i recently (less than two years ago) bought an '88 jetta GL, and i've fallen in love with VW's. that car has provided the most fun i've ever had behind the wheel. true to my nature, i looked into trying to make it still MORE fun to drive. i looked into adding a turbo, stiffening the suspension, replacing the automatic with a stick, upgrading the engine to a 2.0L or VR6, and after a while i came to the conclusion, that as an issue of praticality, cost, and fun it would be better to build myself a beetle. (what sold me was that i'd pay more for suspension and turbo for my jetta than it would cost me to buy a beetle, to say nothing of trans, or intake/exhaust, and so on...) i'm looking to build something for 0-60 time and cornering, given that, it seems to me that 1800lbs. of beetle is much more suited to this than 3200lbs of jetta.
in light of this, i have a few questions for the group:
which year(s) of beetle would you recommend buying? i've heard, though not from any particularly reliable source that super beetles had lots of problems, though i've never really heard any details on that. after a while of looking, it seems like i've seen just about every year made into some variety of racing machine, but is there any vintage that's easiest to work with?
which engine(s) are best, and where would i look to find one? i've heard quite a number of people reference a 2332cc engine, and those look to be quite successful, and i've heard of a number of others taking a van/bus engine, but with the number and variety of VW (and other) engines that can be fit to a beetle (i recently read about a 3.5L v6) which engines would be readily available, and easy to work, but still give some fun in the performance department?
do beetles remain air cooled when upgrading to larger engines, turbos etc? i've seen quite a number of pages devoted to some really beautiful beetles. they seem to be as diverse as the people who build them, but i have to wonder how well air cools a twin turbo and nitrous powered engine? not that i'm looking to build anything that extreme, but i've never read about anybody adding a coolant system, and was wondering if that's necessary after building them up a bit?
just a "heads up", you seem to be under a *common* misconception that it is cheap to build a performance aircooled bug....really its not....if you want mild performance you may be able to beat what you expect the jetta to cost you to build the way you want it...if you want a street warrior, then it will cost as much if not more than it will to build up your jetta....i'm in no way trying to discourage you in anyway, because you quite frankly won't have the "cool factor" with the jetta you will get/feel with the bug....(can you see that that statement in just oozing with personal opinion? LOL)...
engine and transaxle to give you what you need(normally aspirated) could approach or even top 8-10k...final price is obviously affected by how much you are able/willing to do yourself....you are at a "crossroads" so to speak, because you can buy a good performing machine(factory or slightly modified) for what it costs to build up a beetle to perform and look good...but remember the "cool factor" the bug has...hehe...
that would come under personal preference....the superbeetle not only differs from its Brother (the "standard" beetle) in looks, but in the front suspension design....the superbeetle has a mcpherson strut front suspension...the "problems" you have heard about superbeetless are normally associated with the "superbeetle shimmies"....which usually comes from the front suspension being neglected and not maintained....that is all easily taken care of....since you plan on corner performance, the majority of the front suspension would be replaced/updated/modifed anyway, so no problem....
once again, personal preference comes into play....you want corner performance as well as 0-60 times you are in for some decisions....the later model chasis (68+) has a semi-trailing arm design with double jointed drive axles(much like BMW still uses to date), which is great for handling, but needs modifications if you send the power output way up the scale.....the swingaxle rear suspension(68 non autostick models and earlier) are very strong and great for getting the power to the ground(most of the dragrace setups use the swingaxle trans)...the downside of the swingaxle trans is that it has quite drastic camber changes as the wheel moves through its range of motion....
depends on what *you* want....the type 1(upright cooling beetle engine) is a very robust platform...they have been modified (highly) since the 60's....you can indeed put a type 4 (72 and later bus engine) into a beetle by converting it to upright cooling...Jake Raby (
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) is the engine builder herein the states that has helped the type 4 move forward in the last fewyears...he is highly respected for his accomplishments and has a great trackrecord....but don't go there without a fistfull of dollars....it will be worthit, but as usual, you pay for it...
you can slap a dodge hemi in there if you want.....i don't recommend it(for handling/wieght distribution) but you can do it....there are popular "conversions" out there for ford four banger engines, mazda rotary engine, etc.....the car is a "blank canvas" for you and YOUR tastes....
sure....i am in the process of buying parts for a 2275cc type 1 aircooled engine, that may in the future have a turbo on it....(yet to be decided).....
the air cooling *IS* the "coolant system"...air cooling is very good and an "easy" system.....but as you start to up the power output you can easily overwhelm a stock cooling system......porsche 911 was aircooled up till the
1997(i think) model year, so you can see it can be done....
depends on you again....on what you expect after "building up".....have you ever ridden in a vw bug with 150+ hp?,,,, its an eyeopening, sphincter tightening experience for sure...the bug can be set up to handle well enough to make you wanna puke in a nice curve...
good luck in your "quest"....you still have alot of research to do....you would be well advised to visit
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and check out their roadrace forum and their forced induction forum...there are also forums for the type 4 engine conversion and a "conversion perversion" forum for various other and sometimes strange engine transplants....have fun....(the shoptalkforums site is down right now, but should be back...)
------------------- Chris Perdue "I'm ever so thankful for the Internet; it has allowed me to keep a finger in the pie and to make some small contribution to those younger who will carry the air-cooled legend forward" Jim Mais Feb. 2004
i just wanted to thank you for all the information, this is exactly what i was looking for, and should be plenty to let me find a good car to start with, and decide roughly what order to do things in. your help is most greatly appriciated. once i've got a car, i'll probably be posting again, but this may take a while. thanks again.
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