RONALD MCEACHERN, aka hotrodz
"Bug Off" evolved from a great idea that Mike Ogle (MRO) had started on QSL...budget or economy builds. I had a 1/4 scale Yankee VW Beetle body tucked away for years and after seeing MRO's eco-build, I decided to do something with the Beetle body. I was going to make a full fendered drag Bug but after looking at the body for some time, it suddenly struck me...if I cut the fenders off the Beetle body...it would somewhat resemble a '48 Fiat Altered!
Ron’s first chassis was 1/4" thick fiberglass plate and he made the chassis in the fashion of the 1/10 pan style drag cars. Ron had some spare CEC rear axle bearing carriers and also the front beam and clamps that he modified to get the correct ride height. After Ron got the ride height and wheelbase correct he mounted the body and that's when it struck him again...this thing would look cool with a blower sticking out of the hood! Ron dug to the back of his sock drawer and pulled out the New Era 426 Hemi he had tucked away. Ron set the Hemi and the G2D on the chassis and measured...this is doable! This is where the project became a non-econo build. Since Ron can't polish the fiberglass chassis like aluminum one, he then traced everything onto a piece of 1/4" aluminum and cut it out and gave it a high luster polishing. The plastic wheels and used engine looked out of place, so Ron ordered a shiny new 29cc Billet Head engine. Ron then called John Foster at Quarter Mortar and ordered a set of wheels, wheelie bar and parachute. Ron polished the wheels to match the rest of the build:) .
Now Ron is beyond the point of no return...he needed some custom parts made to achieve the "look".
Ron called his buddy Alan Lovin (ezlovin) and told him what he needed. He whittled the Moon tank, jackshaft carriers, idler pulley, rear body mounts, clamp-on throttle/brake servo mount and lightened and race prepped the rear pulley for Ron. The awesome paint was done by Eric at Evenflow Graphics.
Ron’s first chassis was 1/4" thick fiberglass plate and he made the chassis in the fashion of the 1/10 pan style drag cars. Ron had some spare CEC rear axle bearing carriers and also the front beam and clamps that he modified to get the correct ride height. After Ron got the ride height and wheelbase correct he mounted the body and that's when it struck him again...this thing would look cool with a blower sticking out of the hood! Ron dug to the back of his sock drawer and pulled out the New Era 426 Hemi he had tucked away. Ron set the Hemi and the G2D on the chassis and measured...this is doable! This is where the project became a non-econo build. Since Ron can't polish the fiberglass chassis like aluminum one, he then traced everything onto a piece of 1/4" aluminum and cut it out and gave it a high luster polishing. The plastic wheels and used engine looked out of place, so Ron ordered a shiny new 29cc Billet Head engine. Ron then called John Foster at Quarter Mortar and ordered a set of wheels, wheelie bar and parachute. Ron polished the wheels to match the rest of the build:) .
Now Ron is beyond the point of no return...he needed some custom parts made to achieve the "look".
Ron called his buddy Alan Lovin (ezlovin) and told him what he needed. He whittled the Moon tank, jackshaft carriers, idler pulley, rear body mounts, clamp-on throttle/brake servo mount and lightened and race prepped the rear pulley for Ron. The awesome paint was done by Eric at Evenflow Graphics.
