Discussion
So, I have been a hotrodder for more years than I care to remember. But I have always had a special place in my heart for my very first car, this 69 Beetle I bought back in 81. The only time I drove it as a standard car was the day I bought it home.
At the time I had no idea how to work on cars, so this car was my classroom. Starting with a £20 Halfords tool kit and some body parts from Chris Boyle I took four years to eventually end up with this:
And in this guise I drove it around for 10 years visiting show all over Europe and having a lot of fun.
Then in 1993 I took it off the road as it was looking a little tired with the aim of doing a quick three month refresh. And there it sat for the next 27 years in the back of my garage.
Fast forward and Covid kicks in, I am stuck at home looking for something to do and I think, why not get the Beetle back on the road. It should only take a few months. So the teardown began and it became clear very quickly that that 27 years had taken a massive toll. The car was scrape from the waste down with only the paint holding together.
So started what became a four year rebuild. The list of mods goes on forever. This time around I now know a lot more so the quality of the work is exponentially better than when I built it first time.
So far this year its won a number of awards and has been featured on the front page of Volks World magazine. I drive as often as possibe and hard. The 2110cc custom motor has a lot of punch which makes it very entertaining to drive.
I know hotrods are very marmite, but I built this just to please me and I love it
At the time I had no idea how to work on cars, so this car was my classroom. Starting with a £20 Halfords tool kit and some body parts from Chris Boyle I took four years to eventually end up with this:
And in this guise I drove it around for 10 years visiting show all over Europe and having a lot of fun.
Then in 1993 I took it off the road as it was looking a little tired with the aim of doing a quick three month refresh. And there it sat for the next 27 years in the back of my garage.
Fast forward and Covid kicks in, I am stuck at home looking for something to do and I think, why not get the Beetle back on the road. It should only take a few months. So the teardown began and it became clear very quickly that that 27 years had taken a massive toll. The car was scrape from the waste down with only the paint holding together.
So started what became a four year rebuild. The list of mods goes on forever. This time around I now know a lot more so the quality of the work is exponentially better than when I built it first time.
So far this year its won a number of awards and has been featured on the front page of Volks World magazine. I drive as often as possibe and hard. The 2110cc custom motor has a lot of punch which makes it very entertaining to drive.
I know hotrods are very marmite, but I built this just to please me and I love it
Edited by Streetrod on Wednesday 18th June 00:23
For anyone interested in the build, here are the specs:
Suspension:
Two-inch narrowed beam with custom made 3 inch raised spindles and disk brakes. Rear suspension early narrowed axels with thicker anti roll bar and drum brakes. Custom built Billet Ali adjustable shocks
Wheels & Tyres:
• Front 4x15 Rocket Launcher wheels with Micheline 145 tyres
• Rear 10x15 Rocket Strike with Hossier Pro-street 29x12.5 tyres
Body:
• Roof chopped 4 inches, windscreen chopped 6 inches, rear window chopped 1 inch
• B pillars sloped forward with rounded corners
• Bonnet lengthened 1 inch
• Engine cover reshaped with owner made custom hinges
• One-piece side glass
• Shaved door handles, now opened with push button operated solenoids
• Steel front wings widened 2 inches
• Custom made Steel rear wings widened 5 inches
• Removeable rear valence
• Frenched ariel
• Frenched front LED indicators
• 37 Ford Rear LED rear lights
• 57 Chevy rear view mirrors
• Custom Handmade wheelie bars using my old roller skate wheels and parachute mount
• Custom and shaved dash
• Custom Overhead console with relocated controls
• Louvered Bonnet
• Custom panelling in trunk
• Paint, HOK metal flake blue over black
• Custom painted fuel tank by owner
• Lettering by Neil Meillard
• Fully detailed and painted Chassis
• Extensive body restoration and rust replacement
• All body work by owner
Interior:
• Interior by Chris Vining at Custom Coach Trimming
• Seats modern Fiat 500 with the headrests removed and owner made custom mounts
• Vintage speed shifter
• Custom seat side panels by owner
• Custom door and rear panels
• Custom window winders by owner
• Solenoid activated door opening
• Custom headliner
• All covered in Pearl Oyster White vinyl with blue piping.
• Blue carpets and seat belts
• Hidden Stereo
• Rear seat has been removed and custom parcel shelf installed
• Blue metal flake steering wheel
• Custom swing down phone carrier
• Owner made overhead console with 60’s vintage Ferrari instruments.
• Owner made custom dash with 60’s vintage Ferrari Tach and Speedo
• Custom made and painted front firewall by owner.
