German Low Cost Project: "The Wanderdune"

[Makrochip]

Hello from Germany,

My Name is Makrochip i'm a 33 year old male living in Germany, and i want to introduce my Project to you.

It's a Opel Corsa A 1.2i (Motorcode C12NZ) first registered in December 1992 with an Autronic LPG-Konversion with a "small" Tank in the Trunk:

http://www.blog.makrochip.de/2010-12-23/6.jpg

This little "Bomb" takes about 13 imp Gallons of LPG in it :d with both Tanks(LPG & Fuel) i can get about 950 mls without stopping at a gas station :d with 45 bhp its not fast but it comes to its Destinantion....sometimes quick, mostly slow...thats why its called the Wanderdune.... lol

...but how is the look of my Car? The most gaudy Part is the Paint..

I think you never saw a Corsa/Nova in hand rolled hammer finish gold ;)

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-05-06/6.JPG

This Year Summer Wheels are "Dog Dishes"-Rims from the Opel Kadett C (selled as Vauxhall Chevette in UK). I've painted them with a paint brush in black & white to get a White Wall-Tire Look. To get this Wheels on the Car, there are 7,8" Distant Plates needed on each Side on the front axle so that the rims don't sratch at the Astra F 1.6 Brakes.

On the Back there is a Part to fill a little up my affinity for the UK:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-05-06/3.JPG

This Rear Light is quite unable to find in Germany, so i've imported it from UK...
I love eBay :)
(BTW: These ugly red mudflaps are history ;)).


Inside there only a few Mods but its a work in progress:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-05-22/46.JPG

First there are Seats from an Opel Kadett E GSI (Astra E GT/E) Convertible... althoug i've got no compatible Recaro-Consoles for them, i modified them on the orginal Standard-Consoles. Maybe somebody is interested in a well pictured workshop to do this, too : Just check the Link to my blog (http://makrochip.over-blog.de/article-alte-sitze-fur-ein-altes-auto-oder-makrochip-der-autosattler-74416208.html) (Sry it is German)

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-06-08/1.JPG

Second the Steering Wheel:
It came from a Calibra 4x4 and is the smallest known original Opel/Vauxhall Steering Wheel that fits in the Car (35 cm/13,8" diameter)

The big Highlight inside is the rev counter:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-04-16/3.jpg

Maybe it is a "little" too big, but people thinking that never saw the Interieur of the actual Mini :d

Here a close-up:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-04-16/5.jpg

it came from an '69 Opel GT (i dont know if this car was selled in the UK) Click for Pic (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Opel_GT.JPG) the unusual mounting is grounded in the impulse, that i don't want to modifiy the rev counter for maybe reselling it, when i get one with better chrome ;)

For the First that's it....

Comments welcome

[paul james]

I love the wheels, they suit the car really well and are something quite different to the typical wheels people go for.

[Bubba]

haha yes! that is awesome!! everything about it makes me smile! :d

[Makrochip]

I love the wheels, they suit the car really well and are something quite different to the typical wheels people go for.

Thanks... if you love the wheels for this summer, how about the wheels from last winter session? This are 5,5x13 ET37 with 145/80R13 tyres and 7,8" Distant Plates all arround

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-10-30/2.jpg

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-10-30/5.jpg

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-10-30/8.jpg

@Bubba: Then you go along with most people that see the car for the first time... sometimes people sitting in cafés standing up and look like a rusty school bus when they see it.... On an Opel Meeting some children about 6-7 years sayed, they like it cause it looks like a matchbox/hot wheels car

Maybe it has something to do with the Stickers (explicit the one on the left) on my "Statements"-Window lol

http://blog.makrochip.de/2011-08-09/3.jpg

[nova_niek]

Thanks... if you love the wheels for this summer, how about the wheels from last winter session? This are 5,5x13 ET37 with 145/80R13 tyres and 7,8" Distant Plates all arround

Wilkommen Chipmeister, PNG is a nice place to be. :-)

Distanzscheiben = spacers in English.

Like the look of your car, something different. I bet the rev counter (Manta item?) is worth quite a bit to classic Opel restorers in Germany. :thumb:

Tschuss,
Niek

[Benn]

950miles from both tanks? Dude that's fantastic.

[mowgli]

its a good cheap motor you have. 950 miles, you could get it to the vboa show at billing and home easy... you will be welcome on the png stand

[Makrochip]

Wilkommen Chipmeister, PNG is a nice place to be. :-)

Distanzscheiben = spacers in English.

