1969 Volkswagen Beetle

Description

Help! There's a giant motor on that Bug's back, and now it goes way too fast! Wait a minute that sounds like one of those good problems... Mixing a Beetle with Porsche DNA is a natural partnership, an arranged marriage consummated by the bold, brave, and maybe even a little weird. That's exactly what the owner of this 1969 Volkswagen Beetle accomplished a decade ago when he built this German "Frau-kenstein" into one of the coolest Beetle resto-mods we've ever seen. And during this grandiose enterprise, the owner/builder of this killer little hotrod attacked some of the core problems that motoring fans have always had with "The People's Käfer". Beetles are notoriously slow – a problem fixed by the beefy Porsche fuel-injected 1.8L Flat-4 mounted in the rear. Beetles all look the same – not when you put a 1966 body atop a 1969 IRS pan and delete the fenders. Beetles have ugly, uncomfortable, utilitarian cabins – a full custom leather interior shuts down that whining the second one sits down in this car's uber-comfortable buckets. Could this be the coolest Beetle we've ever had the good fortune to feature here at Streetside Classics? This former skeptic certainly thinks so...

If it doesn't look like a Beetle, doesn't sound like a Beetle, and most certainly doesn't drive like a Beetle, can we still call it a Beetle? Yes, we definitely can in this instance because this one-off custom build has not forgotten where it came from but embraced its past by enhancing some of the best features of the legendary VW's design. The first thing you'll notice is that fenders have been deleted, giving this '69 Bug a cool Baja-style look that allows for a classic big-and-little tire/rim combination that sets an aggressive stance. Then, you'll undoubtedly notice the oversized Flat 4 engine stuffed into the back, but we'll get to all that awesomeness a little later. Lastly, the exposed front suspension and deleted bumpers give away the fact that there's a lot more 'extra' stuff going on underneath this little hell-raiser, and that's entirely the point as well. When the current owner and builder of this wonderful machine set off to realize his dream car, he wanted this one-of-a-kind to stick out. Painting it a custom Orange-over-Champagne finish brings the attention this Beetle craves. Because the two-tone finish was done well, the quality rewards anyone who admires this resto-mod. Now, the paint is ten years old, and this Beetle has been thoroughly enjoyed in the 28,667 miles thats it's been driven since it was built, so it's no longer a show-pony. There's a tiny bit of orange peel here and there (which is apropos for the top color, at least), very light scratching from countless car washes, and maybe even a bit of light cracking of the weather-stripping around the side windows from all that fun-in-the-sun, but we're talking minor stuff all-in-all. Most of which could be easily remedied with a cut-buff-and-wax to restore that former glory, but we'd leave it just as it is because it shows that it's not afraid to get into trouble. It's a Southern car, so you'll find no rust or ugly bodywork, and the custom work that was done during the restoration – sculpting the inner fenders to fit the suspension and tires; modifying the engine hatch, so it closes on the top of the motor – was completed to such a high standard that it's all holding up extremely well today. Bug-eye headlights and turn signals were left up front exactly where they would be if the car still had fenders, and the LED rocket-style taillights out back are an old hotrod trick that looks awesome.

Pop open the doors, and the transformation continues, although it's still fairly obvious that this is the cabin of a vintage Beetle. Comfy bucket seats were swapped from a late-model VW and wrapped in custom tan leather hides, with cool VW logos stitched into the seatbacks. The door panels were finished to match, as was the headliner, and the plush, sturdy tan carpets on the floor are protected with thick rubber mats and help insulate the cabin from the elements. The original dash was reworked, painted to match the exterior, and stuffed with an array of black VDO gauges. A custom center stack was incorporated and houses switches, the ignition, and a JVC head unit that powers the BOOMIN' stereo system with speakers in the kick panels and subwoofers/amplifiers behind the front seats. A sporty 3-spoke steering wheel anchors the cockpit, and a super-cool custom shifter features a beer-tap shift knob as the car's centerpiece.

The party starts under the bonnet, where a 1.8L Flat-4 was swapped from a 1974 Porsche 914. It's a peppy, torquey, air-cooled, and fuel-injected motor that completely transforms this Beetle into a genuine street brawler. The drivetrain was reported to only have 50K miles at the restoration time. It fires up with ease with the help of a Kwik wiring harness and Flame Thrower coil, rumbles beautifully through a custom dual-port exhaust system, and with a 4-speed gearbox managing the shifts, it's an absolute joy to drive. The '66 body was mounted atop a '69 IRS floorpan with an 8-inch extended ball-joint front axle, so it's very nimble out on the streets, and front disc brakes give it great stopping power. Paint-matched wheels are adorned with chrome beauty rings and center spinners to finish the look, and they're wrapped in staggered 165/60/15 front and 275/60/15 rear tires with plenty of tread left.

Documented with a photo book that chronicles the build since Day 1, this custom Beetle is simply an amazing find. Fully sorted and ready to go have some fun. Will you be the next one to harness all the good times ahead? Call today!