Beetle Cabrio VWRX

Subaru powered 1303 beetle cabriolet

Highlights of specification for the build are:

•Body

oMain body restored with new heater channels, strengtheners, bulkhead, etc etc

oSpare wheel well modified to take main radiator and charge-cooler radiator

oFuel tank extended, baffled and fitted with internal up-rated fuel pump (HRC 310lpm)

oRear end removable on frame, VW bus inspection hatch above engine

oFront wings: 2” wider in fibreglass

oRear wings: 40mm wider in steel with forced cold air intake incorporated into left hand wing

oK&N panel air filter built in to inner wing, with water drain

oLengthened bumper irons with stock bumpers

oRepaint in original colour (Schwartz Metallic)

oGerman Sonnenland roof

•Chassis

oCustom framehorns, torsion housing central section removed

oCustom perimeter frame rails with one-off bead-rolled floors, finished in epoxy mastic 121.

oOBP reverse mounted pedal box with twin brake master cylinders for adjustable bias and hydraulic clutch under false floor

oFront: Kerscher coil-over struts, heavy duty anti-roll bar

oRear: IRS with Protech coil-over dampers and swing axle length torsion bars, 944 anti-roll bar

o19” Porsche Carrera Sport wheels, 10j rear, 8,5j front

oVredestein Ultrac Sessenta tyres, 265/30R19 & 235/35R19

oPorsche 911 (996) brembo brakes front & rear

oBraided hoses, 911 fluid reservoir.

oSpacesaver 996 spare wheel

•Powertrain

oRebuilt subaru EJ257 shortblock (2.5l STI), forged supertech pistons, rebuilt V4 sti heads, ARP 11mm head studs, external oil breather catch tank, shortened/extended sump with RCM baffle plate, Garrett SC46 turbo, ported headers with custom 2” crosspipe, 3” bellmouth from turbo back, magnaflow 3" muffler, Nismo 740cc injectors, ESL daughterboard mapped by Bob Rawle, Aeromotive FPR on reversed parallel fuel rails, new-age subaru coilpack conversion. Estimated 400-450bhp, 450ftlbs.

oCustom charge-cooler system with bosch water pump and Pace pre-rad, inlet manifold spacers/insulaters

oCooling system modified to external thermostat with Pace sierra cosworth radiator, fans controlled by ECU

o1989 Porsche 911 ‘G50 shortnose’ transaxle fitted with rebuilt 964 RS LSD (80/20). 930 CVs, aftermarket axles and drive flanges, KEP uprated Porsche stage 1 clutch (550ftlbs)

•Interior

•Square weave carpets

•Heated Porsche 996 sports seats and seatbelts

•Rear seat modified to clear transmission tunnel

•Dashboard widened to fit early Porsche 924 gauges with additional Stack Oil pressure and turbo pressure gauges. Mini switches.

•Seats and dash re-trimmed in saddle tan leather by Auto-trim, Leicester

•Alpine CDA-X001 head unit, Rainbow component speakers up front in one-off fibreglass foot well enclosures, pioneer rear speakers in kick panels

•One-off heater system built into stock duct system, stock dash controls with t25 fan switch & electronic Ford heater valve

Some photos from the initial purchase and parts collecting..

I found this tax exempt, RHD cabrio advertised on the volkszone forum.

It was sold as in very good overall condition

with a brand new interior!

It won't stay stock for too long though! I'm currently collecting parts to make a very fast 4 seater cabrio.

This is an Impreza WRX RA engine I found on ebay. In standard tune they pump out 260bhp and have a closed deck engine block (the one to have for REALLY big power) as standard.

I bought a full set of early Porsche 944 hubs/brakes for the project

And then came across a very good deal on a set of 2003 Porsche 996 monobloc calipers with only 5000 miles of use! I'll have to use some thicker discs on the 944 hubs and make some caliper brackets but being radial mount this should be fairly easy.

A full set of fully refurbished Porsche 993 Cup II alloys will set the car off nicely!

They are all 17"x7J with an offset of 55mm which means they will fit under the standard wings.

I was thinking about a G50 or the stock transmission and replacing that with a 'built' one when it broke. I finally decided I want to do it right first time and I have come across a G50/03 at a reasonable price with only 25k miles on it so will be going wiht that. Lots of chassis modifications on the way to make it fit!

I recently went to Stoneleigh kit car show and picked up a few bargains. A new Ford Sierra radiator which is about as wide as wil fit in the spare wheel well. A slimline radiator fan and an overflow bottle with bracket. I found with the speedster that the original expansion tank was not big enough so this extra capacity is needed.

Custom Chrome were also at the show and I picked up some 2 1/2" stainless mandrel bends and a muffler. I phoned them afterwards and found out that they also sell flanges for the turbo and oxygen sensor bosses. The flanges they sell have an extra cut out for the wastegate so I will also have to pipe that back into the main pipe further downstream.

Photoshopped the wheels on now I have the tyres. I also lowered it slightly.

I really don't like the look of a dashboard covered in aftermarket instruments and the 911 style dash has been done before. I have decided to use the Subaru Impreza turbo instrument binacle. I will reshape and cover teh stock dashboard for this. The only gauge missing is one for boost.

I bought the Subaru surround too but unfortunately the instrument panel doesn't fix to it! I will probably adapt those two metal parts so that it all screws together.It looks very deep but most of it is the depth of the 'hood'.

Here's the transmission! From a 1992 Carrera 2 911 which should be more than up to the job of only 300bhp...

Beetle style flywheel fits onto the input shaft and looks like a nice fit, I just hope the ring gear and starter motor mesh correctly! If they do, I'll just use a beetle Kennedy clutch and make up a new release arm for cable operation to keep things simple.

4 row aluminium radiator designed for a Sierra Cosworth for race use, perfect size for the super beetle front end!

Cut off saw bought from ebay, I've been meaning to get one of these for a long time.