Like the look of your car, something different. I bet the rev counter (Manta item?) is worth quite a bit to classic Opel restorers in Germany. :thumb:

Tschuss,
Niek

THX Niek... The Rev is from an Opel GT... and yes its quite worth for some Classic-Opel-"Nazis" wich are polishing their 20.000 Euro Restoration every sunday.... but if you hang around eBay 'bout 3-4 hours a day like me, you'll find some wrong destinated auctions and can buy a rev counter like this for 9 Pounds including Shipping Fee.:d

Fuel become very expensive in Germany in the last 2 Years so i don't drive much on Fuel.... when the motortemperature is about 25-30°C i switch on LPG. On this i take about 560-600 mls on one Tank. For compare Reasons here are the today Prizes for Fuel & LPG in my Hometown

Fuel (95 Octane) €/Liter: 1,61
Fuel (95 Octane) GBP/imp gallon: 5,87
LPG €/Liter: 0,79
LPG GBP/imp gallon: 2,88

THX Mowgli...I thought my Engine is not so good.... he has nearly 155 tmls on it (i think he took 67 tmls on Gas) he gets a lot of Full Throttle to come out of the S**t. I've changed my Head Gasket a few weeks ago (the second time in two years !!!) There are no Spurs (I don't know the english word for "Hohnspuren" :() in the Cylinders normaly it should taking a lot of Oil... but i don't have to fill up between 2 Oilchanges (10.000 km/6200 mls 1/3 shorter in case of driving on LPG) :d.

What is the VBOA Show@Billing is that a Car meeting in the UK?

@all: Sry for my ugly English...but after 10 Years, i wasn't in UK, its quite a bit rusty ;-)

[mowgli]

your english is better than a lot of the english people on here lol lol

the 1.2 is slow but it lasts a very long time

billing is a big show near the silverstone race track. it is a great friendly event.

[John]

Welcome! Fantastic looking car! :)

[Mike]

VBOA billing is like the UKs version of Opel Treffen.

950mile to a tank, thats properly awesome!!

[Makrochip]

@Mike You misunderstood... i have a 13,2 gallon LPG-Tank and the usual 9,2 gallon Fuel Tank... if i fill both completly and drive normal without any Speed Exzesses then i could drive 950 miles without any Stops for putting Fuel/LPG in, when i drive it down 'til the last Drop....

Maybe next year i'm travelling to the UK... i'm on RHD withdrawal (i've had a Vauxhall Omega B V6 before my Corsa) and need some RHD Filling for my barn ;-)
...In Germany the big Meetings starts at Friday and ending Sunday in the Afternoon... Camping beside the own Car... Livemusic and a some guys think the must consume more Alkohol in 2 Days then the Car needed on the whole way to the Meeting ;-) Is that simillar in the UK?
How big is the VBOA (How much Cars and Visitors?) and for what stands the Shortcut?

Edit(h) says: The Wanderdune takes 1,95 to 2,12 gallons/100 mls on Fuel and 2,12 to 2,3 gallons/100 mls when i drive max. 75 mls/h on long distance

[mowgli]

billing is pretty much the same apart from they don't like loud music.

[Vlietje]

billing is pretty much the same apart from they don't like loud music.

And there's no striptease show by cheeky girls...
No Bratwurst mit Pommes...
No Paulaner or Erdinger...

[Matty Winslade]

This is excellent mate !! Rev counter is very nice and the wheels are spot on ;)
The fuel saving is amazing !! 950 miles :o lol
My vectra GSI does about 200 to a full £75 tank ha ha x

[Makrochip]

Some Updates...'Cause i've got 2 Weeks Summer vaction, im working on the Dune. I prepare "Her" for the biggest Rat & Retro Car Meeting in Germany, the Rust 'n' Roll (www.rust-n-roll.de (http://www.rust-n-roll.de)). This year it will be approx. 1000 Vehicles (some come from Skandinavia, Poland, Czech and a few also from Italy). Although there a few marks of Rust i went to take them off with Fertan...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-17/8.JPG

Fertan is converting the Rust and needs 24-48 hours to finish the process of Converting (the Surface will turn completely to black then the Process is finished), so I went yesterday over for a little bit Suspension Works:

So thats how the Dune has looked yesterday morning:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-18/3.JPG

After a few hours work it looks "a little bit" different ^^:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-18/4.JPG

The front springs are original Nova GTE Springs (very hard to find in Germany) they brought 0,4" Lowering. The backlift was made with a spring distance kit from Weitec (don't know if them also avaible in UK) and brought a 1" uplift.

