A chunk of new, hot off the press', Weddle HV-1 transaxle out back, a few teaspoons of Benchmark Performance tuned Honda j35A9 V6 Ponies, bits of Howe, a splash of Walker Evans beadlocks, and a whole bunch of elbow grease from the boys at HRT, (Hot Rod Todd for those in the know) and the Fetching Mrs Lorenz has a new grocery getter.

More specs and pics as the build progress'

Sounds like a cool build but those pictures suck. Turn the light on, I want to see this thing.

Yea can't see much of anything

I agree, I want to see the actual build and not looking like a billboard would be nice too.
Give props at the end or at the beginning but your water marks and advertising will ruin even good pics.

looks like a fun ride.

more pics!!!!!!!!

What am I looking at...

He's finally going to finish that thing. He was working on that a few years ago when Eric (RXM) worked for him.

Is it an optical illusion or does that Mendi have a strange azz bellhousing?

Thanks for the teaser Now remove the billboard and turn on the light!

From those photos I'm thinking your gonna get really skinny cause it doesn't look like Mrs Lorenz will be getting any groceries soon. Where's the real photos ??

Build thread=Fail. If you are advertising, which it looks like, please contact me ASAP.

Thanks

It looks like a super beetle baja. You don't see those very often.

We water mark all of our photos, they tend to get stolen otherwise. Its a pretty common practice among professional photogs in the offroad industry when posting our work on public forums. If the copyright is infringed upon, at least viewers know who shot them. It's a real build, promise, I'm teasing the first few shots to get the comments rolling. We shoot for the Lucas Oil Series, and post alot on the racing forums. That's why there done up a bit, we're used to publishing our work with a little extra umph, it's a bit of one upmanship between photogs.

The Mendiola is a 5 speed case. That's why the tail section looks a little different. Good eye, I didn't know the difference until last weekend when I dropped the Weddle off at the shop.

It is a Super Beettle, 1973 CA smog exempt. I really don't know the diffrence between models. What makes this one "Super" VWONOS, it sounds like you know your way around bugs?

The project was Todd's build that was sitting in the back of his shop for a couple of years, as MGM mentioned. I traded my Hot Rod for it, and it's now my money pit to finish.... Well, Suzys money pit... That's what I keep telling her anyways.

i will throw my opinion in here. build threads are really alot of fun to post on here. they can really keep ya motivated. so with that in mind maybe more of a real-life kinda picture.
as far as someone infringing on your property. i say let them, after all you posted the pictures for the world to see and if you werent proud of them then you wouldnt post them.
just my opinion, and you know what they say about those...

Lorenz . get on with the lights my man. you atleast need to add sparks and fire next time.

A super beetle has a different front end. They don't have a beam. They have MacPherson struts. I could tell by the curved windshield. I think most people prefer a non super beetle because the beam is better for off road. But you guys have full on a-arms so it looks like you are even better off then a beam car. Looking forward to the build.

I really dig the curved windshield. It adds to the overall radius bug look. Me and Suzy really wanted to put a sun roof in it. When I checked into it, it sounded like my only option was the rag top cut-out opening, you know the canvas covering that's 3.5' long and fold back on it's self. We didn't like the look because it took the radius out of the roof line. Bug roof lines are what make them classic.

American Sun Roof in Mira Mar is looking into getting a discontinued 2'x1' "glassed-in" radius sun roof for it. Well see what happens. The smaller, real sun roof would help keep the radiused roof line. The rag top option is a no go for us.

We're eye balling the Radiused Roof Racks as well. I really really like the stained wood slat ones. Beefing it up while still keeping the .75" tubing will be a challenge. I want to carry some weight up there. A spair 35" or a couple of old school red, or army green, tin jerry cans is what I'm envisioning. The small tubing and wood slats keep the roof's radius real well.

The Sun Roof below are what I'm looking to avoid. They ruin the roof line.

The pics suck, If I was a professional photog, I would be ashamed

<BeachHead removed isulting and vacation earning comment> way to bring this thread to a low level.



Sean and Suzy are super professional and the nicest offroaders i know of.

Agreed

Get real dude, I'm the 9th person to say the pics suck, and you choose to make a personal attack on me?
Whats up with that?

Ditto ^^ My 12 yr. old daughter takes better pictures with her cheap azz Walmart camera. JMO leave out the advertising ploy! Just show the build!

Your pics are lame, too bad looks like a cool project. Maybe you are trying to hide how bad it looks??

Aren't you all being a tad hard on the guy? There's a nice way to say you don't prefer the pic's

Sir, I really prefer pics that reflect the actual image of the subject. The advertising is a bit overwhelming. Good Day Sir.

AMEN!
I was looking forward to watching this build, but the pics are annoying as hell!

BTW, I LOVE that avatar Sandy.

...start over?

I think you lost your audience, when you boasted about how professional your photos are, and implied the audience was too stupid to appreciate them.

Good pro shots will capture the moment and tell the story to everyone, everyone is trying to tell you you came up short.

Qualify my "boasting" by quoting me in context.... Don't infer something that isn't there.

Doesn't a good story start with something that captures the readers attention in order keep the clicks comming, or the pages turning? ie. A little mystery behind a viel of darkness... Or the outline of a dark car in this case? My "audience" as you coined them keep comming back. This thread, filled with offensive photos not worth of some GD readers eyeballs, has 800% more "views" than Fusion does on his build that we coincidently started on the same day. The view count on this thread is quickly approaching the view count of a 3 week old TT build. So, tell me again, who's lost thier audience.

