V8 beetle in the works

[matt123]

Alright heres what ive got... its a 71 beetle all ive done so far is gutted a little of the back out and all of the wiring. im still debating on whether or not to have the engine in the front or back but i'm leanin more towards putting it in the back because i have 2 goals for the car. #1 Go faster than my dads Chevelle and #2 do a wheelie. My idea for putting the engine in the back was to have a front wheel drive v8 chevy and basically take that apart and start with that as a base because the only thing ive found out so far about a transaxle for a chevy is in a corvar but i cant find one anywhere around me so the front wheel drive was basically simpler for me. (if anyone out there knos more about that then me id love to hear about it. i havent done that much research... ) but i ended up buying a cadillac deville with a northstar v8 in it but the car was so nice i ended up just fixing it up and selling it so im back to square one. im still wondering about building a frame or strengthening the beeltes pan? but im pretty excited to get this started! ;D this is a big project that ive been lookin forward to doing for a while! im really looking forward to hearing any ideas or feedback you guys have out there. Thanks

Matt

[matt123]

finally figured out the pics. ;D

[V8 Super Beetle]

Look like a great start, Matt. There's a build on the net somewhere called the "Caddywagen" I believe. They used a V8 front wheel drivetrain and mated it into the beetle chassis.

He you go.

v8dubs.com/stepone.html

[Mock1racer]

There are a lot of great ideas for a V8 bug on this site, some simple, some not so simple. It is going to boil down to how much time/money and experience you have and how bad you really want to achieve your goal. To beat your Dad's Chevelle, you better bring your A- game, everything you got from the very beginning, and show no mercy. The bad side of that is he will do the same to stay on top. It's about havin fun and being different, and it seems that you already have a good foundation.
If you need some tips on how to get started, read my thread, "Parts for the novice" on the home page. It may answer some of you questions.
Good luck dude.

[matt123]

Thanks for the link that was EXACTLY what i was thinking about doing! but after checking out some of the other threads im not sure if i want to put it in the back or not??? either way im thinkin that building a full frame for the car is goin to be the way to go. just seems safer to me. and to be honest i dont think that the caddywagen would pass inspection at the drag strip. but in other news ive done alittle work on the bug yesterday night. (ill post some pics up later) Tomarrow i dont have to work and if i can round up a few people im gonna get the body off so i can really see what i have to work with. The car, as im finding out, isnt in too bad of shape rust wise, but theres a few dents to be worked with.

[matt123]

the dude i bought this from had an interesting choice of floor board ;D

[Mock1racer]

Wow, that's definately using what you got huh.
The first thing I can tell you about the drag strip inspection is your cage, make sure you get the correct diameter and thickness, Like the one V8 Superbeetle has. That one will exceed specs. second will be how you mount the seatbelts,you need to talk to the tech inspectors BEFORE you mount these as some techs want them mounted a certain way. This also depends on what track you plan on running, if mutiple tracks you better get a NHRA rulebook and do it that way. These guys are serious about safety and will tell you what you need to change and what flat out wont pass. Its easier to get the facts so you dont have to do it twice, or in my case three times. Then there are the tire studs, if you run slicks the studs HAVE to be metal, wheel studs, for slicks the wheel studs HAVE to stick out pass the lugnut the diameter of the stud.
Also, plan on keeping the headlights and brake lights, most tracks I've been to will run into night and require at least one front light and at least one brake, so might as well keep it legal, have the blinkers too.
What track do you plan on runnin at? Savannah Dragway? Or you commin up to Macon and run at twiggs county?

[matt123]

Im originally from buford so i used to run a camaro at atlanta dragway. so thats probably where the father vs son faceoff will be. but id love to run it at savanna too. i do want to keep it street legal too tho. half the fun i think is the drive to the strip. Hopefully ill have the body off today. im havin trouble tryin to find people who are still in town since school let out. if i get it off ill have pics up later. Thanks for the info. can u get the NHRA handbook online im assuming?