I think it looks a little bit weired to you, but it's that what i want... (Maybe im lowering the Front End with lowering suspension Washers another 0.4")

[Makrochip]

Something new: I've put the Mirror blanks on the Dune, that are named in this thread (http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?187943-Passenger-door-Outisde-mirror-blank)

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/2.JPG

(German) Driverside:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/4.JPG

then adding a little bit "bling-bling":

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/6.JPG

This is a mirror from an Opel Manta A/Ascona A/Kadett B. I'm trying to find the ideal Position on the old Doors cause they are rusty an some Areas wich can't be repaired so, that it last more than a year.. i 've got a nice (rust free) set of cleaned doors ^^ that are mounted the next days

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/7.JPG

(German) Passenger Side:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/5.JPG

This Mirror is also an old Opel Part, but i don't know from wich one... it has a longer leg wich has a complete different Form :cry: In ebay it looks similar to the other one... Maybe i get the right one in the next days

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/9.JPG

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-07-19/8.JPG

[Makrochip]

Long time ago since my last post... here in short version what happened in the last 4 Weeks:

The shaved (german) Passenger side door can't be used cause one of the Bolts isn't goin out... 5 Persons with a lot of ideas and force tried to get it out.... No chance... so it will be only a shaved door on the (german) driverside and the rusty other will get some Fertan and body filler.. sad but true...

So first i've sanded the areas which can see later for putting the gold paint on it... then i've rolled 2 layers paint on it....

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/5.JPG

The new radiator grill gets a little gold, too...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/7.JPG

then i taken out the drivers door...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/10.JPG

and pulled the Sealing to paint the inner areas of the Car so that the miamiblue *puke* Paint will be not seen anymore...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/11.JPG

putting in the new door...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/12.JPG

and drill a hole an put in the switch for opening the door (what a crap! I don't like shaved doors... and since that i'm hating them...but for the further look it will be needed)

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-08/14.JPG

very naked but thats not the end of the show ;-)

I'm a child of the 80s and so it must be some 80s Stuff wich comes to the door...

from the 1976 to 1991 the Choclate Bar named "Twix" in the UK was selled as "Raider" in Germany.... it was a breakdown for some people that the Name was killed cause it was a very Iconic sweet in the german 80s... i'm a little strange One of these cause i say Raider to it, although most people has forgotten the old name....

But how can i get the "Raider"-Logo on my car...Sticker-film will have problemes with the uneven survace of the rolled paint, and i need a vectorized Image, wich i don't have....the cheapest Offer was 250 €...to much for a low-cost-project....

i decided to paint it...but my skills in doing such filligran things are horrible... so Fiero-Girl (http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=de&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://makrochip.over-blog.de/article-vorstellung-das-fiero-girl-80196886.html&usg=ALkJrhiDe31Z9AgF2tV_KGOZtJ4yVB8vUA) sayed that she do it for me, if i can build her a pattern out of papper in the right size.

[Makrochip]

So here we go.... i printed out the Lettering in a Size of 7 x 2 A4-Sheets. Cutted the borders and glued them together

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/1.JPG

the next day i was going out to my barn with this.... while i was waiting for Fiero-Girl i tried how my newest Idea can work. I've bought a Spoilerlip (hope that is the correct term for the part) from an Astra Mk IV cause i want to give the Dune a little more massive front

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/2.JPG

before:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/3.JPG

after (for testing purpose i fixed the lip without cuting with tape on the car):

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/4.JPG

With a little bit cutting and a few screws it will be nice.... aaand its cascading my thin 165er Tyres :)

then Fiero-Girl arrived and we go on the lettering...

At first she was cutting out the lettering half to the top:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/6.JPG

Then we fixed it in the ideal positon on the car... and she started to draw the contures with a pen...

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/7.JPG

then putting of the lettering....

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/8.JPG

cutting out the several letters... fix them on the door in the right position and make the outlines perfect....

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/10.JPG

then the hardest thing on the job... painting freehand with a brush...Fiero-Girl decided to do the Outlines first....

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/11.JPG

and then the filling

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/13.JPG

nearly complete

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/14.JPG

after 2,5 hours we drove the Dune out of the barn into the sun to dry the paint and take some pictures:

http://blog.makrochip.de/2012-08-11/15.JPG

good job... i love it...

Then i have to do a lot of preparing for the Rust 'n' Roll Car meeting from 17th to 19th of August, which is THE Carmeeting for Rat & Retro Cars in middle Europe...

A Tip for you guys from uk: Read the newest Article in my blog (http://makrochip.over-blog.de/article-for-those-who-talking-english-i-salute-you-m-109384744.html)

i will put in the first Part of my english Rust'n'Roll Review tommorow afternoon...

[Makrochip]

So here it is: the first english-article in my blog (http://0z.fr/VsxeO). Have fun!