keeping a VW a VW at heart

[Jim Ratto]

sort of related to my post about "what if you were limited to VW parts only to build hot rod motor..."

If you had a clean slate to build yourself a clean and fast hot rod VW, how much of the VW character would you keep and how much would you discard, in favor of "something better?" I'm not only talking about the appearance of the car (i.e. removing bumpers, chrome, etc versus leaving the bodywork as VW created it), but also, mechanically, how far from the original design would you stray? How much of the "VW-feel" would you want to get rid of in order to buld your world beating Cal Look thing?

Personally, I like leaving as much of the VW soul intact as possible. If I were to re-do another street hot rod, I'd go find me a nice, sweetheart of a 1971 standard Bug and go easy on the "mods." Externally, wheels and fresh paint would be about it..... a nice set of 911 cookie cutters, and maybe Guards Red paint. Underpinnings I'd again leave it as Wolfsburg made it... aside from firmer shocks and anti-sway bar(s). Motor would be a proven 2276 thing with VW casting heads, VW case, etc.... dressed as it came from factory, stock satin black shrouds. You'd be hard pressed to find any polished stuff. No super raised roof shiny engine case or fancy Kustom Kooling 911 fans, etc...   you think the stern German, Teutonic way of doing things would lead to stuff that looks like it came out of a Summit Racing book?
If you've ever driven a nice, tight, like-new stock VW, you'll know the feeling I am talking about. I've driven a few nice solid stock VW's in the last 20+ years (none of them mine  ), and aside from Dave Galassi's white '62 (the Pepco car), I would think "all this needs is about twice the horsepower..."  (Dave's car runs just right with that angry little blown single port!!!).

I think some of the "Kustom Kal Look" stuff has kind of edged the VW-soul out of the poor cars. Anodized trinkets, added weight, accessory overload, Dragstar wheels,  fuel cells, snakes of braided hose... to me it all says "V8 hot rod" not "viscious VW" ....like I said.... Summit catalog look.

I think a car that pretty well captures keeping it a VW @ heart is Casey's beryl green machine... simple, clean and all business. No need to advertise with flash when the car is done "just right."

[nicolas]

well it is hard to pinpoint one car down like the ultimate one, because it will depend on the car. it varies from a early callook (holmes/aronson style) to a wilder 80's callook (think don bedford's 67), the latter having undergone a lot of mods allready.

so today it would be a early model (i really dig a 66) it is the same age as my fastback or a little earlier car up to 62 or so. colour can be changed as it will be dechromed and repainted. not sure what the colour would be, but i like some early 70's porsche greens (viper green, condagreen being my favorite at the moment) interiour could be black, or a very nice orange nougahyde (spelling???) with terracotta or darkgreen vinyl combination. in my mind it looks good, but i am colourblind for green, red, brown and all shades in between...
so that can 'scream' a little if you look at it, but not too much, everything must be done nicely and not deviate too much from the original styling of the VW, maybe fat biscuits can work. but sidepannels and dash will be kept pretty close to stock. the clocks and instruments will be switched to late models or VDO instruments. but i was really impressed with the comfort and seating of Fabs' fibreglassbuckets. they were really nice and i could sit in those for hours on end. Simca seats are an option as well (even with headrests)

as for the engine i would opt for a 69x88 engine or 74x88. original heads, ported polished, 40x35 valves, maybe welding by Roger Crawford or Jeff Denham. CR would be around 9, still drivable on pumpgas. my choice of cam would be something with lots of torque and a spread out powerband that tops at 6000 or 7000 rpms, i am thinking FK8, FK7,... cooling and detailing will be kept like the original, but with either 48IDA's or 40 dellorto's. shooting for a 120 or 130HP with a gearbox that looks like a 4.37 RP gearbox with stock gears and a little beefed up to take a little beating once in a while. but all in original vw parts like a stock case and gearbox. dual quietpack or that nice exhaust mark has, but painted black. heaters can be used if performance doesn't suffer, or cooling is not affected.

as far as the undercarriage goes, i would change the shocks for something stiffer and sway a ways. the mandatory lowering of the front is taken care off by welded adjusters. stock drums front and type3 rears, if you want more GO! you need better brakes as well.

wheels of choice would be BRM's (FF is OK) or alloys but all in 5.5 or 6 (no 4.5's for me) with 155 front and 185/70 vredestein tires maybe firestone streetlegal slicks, because they look so cool, but i am not sure about there daily use.

because it must be able to be used as a daily driver or at least as a second car in the family.

