Yeah my brother married an american and despite her living in Ireland for the last 15 years she still won't or can't drive a manual. Automatics here are pretty uncommon
This 517 HP Subaru-Powered 1973 VW Super Beetle is a jaw-dropping blend of classic style and modern power. It's a true testament to the creativity and skill of the builder, transforming an iconic car into a performance beast while keeping its vintage charm intact. It's not just a car; it's automotive art on wheels. Stunning work！！！
I've always loved the idea of a sleeper, and the fact that a stock Bug is basically an anti-performance car (even though I prefer performance cars), but a lot can be done with them. This is the PERFECT sleeper, and it's awesome you got to drive it.👍 Thanks for the great video!
I was fixated on John's face while HE was driving. He's all subdued, like a college history professor at first, but you see this wild side in him that silently loves the adrenaline etc... lol. It's hilarious. I love people that shock me (appear one way, but have another hidden side to them), in a way he's a sleeper himself so the car is a fitting project to his personality.
I learned to drive a clutch on my best friend's '56 Microbus Deluxe, all of 36 horsepower. It struggled to make it up even a slight grade without straining. That was back in '68. What great times those were. This car would have amazed and defeated all the muscle cars back then, but we probably wouldn't have lived very long........it would be like trying to tame a wild horse. Great vid, and what superb engineering went into this project!
Exactly!! Amount of kids I see on YT and other social media who label a car a ‘sleeper’ when it’s got wide slick drag tires, massive engine jutting out of the engine bay and a parachute out the back 😂😂😂
I've probably watched 100s of such videos. But... this is the absolute best, hands down. The ultimate sleeper here, is Nicole herself! Just a joy to watch this, the fun, enthusiasm, passion, knowledge from two real car experts. Thank you.
Best line tho, “It’s like having your foot on dynamite “. He is a genius, a mad scientist that’s afraid of his own creation. John you did a beautiful job, wow
For being the first (and probably last!) time someone else drove his baby I'd say he was exceptionally composed. I'd have been green with dread and woulda done serious damage to my skivies.
Have you ever seen "normal" people getting the chance to learn how to drive a Formula One car? They got the same problem as this woman: when you push the throttle too hard, you get far more power than you can handle. And you leave the tarmac. Damage. Oops. It happens before you can lift your right foot, which would probably block the rear tyres. Oops. Fast cars get you in trouble! Did I mention oversteer? Did I mention carbon brakes that do not brake when you'd appreciate it? Did I mention how tired you get, concentrating on everything important?
And there should be a certain amount of fear with vehicles this powerful, unlike a lot these younger Hellcat owners who are wrapping around poles and under objects that don’t move.
When you get asked the same question(s) a million times the answers start to get amusing. The spotlight, figuratively, literally too, is a unique experience for a introvert
You look like you're at the county fair bobing for apples the way your head goes forward & back while John is accelerating thru the gears, with a 😯 expression on your face! What an incredible wild ride Nicole! Thanks for sharing. 😎👍
@@patrickfitzwater5511 Exactly. Asking questions and hearing answers is how we learn. I'm pretty sure she was playing dumb, but even if she wasn't, at least she's asking questions.
Who didn't have a Herbie Bug in the 70s? I had the flat window model, yellow, and that thing was fast and easy to work on. I had a lot of fond memories driving that car. And WOW John, you made that bug even more fun! How is that possible?! Congrats!
Why weren’t they double clutching? For those who don’t know what that is, you’re in a gear, you put the clutch in, shift into neutral, let the clutch out and rev the engine, put the clutch in again and shift into the next gear without grinding. I had a 1950 International Harvester Metro delivery van without synchromesh. A little tricky at first, but once you are use to it, you don’t even think about it.
@@myfantasy4u296 aka granny clutching. Never even knew that was a thing since all my cars always had synchros. I'm sure you can get used to the process but it's hard to invision it. Heard that truckers still do it because it makes trucking easier.
@@myfantasy4u296 I was learned the same driving trucks in the army in the 80'ies. It was the Danish infantry, and we had some really old trucks, probably left overs from WW2. Shift up, double clutch, shift down skift to neutral, hit the gas and shift down... not so bad when you get used to it
What a great build...I'm surprised he let her drive it...this guy is a master at engineering..500 plus horsepower.in a 2000 pound car is getting it done...I love the car...thank you for showing us..
