[Racer X 69]

Back in the eighties when kit cars were coming to be a "thing" in the UK, I was waling through Wolverhampton town centre and saw what initially looked like some form of super car. A low sleek sports body, silver in colour, two seats and a general powerful sporty appeal to it.

As I approached the car the owner came out of a local shop and walked up to the car. He did something on the drivers side and the entire roof popped open gracefully and raised up to give him enough space to climb in. By this time several people had stopped to watch as the driver pressed a button on the dash and the roof closed down again.

What completely spoilt the whole thing was when he started the engine and the unmistakable sound of an air cooled VW Beetle engine was heard.....

VW Beetle chassis seemed to be the go-to for kits at that time, you could rip the body off and have the chassis and driving gear ready to bolt on whatever body you wanted.

Nothing wrong with an air cooled VW engine.

You Tube

You Tube

[Racer X 69]

Nothing wrong with an air cooled VW engine.

COMPILATION OF TURBO BEETLE - YouTube

OK, so the one at about 5 minutes in is actually a Subaru engine.

Those are cool too.

[Racer X 69]

More VWs.

You Tube

You Tube

Here is the VeeDubRacing countdown from 20 to 01 of the quickest VW Beetles I filmed in 2018. They are getting quicker each year, and making the Top 20 is getting harder and harder.
In 2016, No 20 was a 12.37 with 8 cars running below 11 seconds
In 2017, No 20 was a 12.15 with 7 cars running below 11 seconds
and in 2018 - No 20 is a 11.97 with 12 cars running sub 11 seconds
You need to be quicker than 12 seconds just to get on the list !!!!!
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses in 2019.
See full list below....

No 20 - 11.97 @ ???mph - Oly Whitehouse
No 19 - 11.68 @ ???mph - Highly Medicated - Jenson Knott
No 18 - 11.67 @ 113mph - O/FF 16 - Social Outcast - D.Sheppard
No 17 - 11.63 @ 112mph - O/FF 12 - Bad Influence - Neil Wilkinson
No 16 - 11.47 @ 119mph - O/FF 365 - Dave Swift
No 15 - 11.26 @ 119mph - O/FF 11 - Double Cross - David Wheatley
No 14 - 11.24 @ 119mph - O/FF 61 - Pete Shattock
No 13 - 11.21 @ 118mph - O/FF 52 - Ian Clark
No 12 - 10.676 @ 127mph - V8 Noisy Bug'r - Mark Bartlett
No 11 - 10.674 @ 128mph - O/FF 100 - James Wotton
No 10 - 10.52 @ 133mph - O/FF 79 - Strip Poker - S.Hodgson
No 09 - 10.50 @ 113mph - Paul Henshall
No 08 - 10.49 @ 125mph - O/FF 456 - Never Forgotten - C. Hillyard
No 07 - 10.42 @ 136mph - Green 74 V8 - Wolfgang Effertz
No 06 - 10.30 @ 133mph - Blank Wanger - Dave Crowhurst
No 05 - 10.14 @ 132mph - O/FF 205 - Becker Racing - Udo Becker
No 04 - 10.05 @ 131mph - O/FF 60 - Lil Lizzy - Danny Pike
No 03 - 10.02 @ 139mph - O/FF 223 - Lady Marmelade - S.Lavaud
No 02 - 09.91 @ 145mph - Kaeferdesaster Drag Team - A.Putzmann
No 01 - 08.68 @ 154mph - RJ Volks Performance - Richie Webb

[bxf]

Oh, come on, just one glass.

Ice cold.

Served in a frosty frozen mug.

On a hot summer day.

That's the only time I like beer, or at least the first few sips

Man, I wish it was summer right now.

Mark is wondering what you're talking about

[robtcorl]

Crazy weather here, 39 F for a high yesterday, going up to 65 F today.
It's already 48 F.

[gaweidert]

Nothing wrong with an air cooled VW engine.

COMPILATION OF TURBO BEETLE - YouTube

True story from my gas station days in the early 1970's. Night guy on duty. Girl drives in with a VW Beetle and asks for a fill up. While the gas is being put in she says that since winter is coming soon her boyfriend told her to get a quart of antifreeze added to the cooling system. Night guy tries to explain that her car has an air cooled engine and does not need antifreeze.


Girl get all pissed off and says her boyfriend was right and then demanded that the antifreeze be added. So the guy gets a can of antifreeze from the rack and opens the hood. Tells her to start the engine and pours the stuff all over her engine creating a big cloud of steam. She gets concerned but he tells her that it is just the antifreeze working. All happy, she pays up and drives off.


