Thread: VW rat rods? whats up?

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you don't even need the hairdryer to make your VW scream... I have a pump gas, N/A 2.3L VW lump in my car and its P:I ratio is 10.2:1 that is more than enough to put you back in your seat!

just figured i would chime in here.i am in the process of building a v8 bug and am a member on volksrods as well.it is nice to see other hot rodders accepting us for what we have done to our cars.my car will be sporting a 350 chevy with a 2 speed powerglide.and my hopes are to have 350 to 400 hosepower to the rear wheels when i am done. again just chiming in.now i will go and read more on this forum.

The wife will be pissed as I JUST GOT the El Camino about three weeks ago, but I think I see one of these in the VERY NEAR future
Besides, the ElCo doesn't get the gas mileage to be a daily driver......

How much horsepower would it take to lift the wheels on one?

Not sure, but it takes 4 guys to lift the front end and set it on a saw horse in the parking lot at the high school. At least that's how many it took when we did it to Mrs. Robinson's VDub when I was in high school!!!!!!~!

any one who thinks vw's are slow needs to go to bug-o-rama here in sacramento. that supercharged t belongs to a guy named walt letherman who owns a metal fabrication shop. he built these rides. just go down to the bottom of his page and click on a link.



http://walts.info/

or check out the samba.com

my VW move out Okay could use a little more boost but its alright

okay, alright. when i saw the subject, I was a little disgusted. Everyone is jumping on the "rat rod" (I hate that term) bandwagon, and I thought this was gonna be another kid with a 93 T-bird spraypainted flat black and a "rat fink shift handle" (he wanted to join the club. ha!). but after reading it.... I LOVE THESE CARS!!!! These things are really cool. I might have to build one myself!
Thanks for sharing
Jason

well, i for one say, "The more the merrier!" in regard to vw rats...

like this.

I built it on the cheap, especially compared to the 32 highboy and 40 sedan that are in my garage.

took two months, started with a Baja (ultra cheap source of unwanted cars)

the biggest expense is the front suspension from speedway.

you can build the whole car for less than a glass roadster body.

had so much fun, going to do it again.

Cut Weld Drive

after being lost for several months... i'm back! anyway... vw rods are still alive and well.

I'm getting started on building a '68 VW hot rod. The reason for using a VW for the rod is simple. $1.00! I found this thing in horse stall just south of Olympia Washington, at a friends cousins house. The engine was fried-out due to poor care, and the price of $1.00 to tow it off was right!

You work with what ya got, I always say. If a VW hot rod is your style, go for it! There are plenty of souped up VW motors available as turn keys, starting at $1,500 all the way up to $6,000.

The starting buget for mine is around $4,000 (including all the repairs and safety items), because I'm planning on doing about 80% of it myself. And as with any real hot rod, take care of the performance and safety items first! Leave the final painting and fancy inerior for the end. Paint, stereo systems and finished interiors don't make you go any faster, or help you stop! So do the needed items first.

How many other hot rodders out there have a car that can do a 1/4 mile in 15 seconds or less and still get 28+ mpg!

My suggestion is this. Drop in a good rebuilt 1600 motor to start. That will get you around with plenty of power for a good starting point. Heck, you could always sell it off for the same price to someone doing a restore later, if you decide you want more power! There are VW's out there with Porsche motors that are breaking the 10 second 1/4 mile, and are still street drivable.

I'm doing a picture documentary on mine as I go, and as soon as it's done, I'll post it!

Have fun with your VW Hot Rod!

My son and I are just starting our VW Jalopy (don't want to call it a rat rod because we plan on finishing it out nicely... We are in the process of getting all the parts we need to get started on the project... I will post more information as the project starts to progress...

Dave Brisco

The VW's are poular here in the UK, most modders, aside from hot-rodders, go down the VW path. Bettles are a favourite, but people also go for the Golf (Rabbit), and the Polo's. A lot of the hot-rod accessory website are based on the whole Volkwagen thing aswell, like the German flags and the Iron Crosses. There is a garage that mods VW's, they are helping me out with suicide doors on my Ford Cortina, check them out:

www.bayarearods.co.uk

and for your VW (or your hot rod) accessory needs, check out:

www.oddballimport.co.uk

So, to conclude, VW's are cool, but not as cool as my Cortina...

I see VW's as different than the ricers. I like VW bugs in all configurations, stock, cal look, hot rod, drag car, etc.

What isn't to like in a rod like the one someone else posted earlier??


Don