The 1st. fast bug you saw

[kingsburgphil]

It was 1962, we lived in Tustin Ca. I was 12 and very curious. The kid next door was a 17yr. old named Ricky Brown. Ricky looked like a young James Dean and was as they say a "late child". And whatever Ricky wanted, his parents got for him.
Ricky had a  a silver small window bug with a "porsh" engine, I can still remember the squat little zenith carbs. So maybe it made 70 hp,
but never the less, the silver bug was the scourge of the streets, and was rumored to be almost the fastest car around.

One day Ricky had an accident, and he was on crutches for months. We never saw the silver bug with the Porsche engine again.
But I suspect that silver small window impressed more than just the boy next door.

Tales from Orange County...when it still had Oranges.
 

[Black Sheep]

I can't quite recall the first fast bug I saw but I certainly remember the first quick bug I drove  At the time I was more than happy tooling about in my 67 with its 1641 and 1500 box , thought this was the best way to go for years  . Then my mate Martin came around with his orange 66 with its built box and 2165 motor ,

this was so alien to me I couldn't see the point in all that power in a bug when you could only go as fast on the street as the guy in front of you  how wrong I was 
Well, I got to drive this out one quiet Sunday morning , I took it fairly steady taking advice not to give it too many beans till it had warmed up and be carful when cornering .
So I was gentle with it till we got out onto the duel carriage way , well I was hooked I loved the roar from the IDA's the whine from the straight cut gears the talk from the motor when it came on cam ' not having experienced that before " wasn't too bothered about the top end I just loved the exceleration and the look of the guy behind you 
Comming home around the roundabout at the top of my road , a guy in a Golf cut in front of me 'not wanting to be stuck behind some old bug no doubt ' well I thought to myself i'll show you ! seeing that I had a good free stretch of road coming up I nosed the car out slowlyly bringing up the revs up on cam in second and unleashed hell , the car just took off , I must have took 4 or 5 cars in little more than a 100 yards 
Pulling into my drive a further mile down the road the look on the Golf drivers face was priceless .
I got indoors and apologized to my wife , looking at me quizzically I told her the 49 was going to cost us another 4 grand as I had to have a kick ass engine 

[louisb]

Honestly it would be the Quafe test black bug.

--louis

[Neil Davies]

For me, it would be my friend Jon's beige '70, a Californian import with a 2074cc motor and close ratio 'box. It ran very low 14's in full street trim, and just looked so subtle - I loved it.

[Sam K]

I don't remember the first fast bug I saw, but I remember the first one I drove. In 1995, my friend Eddie had a new engine built for his '63. It was a 1776 with a 110 cam, heavy duty valve springs and an 11lb flywheel. He had dual kadrons and a header with an open stinger.  The first time we drove it, the original transmission locked up. he put a stock '68 tranny in it and drove the hell out of it. I think it ran low 17's, but at the time, it felt like the fastest thing on wheels. Driving that bug is probably what got me interested in making my bug faster. Eddie still has the same '63 and now it has run an 11.20 on nitrous and low 12's and motor.

[vwcab]

For me,it was in the late '70's,there were(and still are)VW- trackdays at the circuit in Zolder(Belgium).
I liked it,when those guys from the" belgian vw-club verviers"with their bugs were racing against golf's......And I knew,some day I would have
a fast bug.
After 4 years driving my stock 1300 '72,I had the chance to buy an "1835" with webers and other stuff.
And oh boy,was it fast(at least for me).I raced it on the street(I know it's not allowed)and blew away a BMW 320 
Later on,I raced it on the VW-trackdays,and in one of those races,I blew my engine(big hole in the piston).I still have that engine in pieces laying around. 
One day,I'd like to have another fast bug,it's alot of fun.
(please take note,this was in '83-'84,and overhere in Belgium,there was not that much of vw-performance,and cal-look..........?

Grtz,Peter 

[Zach Gomulka]

When I went to the Classic weekend in '99. If I had to pick one that stood out, it would have to be the SSB.

Edit: Now that I think about it, it was before then. I think my dad and I went to a Phoenix Bug-O-Rama in '97, I remember seeing the yellow pro stock car that Greg Brinton drove. That was pretty mind blowing.

[Whiterag]

At Bug Jam 3, there was a red 70's era bug with gold Empi 5's (not 8's)

Believe it had a 2110 and there was a big bottle of NOS behind the rear seat

Think it ran 14's, anyone know much about this car?

