For me air colled Porsche prices are now beyond the pale.
This got me thinking what kind of VW could one build for a lot less money. My thoughts were a Beetle or Ghia with 1915cc motor or the like, disc brakes and some suspension goodies could be quite fun.
Thoughts?
It would be fantastic, but why not a 914?
Type 3 for me. :)
I rebuilt an 2.0L+ vw engine in an Intermeccanica 356B replica last year.
Seemed like a great way to have air cooled Porsche fun without the associated cost.
David S. Wallens said:Type 3 for me. :)
I'd love a squareback as a parts runner, but my heart loves me a notch. I do not like fastbacks :shrug:.
I should have picked up a Ghia 20 years ago. Pretty sure they've gotten considerably more expensive lately, along with everything else.
Edit: I just looked. They went from hundreds, right through thousands, and are now in the tens of thousands. For a Ghia. Sigh.
Air cooled VWs are getting expensive too. What about old Mercedes Benzes from the 60's and 70's? They are actually better cars than the VWs, and people actually give the old Benzes away.
This one belongs to a friend of mine. Air cooled VW's have been developed well past what an older stock Porsche could do.
They are so much fun. Suspension wise they are a bit limited as you get no camber gain at either end. You can make good power relatively cheap. Huge aftermarket.
I miss mine and would love to have a redo knowing all what I know now
For a driver you want to start with a 1969 or newer because they have IRS in the rear and bigger stock drum brakes , plus it's easy to put Ghia disc brakes on a late bug ,
Been looking for a notch but nothing is catching my eye.
preach (dudeist priest) said:David S. Wallens said:Type 3 for me. :)
I'd love a squareback as a parts runner, but my heart loves me a notch. I do not like fastbacks :shrug:.
I celebrate the model’s entire catalog.
My dream would be a 1600L. This one sold here in town, and fortunately I didn’t see the listing until it was too late.
Marketplace - 1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia TC | Facebook
I went looking for Karmann Ghias and came across this. All kinds of interesting stuff showed up by searching "Ghia" in FB Marketplace. 
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:This one belongs to a friend of mine. Air cooled VW's have been developed well past what an older stock Porsche could do.
There is a guy on Motorgeek who has a super rare set of Arao (I think) 4-valve heads for a Type IV engine. He has it and a Porsche trans in a Type 1. With a big turbo.
I found it remarkable that Arao actually made heads. They always had cool products that seemed to be vaporware.
Then... some of us take Tom1200's idea and go way over the top. 
What can I say other than "guilty" and its a GRM thing to do!
Sometimes the "scope" of the project gets totally out of control. Go for it.
A rising tide lifts all air-cooled boats and the Karmann Ghia is no exception
Type 3 are still attainable. (not t3 ghias) but if I wanted to build a performance car under $10k I'd probably start with a strut car super beetle which can still be found in driver shape for reasonable money.
but a t3 ghia with a big bore... sigh
This is an example of Tom1200's thought. A friend of mine bought this last year for what I thought was pennies on the dollar. SuperBettle with about 150 hp, full cage, strut front suspension, sway bars, fuel cell, disc brakes, yadda yadda. He poured some more money into it, and tried it out, but it wasn't as fast as his Vettes, so he passed it on.
If it could have been titled, it would have been golden.
How easy is it to fit a type IV engine in a bug?
Basic no-brainer. Have to consider bellhousing to flywheel clearance, and what starter to use with the flywheel you end up with. Lots of info on the subject in California and 0n the web.
I have a crazy modified 2300 411 (out of a 914) in the Outlaw Bug. (Jake Raby) Yesterday I bought the fuel for it at $15/gallon. Technology has changed so much that many California bug engines get a lot of dependable big power on street gas. It's all about balanced cranks and modern case design. Also most VW engines don't suffer from the "Porsche tax". Just saying.
Come to the dark side of the vw world. Tube frame, air cooled, fast as hell even with 100hp and still looks like a Porsche. I think I ended up around 28k all in for this with some GRM craigslist buying and selling.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
I was, in part, thinking about your outlaw when I posted. My thought was something with around 110-120 horsepower disc brakes and some meaty sway bars.
A clean '69 would be a good target. 12volt, IRS, but still a "simple" bug. Without the later curved windshield it still looks classic.
Don't get me wrong, I love the "Outlaw". But, there is not one bushing in the car that is not steel-on-steel. And with 4500# of springs on those Penske shocks the ride is pure racer. In street trim it tends to "float" the front wheels at around 112. I tell people it is like a high end Jap crotch rocket...You don't drive it to the grocery store, and OBTW nobody in their right mind will ride with you. In the summer, 195 aircooled HP six inches behind your shoulder blades gets a bit warmish, even with the insulated firewall. I love it.
A street bug can be a fun Sunday driver with enough HP to run with the traffic. I would incorporate better seats and restraints. Full flow oil systems with more capacity and bigger coolers keep the engines alive.
The only downside is there really is no good A/C solution. You have to drive old skool with the windows open and vent windows cocked.
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