Building a Class 11 Lookalike.

I finally was able to get a bug back in the garage. I picked this one up a while back to replace Tugger our old Baja. I am planning on making it into a class 11 lookalike. That's basically a full bodied baja bug. I picked up this bug for a good price and the heater channels are good on it. It has some other rust issues but the heat is good so it will make a perfect winter driver here in Utah. Here it is in front of my lowered bug. I figure if you have a lowered bug, then you need to have a raised bug to even things out. Ha Ha.

 So the plans for this one is to install Tuggers engine, install raised spindles with new ball joints on the front, raise the back up, pack the wheel bearings, check the brakes, install Tuggers old tires on the stock wheels and install a new windshield. After that It will be road worthy and ready to cruise for the winter.

The engine that was in this bug was seized. The previous owner said it had a rod knock but I think he left the air cleaner off and water got down into the engine seizing it up. I had planned on installing the engine I have so we just needed to get it out.

 You can see from this picture that the engine has been sitting for a long time.

This is the engine I am planning on installing in the bug. It's a 1641 CC with a mild cam. We are going to strip it down and clean it up before we install it. I will powder coat all the tin and the doghouse before we put it in also. 2 winters in my old Baja bug took it's toll on it. That's why I wanted to get a full bodied baja.

 Here it is up high on jack stands ready for the engine to come out. Isaac helped me. He has been really excited to start working on this since I brought it home.

 20 minutes later and the engine was out. Here it is getting lowered to the floor.

 The throwout bearing looks good and I think I can use the clutch that is in it so that will save some money. Now we just need to choose which tins we are going to run and get them ready to install and we should be able to go back in with the new engine soon. Isaac wants the engine to be black, blue and chrome so that's what we are going to do. I do need to order some blue powder coat for it.

We threw on Tuggers wheels and tires to see how it would look. We are not going to run these wheels but we are going to use the tires. We are going to run the stock wheels so the offset is perfect. I don't want the tires sticking out of the fenders. We will clean up the stock wheels and probably run the little moons that were on them.

 This car had a brand new muffler on it for a fuel injected bug. It will be perfect for this car because it tucks up nice and far so we won't have to worry about tearing it off due to clearance issues. You can see it under the car in this picture. It's almost a 200 dollar muffler so that will save some money also.

 I think it will look pretty cool. We are going to pack the wheel bearings and install new ball joints while it is up in the air waiting for the engine to be installed.

 Here is Isaac, proud as can be. He really loved Tugger but I think he's coming around to the new bug.

So that's a wrap for the weekend. Hopefully you will see this bug running around town soon. If you are wondering what a class 11 bug is, here is a couple pictures.

It's a Baja race class that restricts you to a stock motor and pretty much stock suspension. We are building a class 11 lookalike because we want windows and we want to be able to drive it on the road everyday. It should be a fun project and one that we can modify along the way. Till next time, Keep the flywheel turning.