If it's not to far off topic, who's into offroad racing? Anyone got any pics? This is my son-in-law racing in the Ultra4 comp down here in Australia. He built the car from the ground up, and won his cl*** a few years ago.
Hello, Before all of the full independent, multiple shocks and almost unheard of suspension and comfort, there were the modified VW bugs. We had a friend who was an up and coming mechanic. He was an older teen and worked at a VW shop locally. At first he was a “gofer” and learned the ropes. Then he became a “tear down” guy and he was good at that part of being a mechanic. A 4 bolt VW motor was taken out in almost an instant and torn apart for repairs or full modifications and re-***embly. So, he learned the ropes. By the time he was 19, he was a mechanic bar none. So, his first project was a modified VW Bug, The fenders were cut, the suspension got the new longer shocks and the motor was one powerful VW with dual carbs and two custom header pipes going into one “stinger” pipe shooting at birds in the air behind the VW. The motor was in a cage he built with his welding skills. It sat a little higher than normal, but not too high for fear of a ticket by the local law enforcement. In those days, the CHP and local police were giving tickets for large tires, raised trucks/cars not meeting the headlight laws and license plate distance from the ground. The other thing was mud flaps on exposed tires, so this cut down VW bug was on the hit list. But, it was a registered, street legal car for daily use and streets. Jnaki One day, he came over to our small house and asked if I wanted to go for a ride in his creation. He had just put in a new cam, and race car pistons. So, I looked in the driveway and there was this green VW Baja Bug sitting there in all of its on road/off road readiness. The definite “stinger” pipe angle into the air at the rear. My first thought and quote was: “is that thing legal?” YRMV So, as we went for a ride down the street, he took me to a place where every hot rod guy knows there is street that most everyone goes full tilt at night. Here it was at 11 am. So, we took off. His shifts were perfectly smooth and when he wanted to punch it, we both got shoved back in our shoulder harness belted, bucket seats. All of this power from a Baja Bug? On the return trip home, he punched it again from a standing start and the tires grabbed and of all things, he did a wheelie, as he took off down the street. As soon as he shifted, the front end came up again. I never felt so much power in such a vehicle before. He was smiling from ear to ear. I told him I was totally impressed. Note: He knew of my past history in hot rods and drag racing, so he wanted to show me how much he had learned and was able to do. Only this time, it was in a new field and he was ready to hit the dirt courses, especially the Baja 1000. Yikes!
I'd be burnt at the stake by VW enthusiasts if they knew how many Kombi vans and Beetles that me and my brother cut up for off-roaders We would totally destroy a Kombi van just to get the transmission and portal hubs
We only built VW off roaders in the 80's to scream up and down the beach. But we did get quite expensive in the end. My brother had a VW sand rail with an "Autocraft" 2600cc VW Midget engine [with IDF's instead of Hilborn and running on pump gas] We were also running drag slicks on the beach ,they were better than mud tyres. The environmentalists won the battle in the end [which in hindsight, I agree with them]
I ran in the Australian Safari in 1994 with my Wife (Round 10 of the World Cup that year) in a Range Rover Dakar. Won the National Division by 15 hours after 9 days of driving from Sydney to Darwin. I'll try and find some photos. We still drive the car on the road 30 years later.
The Jalopy Journal