A really nice conversion.... for Germany. But what are you going to do with it in the States? You are only allowed to sneak and not really drive properly. The original 50 hp would have been more than enough for that!
500 HP in a 2000 lb car is damn near useless. It's got significantly more power and less tire (No aero, not to mention) than top-level GT cars, let alone lemans prototypes! The most usable horsepower with an old volkswagen is somewhere around 200. Wicked fast but still controllable - chassis won't be flexing like crazy, no major mods, and the kind of rubber you'll need is available for the street.
I learnt to drive in a VW Beetle. Years later, I bought my own and restored it. It was the 1302S, with the 1600 engine. Flat out, it could do 0 - 60. Maybe even 70. This is amazing. Doing without synchromesh isn’t as big a deal as you might think. It wasn’t very good on my Beetle anyway, so I spent most of my time rev matching. That and scraping ice off the inside of the windscreen in winter.
@@ubacow7109 kkkeeeeeTap on a clip to paste it in the text box.Tap on a clip to paste it in the text box.Tap on a clip to pareerste it in the text box.
My dad had an orange '73 Super Beetle ❤ The look on his face when she's shifting...I used to see that look on my dad's face when he was teaching me to drive. I learned on a VW bus. I was terrified. That was 35 years ago. I love manual transmissions though and always will. Thanks, Dad, I miss you so much ❤
Had a '72 blue 1200 in the mid ' 80s,and my girlfriend was learning in it. One point, a few hundred miles from home on a weekend away, she stalled on a slight hill, she rolled backwards, screaming her head off in panic, me pulling my hair out from by my ears, screaming back repeatedly "HANDBRAKE.. HANBRAKKKKEEE!", she did, almost at the bottom of the hill, and SNAP, both cables gone at once😂. Luckily, no damage at all, and a very scary drive home the nxt day, with a slipping clutch,which had started on journey up, and now, no handbrake at all! 😳. I was slipping gears, trying to get that power down, and boy oh boy, did i shite myself on many incidents getting home. Every slight hill, may as well have been mount everest 🤣. She apologised so many times on the way home, my girlfriend, not my totally innocent little bug ❤️😅😂
I learned in a 72 VW bus also. That thing was cold in the Montana winter and hot in the summer. I somehow did doughnuts in a gravel pit without rolling it. I didn't tell my dad till about 20 years later.
This is one of the best sleeper cars I've ever seen!!! The expression on his face while accelerating is quite a show lol. I can't imagine how exciting it must be to drive this Beetle!
You said it! That's the ultimate sleeper, largely because he put so much effort into making it look close to stock. The thing goes like a rocket, and looks to be about as hard to drive as one. I'm not really a VW fan at all, but that's a really cool car.
Love the VW . I owned a 73 Super Beatle back in the early 80s. I paid $1,000, drove it for 2 years, had it tuned so well, I was getting 42 mpg. Sunroof...no gas heater or a/c. Loved it.
The most painful part of this video was watching John's expression when she ground the gears. Even though I normally don't care for vehicles like this, I found this very informative and amazing what John did to this vehicle.
19:43 Nicole senses that John is about to say GET OUT, so she deftly changes the discussion to allow John to discuss other topics of the build rather than suffer the driver training session. Then they change seats and John proceeds to scare the crap outta Nic and himself. So fun! Thanks for sharing!
Showing your imperfections is so genuine and relatable. I have watched you expertly drive a dog box in the years after this which exhibits personal growth. I'm a happy fan and subscriber going through your back catalogue.
the problem is as you know if the other door is open it shuts so very easily. On a sun roof model the top lets the air out. They need the vents like the 914 has.
@@charleswittmer2477 my "94 Mercedes E Class Estate has one way vents each side behind the rear wheels. Still makes a big difference when closing the door if nothing else is open compared to when a door, window or the roof is open.
Cars like this might be fun to drive occasionally, but they're way too unrefined to be used as as actual transport. Also, that kind of "On/Off" power delivery without traction control means you're always at the mercy of the weather. If you drove it somewhere and there was an unexpected light shower, the return trip would go from being "Fun" scary to "OMG, I don't want to be doing this" scary instantly. I've tried to use track spec cars (Though none as wild as this one) as my only car a couple of times in my life, and after a while I'd always get to the point where, if I actually had to drive somewhere, I'd borrow a van from work rather than use the car. After a couple thousand miles you learn that big power, straight cut dog boxes and ceramic puck clutches might sound cool, but are NOT what you want on the road.
