Yes. But not easy.

 

Bill, talk to Pat Downs, he has a very quick full bodied street car with full interior.

 

Contact Anthony Consorte on here. His name is NoBars and has been 11.44 with a NA 2332cc motor, stock head castings and he drives the hell out of the car. Still a type 1 case and flat tappet can also.

 

Jason Young has been 11.60s with his street bug with Dellortos.

 

Thanks for the input. :thumbsup: I'm trying to do as much research as I can before buying.

I would like to find a bug that is already done, but everyone that I talk to is telling me that there is a lot of junk out there and I should just start from scratch?

Do any of you guys know of a Bug that is for sale that would suit my needs or is the general concensus to build my own?

 

One more thing, Is a swing axel the way to go?

 

Yes, it is possible.. But it will take a big motor for torque.. Let's say you had a 3300 pound F body with a .060 over 455 and some good heads.. so you are at about 7 pounds a cubic inch.. That combo with a decent build should produce mid 11's easy .. Now let's look at VW .. to get to a 7 pounds a cube deal we need , uh.. won't work.. the largest 94 bore you can reasonably build would be a HUGE stroker 2442 cc .. about 149 cube so.. figuring a street bug weight of around 1750 with driver.. divided by 149 cubes you are at close to 12 pounds a cube.. Yes, a streetable bug can run an 11 but it will take more cam, more carb, more gearing and on killosity than your Poncho did.. A bug is a great sixty footer.. and you can hole shot a lot of cars on the street.. A TRUE 200 HP bug with a good close ratio box should be a 11.60-11.75 car..And thrill you like a 9 second V8 car I have seen seen a few 10 second street bugs.. but they are very high maintenance with very few street miles.. If you build a 11 second bug, don't think Power Tour .. ..You can build a streetable 200 horse bug.. get some good heads, and a GOOD gearbox.. decent cars are for sale now and then.. what you get is directly related to what you pay.. but if you are flexible on the car, just want a solid car, then you can find 'em.. Might think about EFI at that point. But carbs are a bafflement to a lotta younger folk... For a 40-50 year old car the VW is still reasonably affordable. Perhaps a cookie cutter 2276-2332 with a little less cam, compression and PM with a tickle of nitrous may suit you.. Do a search here of various combos, and see what is possible.. Good Luck! Remember, a street bug with gears at 1750 pounds and 175 HP is going to be quicker than a 3500 pound V8 with twice the power of the bug.. Bugs just launch so nice.

 

That pretty much says it Mag.

 

Thanks MagOO,

Most of my racing will be 1/8 mile, that is where a Bug should do well? I would be running against new Mustangs, Camaro's and Dodges.

My Firebird was getting too expensive for me to compete in my division? I ran high 9's @ 139mph with 1.45 60ft's, with a 535cid Pontiac powered Big Block, the car weighed 3600lb's with me in it and I would get beat by $100k cars running mid 8's. The guy with the most money would win! I was not having Fun anymore!

So, I sold my Firebird this Spring for $35k I would like to spend 1/2 that money on a new car.

I started looking at VW's because my daughter loves them, and there small enough to fit in my toyhauler.

I think I should be able to buy or build a decent Beetle for $15k-$17k and be very competitive in my class, and have some fun with out breaking the bank.

 

For that money you should look for somthing done or mostly done already. A complete 200+ na motor will set you back 7-8k and another 2500-3k for a trans.

 

I use a Weber IDA on my sand drag Kawasaki V-twin quad, so I have lots of weber jets and parts. I'm 47yrs old and not into electronics, I would rather change jets then deal with a computer to dial my car in. I'm old school I guess!

 

For that money you should look for somthing done or mostly done already. A complete 200+ na motor will set you back 7-8k and another 2500-3k for a trans.

Ya, that's kind of what I thought. If I could find one that someone has $20k-$25k into a car and wants out of it? or buy one with a decent body for $5k and put $10k-$12k into the power train and chassis..

 

You should be able to buy/build a very nice car for that kind of money. If you build ,do like Shag says, spend a good chunk on a GOOD trans..in fact a spare is not a bad idea.. What ET are you trying to run? a Bug can be killer in the 1/8 ..How much street are you contemplating? ..There are some good parts combos, that, if used in a non kill fashion, can work within a reasonable budget. Remember.. A bug has 50 year plus of cumulative sorting going in.. the newer Detroit rides are gonna get it sorted with a billion dollar industry behind them...Build it LIGHT, but SAFE.. Lightness is you friend.. The old saw"100 pounds= a tenth" is not true with a VW.. every 100 pounds or so, equals closer to a quarter second in a bug..A lighter car will launch quicker and be much gentler on parts. There are several VW folks in Canada that frequent here..and can help you too. And some really nice cars...

