Further supporting the theory that all the coolest stuff comes out at night, we stumbled across this awesome Beetle at a gas station nearby.
Finished in a beautiful matte black and cream, it doesn’t seem all that impressive until you start looking closer. The taillights have been frenched, the roof has been smoothed, the turn-signals relocated, the hood has been louvered… the list goes on.
Add to that the fact that the engine has been heavily massaged, and you’ve got a potent little toy. I had nothing to write on to catch all the details, and I’ll admit, I’m no expert on air-cooled Volkswagens, so I may have missed a substantial chunk of what he had to say, but I’ll try and go from memory. The engine has been punched out to between 2000 and 2200 cc’s, and uses Porsche internals. He listed his modifications, but as air-cooled VW is practically a different language, a good chunk of it was lost on me.
Here’s the important part, however. He suspects a 0-60 time of around 4.5 to 5 seconds, and a horsepower guess of around 200; and having maybe accidentally done a heads-up stoplight race with him, I don’t doubt it. This little thing doesn’t sound like a clattery air-cooled VW. It sounds like a race-prepped Subaru WRX, and it launches with an urgency I haven’t often seen.
This car was built with a technique that I personally love. Buy a car you enjoy, and do a little more to it every chance you get. He’s owned it for decades, and has gradually built it from a boring little commuter to a vicious little rat-rod.
Well done, sir; you embody the spirit of Hooniverse.