The critiques of our work that take on the watermarks and the boarders, aren't worthy of a responce. There's a reason we mark them, and I carefully explained that. So good on you for trying to come to the table with a critique that's worthy of a responce. You observations are kinda what I was shooting for, half heartedly. I have a page of shots set aside, and had to choose which ones I'd start with. The observations are spot on, I think your conclusion sucks. The audience is still here and is growing, the story has bearly left the first paragraph, and everybodies rubber necking waiting for the next crash.

This is different kind of view count thread... the people coming back are waiting for the train wreck.

No offense or anything, but the pictures are not great for a pro. And we all kind of wanted to see the car. But now...

Damn.




Tough crowd. After getting a 5 day vacation for calling someone a "meter maid", I think I'll just watch this one unfold.

lol

Lorenz, I am a 'photo guy'. I am no "PRO" as you claim to be, but as a 'photo guy' I can say that your attempt to make the photos appear ghostly "behind a veil of darkness" were not a success. As a PRO I'm sure you realize that the light from the interior of the car is very harsh which takes away from the mystique of the photo and leaves viewers like me wondering WTF? I love silhouette photos and things that are off the norm, but I didnt feel that those photos were "PRO" caliber...

The ONLY reason I even mentioned my opinion on the photos was because you claim to be a photo PRO and act like we are not smart enough to realize how brilliant you are. You say that your over the top advertisements on each of your photos is a "watermark" so your photography will not be misappropriated...well being a 'photo guy' I also understand a little about watermarks and what their purpose is. I don't think I have EVER seen another photographers watermark have names of several businesses on his/her photos unless they were promoting those companies. That wouldn't be a 'watermark' used to inhibit unsolicited use of the photo, that would be what we call ADVERTISING.

Here is my suggestion to you....Post plenty of pictures, get artsy fartsy if you want, but show pics of the build. Drop all the ADVERTISEMENT but feel free to run a WATERMARK if you desire to preserve the sanctity of your photographical genius.

But whatever you decide, please do two things....

1. Don't underestimate the intelligence level of those reading your posts
and
2. Don't try to avoid board sponsorship rules by claiming photographic rights


Now, please carry on with your build as many of us are interested.

Thank you to whomever it was that corrected all the spelling errors. It is painfull enough to look at all of those photos and to also have to endure his butchered use of the English language was just too much. I guess he spent too much time in the photo lab and not enough in class learning to spell.

It's almost summer...



we just might see something dramatic in a build thread...

Don't sweat it Lorenz! Peeps around here tend to get a little punchy come summertime. Post up some more pics. as you progress through the build, just be sure to follow the board rules.

I think we're there...

All...let me jump in here for a second with my admin hat on, so I'm sorry for those of you who are checking out this thread for the drama, cause it's time to bring it to a close.

First, we've attempted to have some friendly dialog with the OP, and outlined what needs to be done to any future photo's they choose to share with us to bring them into compliance with our policy. This is a fine line that we've walked in the past, and will walk again in the future. We encourage ALL to post here, not just our board sponsors, yet we are well aware that some consider that "advertising". In cases such as this, the staff has some discussion, and then we try to work something out that works within the spirit of everyone sharing knowledge. Believe it or not, there are some builders out there who are very willing to share their knowledge of our favorite sport, and expect nothing more than a "thank you" here and there. Believe me, we take the responsibility to our paying sponsors very seriously, and we do try to stop those who try to skirt paying up by playing in the "gray" areas such as this.

So, without taking up too much more of your time, please understand that we are working this issue, and we will not tolerate any more "ad" type pics from the OP. We can accept a small watermark, if of course it's your picture to watermark. We can't, and won't try to determine or educate someone on what a "good" picture is, as I'm sure the audience will be happy to let ya know if they are happy or not..

Now, to the OP...the large number of "hits' to this thread indicate ONE and ONLY ONE thing: it's a drama thread, and people are looking at it to see who gets in "trouble", or to stir it up, or whatever other reason people love drama threads. If the hits were driven by the content, the posts would be filled with "good job"s, or questions about the project, not complaints about picture quality. That's a very BIG difference and I don't want you to operate on any misconceptions.

OK....back to the subject at hand....carry on.....

I came back to the thread from the PM's you admins left me. I didn't realize we had two conversations going. I left my # in the PM.

Interesting spot for the trailer tags. Nice truck under there. Very artistic, I like it.

Is that a legal spot for tags in CA?

Looks like it will be cool build Sean. Would like to see it in person some time.

2" spindles, upper and lower horizontally mounted uni-balls.

12 gallon cell between the uprights. I was hoping for a little more capacity, but we opted for a small bench seat in the back. That pushed the fuel cell to the front. It'll be a little safer up there with a firewall between the cell and the passengers... Trade offs are a bumber. I think army green jerry cans on the roof or along the rear sub frame are in order. I'm not liking the idea of fuel above me, but I think mounting them on the roof rack would look the best?

2.5 Howe Rack standard width.

The passanger side a-arms were finished Saturday. I'm digging the bracing on the lower arms. It's a little different and one off.

Much better! Cool build, keep them coming.

Looking forward to seeing this project completed. would love to roll up to the local drive-through in a ride like this