I won’t recount all the information in the link below, but (in a nutshell) Paul Newman bought a little red VW bug in 1963 and had it tricked out by a custom race car builder named Jerry Eisert. The bug ended up with a mid-engine 351 Ford V-8 generating around 300HP, a 5-speed transmission, and some pretty remarkable steering and suspension modifications. The car has been completely restored and is apparently coming up for public sale. If you click on the link, be sure to scroll all the way down through the photos to see the car in it’s current condition. Pretty cool and sure to make any bug-lover’s heart beat a little faster.
What a waste of money. Think of the guns you could buy with that much cash!
Awesome little build! Not sure I agree with the cooling lines running under the car, if raced that would be a huge risk to take over a bump.
Those pipes could have been hidden in the rocker panels I think. One on each side.
That’s where I have seen water lines run for Air/Water intercoolers on big turbo/supercharger cars.
Now, at the opposite end of the spectrum from this thing, I once saw a VW Beetle with the normal motor but functional side pipes.
You make them out of Sch 80, nice and strong, probably the car could use the weight. Weld them in nice and tight, it could probably use the stiffness. Make frame rails out of them making a virtue of necessity!
I’d love an old Beetle, but not one like that.