Well this a subjective topic with mixed emotion for me. My family rebuilt a '66 1300 over and over for about 20 years putting over 230,000 miles on a body and working through 4 engines including a 1500 and a Judson Supercharger on the earlier 1300 and in addition running a gold metalflake Sand Rover (black T-top, with big/little whitewalls) which was manufactured near here in Xion Crossroads Va. The main attraction was the cheap cost of parts and general sporty performance with that neat little short throw four speed. Still when all is said and done, the Judson huffer gave improved top speed but not much more torque. I have not had a chance to try one of the newer 2100 strokers and the biggest engine I ever built was based on the 1600 Porshe S90 specs so maybe the bigger engines are better. In addition we never went below about 22-24 mpg no matter how we modified the engine. Still none of the VWs I ever drove came even close to the acceleration of a 350SBC in my Dad's '69 Chevelle, albeit at the cost of lower mileage. So what do you want, low cost fun and pretty good mileage or the thrill of being pushed back in the seat? It depends on what you want, but my present quest is to build my 350SBC with a 700R4 in a light '29 Ford roadster body to get 20+ mpg AND acceleration more like a fast Camaro. VWs can be neat and make use of cheap parts, but the raw power is definitely lacking. Just comments, I could have fun again with a VW but overall I like the style of a Model-A roadster.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder