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Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:42 pm

ive been a fan of the old school VW bug!! for a while now and i was wondering if it would be a good idea to buy a daily driver to get started but eventually id like to pull out the engine and swap it out with a subaru sti wrx impreza engine balancing it out by adding some weight to the front. i don't know what id do about the suspension issue, the reason i want a bug is because it seems well balanced for such an old car :l i want a street sleeper that will turn some heads but the most id be able to put into it is like uhh over the course of about 2 years 5 k so it'd be a work in progress id have the engine up on a rack working on it every now and then until i have enough money for the work to drop it back in :l i don't know if this dream will ever come true but i'm sure with help from you guys , some positive feed back and hard work id be able to do it... i was thinking about drawing out sketches for a paint job and such ... did i forget to mention im studying design and illustration at my school? well any ways i can come up with some pretty intense stuff so pm me if you've got any design issues. i'm not in college yet but i was hoping to do some co-op with vinyl working and such nothing major just simple monotone stickers but uhhh back to the point ... give me your thoughts on my dream car plz 8)

Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:07 am

Before you get lost in la la land dreaming, you need to think about your reasons for wanting a bug. And you need to study and learn about them and what made them popular.

As for your engine swap idea, this kind of thing isn't cheap and can cause a lot of hassles with things like insurance and registration depending on where you live.

My suggestion to you if you want to get involved with VW's is to find the best good solid original car you can afford and buy it. Then drive it for a while and get to know what this is all about. Learn the car and the package you have.

If you can understand how to tune it and how to tweak the stock package for performance and handling without swapping parts for after market stuff, then you will be "in touch" with the machine. Once you reach this point, then you will understand what the deficiencies are and what you need to improve.

Then you can make changes and you be able to know if you are really making an improvement or not.

A lot of guys just jump in and start buying after market crap because they think it makes the car better. In reality, it is difficult to improve upon the stock package. many a nice car has been turned into crap because the idiot that bought it changed out a lot of stock parts for aftermarket stuff that didn't work.

Go slow and learn as much as you can. This way when things get going fast, your brain will be able to keep up!

Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:10 pm

thats what i was looking for someone to give positive feed back rather than just no hey thats a bad idea bla bla bla your an idiot. if the engine is too much work id be perfectly happy with just the ol 1600 or is it 1770 for the type 1? im not sure, somewhere in between. well anyways the only reason id get a bigger engine is to show up people who say aww thats a shitty old car my car could tear your shit up in the 1/4 mile. but if i have no other way tell them how much my car rocks by shaming them on the track then so be it. id be perfectly happy just cruising along. and when the light turns green id be perfectly happy seeing them burn out their clutch in whatever ricer mobile they have >:). im not completely ignorant of the culture either but i used to think the reason they called it a love bug was bacause you could hug the back of the car and grab both sides of the rear windows :)

Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:02 pm

Do you have mad fab skills? Are you an excellent mechanic? Got deep pockets? Just a dream then.

Start with a solid Beetle, maybe upgrade carbs and exhaust, try your hand at lowering.

See if you can swim at the shallow end first. Your ideas will be more feasible once you have 10 years experience.

Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:09 pm

I wouldn't recommend a bug as a daily driver in Michigan. It will be rusted out in 3 years.

Hook up with the Michigan Dubbers thread, and ask around. If you have the means to tow, I have a friend up here who has over 60 for sale.

Sat Oct 08, 2016 5:52 am

Lol 8 year old thread. In that 8 years I've worked on every car I've owned.
I've learned much and still want to daily a 67, and keep it stock for as long as possible. I've extensively researched the subaru swap. And I've decided I've still got hang ups about it. Build vw or subi swap. Stock it is till I've got the complete motor and reverse geared subaru 5 speed. But I want to thank you gents for your input regardless.

Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:41 am

WOW - this is old....Theres a thread on here by a kid doing a total low buck suby swap. Kid has amazing fab skills and is doing it super cheap. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=547036&highlight=

Doing one in a little while on a 66 myself and borrowing some of his ideas.

Mon Oct 10, 2016 4:22 pm

why, just why??????

Mon Oct 10, 2016 6:41 pm

You mean a Suby swap? Super easy reason. I like the challenge of something different..

Mon Oct 10, 2016 7:44 pm

Well I want a 67 for the metal dash. But I'm gonna convert the front end suspension to something more modern what yet idk. Rear end double jointed cv. 2.2 subie swap. Maybe turbo. Depends on budget. Use stock heater channels with perhaps subie heater cores and blower motor. No ac. And to top it all off a nice sound system. But I want to enjoy stock for as long as possible before I cut the poor thing up. Also I don't want to alter the fire wall and want to be able to close the deck lid so the look of the car remains stock. My end goal is between 200 and 250 reliable hp, with rally spec suspension.

Tue Oct 11, 2016 7:02 am

"budget" was said quite a bit. If you want a car with goodpower, sport style suspension, and a radio with a decent system, all on a budget buy a c4 corvette.

Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:13 am

daisy71 wrote: "budget" was said quite a bit. If you want a car with goodpower, sport style suspension, and a radio with a decent system, all on a budget buy a c4 corvette.
Too heavy and ugly. Besides I don't want just any car. I wanna build a bug to my specs because dream car, race car even. I want to do it just to say I did. Might skip the front end , get a 69 and rip out the padded dash for the metal dash and double jointed cvs already in there. Who knows I have time to decide until I got the money.

Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:37 pm

Not that big of a deal to back date a car. You can do it right or do it hack or somewhere in between. Really and truly though, not bothering with any sound system in future builds unless its another car for my wife. Have cars with nice amps, subs and all that and just love listening to the car....

As far as the front end goes, look at aircooled.net tech articles. Talks a lot about suspension..

Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:59 pm

It's been 8 years. What's the update on this?

Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:46 pm

Cali_Army_Guy wrote: It's been 8 years. What's the update on this? ehh nothing really. Just found the thread again. But I'm totally committed to getting one now.

Wed Oct 12, 2016 4:37 am

Also by sound system I mean better than my stock honda. Which I think has paper speakers.