any old school beetle fans

[71dusterdan]

i know this isnt really pro touring, but the vw forums act like an outsider is an alien. i am looking for a new daily driver and was thinking old bug. problem is i need something to keep up with modern traffic or a little better and about 30 mpg. pipedream? i know about the heat and all that other headache, i just like stuff i can build myself and avoid payments yet maintain some semblance of cool. thanks, by the way the duster was kinda draggin for a while, but it is ramping up again, and progressing, just not fast. Dan

[novanutcase]

Go for it! I say you pick up a '68 Dub. If I remember corectly they came stock with blued shafts on the IRS Tranny so their pretty stout. I'd build either a 1776cc or an 1835cc motor with some Weber 40 IDA's and a medium hot cam. This should yield you a torquey little powerplant that you won't need to be wrenching on all the time although as far as gas mileage you probably won't get what you're looking for because it'll be hard to keep your foot out of it!
I haven't been in it for a while since I upgraded to American Iron but I heard they have some decent front suspension parts to upgrade the handling. Post up some pics of your progress!

JOhn

[Gonzostyle]

Luckily the cars do not weigh very much. A 1776 or 1835 would give you plenty of power to keep up with traffic, even a 1641 would do ok with a mild cam and a single webber.

As far as gas milage, I had a 1914 with 48 IDAs, in a 64 convertible. I filled it up, drove to the track for bug o' rama, raced for 2 days (red light in the final) and then drove home on a tank of gas. Oh and I was running 14.00 (no roll bar) in the 1/4. I think the average for the trip was about 25mpg.

[6'9"Witha69]

I have a buddy who builds 1800+ and 2100+cc motors all the time. I drove his 64 with a 1850 and all I can say is DAMN! He got over 25 mpg and this thing was scary fast. Of course I am scared driving them to begin with since I feel like a sardine, but they can be quick and efficient just as they were meant to be 50 years ago.

[showa]

If you want to do a "little" more massaging, check this site...
http://bb.bbboy.net/vwengineconversions

[71dusterdan]

thanks guys, i joined a vw forum just to try to get an answer to my pipedream. boy wanna talk about a click, 6 days into it i have one lame half baked answer about enough money will get you anything. so i go to my ford truck.com and pose the question and pose it here and i get tons of help. you guys are great, i will have to start hanging around again. as for the duster i have some pics but they arent very good, and i am to stupid to take them from the disk to the website. maybe i will get ahold of my neighbor Jim neilsen and see if we can upload them. later, Dan

[Larry Callahan]

i know this isnt really pro touring, but the vw forums act like an outsider is an alien. i am looking for a new daily driver and was thinking old bug. problem is i need something to keep up with modern traffic or a little better and about 30 mpg. pipedream? i know about the heat and all that other headache, i just like stuff i can build myself and avoid payments yet maintain some semblance of cool. thanks, by the way the duster was kinda draggin for a while, but it is ramping up again, and progressing, just not fast. Dan

Bugs are cool. I had a '73 and a '65 Bus. I'd kill to have that bus back. It was a lit of fun and I will build another one Pro-Touring style some day. Good luck on your search.

[Larry Callahan]

If you want to do a "little" more massaging, check this site...
http://bb.bbboy.net/vwengineconversions

Cool site! The reason I wanted my bus back is to do a Buick V6 swap. This will come in handy if I ever do it.

[TPI Monte SS]

Bugs are awesome and reliable little cars, outside of the heat/no heat situation which you already know. My parents daily drove them for years back in the '70s into the mid '80s. I had a paper route when I was a kid, and I would stack the papers up on the passenger seat of our '72 Super Beetle and ride on the running board while my mom would drive from house to house. Not the safest thing, but we got done quick!

[skatinjay27]

i have one in my driveway right now, that im selling for my friend it been a great money pit for him... he knows nothing (and i mean nothing) about cars so... it a 67 bright orange lowered with white int.and the engine WOW! 2180 stroker and a very very close ratio low gear tranny. that thing is fast!!! but those brakes suck. it had dual webers but they were causeing him problems so he puts some empi's on there. ill try to get some pics up...

[toxicz28]

I'm building a '54 PT (per Steve C.'s deffinition) Beetle for someone now. air ride, massive 11" disc brakes, and 17" M series wheels. They are light, (2 people to put the body on the pan), easy to work on, and parts are availible. They are cool, just not my speed.

[TonyL]

dude. www.germanlook.com

They have all you need. German look bugs are Pro-touring all the way. The super beetle accepts many 944 parts directly

[Chevrolaine]

Just primed the shell of a Super Beetle last weekend. Got us to wondering if they dip those things in paint or what! There's paint in places impossible to get to even with a touchup gun.

[TonyL]

my fave Pro-touring bug.

[G-TX]

This is the '66 Cal-Look I just sold to a Marine in Pensacola.It has a 1776 with NOS Fogger.It dynoed at 100hp no spray/140hp with the small jets.MPG was about 25 Highway.
Hot VWs mag. just built a 34 mpg engine for a series of articles this year.

[71dusterdan]

thanks guys, gtx i just saw the last article so i went to the mags website trying to find the tech in an archive. well all i can say is good luck, has to be the singlemost unuserfriendly website i have ever seen. sweet car, mind if i ask what you got for it? Tony l, new i could count on you, thanks, those german looks are sweet, that or a call look is exactly what i have in mind. thanks Dan

[G-TX]

http://www.shoptalkforums.com
This is the forums I use most.The Type IV area is for what we call "Big Blocks" in the VW world.Not lo-buck though...It's more about the lifestyle than being cheap...it cost me as much to build a hot Type I engine as a Small Block Chebby.Definitely more of a challenge to find parts too.
Old VWs get lots of attention though...everyone has a VW story to tell The Street Rodder,Musclecar,and Import guys will all relate.

[HsvToolFool]

I wonder how a "squashed bug" handles...

[THX 138]

wrx sti + vw bug = SICK

[Rick Dorion]

I love them. Bought a new 73 Super Beetle and put sway bars, Hurst shifter, big Rochester 1 barrel, etc. Ahead of my time