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I'm just about the take the leap into building my own Speedster but wanted to do a little research first to make sure I'm going in the right direction.

I am looking to do the kit route and have lots of experience in dealing with old vehicles. My last project was a 1952 Willys jeep which I just sold (the whole story is at www.chriskate.net/jeep/index.html).

My question at this point is, does it matter much what kind of "bug" doner car I start with? There is a 1970 bug listed here in the paper for $950 that doesn't run. I will probably put a different engine in it or completely rebuild the engine anyway so I'm not too concerned that it doesn't run. Is there anything else I should be looking for in a doner vehicle.

Thanks.

Chris
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I'm just about the take the leap into building my own Speedster but wanted to do a little research first to make sure I'm going in the right direction.

I am looking to do the kit route and have lots of experience in dealing with old vehicles. My last project was a 1952 Willys jeep which I just sold (the whole story is at www.chriskate.net/jeep/index.html).

My question at this point is, does it matter much what kind of "bug" doner car I start with? There is a 1970 bug listed here in the paper for $950 that doesn't run. I will probably put a different engine in it or completely rebuild the engine anyway so I'm not too concerned that it doesn't run. Is there anything else I should be looking for in a doner vehicle.

Thanks.

Chris
I would defer to others more knowledgible, however, an IRS chassis would be best as far as handling if you push your car through the curves, though a swing axle is fine with a couple of inexpensive bolt-on parts. The 70 beetle platform has an IRS chassis.

I exchanged emails with John C. of aircooled.net, and he made the comment that for cars with 140 hp or more he recommends adding a Kafer Cup Brace, and if you are going with a Type Four engine also installing a rear engine brace from the bus to take care of all of the torque.
IMHO:
I would use an IRS Beetle as a pan donor. The 1970 Beetle is an IRS setup. You DO NOT want a Super Beetle, the McPherson strut front suspension does not work with a Speedster kit.
If you plan to use the engine from the pan donor car, you need a 1600cc dual port unit as a core.
If you use a 'built' engine, you also need a built transmission. Off roaders like rugged bus units, but they are too low geared for Sppeedster use (can be modified).
If you have never done a VW engine rebuild, I would definitely use a professional. Amateur VW rebuilds (especially first time) tend to produce fragmentation devices.
I havn't used a donor car at all. My kit has a tubular frame so I wasn't looking for a pan.

When I was doing reaserch every beetle I could find for less than $1000 buck was in bad shape.

I found a volkswagon repair shop that has a grave yard of beetles, ghias and buses to pick and choose from. The front end assembly; brand new assembled from wheel to wheel, ghia disk brakes, $750. And a used rear end cut just in front of the torsion bar housing out of a '71 Ghia, used tranny, new adjustable spring plates, new torsion bars, new drums, backing plates and brake hardware $1500 (I did the cleanup and assembly. I used the steering column out of a '62 (I think) beetle (the style with the ignition on the dash)

The owner of the shop has been very helpful in recomending when to buy used (and from what year), when to buy new German or new Brazil.

I may have spent a little more in parts up front but, I didn't have to mess aroung dis-assembling the donor car.

If interested check out my pictures under Jeromes Streetbeast.

Hope this helps.

Jerome
Here's another opinion... If you shop, you can find a good pan donor beetle (Type 1) for like $500. It should come with a title. Basically, you want the pan, transaxle and front end (front beam) You can add a disc brake kit for like $250, or get a Ghia front end.

Seriously, you may want to shop a little while, watching for an abandoned project. You have demonstrated the ingenuity and mechanical prowess, so you know what you are getting into. I saw a $14,500 street beast kit for sale for $9500 the other day. I think it is listed in the classifieds on this web site. That car includes a chassis. Good luck.

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