Article | The unconventional Hot Rod

Like many a car enthusiast I too would one day like to do a project car of some sorts, and I can think of nothing more satisfying than bringing an old, dilapidated eyesore back to life. It’s not just about the bragging rights when you get it right, but the fact that you saw each and every bolt, scraped and sanded every surface, spent untold amounts of hours detailing and imagining how it would look like when it’s done.

There are tons of beautiful classics that can be scraped up for almost next to nothing, most of them just shells, shells beaming potential, and on occasion, some shells just better off being used for chicken coops. This is unfortunately where most of us will stop, at the window shopping part, if we find a really good car in a rather good condition, we actually consider taking on a project of this magnitude, we ask our wallets for permission, and every now and then the answer is positive.

Sadly though, for the rest of us, all it will stay is a dream, a faint glimmer of a time to be yourself, to play again and forget about the real life out there. A far away hope of owning your own open wheeled, chrome lined, flake-painted, bright coloured, jaw dropping ride. We will go to a car show, drool over a couple of dream cars, and walk away jealous, because of the missed opportunities we experienced, and our bad luck to never be able to secure a treasure like what we just saw. Its kinda like wanting to own a Ferrari, or some exotic super car, but knowing you will never be able to afford it, not legally anyway. It is a depressing reality for a true petrol head.

There is an alternative, and hope for people like us, who wants to but cant. It is a bit of a hack, but the end looks just as good, although it can still be on the expensive side, it’s a lot cheaper, parts are still readily available, and due to the general construction of this particular vehicle, it is a relatively easy to work on, and the potential is massive, and because this classic, although very common, is not “rodded” often here in SA, you will also get some credit for being creative. I only ever saw one such attempt, and it did look very good, I can only imagine what it would look like if it’s done properly.

I am talking about nothing other than a simple VW Beetle, it started its life in the mid 1930’s under the order of Adolf Hitler, and survived right through the ages, until its final rollout on the 30^th of July 2003, keep in mind this is the classic beetle, having a total production run of 21,529,464, way more than the 15 million model T Fords, and still today, the most produced vehicle ever!

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