ill have to buy another beetle and keep the stock 1600 in it - that way i can still fit in. I do miss the sound of my stock 69 beetle - and the smell, it really had its own smell.
i don't trust Craig T's driving enough to step into his 138hp Steriod, scared me enough in the base with a swing axle gearbox and no front sway bar...
i have thought about the 'cutting' it is a little evil - it will be kept to a minimum BUT it is a 58 shell on a 68 auto pan with complete custom interior - there isn't much original about it - saying that, i'd love a stocker oval down the track
Look forward seeing how it all goes for you...
...as to whether you should or shouldn't - only you can make the call. I came really close to putting a subie in my 58. Glad in lots of ways I didn't cut it up for a subie, but the 1916 with twin webbers isn't my idea of a daily driver, so now I've two toys parked and a shitty AU falcon ute daily driver....
i'd still love an original - a real purist doesn't put in a 1916 right! Though i guess you shouldn't need to cut for it either.
If i'm going to spend the money and do a good proper conversion, i'd want to do it in a car thats the full package - a car i can like all round. Chopping up a crappy later model and spending the money on a good conversion seems a little pointless - good for fun, but a little bit of a waste in my eyes.
I plan for this to be long term - something i hold on to for as long as i can. A really good gearbox will be next (ill need it) - then after that, hopefully some big fat brakes!
Watch this space - as soon as the Pobjoy goes its all going ahead - ill make sure i take plenty of photos.
First of all - sorry to all the purists - i too thought it would be evil to cut up the 58, but i blame a few forum members for changing my mindset - i couldn't justify buying a crappy beetle to put a good conversion in, so i'm going to use the 58.
Now rest assured, my grubby hands will not cut this beast - i will be using the services of Westside mufflers to do pretty much the whole conversion - i don't have a garage at the moment (auction this Saturday, so i might have a house soon!) so i can't really do much if any of the work - possibly a good thing.
Now i need advice!
Pro's and Con's of which WRX engine to use - which year? Goods and bads of models - Where is a good place to get a half cut - seems there are few available at the moment.
Westi will custom make the radiator - what about running the water lines? Best in the car or under.
Should we move the gearbox forward 2 inches or not? Will there be weight transfer issues if we don't? Will the CV's be on to crap an angle if we do?
we used to have this guy on here called "jakjones". he'd have your guts for garters! but then he was a bit of a redneck 😬
but seriously. if you really want to do it, why not I guess. buy a front cut with the lowest km late model motor you can find (within reason). better to find one that's stock too at this stage I reckon. listen to other people who have said "build a proper gearbox now" preferably with a quaife LSD. it won't be cheap, but it will be worth it. do it once and do it properly. i reckon move the trans forward if you can too.