Aircooled VW South Africa

Hey everyone! Ive been surfing the net trying to find out if there are any performance and suspension conversions for an old beetle. im looking at buying one and doing it up but im not well versed with them so not sure if its possible to increase speed and handeling??
if anyone knows if it is, who does it and what kind of increase in performance im looking at, i would appreciate it as id like to get one up and running as an awesome project car.

Oh yeh.. also if anyone know who does convertable soft top conversions on them..

Thanks guys.. Rock on!!

Well Matthew, welcome!
Not entirely sure what it is you're asking as it isn't very specific. Short answer: YES! That's a large part of what this site is about. Might I suggest that you spend a little time reading old posts and getting an idea of exactly what it is you want to do. More specific questions will get more specific answers. Take a little time to learn about & understand the different mods & options out there.
Then fast starts to become a matter of how big your wallet is - as they say you can have it cheap,fast & safe - pick two .
As to the convertible thing, it is a whole lot more complex than slicing the roof off and making up a soft top. Can be done, but again maybe spend more time researching the details. That will help you understand the size of the number when someone quotes you to do it properly!!
Good luck with your project!
Barry

Matthew have a look in the Technical section there is more than enough info to keep you going and increase you knowledge on a variety of subjects regarding ACVW's. Barry almost had it but should have said Cheap, Power, Reliable! You can have cheap power but no reliability, you can have power & reliability but it's not cheap & finally you can have cheap reliability but not power..... Get the idea?

Beetles are the cheapest cars to buy but the MOST expensive to restore!!!

"....performance and suspension...." is in direct relation to that brown thing in your pocket carrying the mooolah.

And then again, performance, engine and suspension, is in the eye of the beholder..... How long is your piece of string?

If you ask me the cheapest performance upgrade for a Aircooled VW is either a beachbuggy or any type 3 with a type 4 engine... maybe with a pair of dual downdraught carbs.

Minimal conversion and aftermarket parts needed with a seriously sturdy bottom end as standard.

Maybe I'm biased ... or maybe I have experience

Mr Bugger can advise you on softtops etc

thanks everyone, very much appreciated . ill definitely look at the technical part of the site to gather some more info on the topic.
usually when i start a project car that i don't know very well, i try get to speak to as many people as i can that know about it before i go ahead with it. Ive done an old Impreza that turned out awesome and a BMW Box that took a little while to come right but did in the end. now i have a starting budget of R50k for a beetle that id really like to do. i thought id spend around R25k on buying the car in reasonably good nick leaving me with another R25k to start up. Do you guys think this is a decent starting amount for conversions and what kind of conversions do you think i could get in this region? i haven't really caught on to the meaning of aircooled VW engine but i will go to the technical forum now to check it out.

Also, please if anyone knows of someone that is professional in this area that i could go and speak to face to face to get an idea of my options before i go ahead with buying one i would really appreciate it.

Shweeeeet!!!!!!

I'd say buy a bug for under 15k, they are available if you look and ask the guys on this site, cause 35k will go further than 25k....

matthew wrote: Also, please if anyone knows of someone that is professional in this area that i could go and speak to face to face to get an idea of my options before i go ahead with buying one i would really appreciate it.

Shweeeeet!!!!!!

Stick around and be polite... the guys in the know will chip in and then you will be well on your way. there are a lot of people here that can help. The meaning of aircooled is really simple, the engine is cooled by a fan blowing air over the engine(heads and cylinders that are finned) so no radiators are needed(however, an extra oil cooler with fan does help things along keeping temps down)....

OK, Workshop101 dismissed. Go play nicely and be on time tomorrow for lesson #2.

25K on mods isnt going to get you too far....
Keep reading and come back with some specific questions once you have a better idea of things

Thanks gents.. sounds good, i have been looking around the site and i think Ive landed in the right place. once Ive got a better idea of what to do and after some research i am sure their are plenty tricks you guys can help me with. it's all in the fun of doing these types of things hey..

R25k can get you quite far, provided that you do all of the work yourself

shot Blitz! ive worked on exterior parts of a BMW box engine like radiator, air intake, water pump etc.. is a beetle engine difficult to take apart and back together with some decent mechanic skills?

Matthew this is a very good guide to get you started.

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9069

Eben you're a king! thanks dude..