Having a unique race car can mean any number of things–to some it’s having a wild paint job, a one-off engine combination, or a ton of trick parts. And to others, like Ron Clark, it’s about building something that’s one-of-a-kind, from front to rear. What Clark’s done is taken one of the world’s most recognizable and once-popular automobiles, stuffed a blower motor in it, painted it an intense shade of orange, and created one wild looking drag radial car. 

The 1970 VW known as “Bugzilla” turned a lot of heads at its radial tire debut at Lights Out 5 back in February when it was rolled out of the trailer. This new crowd favorite sums up the crazy world of heads-up racing by being over-the-top and then some.

The journey for Clark and Bugzilla began over fifteen years ago at his family’s home. Sitting in his father’s backyard was the shell of a VW Bug and little more. Most people would walk away from a car that’s in what Clark described as, “really bad shape”, let alone completely revive it, transforming it into a supercharged monster that guzzles methanol and turns it into sweet drag racing noise.

Over the years Clark has slowly turned a car that wasn’t even fit for the road into a legitimate race car.

“My car is special to me because I built the car, the engine, and the rear end entirely myself in my shop at home” says Clark, a mechanic by trade. Being unique is what this car is all about since Bugzilla is such a far cry from every other small tire race car that it’s competing against. Clark took a car that not only was in need of lots of TLC, but one that no other racer past or present would consider when drawing up the blueprints for a thoroughbred racer. 

The Rockmart, Georgia native really enjoys going to the track and makes it a family affair. Clark’s son Caleb, his brother Alan, son-in-law Chad, and nephew Eugene all help get Bugzilla ready between rounds at the track. When you step into the Bugzilla’s team pit area, it’s more like a family reunion than a day at the races.

The big feature of Bugzilla is that massive blower that sits on top of the 377 cubic inch engine stuffed into the front half of the Bug.

The first thing you notice about Bugzilla besides the nuclear shade of Grabber Orange paint is the Ed Roth-looking engine. Gone is the 160 cc air-cooled engine that came stock in this car in 1970 and in its place is a 377 cubic inch mill with an 8-71 Weiand roots supercharger sitting on top. At 50-percent overdrive the blower makes a maximum 35 pounds of boost at full song. 

The aluminum Brodix block is outfitted with a set of Brodix Track 1 heads. A Lunati crank swings a set of JE pistons that rest on Lunati connecting rods and was balanced by Swafford Machine Shop.  A Melling oil pump keeps all the oil flowing in the engine. Sending all of the exhaust gasses out of Bugzilla is a custom four-inch exhaust setup that Clark fabricated in his shop.

Keeping the fire to this monster-sized bug is no easy task, so Clark went with the best in the ignition department. An MSD distributor passes out the spark to the engine through a set of MSD wires, and lighting the race-grade alcohol in the cylinders are NKG plugs. Clark also uses an MSD Power Grid unit to put the tune up in Bugzilla and keep things monitored.

Accepting all the power from the motor is a race-prepped Powerglide that was built by the driveline wizards at PTC. The 4500 RPM stall converter is also a PTC unit that was custom made for Bugzilla.  All of these components take their orders from Clark through his B&M shifter, and the rear end is a nine-inch Ford that Clark built and filled with 3.70 gears.

Since building a 1970 VW Beetle for small tire racing isn’t an every day thing, Clark had to get creative in the planning of the build. To construct the chassis, Clark used a Chevy Luv truck frame and hung the all-steel bug body on it.  The front suspension has been outfitted with stock Luv truck a-arms and Penske shocks. To put the power down out back a custom ladder bar suspension setup that rides on Penske coilovers is used. Bugzilla rides on Sander double headlock wheels out back that are wrapped in 315 Mickey Thompson drag radials.

This VW packs a ton of punch with sixty-foot times in the 1.13 range and a personal best to date of 4.70-seconds in the eighth-mile. The car is currently set up to be competitive in the 5.0 and 5.30 index classes, but will also run in Radial versus The World, along with other radial tire classes.  

This car is about as subtle as a bull in a china shop with its wild paint and outrageous engine combination with the blower poking from the hood–like a Hot Wheels car brought to life. Having a car that’s this eye catching isn’t for everyone, but Clark loves the crowds Bugzilla brings. 

With a ton of power on tap and a wheelbase of around 100 inches, Clark probably summed it up best in saying, “this car is one wild ride.”

We don’t doubt that for a second.