[Mock1racer]

[quote Thanks for the info. can u get the NHRA handbook online im assuming?[/quote]
yes

[matt123]

do you run in savannah often? i havent been there before. but i couldnt get the body off today so no new pics but its loose i just didnt have the man power to lift it off. at atlanta dragway they had a thing called fast friday where u could run anything from 7 to 11 for like 20 bucks. it was kinda a fun thing to do after work.

[Mock1racer]

I ran in Sav once in the early 90's. havent been there in years. I have run at Atlanta Motor Speedway for friday night drags, Putnum co. raceway, Macon National drag way, and Silver Dollar raceway.
Do you have an engine hoist? that's what you could use to get the body off, if the glass is out of the front and rear. Run a few straps through it and pick slowly.

[matt123]

thats actually one of my biggest projects. ive really just moved out of the house so im goin from my dads garage with all the tools i would ever need to havin really no tools at all. so im startin to buy them slowly. i really need a welder before i can go much further too. ive been lookin for some decently priced tools. so i got to do a lot of saving up to do but its gonna be worth it.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Moving right along. I would agree that either using an existing frame or building one is the best way to do these conversions. Front engine is the easiest. Rear / mid mount is harder.

What's the plan for the engine and tranny?

[matt123]

well id really like to just buy a 350 and spend alittle time saving up some money and building that up right. id rather take some time now and have more horsepower later then have to go back and pull the engine out for somethin breaking. im not too much of a hot roder anymore but i do want to run good at the dragstrip. i believe u have a 383 in yours? id love build one like that but we will see. i had a lt1 in my camaro and it ran great stock but i know that theres alot of power to be made with thos. and my friend had a ls1 in his and a shift kit in the trans and his best pass was a 12.9, mine was only a 14.1 with a 6 speed but ive been doing alittle looking around for a wrecked camaro but there pretty proud of the ls engines. I also dont know if i really want to be messin around with a computer im much more fond of the simpler older style horsepower. but ive seen 350 bocks though complete engines on craigslist for $400 which isnt too bad for a decent startin point so thats probably be getting one of those and just get it bored out and start piecing it together. i really wish there was a cheep wrecked camaro around because i miss that 6 speed thats for sure and it would make that bug rocket.

[V8 Super Beetle]

A 350 is a great starting point, especially for a bug. ;D You can make some great horsepower for cheap. That's cause they're so popular and abundant.

I have a 383. I started with the 283 short block my dad gave me. Traded the 283 short block for a 350 short block, which had a spun rod bearing. Nowadays it's the same price to build a 383 as a 350 if you're replacing the bottom end.

Best piece of advice I can give you is look for a 5.7 vortec long block. Vortec engines came in 96-00 Chevy puckup trucks. You can get them around $400. Most late model 350's have little wear on them cause they have great overdrive transmissions which keeps the rpms low. Chances are you can get away with only a light hone and have the crankshaft ground .010 under allowing you to euse the stock pistons, connecting rods and crankshaft with a clean up. Upgrading the rod bolts to ARP bolts is always a good idea.

Main reasons I recommend the vortec long block is because of their heads which are the best flowing factory head GM produced. You can easily produce 400 hp by bumping up the compression to 10:1 and with a mild cam. The magic is in the heads. Casting numbers on the heads will be #906 or #062 (last three numbers). Also, you can take advantage of the factory roller setup. No sense in using a flat tappet cam with their spec break-in procedure and required additive's the keep from wearing out prematurely. Additives are something you'll need every oil change if you go with a flat tappet cam.

I would recommend a carbed setup for their ease of tuning and for power. With fuel injected you're looking at spending more $$$. When you go to the drag strip, dirt track, or watch some NASCAR you'll notice they're all running carbs. Must be a reason. ;D
The block I was recommend can EASILY be adapted for a carb setup.

BTW, check out this article. These guys do basically what I was talking about with the vortec block on a budget. How does 447 hp sound? ;D

www.popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/articles/chevrolet/smallblock/0611em_vortec_small_block/index.html