Anyway that would be my car today, but it is wishfull thinking to say the least 
cool tread non the less

[Rennsurfer]

Motor would be a proven 2276 thing with VW casting heads, VW case, etc.... dressed as it came from factory, stock satin black shrouds. You'd be hard pressed to find any polished stuff. No super raised roof shiny engine case or fancy Kustom Kooling 911 fans, etc...   you think the stern German, Teutonic way of doing things would lead to stuff that looks like it came out of a Summit Racing book?
If you've ever driven a nice, tight, like-new stock VW, you'll know the feeling I am talking about.

Ah, but yes. You've just described the looks of my 1915cc that I'll be building, later. I've been wanting to create a Beetle very close to what you've posted. By the time I was selling my '66 in '85, I started feeling the same way... wanted to build a car with more Volkswagen to it and less aftermarket stuff. Of course, me working at several VW dealers and one Porsche dealer kinda helped cement my decision regarding this.

Here's my little, but fun to drive, single port engine. You can't see 'em, but the manifolds are painted semi-gloss gray. As you can see... we share the same interest, yes?

Thankfully, not everyone feels this way.

By the way, much thanks to Mr. Rayburn for dialing in my carbs for me. A gentleman and true VW master.

[Jim Ratto]

Perfect presentation. Looks like VW made it. Keep up the good work, Mark.

[louisb]

To me, as long as you keep the VW flat four rear engine configuration the rest is fair game. Probably a left over from my rodding roots where the idea was to have a vintage look with modern drive train & suspension. Though I think any change should be an improvement over stock. While its not in the vision for my current build, I would love to build a fuel injected, turbo charged, 3 liter bug with a six speed and more modern suspension. Maybe a super drop top or a Notch.

--louis

[Casey]

I could go for hours on this thread! Great one. It doesn’t however make me thing of building another car, it makes me think back in time. "How it almost would have been" back in the day when I didn't know what I know now. In 1997 while working at the Der Transaxle shop my daily driver was this same 62' beryl green but with centerlines and full bumpers. I loved that car. I was building a 60' bug on the side though too. It was my haul ass thing in the making. BUT, never finished it. Life and school put brakes on that deal. I am soooooo glad though. The thing would have been Porsche raspberry, smoothed dash, flared fenders, 7" Bogart drag wheels and a shit pot of chrome. I remember Jim telling me......"don't do it man", "you don't have the respect yet or the know how to pull it off correctly". "The car will be too goody." Man I'm glad it never was finished. Sold everything at Pomona, even the 2ga of the beautiful raspberry paint. Bought Shawn Geers' town vehicle with the $.
I am of a younger generation so I did have a little trouble seeing the "VW at heart" in my teens. I always dragged my parents over to the DKP and other big motored cars at the Classic and Jamboree though. All I knew was the bad ass cars with the whining gears were the haul ass guys.
Over many years of learning, watching as all these "kal look kustoms" come and go, spending time with Jim Kaforski, doing my own research I could finally take all this and I could see the car I wanted to build in my head. That Jim(Ratto), was my clean slate buddy. All other cars I do after the 62' are just cars I want to build for fun and probably sell and hopefully see driving around town locally.
Jim Ratto, that my friend, was very cool of you to mention my car as one of your "liking" If you were standing next to me I would toss the keys to ya! See you soon. Casey.

[Jim Ratto]

RIGHT ON Casey!
Your car is, in my opinion, "the way they should be."
Jim Kaforski's car is an example I used to (and still do) refer to as a true-blue bad ass street VOLKSWAGEN, done the right way.... I remember back in 1997 when I first saw car, I thought to myself "perfect blend of extremely outrageous HP and VW charm"
And to roll back even further, I was blown away in 1991 by another "Jim's" car.... Kurlinski's green '67. His car....wow, if you couldn't see under the decklid (and ignored the huge header and muffler jutting out from apron), you'd think "this is a nice clean old lady's '67"
to each his own, but VW's have a niche in the gearheads' world that is so different from all others. They're not like Detroit Iron, they're not like lakesters, they're not boulevard cafe-racers, they're not fussy Porsche-esque museum pieces, they're not sports cars, hot rods....they're VW's. To me there is a certain charm in the contours of a "stock" VW part, no matter if it is a trailing arm, a cylinder cover shroud or the handbrake handle. In my opinion, these shapes and finishes are very unique and only one other car really meshes well with the vibe of the Volkswagen (The Porsche). Hanging Holley double pumper carbs over the left rear fender feeding some big turbo, knotted around a bunch of shiny tin (if there is any), and B.G. pressure regulators and Weld wheels and raised this and narrowed that.... somwhere in all that effort, the VW charm is lost. Call me a narrow-minded purist (it's ok, I know  ), but to me, the real deal is a VW that is still a VW.
Casey, see you in August, I'll show you how to drive that car....  just gimme the keys. 

[Rennsurfer]

Perfect presentation. Looks like VW made it. Keep up the good work, Mark.

Thanks, Jim. The only difference when I build my big engine, cosmetic-wise, will be a black equalizer crankshaft pulley, dual port heads, and bigger two barrel Webers. Other than those, it's gonna look just like you said... like Volkswagewerk AG built the engine.

[javabug]

So many ideas...so hard to type.   

I think the beauty of the aircooled VW is you have to go pretty far to lose the "Volkswagen" personality.  Conversely, when carrying out "modifications" or "improvements" to any car, an excellent rule of thumb is to consider how the factory might have done it, OR how can I make this unnoticeable to all but those who "get it."

Those are my two points.  Typing my thoughts isn't easy for me, so feel free to run with them.

[j-f]

In fact, that's a difficult question. 

I love a resto VW as well as a pure cal look or even certain german look. What I  found important is sobriety, cleanliness, finishes.
Even, I think in all project, from the Restoration to the wild cal look, sobriety is the most important of all.
For me, when VW built the Bug, the major points were sobriety and efficiently. That's the way I try to follow.

 

[John Rayburn]

I know alot of people that are sobriety challenged.

[Rennsurfer]

I know alot of people that are sobriety challenged.

Unicorns!

[stealth67vw]

I know alot of people that are sobriety challenged.

You don't know me, really

[Rick Meredith]

I know alot of people that are sobriety challenged.

I said no to alcohol but it wouldn't listen!

[John Rayburn]

It couldn't hear you over the blender in your trunk.

[John Rayburn]

I know alot of people that are sobriety challenged.

Unicorns!

                                     It's true I tell you!

[Rick Meredith]

It couldn't hear you over the blender in your trunk.

Meeebe!! 

[John Rayburn]

HUH!!!!!!!? Where's Garrett Morris when you need him?

[Rennsurfer]

It couldn't hear you over the blender in your trunk.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

[axam48ida]

Whether it's a full customizing from wild paint to aftermarket chevy wheels to a stock color paint job and some era wheels it's up to the individuals taste.

I personnally think the cars look the best with a stock paint job, along with the some stainless trim, and not slammed to ground but a little drop in the front and rear. stock interior, just like it was meant to be. now a set of konis, sway bar and a big motor, disc brakes (but if the car is wide five must use approiate kits) unless it's a porsche wheel. I can't stand any of the aftermarket wheels made today
a clean engine compartment.....no aftermarket chrome crap! heater boxes hooked up and working.
a car that you can feel comfortable driving anywhere and have fun
I was this way before it was called old school.....My current oval still looks like my first one...back in 1979!