Background Project - VeeDub ReDub Platform

[ah.b.normal]

This pan could be cool with a 410/412 Wagon/Square Back, or a Karmann Ghia body! You could be the next Maxwell Smart/Agent 86! (I'm pretty sure they were all on the bug pan.) Or maybe a Manx buggy body? No more swing axles! Could be nice!?

 

[Sebnuts]

I saw on the DMW blog that you guys measured up the suspension on a stock Lotus Elise. Any chance you would share the data? Would be a great resource for comparing/improving the Goblin suspension as well.

 

[Gtstorey]

"It's exciting to see a new kit car in the making...but many of us are struggling to build our Goblins and without the "trial and error" exposed on the forum, most some of us wouldn't make it."

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

"It's exciting to see a new kit car in the making...but many some of us are struggling to build our Goblins and without the "trial and error" exposed on the forum - by those with the knowledge and skills to work through the minor difficulties to come up with solutions and provide this information with the rest of the forum - most some a very few of us wouldn't make it."

 

[Ross]

What trial and error process are you guys talking about?
I mean a lot of us are engineering modifications from the base kit, so that trial and error is our own choice.
A lot of it is electrical wiring harness work, but DF offers a solution if you want it.
If you are wlling to learn electrical, then you can do your own wiring harness.
There are 4 different Cobalt models, each with different options, so making it Lego simple might not be realistic.

 

[Dsteinhorst]

I'll be the one to say it, but I'll do it both ways for fairness.

If building a Gobiln is difficult and you find yourself asking tons of questions on the forum, you're a novice at best.

With that said, DF advertises it as an 'anyone can build' kit. That's not true, you need to be a novice at the very least.

There are a few builders that end up in that gray area between novice and "person who shouldn't be trusted to build their own car." We will help you as much as we can, but we may also chide you and hope we aren't on the same stretch of road at the same time.

DF makes a great product. Sometimes, though, more work is required than advertised.

 

[comegetjoe]

I think "lego perfect" is what hes looking for.

 

[Scott #321]

Hesitant to get in on this thread due to not wanting to offend anyone but..... I build my Goblin from a 09 TC with zero issues that were not caused by me. Taking into account that I have 25 years experience as a professional mechanic, I found the wiring tutorial to be very well done if you follow it closely when doing the harness. Multiple year and options donors make this impossible to accomplish in a single training video that is all encompassing. Wiring issues seem to be where most builders have problems either in the initial wiring modification or in connection issues after the fact. This is a direct carryover to working on vehicles. Automotive wire connections are not of the highest quality and are basically designed to be assembled at the factory and remain that way for the life of the vehicle. I cannot count the number of times I have seen a working vehicle partially dissembled for repair to be reassembled and now have non-functional components due to poor connections and this was at a dealer level with the average age of the vehicle being less than 2-3 years old. The only "design" issue I see in the vehicle would be maybe the bump steer issue but this again is highly exacerbated by builders using non stock size wheels and tires which throws the steering geometry off. I have desired to build a kit car for most of my life and viewed this as the most entry level kit car available and through the build process found this to as easy as I can imagine it being. Keep in mind that most kit cars sold never get completed due to the difficulty in completion. The success of DF IMHO is due to the forum environment with builders helping builders as having a help desk to assist with all the questions would quickly add significant cost to the end product. The custom car market is ripe with poorly executed engine swaps and modifications making them unreliable and in some cases unsafe and that is without going to the levels of building a vehicle. again my intent is not to offend anyone but to just put out my opinion that the Goblin kit is as entry level as it gets in the kit car market.

 

[escapepilot]

I have zero professional mechanic experience and/or training and agree 100% with Scott. The difficulty of the kit is inversely proportional to the knowledge/skill of the builder. It is a very good kit for a beginner, but if you don't possess at least a knowledge of terminology and basic skills, I can see it getting extremely difficult. As a rookie builder, the forum was my go to if I had a question and they always helped.

 

[Sluggonaut]

I think the difficulty and cost increase proportionally to the number of customizations and add-ons tacked on during the build process. Anything not included in the kit has the potential to cause fitment issues and cost increases.

I also have a short list of maintenance items to do this winter because I didn't want to add any variables to my first-start troubleshooting. Fortunately, I didn't have any issues getting to first-start and shakedown drives. However, I now get to rip everything back apart to do stuff like the timing chain, water pump, etc.