Anybody who has ever pumped gas at a gas station for any length of time has plenty of similar stories to tell.

[Racer X 69]

Anybody who has ever pumped gas at a gas station for any length of time has plenty of similar stories to tell.

Yes I do.

Soon, I may relate one or two.

Until then, another wimpy VW.

You Tube

You Tube

[Racer X 69]

This is interesting. Two 2,332 cc flat four VW engines, joined at the crank, for a 4,664 cc flat eight monster.

You Tube

You Tube

[robtcorl]

Happy Ground Hog and Palindrome Day.

No matter how you slice it, it's 02/02/2020, except for Dave et al.

[Racer X 69]

Happy Ground Hog and Palindrome Day.

No matter how you slice it, it's 02/02/2020, except for Dave et al.

And palindrome is not.

[bertwert]

No matter how you slice it, it's 02/02/2020, except for Dave et al.

Huh so it is. (Or 2020/02/02)

[MarkJerling]

More VWs.

VeeDubRacing - TOP 20 QUICKEST VW BEETLES OF 2018 - YouTube

Here is the VeeDubRacing countdown from 20 to 01 of the quickest VW Beetles I filmed in 2018. They are getting quicker each year, and making the Top 20 is getting harder and harder.
In 2016, No 20 was a 12.37 with 8 cars running below 11 seconds
In 2017, No 20 was a 12.15 with 7 cars running below 11 seconds
and in 2018 - No 20 is a 11.97 with 12 cars running sub 11 seconds
You need to be quicker than 12 seconds just to get on the list !!!!!
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses in 2019.
See full list below....

No 20 - 11.97 @ ???mph - Oly Whitehouse
No 19 - 11.68 @ ???mph - Highly Medicated - Jenson Knott
No 18 - 11.67 @ 113mph - O/FF 16 - Social Outcast - D.Sheppard
No 17 - 11.63 @ 112mph - O/FF 12 - Bad Influence - Neil Wilkinson
No 16 - 11.47 @ 119mph - O/FF 365 - Dave Swift
No 15 - 11.26 @ 119mph - O/FF 11 - Double Cross - David Wheatley
No 14 - 11.24 @ 119mph - O/FF 61 - Pete Shattock
No 13 - 11.21 @ 118mph - O/FF 52 - Ian Clark
No 12 - 10.676 @ 127mph - V8 Noisy Bug'r - Mark Bartlett
No 11 - 10.674 @ 128mph - O/FF 100 - James Wotton
No 10 - 10.52 @ 133mph - O/FF 79 - Strip Poker - S.Hodgson
No 09 - 10.50 @ 113mph - Paul Henshall
No 08 - 10.49 @ 125mph - O/FF 456 - Never Forgotten - C. Hillyard
No 07 - 10.42 @ 136mph - Green 74 V8 - Wolfgang Effertz
No 06 - 10.30 @ 133mph - Blank Wanger - Dave Crowhurst
No 05 - 10.14 @ 132mph - O/FF 205 - Becker Racing - Udo Becker
No 04 - 10.05 @ 131mph - O/FF 60 - Lil Lizzy - Danny Pike
No 03 - 10.02 @ 139mph - O/FF 223 - Lady Marmelade - S.Lavaud
No 02 - 09.91 @ 145mph - Kaeferdesaster Drag Team - A.Putzmann
No 01 - 08.68 @ 154mph - RJ Volks Performance - Richie Webb

All's well and good in a straight line. But beetles were never good at going around corners. My dad used to say: "Like a cat on a hot tin roof".

[bertwert]

But beetles were never good at going around corners

No vehicles are in our current weather. Rained all day yesterday, and then well below freezing today. Roads are indistinguishable from skating rinks.

[Liney]

Nothing wrong with an air cooled VW engine.

COMPILATION OF TURBO BEETLE - YouTube

I didn't say ther was anything wrong per se with a air cooled VW engine, just that it somewhat spoiled the effect of an alleged sporty car.....

I saw another Beetle several years later that had a clockwork key sticking out of the back of it. Not a quick and dirty gimmick but a big shiny metal key that went round as the car drove...

[Racer X 69]

I didn't say ther was anything wrong per se with a air cooled VW engine, just that it somewhat spoiled the effect of an alleged sporty car.....

And done right the air cooled VW engine can perform quite well.

I saw another Beetle several years later that had a clockwork key sticking out of the back of it. Not a quick and dirty gimmick but a big shiny metal key that went round as the car drove...

I've seen a few of those over the years. I believe it was an aftermarket kit one could purchase and install.