There’s been a raft of interesting VW-based projects coming up for sale recently, but this alloy bodied creation promises to be one of the most intriguing.
According to the listing on eBay here, it’s thought to be a one-off from the early 1970s and features a sleek hand-crafted aluminium body supported by a tubular steel frame which sits on a full length Beetle floorpan. This dates from 1972/’73, thus making it tax exempt. Judging by the photos, it was possibly painted Porsche Gulf blue at some point, but we assume the current owner has rubbed this off to reveal the fact that the material underneath is a more exotic aluminium underneath, not fibreglass.
The running gear is equally retro and includes Sprint Star steel wheels measuring 5.5×15 at the front and a more generous 8×15 at the rear. At the front there’s a 4in narrowed beam.
Out back there’s an early single port 1200cc engine which apparently turns freely and has no end float, which is a good sign. There’s no fan housing or generator fitted by the looks of it, although the latter appears in a picture with a box of other spares, along with a Buggy exhaust. Handily, the whole rear section of the car can be removed to allow good access.
Inside there’s some very serious looking plastic bucket seats, a Mota Lita steering wheel, T-shifter gearlever but no dashboard as such. Again, a speedo and other items of switchgear appear in an accompanying box of bits – so it will simply be a case of joining up all the dots. The important thing is that the floorpan looks solid.
Quite rightly the vendor explains that there’s a fair bit of work left to do, such as sorting the wiring, brakes, the interior, getting the wipers to work and fitting door handles etc. That said, with so much left to do it’s the perfect blank canvas and it would be a nice project to put your own mark on. Being aluminium bodied, it’s just that bit more of a conversation piece than some of the other fibreglass kit cars out there. And when it’s finished, just imagine the fun you could have in it around the track…
What are you waiting for?
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage