Baja Bug?

So I've got this 72 Super Beetle (above)that my grandfather bought in 1973, and I've had since I was six (1984. The car has been sitting since 1995, because frame head is basically rusted off which caused the suspension to collapse. Lately I've been toying with the idea of making a Baja Bug out of it because I like how they look and doing so would require either a frame swap (to a standard, non-Super Beetle chassis or a frame-head replacement with standard Beetle parts. As it sits, to be a usable car again it needs either a frame swap or a frame head replacement anyway, so it would be a lateral move in that respect. The hesitation comes from never having driven a Baja Bug. I wonder what the hell I'd do with the car once I get it done, (besides looking at it). When it was a road worthy, stock-height Bug, it didn't handle, steer or stop particularly well but at least it was slow enough not to matter. It also never really had any heat. So, besides looking cool, what would a jacked up, long-travel suspension Beetle really do well enough to make the modifications more than just cosmetic? Certainly somebody here has to be able to dream up some "logic" to help me justify this otherwise dumb idea

Offroading? Maybe offroad rally if you live in the southwest of the US? Plenty of Baja Beetles are entered into SCORE (as in Baja 500/1000) and NORRA events...

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Great idea! I'm in New England, though. My first thought was snow/ice racing, but its lack of a reasonable heater and high center of gravity make that uncompelling

There a blast for offroad stuff with mild trails. Good hillclimbing and jumping just dont act like its a rock crawler. My dad had one for a street car for a few years, wasnt fast but looked good.

I think this would be hilarious and practical. No more dodging potholes!

Grab a Gene Berg catalog if you want to go fast.

There's a guy by me that drives one pretty much year round. He looks like he has to dress warm in the winter but I have seen it in snow.

I feel like if you built a Baja Bug, finding a place to run it would just naturally take care of itself.

Chances are your local community has similar mentally ill people and you can figure out what they do while you pick up used parts from them. Then again, I've never known an ACVW owner to sell their parts hoard...

There are ways to improve heat on a bug

In reply to M030:

This article should provide some inspiration. I read it years ago and still want to try it!

In reply to petegossett:

That story reminds me of this guy.

Guy in my neighborhood dailies a baja bug. Year round. He had snow chains on it when we had the ice storm and snow this past winter.

So, do it. And then go enjoy the logging roads. I miss those from Pennsylvania.

Also, boost.

M030 wrote: When it was a road worthy, stock-height Bug, it didn't handle, steer or stop particularly well but at least it was slow enough not to matter. It also never really had any heat. So, besides looking cool, what would a jacked up, long-travel suspension Beetle really do well enough to make the modifications more than just cosmetic?

Well, it's certainly not going to handle, steer or stop any better because of longer suspension travel and larger diameter wheels. But, as you said, it'll look cool.

Actually, I'm sure you know the answer. Greater ground clearance, increased suspension travel, yielding better off-road driveability. All of which give poorer on-road handling.

Heat is a matter of the tubing and heat exchangers, having nothing to do with being jacked up and such. Cheap heat exchangers just don't work well. That said, it's been many a year since I've been around old Beetles, so I don't know what the state of things is today. An old modification that worked well was to place an electric fan in the rear of the passenger compartment blowing into the heat exchangers. This gave you steady consistent air flow, which greatly helped things.

I don't think you should need logic to justify something like this.

I'm actually doing the opposite of this for a friend. He has a 73 Super Beetle that we're De-Baja'ing and adding a rotary swap at the same time.

And look! You guys are like next door neighbors! It's a match made in heaven.

Or perhaps a rather heavenly version of a dark and twisted place.

The clear answer is to do both! I'll make the 72 a stock-ish appliance that grandpa would recognize and build my parts car into the crazy long-travel Baja I want

M030 wrote: The clear answer is to do both! I'll make the 72 a stock-ish appliance that grandpa would recognize and build my parts car into the crazy long-travel Baja I want

That's the best GRM logic I've read in a long time!

I really like Baja Bugs. But I didn't realize you could make a real one with a Super Beetle. I could be wrong, but doesn't a Super Beetle have independent front suspension? Every Baja Bug I've seen has the stronger torsion bar front suspension of the old school Beetle.

In reply to Gary:

It's generally not recommended, Supers have a mac strut front end. I'm sure it can be done, find a good longer travel strut and upright for it off a heavier car, make new longer control arms and beef everything else up, but you're more or less on your own.

In reply to Gary:

You're correct. The reason this idea seemed feasible is because the front of my super beetle frame, where the suspension mounts, is rusted so badly that it needs to be lopped off anyway and replaced. If I were going the Baja bug route, I would simply weld in standard beetle frame pieces instead of the correct super beetle parts, thus eliminating the super Beetle's independent front suspension (to be replaced by a standard beetle torsion beam) and effectively de-Supering the Super Beetle in question.

Heck as long as you are going into frame work, get rid of the original pan, build a real chassis and drop the body on it! ;D

Also, if you run a Suby engine, you can have real heat in the winter!