• Custom wiring loom by owner based on an American Autowire kit
Engine:
• Engine built by Jay Turnock at BJ’s Speedshop
• 2110cc Type 1 engine
• Autolinea super case 90.5mm
• AA 82mm 4340 forged counterweighted crank
• 89Dowel forged chromoly lightweight flywheel
• Wecam 86a camshaft
• CB straight cut gears
• AA performance 5.4 H beam conrods
• AA 90.5 slipper skirt pistons
• AA 502-cylinder heads
• Duel valve springs
• 1.4.1 forged ration rockers
• CSP python exhaust which has been ceramic coated
• Twin Weber 44 IDF’s
• Large external oil cooler and electric fan
• Electric fuel pump
• Custom geared Gearbox by Pete at Cogbox
Suspension:
Two-inch narrowed beam with custom made 3 inch raised spindles and disk brakes. Rear suspension early narrowed axels with thicker anti roll bar and drum brakes. Custom built Billet Ali adjustable shocks
Wheels & Tyres:
• Front 4x15 Rocket Launcher wheels with Micheline 145 tyres
• Rear 10x15 Rocket Strike with Hossier Pro-street 29x12.5 tyres
Body:
• Roof chopped 4 inches, windscreen chopped 6 inches, rear window chopped 1 inch
• B pillars sloped forward with rounded corners
• Bonnet lengthened 1 inch
• Engine cover reshaped with owner made custom hinges
• One-piece side glass
• Shaved door handles, now opened with push button operated solenoids
• Steel front wings widened 2 inches
• Custom made Steel rear wings widened 5 inches
• Removeable rear valence
• Frenched ariel
• Frenched front LED indicators
• 37 Ford Rear LED rear lights
• 57 Chevy rear view mirrors
• Custom Handmade wheelie bars using my old roller skate wheels and parachute mount
• Custom and shaved dash
• Custom Overhead console with relocated controls
• Louvered Bonnet
• Custom panelling in trunk
• Paint, HOK metal flake blue over black
• Custom painted fuel tank by owner
• Lettering by Neil Meillard
• Fully detailed and painted Chassis
• Extensive body restoration and rust replacement
• All body work by owner
Interior:
• Interior by Chris Vining at Custom Coach Trimming
• Seats modern Fiat 500 with the headrests removed and owner made custom mounts
• Vintage speed shifter
• Custom seat side panels by owner
• Custom door and rear panels
• Custom window winders by owner
• Solenoid activated door opening
• Custom headliner
• All covered in Pearl Oyster White vinyl with blue piping.
• Blue carpets and seat belts
• Hidden Stereo
• Rear seat has been removed and custom parcel shelf installed
• Blue metal flake steering wheel
• Custom swing down phone carrier
• Owner made overhead console with 60’s vintage Ferrari instruments.
• Owner made custom dash with 60’s vintage Ferrari Tach and Speedo
• Custom made and painted front firewall by owner.
• Custom wiring loom by owner based on an American Autowire kit
Engine:
• Engine built by Jay Turnock at BJ’s Speedshop
• 2110cc Type 1 engine
• Autolinea super case 90.5mm
• AA 82mm 4340 forged counterweighted crank
• 89Dowel forged chromoly lightweight flywheel
• Wecam 86a camshaft
• CB straight cut gears
• AA performance 5.4 H beam conrods
• AA 90.5 slipper skirt pistons
• AA 502-cylinder heads
• Duel valve springs
• 1.4.1 forged ration rockers
• CSP python exhaust which has been ceramic coated
• Twin Weber 44 IDF’s
• Large external oil cooler and electric fan
• Electric fuel pump
• Custom geared Gearbox by Pete at Cogbox
Hidden away, buried somewhere (hopefully in my mum's loft!) I have a photo of your first Beetle. Maybe from the Victory Wheelers show at Hayling?
Dad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Dad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Fast Bug said:
Hidden away, buried somewhere (hopefully in my mum's loft!) I have a photo of your first Beetle. Maybe from the Victory Wheelers show at Hayling?
Dad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Yeah! I was a regular at the Victory Wheelers show, loved those weekendsDad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Streetrod said:
Fast Bug said:
Hidden away, buried somewhere (hopefully in my mum's loft!) I have a photo of your first Beetle. Maybe from the Victory Wheelers show at Hayling?
Dad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Yeah! I was a regular at the Victory Wheelers show, loved those weekendsDad used to take me every year when I was a kid and the timeline fits in. Going to have to have a look in the loft next time I round my mum's place!
Loved the chaos outside the Barley Mow pub over the show weekend!
Alex_225 said:
That is awesome! I've always loved the idea of a hot rod but I have no idea where to start with them.
Something about metal flake paint brings out my inner 7 year old playing with Matchbox cars and stuff in the late 80s.
Metal Flake may not be as popular as it was back in the day but some of these old school type paint jobs like mine are making a bit of a comeback.Something about metal flake paint brings out my inner 7 year old playing with Matchbox cars and stuff in the late 80s.
I have been developing my custom paint skills on various skate boards and crash helmets over the last couple of years and I am now bing asked to paint commissions which is a nice side hustle, here are a couple of examples
https://www.facebook.com/Streetrod454/posts/pfbid0...
Streetrod said:
Alex_225 said:
That is awesome! I've always loved the idea of a hot rod but I have no idea where to start with them.
Something about metal flake paint brings out my inner 7 year old playing with Matchbox cars and stuff in the late 80s.
Metal Flake may not be as popular as it was back in the day but some of these old school type paint jobs like mine are making a bit of a comeback.Something about metal flake paint brings out my inner 7 year old playing with Matchbox cars and stuff in the late 80s.
I have been developing my custom paint skills on various skate boards and crash helmets over the last couple of years and I am now bing asked to paint commissions which is a nice side hustle, here are a couple of examples
https://www.facebook.com/Streetrod454/posts/pfbid0...
I wouldn't want to ruin it by using it!!!!
Streetrod said:
Metal Flake may not be as popular as it was back in the day but some of these old school type paint jobs like mine are making a bit of a comeback.
I have been developing my custom paint skills on various skate boards and crash helmets over the last couple of years and I am now bing asked to paint commissions which is a nice side hustle, here are a couple of examples
https://www.facebook.com/Streetrod454/posts/pfbid0...
I think with the right application it can look amazing. I mean, I recall in my youth metal flake and airbrushing making an appearance on hatchbacks in the Max Power days. But on the right car it can look amazing. To me it reminds me of 70s beach buggies and hot rod type cars etc. I have been developing my custom paint skills on various skate boards and crash helmets over the last couple of years and I am now bing asked to paint commissions which is a nice side hustle, here are a couple of examples
https://www.facebook.com/Streetrod454/posts/pfbid0...
That's a real skill you have there! Those are very impressive.
k all about beetles or hot rods, but that paint job is stunning. I love that you did the steering wheel and dash in the same paint too.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff