Beetle to 911

[NJO]

Hi Folks,
Can you strip a VW Beetle down and rebuild it into a 911? I'm interested in doing a long term project with my son....and I've always wanted a 911. Is there a good guide to use for a project like that?

Thank you.

[Scooter]

No.

[Oh Haha]

Anything is possible with the right amount of $$$ but making a 911 out of a Beetle would probably end up costing you more than a nice 911. You would have to re-engineer pretty much the entire vehicle using 911 parts. The cars ARE related but not that close.

You can find good 911s that you and your son could work on together, depending on your skills.

[Tsunamiboy]

NJO knows how to have fun by posting this on Pelican.

[LakeCleElum]

Question will be best answered on a VW Forum or Facebook

[hcoles]

there is a huge community that "fixes" up VW's, lots of info. and aftermarket parts, if more power is wanted almost any level of 4 cyl VW motor is avail. just a matter of $$. Horsing around with a 911 motor in a VW is a waste of money IMHO

[Les Paul]

Better yet make a Ferrari out of an old Pontiac Fiero.

[archtech]

looks like Roger Rabbit car!

[Bob Kontak]

I lived in Anchorage in the 80's and two brothers (Bowden I think was their name) put a 930 engine in a Beetle and raced it. Everything was changed out (brakes/suspension) and it ran like a scalded dog. But it was still a Beetle on the outside.

[911freek]

Excuse me, but 911 is, essentially, a beetle on steroids :-)

I had a few beetles, and know more on them then I do on the 911. Its a totally different setup. True there are similarities in the overall design: engine setup, backwheel drive, fuel tank location etc. They even share some switches and in the early models things like heat levers and hand brake levers.

HOWEVER, the beetle is significantly taller, having a higher center of gravity - will be difficult to keep stable at high speeds. The back breaks are drums-only, engine chamber is narrower - the engine is smaller and the flow of air into the engine will not cool a high-RPM engine without a significant modification.

Restoring a beetle is fun, and can yield a great fun car to drive - that is dependable and low-cost to run and maintain. The main issue I always had with mine was the lack of AC - a problem solved as well in recent years.

Good luck!

[feelyx]

You would probably have an easier time grafting a 928 into a bug than a 911. There is a guy in germany that has an mfi 2.7 mid engine in a bug that is sweet but can't find his video.
YouTube - V8 Bi-Turbo( Loco & Spenna Motorsport )
YouTube - El_Loco´s V8 BI-Turbo Käfer


I'm starting work on a turbo rotary into a bug, suprising how much more tech on this subject.
YouTube - Vw Beetle 400hp rotaryengine, Simtech


Tim

[Racerbvd]

Why not just strip & rebuild a 911??
74 911S project for sale.. | Facebook

[GirtAllerton]

How about a 912. Great shape of the 911. With a motor you can break your teeth in on. Easy to find one at a better price than a 911. Thinking of doing one myself next for a daily driver.

[Bobboloo]

It's actually not that hard to do.

Basically you remove all the parts from the Beetle except the interior dome lights. Then you replace those parts with a 911 that has it's interior dome lights removed and Voila! you have a replica 911.

Your welcome.

[fbarrett]

Put a big-ass 914 or VW motor into a Karmann-Ghia instead! Don't forget to upgrade suspension, transmission, steering, brakes, seats, instruments, wheels, tires, heating, lights, windshield washers, and just about every other consarned (that's a technical term) system. Then spend at least five years developing your beast into something approaching a real car. Sure, you can put an Allison V12 into a VW bug, but it'd be much cheaper, way faster, and far better overall to just buy a good used 911...

Frank

[VitoV]

Oh, what a great thread! I can just hear all the 911 fanatics absolutely gurgling with apoplexy.

An issue of Panorama a couple of years ago featured a 356 that had been rebuilt with modified 911 underpinnings. It turned out to be a lovely car, not terribly far from stock-looking on the outside but with the dynamics of the later generation machine. But... and here's the key... it was built by someone with a huge amount of experience and a very, very well-stocked toolbox. And bank account.

If you are at the stage of asking the bulletin board whether this is possible and what reference books you might use, then I'm afraid there's no realistic way you might be able to carry out this project. It's just too much.

But maybe you're just jerking our collective chain, in which case kudos to you sir!

[MysticLlama]

Yes, but I believe only a slant-nose body will fit properly.

[Joe Bob]

I put a 2.2/6 in a 65 "C".....it was fun, got tons of crap....but it was fun....

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

I lived in Anchorage in the 80's and two brothers (Bowden I think was their name) put a 930 engine in a Beetle and raced it. Everything was changed out (brakes/suspension) and it ran like a scalded dog. But it was still a Beetle on the outside.

Whitey Davis was the guy who first shoehorned the naturally aspirated 911 motor into a 73 SuperBeetle. He worked at Dale Hirsh's independent Porsche/VW/Audi shop. Dale and his shop was the focal point of a lot of VW based race cars. (Dale's shop was also THE Porsche shop.)

Terry Bowden ran a 69 911 and was the first person to teach me about going around corners. Found out a few years ago that Terry died tragically when his car fell on him when he was working on it.

There are some great videos of Chad Yoshіtomi driving one of the 911 powered beetles that came out of the "run what cha brung" mentality that made up the Alaska Sports Car Club.
Look at 8:30 and 9:20 to see an exhibition of some serious car control. You never know what part of the track may have thawed or frozen each lap so it takes some serious 'hack' driving to consistently lay down good times. Chad was always a seriously smooth and consistent driver who came from a crazy motorcycle background.

The blue 911 powered beetle is driven by Jim Hemmesch. Prettier car but keeping up with Chad will always be hard.

[Wil Ferch]

There is a great web link somehwere of a nicely done 3.6 911 engine into a Karmann-Ghia....with all the brake/suspension upgrades to match..... I think a great video is there too.