WRX RA powered VW 1303 beetle cabrio with a bit of Porsche
Discussion
dm46 said:
Wow! What does it drive like?
Very quick kinda goes without saying! The relatively short wheel base and wide track definitely keeps you on your toes but when it does break traction it does so nice and progressively. The ride is really good due to relatively soft springs which helps with the weight of the big wheels. I did try driving it on my original 17" cup 2 alloys with taller tyres but it actually felt really soft and nowhere near as sharp so I'll be sticking with the 19s, maybe some 18s with semi-slick tyres for serious use but where do I stop? Controls are fairly heavy but my wife can drive it round the block so can't be too bad, I may yet fit a slightly smaller clutch master cylinder as is common with the Ultima guys (same clutch) and I'm quite tempted to fit a dual circuit brake servo but that would mean losing some luggage space somewhere unless I can think of somewhere creative to put it. I'm sure I'll keep tinkering but this is as close to finished as these cars ever get!Rich
Dr G said:
Did you take a picture on the 17s?
I understand your reasoning for staying with the bigguns but the only thing I don't absolutely love about your car is that to my eye it looks a little over wheeled.
This is from before the full-on build with stock width wingsI understand your reasoning for staying with the bigguns but the only thing I don't absolutely love about your car is that to my eye it looks a little over wheeled.
The wings are also way too wide for the old wheels now too. I like to have them filling the arch rather than being lost..
Great to see it finished, superb job. 
5potTurbo said:
Always loved this build thread.... should the car ever come up for sale.... 
lol, I'm not planning on selling any time soon, what's this kind of thing worth? My projects seem to be quite specialist markets when I come to sell with a fairly small number of people as they tend to grate with the 'purists'! I must have at least £25k in parts in it. Sadly it may be worth more as parts..Ah, well, Ricola, it was worth a try. 
To be honest, there's no way I would get that through 'control technique' locally in Luxembourg. They didn't like my 2.5T S-Max with a GT3071R + + + fitted, and that was "only" 365bhp.
Joking aside, if you want to sell it, let me know, please!
It has been a great thread to follow and I've thoroughly enjoyed the progress.
To be honest, there's no way I would get that through 'control technique' locally in Luxembourg. They didn't like my 2.5T S-Max with a GT3071R + + + fitted, and that was "only" 365bhp.
Joking aside, if you want to sell it, let me know, please!
It has been a great thread to follow and I've thoroughly enjoyed the progress.
Road trip to Spa for ‘Le Bug Show’ was awesome, loads of cars I've never seen before and after seeing other pictures plenty I missed so I'll definitely be back! Was great to get a chance to drive around the track and got a top 20 award which finished off a top weekend 
I also finally got the photoshoot for Volksworld done with some strange attachments, should be some good action shots and I can't wait to see them ( http://www.stevehallphotography.net).
After the trip to Spa, the race style compact boots finally gave up with dealing with the CV angle. They are mainly designed for race cars and are basically an inverted cone with little give so not surprising really. They were necessary to clear the coil-over springs. This picture is from underneath with the car on a 2 post lift and the suspension at full rebound so definitely not the worst position, the damper swings closer to the axle at ride height.
The long term fix was always to relocate the coil-over. I had a spare pair of trailing arms from a 944, these are identical to the beetle ones with the exception of some internal strengthening.
I made up new curved section to take a scallop out of the arm and also reweld the lower damper mount about 15mm further forwards.
All back together ready for clean up and paint.
Better view showing the additional clearance made.
As before this is with the suspension in full droop but now with a nice big silicone off road style CV boot that is designed for much more angularity than I will subject it to. At ride height I can get a finger between the spring and boot so clearance is no longer an issue. While I was at it I also fitted the 944 spring plates with the built in capability of a camber bolt anti-roll bar fitting to set the camber, it is also designed to take a toe adjustment tool. I had to lose the ride height adjustment due to clearance problems with the wheel but with the adjustable coil-overs this really isn't an issue for me...
I also finally got the photoshoot for Volksworld done with some strange attachments, should be some good action shots and I can't wait to see them ( http://www.stevehallphotography.net).
After the trip to Spa, the race style compact boots finally gave up with dealing with the CV angle. They are mainly designed for race cars and are basically an inverted cone with little give so not surprising really. They were necessary to clear the coil-over springs. This picture is from underneath with the car on a 2 post lift and the suspension at full rebound so definitely not the worst position, the damper swings closer to the axle at ride height.
The long term fix was always to relocate the coil-over. I had a spare pair of trailing arms from a 944, these are identical to the beetle ones with the exception of some internal strengthening.
I made up new curved section to take a scallop out of the arm and also reweld the lower damper mount about 15mm further forwards.
All back together ready for clean up and paint.
Better view showing the additional clearance made.
As before this is with the suspension in full droop but now with a nice big silicone off road style CV boot that is designed for much more angularity than I will subject it to. At ride height I can get a finger between the spring and boot so clearance is no longer an issue. While I was at it I also fitted the 944 spring plates with the built in capability of a camber bolt anti-roll bar fitting to set the camber, it is also designed to take a toe adjustment tool. I had to lose the ride height adjustment due to clearance problems with the wheel but with the adjustable coil-overs this really isn't an issue for me...
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