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Subject:Re: Amphibious vehicle
From:Marshall Ruskin
Date:Fri, 3 Dec 1999 19:49:21 -0600

Me too!

Marshall Ruskin

>Okay...now you have me spinning...do you have access to a scanner. I want
to make one.
>
>G. Matthew Bulley
>Bulley-Hewlett
>Corporate Communications Counselors
>www.bulley-hewlett.com
>Cary, NC USA
>888.468.4880 tollfree
>
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>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:   Todd Francis [SMTP:tbf@PACIFIER.COM]
>Sent:   Friday, December 03, 1999 4:09 PM
>To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject:        Re: Amphibious vehicle
>
>>>Crazy!
>>>
>>>Did the article go into any depth (pun) about how they kept the
alternator
>>>& cooling tin from soaking/sucking water? I can see it would be easy to
>>>protect the carburetor intake, and the exhaust with a snorkels like the
>old
>>>military jeeps had, but I can't figure how they would do the cooling fan
>>>stuff.
>>>
>
>>>I have a Hot VW mag form 1975 that shows a bunch of guys that cut the top
>>>off of bugs and welded cv joints to the lower engine pulley and hooked up
>a
>>>prop to that. They had races with these things. The water line on these
>>>cars
>>>was at about the door handle.   Todd
>>
>  I dug the article out and it is in the October 1974 issue of Hot VWs.
>There was a association that even gave out fliers on how to build these
>things. They cut  the tops off, filled everyting like the heater channels
>and tunnel with urethane foam (watching out for the cables and shifter
>operation) welded the doors shut and attached the prop (10") like I
>described earlier.  the magazine said that the engine can be run wet or
dry.
>Dry means to build a waterproof enclosure around the engine.  It says that
>if it is run wet that all of the sheet metal should be removed and the
>engine should be sealed up a remote breather. I would guess that you would
>have to seal the crank (pulley end) also. I was wrong about the waterline.
>There are a couple of pictures and the waterline is about at the bottom of
>the headlights!!  They really float pretty high and level. You can also see
>all of the tail light.  Oh , I see the text says "The Waterbug using stock
>VW wheels and tires, is supposed to float in a slightly nose high attitude
>with the waterline at the lower end to the hood in front, and up to the
lock
>handle in the rear." Can you picture crusing across a lake in one of these
>things?  The address given is in Akron Ohio.       Todd Francis
>