[Bewitched666]

The 1st fastbug i saw was my cousins 1974 1700cc bug.
Had al the goodstuff on it and ran like the devil haha and then i got hokked.
This was in the beginning of teh 80's era

[alfie the monster]

I was about 15 and on the way to Detling show with my parents when this biege chop top FLEW past us on the dual carriage way. So I guess that would be KS in a hurry then!

[58vw]

ocir...82 83...hard to remember...vance and hines were testing there funnybike/prostock that night...anyway out comes this blue bug and just lays down a nasty burn out then lays down a high 12 sec pass....i was impressed to say the least and so was the crowd. it was gary berg come to find out later.

[TexasTom]

Didn't see it, I lived with it!
My brother bought his '69 back in '71 when he was 16 (first car!)(I was 6!).
Went from stock, to single bugspray with extractor, then 1641, then 2007cc with dual 40 DCNFs (still have the carbs!) w/ close ratio trans, to 2007 with 48IDAs on Headflow 700s and FK89. Pretty well known for being one of the fastest street Bugs around ... at least in Texas.
Knew it my whole life ... now it's in my garage and has been for nearly 16 years.
I've changed pretty much everything, but the mystique lives on.

[Jim Ratto]

1987 or 88. Friend of mine had a 90NPR x 82 stroke in a gutted '64 primered Bug. Weber 44IDFs, 041 heads, Claude's cam (equivalent to VZ25 Engle). Guy we knew from high school was showing off in his "Smokey and the Bandit" look-a-like black and gold 1978 Trans Am, my friend hammered the guy big time and the race was over by 2nd to 3rd shift. I was in passenger seat and laughed so hard I was crying.
Next fast Bug was 1990, guy I knew had a stock looking white '67, except for merged dual QP's. Car had 2276 SPG roller and Super Flow I heads, Engle 125 and 48IDFs. Holy crap. Took me for a ride and took my breath away.
My life has never been the same since.

[alfie the monster]

My life has never been the same since.

Or you bank balance 

[Jim Ratto]

My life has never been the same since.

Or you bank balance 

my what? hahahaha

[cal-look 56]

Mine was Mike Martinez choptop running around Santa Ana in probably the early 80's. Memory is a bit foggy when it comes to dates.

[benssp]

Mine was a pair! Keith in the Goss car and Ricky Riot in his black '67 having a race from the lights at the Guildford cruise

[Jim Ratto]

1987 or 88. Friend of mine had a 90NPR x 82 stroke in a gutted '64 primered Bug. Weber 44IDFs, 041 heads, Claude's cam (equivalent to VZ25 Engle). Guy we knew from high school was showing off in his "Smokey and the Bandit" look-a-like black and gold 1978 Trans Am, my friend hammered the guy big time and the race was over by 2nd to 3rd shift. I was in passenger seat and laughed so hard I was crying.
Next fast Bug was 1990, guy I knew had a stock looking white '67, except for merged dual QP's. Car had 2276 SPG roller and Super Flow I heads, Engle 125 and 48IDFs. Holy crap. Took me for a ride and took my breath away.
My life has never been the same since.

there was an earlier 'Fast Bug', actually, a late model standard Bug (1976?) that this kid in high school tweaked on, 1776cc, big heads, cam, etc. This was a good year or so before I had my '67 and my driver's license. My car was a Schwinn Sting BMX. The kid worked @ a VW shop in town and his dad was a 912 and Corvair hot rodder. If I recall, the kid took the throttle body from a 280Z Datsun and injectors from Bus or 924 and made it all work like the AFC system on steroids. I remember he had a grunty cam in it. And the car would hand most other cars their asses. Timid looking thing too, yellow, stock height and yellow 8 spokes w/ Fuldas. This was 1985 I think. Dan Jackson was the guy's name, we had drafting class @ Amador HS.

later, about 5 years later....
I'd have to say seeing Mason's car and Dave Rhoads' green car run the numbers @ Phoenix in 1990, really impressive to me then... can you say "weight transfer"?

[bilboa2]

could add a little to the question, First SEEN,first RODE in ,first DROVE..first REALLY fast bug I SAW was turbo bob mclure at a bug in, first fast bug I RODE in was fellow dkp mike oneal's black 67..slicks, dropping the clutch at 7-8 grand in front of my parents house,hooked it up and took it to about 80..engle 140,1700..wow.. DROVE.. Clyde berg orange and white car,dougs 1776 motor in it. seattle raceway,scared,dropped the clutch,all I saw was hood, (wheelie),ran it out..oops, fuel pump was off,made me do it again.. mid 12's, dam fun..