 

You should be able to buy/build a very nice car for that kind of money. If you build ,do like Shag says, spend a good chunk on a GOOD trans..in fact a spare is not a bad idea.. What ET are you trying to run? a Bug can be killer in the 1/8 ..How much street are you contemplating? ..There are some good parts combos, that, if used in a non kill fashion, can work within a reasonable budget. Remember.. A bug has 50 year plus of cumulative sorting going in.. the newer Detroit rides are gonna get it sorted with a billion dollar industry behind them...Build it LIGHT, but SAFE.. Lightness is you friend.. The old saw"100 pounds= a tenth" is not true with a VW.. every 100 pounds or so, equals closer to a quarter second in a bug..A lighter car will launch quicker and be much gentler on parts. There are several VW folks in Canada that frequent here..and can help you too. And some really nice cars...

I would be happy running low 7's in the 1/8.. Are the trans the week link on a Bug?
It would be 50/50 street to track, mainly cruising down to the A&W on Friday nite or on a nice weekend cruizin the beach.
So, weight is huge!!! .25 for every 100lbs WOW!!!!!!!

 

Neil68, lives about an hour down the road from me. I think he is a regular on here? I PMed him last night, he was very helpful.

Other then that I've only seen maybe 2 or 3 VW bugs at the track in our area?

What ever I buy better be fast! My Hotrod buddies are already giving me a hard time about buying a VW......lol.......

 

I don't mean to be a buzzkill. I went high 7s in the 1/4 on a streetbike. It was an evolution over about 6 years from high 9s on motor to high 7s on spray :nosavatar:. I had more difficulty getting my car to run sub 7.50 1/8ths than getting that bike into the 7s. It was a pretty steep learning curve. The parts aren't so much different than when the car went 7.90s, but the way they are tuned to each other is quite a bit different, and i am constantly figuring out what is not working and what the car wants. No matter what anyone tells you, its not going to be the kind of thing where you just buy some parts and go 7.30s.

It dosen't help that you live 2000 miles from orange county.

Welcome to Hell!

 

So, low 8's would be more realistic? It doesn't help matters that the track here is at 3200ft....

I don't expect it to be easy! That's why I'm on here, so you veterans can point me in the right direction. :thumbsup:

 

You may want to consider using an IRS bus transaxle.

 

Whether you build or buy already done (really the most cost effective means, especially if you buy from someone reputable), be prepared to put in the wrench time... VWs are pretty high-strung, especially on the upper echelon of high performance, and do require quite a bit of "caretaking." Sorry if this comes across as negative to anyone else, but just keeping things real for the guy.

 

So, low 8's would be more realistic? It doesn't help matters that the track here is at 3200ft....

I don't expect it to be easy! That's why I'm on here, so you veterans can point me in the right direction. :thumbsup:

Low 8's at sea level a very doable number with a car and engine combo of 5-6 k total.. you don't need a big motor or cam .. a cookie cutter daily driver 1915 making 145-150 hp with gears and slicks will do that..In fact I had a sweep the floor car with a 1776 that was dancin' on the edge of those numbers...Been awhile since I been near Bandy, Salt lake or Palmdale...An altitude track sure can whack a NA car.But just a pounds per HP is a much better deal, adding HP to a bug is a real eye opener. take atypical 1750 bug.. run it with 150 HP.. you have 660/1320 times of around 8.18 12.90/ add 40 hp, which is still a streetable big motor with a mildly warm k8 or 86b grind.....you are now sitting at 7.50 / 11.90 ish.. some clever weight loss will cut another chunk...But whatever you do, at 3200 feet you are down 4-5 tenths from sea level tracks.. If you deign to run race gas you can pick up a bunch too.

 

I found a nice 1971, is this going to work chassis wise with a macpherson strut front end and IRS??? or should I keep looking for a pre 1968? Questions Mark

 

I found a nice 1971, is this going to work chassis wise with a macpherson strut front end and IRS??? or should I keep looking for a pre 1968? Questions Mark

macpherson strut front end :stop: is a super beetle not a good choice for a strip car, keep looking for a basic. I'm not say it can't be done with a super but it does take a lot more to get what your wanting

 

Get a 67 or older, better resale if you decide to sell down the road. Of course 67 is the best year. :drivingskid:

 

Why is the Super Beetle not used as a drag chassis?? Is it the front struts or the IRS?????? or is it something else??

 

Weight.

IRS works good, however it may cost more than a swingaxle to get
strong components out to the wheel

I'd reccomend buying s car from out west and shipping it to you. You will save money in the long run with rust repair.

There is what looks to be a great project start 59 ragtop in my local Craigslist ( Richmond, va)