 04 July 1999

Finished: 14 September 1999

PAGE 3 of 3


This is the chassis and mechanical assembly completed. The exhaust piping was modified to fit with the new engine and chassis positions. 

The chassis is glued to the floorpan, ready to accept the bodyshell over it.

The mirrors were glued on, and the rear lamps were done. The kit's rear lamps were molded in clear red, and they made the kit look like a toy. Tamiya's rear lamps that were remaining from the Nascar beetle were used,with bare metal foil applied to the inside of the lamps for proper real looks. The Jeetle logo and "California JEETLE" license plates were created on the computer and printed on sticker sheet, then applied on the car.

The same arguments as above. The headlamps, turn signals and fog lamps were all taken from the remains of the Tamiya kit of Nascar Beetle.
(This kit's headlamp reflectors lacked good detail and gave a toy look. The signals were also plain sticker paper.) The Jeetle logo was applied to the front as well.

In addition to the fully wired engine, brake lines were made from copper wire and added on to the master cylinder. The ignition coil was absent in the Jeep kit, so it was scratchbuilt. The radiator had to be shortened by 3 mm to make a good fit under the hood. The black sponge piece you see in front of the dashboard serves as a gap-filling element when the bodyshell is put over the chassis assembly. 

The dashboard panel close-up. The clutch and brake pedals were from the Jeep, and the gas pedal was scratchbuilt.


 
And finally, the finished pictures of the Jeetle.This model was a real fun to build.  I enjoyed it, and if you also do, I will enjoy it more.