Hello online Beetle community!!
My name is Zach, I live in Tempe, AZ and I purchased my 1974 Super Beetle in July of 2009. This is my first car project undertaking and I wanted something affordable and simple enough for me to learn on. I many novice car enthusiasts asking whether or not they can undertake this or that, and hopefully my build will show them the reality of building a beetle. I had a lot of ideas in the beginning and it is funny how they have transformed. A big part of starting a build is realizing the cost. It is hard to see sometimes where the money will go. You think you just need to replace this or that, but in general everything usually costs more than you think and takes twice as long!
Here is my 1303 when I first got her:
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DSC_0141 by
zacharylorin, on Flickr[/IMG]
I knew I wanted to put a lot of power into this guy, so I started with building up a platform for it. If I can't turn and stop, then I probably shouldn't go really really really fast... really.
So I started by replacing the suspension and steering components thanks to the help of topline parts. With intentions of taking it to autocross events and track days, I wanted it to have a balance of road drivability and race car rawness.
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DSC_0119 by
zacharylorin, on Flickr[/IMG]
Replacing the suspension and steering was not too difficult, and a simple set of tools can get you far.
Here are the results of my work! I think it looks pretty sweet.
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I have more pictures somewhere of the steering rack and other bushings and assorted steering stuff I replaced... I'll have to find them.