 

[ccgillett]

Couple thoughts:

First off, Goblin build issues. I'm a novice without formal training, who came to a love of cars in my 30s instead of my teens. I've had several build issues and they are 100% self-inflicted. Do I wish there were more videos out there about the process....yeah. But in all honesty this forum is the best place to get questions answered. Had DMs with several people here who are smarter than me, asked a bunch of questions in my build thread and got good answers often in minutes. The Community here is friendly, helpful, and gives back the same respect you give them.

The main things needed to build a Goblin as a novice are: patience, tenacity, patience, and a willingness to read and learn.

Second, the Veedub Redub platform looks awesome. I've been wondering about building a Porsche Speedster replica as a street legal daily driver as "my next project" after the Goblin, but I was put off by all the restoration work required to get a 60s VW chassis in shape. If I understand the project accurately, one could purchase a new chassis from these guys and march forward with a Speedster build - perhaps with engine bay mods to accommodate the smaller VW engine. If that's true I'm pretty stoked....

 

[Corey]

So buy a kit from DF, buy a GTI, buy an old VW, strip down 2 donors then bolt it all together?

 

[Brett]

So buy a kit from DF, buy a GTI, buy an old VW, strip down 2 donors then bolt it all together?

They are still in prototype phase so I probably wouldn't run out and start collecting parts now but that is the general idea.

 

[Corey]

They are still in prototype phase so I probably wouldn't run out and start collecting parts now but that is the general idea.

I like the GTI possibilities, price looks OK. But "no bettle within 100 miles for sale".

 

[Ark :D]

So buy a kit from DF, buy a GTI, buy an old VW, strip down 2 donors then bolt it all together?

I don't think this quite fits into the definition of "kit", at least not like the Goblin does. It appears they will be offering fully-assembled rollers. I understand there's still work to do (electrical, body, etc) but it's not as much as assembling a Goblin from scratch.

GTI donors seem a little more expensive than Cobalts, likely because they're newer. I think I'm going to wait to see what Goblin 2.0 has to offer.

 

[95Blitz]

I like the veedub idea, but i'm not a VW fan.

Ark what's the word on G2.0, I don't know anything about a 2.0

 

[Ark :D]

I like the veedub idea, but i'm not a VW fan.

Ark what's the word on G2.0, I don't know anything about a 2.0

I don't know, only DF and the inner circle know anything about it.

 

[Brett]

Never thought I would ever be apart of any "inner circles" in any part of my life. Oh well, here goes.

This VeeDub platform is just that, a platform or "roller skate", that could be used for multiple projects / builds. The platform is not married to nor does it necessarily 100% require the Beetle body. It could use other bodies or tube frame chassis to get the look / features that a builder or another manufacture is going for.

To use the original Beetle as an example, many different products like dune buggies / Meyers Minx / Fake Rolls Royce's were built using the floor pan from a Beetle and then bolting on different bodies to achieve the desired look and functionality.

It is interesting that DF and Doyle Motor Works have gone through the process of adopting the suspension geometry from a Lotus that should create a highly functional platform with a mature suspension from the outset that can be utilized for multiple builds. It will be interesting to see where this ends up and what products it ends up under.

 

[Jareth]

I just hope it's actually just a background project and not affecting their ability to service existing Goblin customers.

.

 

[Ark :D]

Never thought I would ever be apart of any "inner circles" in any part of my life. Oh well, here goes.

This VeeDub platform is just that, a platform or "roller skate", that could be used for multiple projects / builds. The platform is not married to nor does it necessarily 100% require the Beetle body. It could use other bodies or tube frame chassis to get the look / features that a builder or another manufacture is going for.

To use the original Beetle as an example, many different products like dune buggies / Meyers Minx / Fake Rolls Royce's were built using the floor pan from a Beetle and then bolting on different bodies to achieve the desired look and functionality.

It is interesting that DF and Doyle Motor Works have gone through the process of adopting the suspension geometry from a Lotus that should create a highly functional platform with a mature suspension from the outset that can be utilized for multiple builds. It will be interesting to see where this ends up and what products it ends up under.

@95Blitz was inquiring about Goblin 2.0, not the VeeDub Redub platform. At least, that's my understanding of his post. Not much info out there about Goblin 2.0 except I think it's based on the same donor as this Veedub Redub is.