Playing Frankenstein with multiple cars or platforms is nothing new in drag racing, and taking a Ford Flathead V8 and stuffing it into a different chassis was the hot swap when hot rodding first began than half a century ago. When the Chrysler Hemi arrived on the scene it changed the game yet again, showing up in dragsters, altereds, and all sorts of full-bodied cars, topped with a blower and 100-percent cackle-juice of good measure. A unique piece that’s currently on eBay is this wicked-cool ‘Frankenstein’ project mating a big cubic inch motor to a tube chassis — an old school 1962 Volkswagen body, and has a turbo mixed in to drive up the crazy factor.
The Volkswagen Beetle was first developed in 1938 by Ferdinand Porsche as the “people’s car.” Part of the design premise was to have an economical car that anybody could afford and drive all over Germany. Production of the Beetle ran from 1938 until 2003, making it the most produced car ever. The basic design included a rear mounted sub-2.0 liter engine with either a four-speed manual or a semi-automatic transmission. These cars, although never considered “muscle” or performance cars in any way, have been particularly popular in hot rodding, often involving hopped-up VW engine combos or outright engine swaps, and although in small numbers, they can be found throughout the sport of drag racing.
The seller on eBay is auctioning off an unfinished project with unlimited potential. Having the vision to take a classic Beetle and turn it into a street monster is pretty cool.
The DOM tube chassis of the car has been started, but can be finished to the new owners liking. Making this project totally awesome is the 500 cubic inch Cadillac engine that has custom turbo headers and a 78mm snail for boost. Putting the power down is a Turbo 425 transaxle setup. With a little bit of work this project VW could be finished up and take the design of the rear engine Beetle to a new level. Whether this will be a racing machine or a street warrior remains to be seen, although all the makings are there for a one-of-a-kind drag racing vehicle.