[Rick Meredith]

I had to think about this for a while... the first truly fast street VW I saw had to be Vaughn Rollings at the DKK meeting at Larry's Pizza

[DKKBRIAN]

GLENN GASKEY"S RASPBERRY GHIA... AND TIGERS BLK. 67..

[low oval]

1978, scott bruce's early 60's primer blue bug.  spun aluminum gas tank, no front brakes, no interior.  he got that thing to break 10 sec. then cut it up and made it a baja.
shortly after that would be DKK's Bob Pabst's red 68, 2010, 48's and a Dave Foltz tranny.

[ugly duckling]

i seen many at this event and was truly HOOKED at this point. listining to the loooong stinger ACVWS leaving the starting line would bring tears to my eyes and WOOD to my droors. the days when the vw engines TRULY SCREAMED BLOODY RPM !!!. UD .

[58vw]

dang jeff....ur old

[RhoadsVW]

Not sure if it was watching Mike Mahaffery racing Wednesday nights at orange County Raceway or the first Bug In I attended when Lighting Bug had just passed me at the finish line and started flipping everywhere. I had my back to it and then it went pass me.  Never the less I was hooked on high performance Volkswagens.  I already had my 61 at the time and went to the Bug In with Ron Brankov of DKP. I was already taking it to Orange County and racing the 40hp but Mike was there with Ron Fleming all the time. Loved the Wednesday nights.  Dave Rhoads

[Black Sheep]

Not sure if it was watching Mike Mahaffery racing Wednesday nights at orange County Raceway or the first Bug In I attended when Lighting Bug had just passed me at the finish line and started flipping everywhere. I had my back to it and then it went pass me.  Never the less I was hooked on high performance Volkswagens.  I already had my 61 at the time and went to the Bug In with Ron Brankov of DKP. I was already taking it to Orange County and racing the 40hp but Mike was there with Ron Fleming all the time. Loved the Wednesday nights.  Dave Rhoads

Cool Dave , must have been awesome to have been there when all that stuff was going on 

[kingsburgphil]

It was 1962, we lived in Tustin Ca. I was 12 and very curious. The kid next door was a 17yr. old named Ricky Brown. Ricky looked like a young James Dean and was as they say a "late child". And whatever Ricky wanted, his parents got for him.
Ricky had a  a silver small window bug with a "porsh" engine, I can still remember the squat little zenith carbs. So maybe it made 70 hp,
but never the less, the silver bug was the scourge of the streets, and was rumored to be almost the fastest car around.

One day Ricky had an accident, and he was on crutches for months. We never saw the silver bug with the Porsche engine again.
But I suspect that silver small window impressed more than just the boy next door.

Tales from Orange County...when it still had Oranges.
 

It was 1968, a chilly Wednesday night. My buddy and I got into OCIR on the cheap, me in the trunk of his dad's 66 bug (no spare). Weds. night was "Grudge Night", nothing formal just "run what ya brung". The competition was the usual bracket/street racers, Chevy's,Fords,Chrysler products, until we heard that sound!!.
Our interests instantly piqued...a VW'?  What the?   Doing burnouts!!  matched against a serious 55 Chevy! 
The VW with the dinosaur on the door "left on the Chevy, and hid from it". The next two car's up, a mustard colored Fiat vs a small block Vette, that feeling of exhilaration and disappointment has never left me.
Rooting for the little Fiat and the Vette at the same time, I succumbed to the little screamer, as did the Corvette.
I don't regret my choice....because it's been in my blood for as long as I can remember.

More "Tales from Orange County" 

[Jim Ratto]

It was 1962, we lived in Tustin Ca. I was 12 and very curious. The kid next door was a 17yr. old named Ricky Brown. Ricky looked like a young James Dean and was as they say a "late child". And whatever Ricky wanted, his parents got for him.
Ricky had a  a silver small window bug with a "porsh" engine, I can still remember the squat little zenith carbs. So maybe it made 70 hp,
but never the less, the silver bug was the scourge of the streets, and was rumored to be almost the fastest car around.

One day Ricky had an accident, and he was on crutches for months. We never saw the silver bug with the Porsche engine again.
But I suspect that silver small window impressed more than just the boy next door.

Tales from Orange County...when it still had Oranges.
 

me in the trunk of his dad's 66 bug (no spare).

I remember Wed nights @ Fremont (Baylands), few months before I got my license. That and a few of the VW-only events @ Baylands in the mid 1980's. Blew my mind seeing a VW get up on rear wheels. Pro turbo cars were so fast they looked like cartoons to me.