@@Rimrock300 I couldn't have said it better. I like to build them, owning and driving them isn't that important. My daily is a Honda Accord with a CVT transmission. Boring, smooth and safe.
Well done Nicole! The key here is you get to know the RATIOS of the gearbox you are driving - Very difficult as every syncro gearbox is different. To my point - I'm a retired accredited semi truck driver instructor. Semi truck transmissions do not have0syncros, but each gear separation is the same RPM difference, so the spacing is is a constant. When you know the spacing you listen to the rpm's and shift shift accordingly. Many truck drivers shift without the clutch once underway extending clutch life. Shifting an syncro-less automobile transmission is much more difficult task! Happy trails and well done!
Poor John -- he looked like he was going to lose his cookies in anticipation of Nicole driving his pride and joy! You can't really blame him, that is one very cool bug!
@@zvotaisvfi8678 It has no synchros in the dog box transmission. Of course its going to be harder to change gears, therefore more challenging to drive.
On the one hand you have the guys who saw “Fast and Furious” and then went out and bought a lot of fancy looking doo dads and stuck them on their Hondas and Toyotas to give the illusion of a tuner. On the other hand, you’ve got this guy
He considers a Tuna to be fish in a tin. Tuners apparently believe a loud exhaust makes you go faster. Its what they do around here other than stick, bolt or screw parts from Auto Zone on their cars. Irrelevant rear spoilers have run their course.
This brings back an embarrassing moment of mine from 1976. I had just gotten off work at a ham packing plant on Burbank Blvd, Burbank and was at a stop light in my yellow souped up 1969 Roadrunner. I had added headers, a racing cam kit, and a few other things to boost my already decent horsepower. I was more than confident that I could blow the doors off many cars that might come along, when all of a sudden this VW pulls up to me with two young women in it. The first thing that struck me was the sound that the bug made. It was not super loud, but had that very distinct radical cam rhythm and guttural exhaust that had no business coming from the VW. I also noticed that the back seat area was covered in a plastic shroud, not to mention fatty tires and the suspension being beefed up. Anyway, these two young women were just looking over at me smiling. I knew something was up! I kind of gave them this look like, I know somethings not right, but lets go for it. When the light turned green, it was on. From the moment I released the clutch and started blasting forward, that damn VW basically just bounced forward and ahead of me like someone shooting a rubber band. The race was over in seconds, I lost this one to a bug. When I caught up to them, they were laughing. What could I do. At that moment, I'd would rather be having a root canal then feel the way I felt. Well, as mentioned, that was back in 1976, so I've been over it for weeks now.
I actually have seen something like this before, in a magazine back in the day. Someone stuffed a 426 hemi into a Gremlin. I can't imagine there being much room under that hood.
@@insomniacbritgaming1632 I had 72 vega with 6.0 lq9 Twin turbo, 5 speed. Much like this VW it wanted to kill you.When I was younger fast cars was my dream. Now that I am older, I cant keep up.
form over function unfortunately... like the car. That thing looks gorgeous and would handle like a pig. You can put all sorts of engines in Beetles or soup up the originals to crazy horsepower but nothing makes them handle decent at high speed. They're death traps.
Without any synchcros in the dog gearbox makes it more challenging changing gears. Love this bug, he made it tough to drive to make it exclusively his own. Cool riding video!
When you're skilled in using the non synchro box it can be quicker than synchro. I learned to drive on a truck with what we called "crash" gears and before long I had the gear changing perfected, even the double clutching and matching revs when changing down. You have to learn it but it's not hard to learn.
Non synchro gearboxes simply require timing your upshifts and Rev matching your downshifts...and can be done without the clutch in case of failure and not having to start from a complete stop.
I let my wife drive my 57 Chevy Belaire hot rod. When she took off, she let up on gas peddle, and it pulled a wheelie when she hit the peddle again. She didn't want to drive it any more. 😆😆 It was a sweet hot rod. I keep the body original. with all its chrome, beef up the suspension, and bigger tires and mag wheels> SHE WAS A BEAST > With the Pontiac 389> she would get it down the road big time
That was great! The only exterior "tell" of this sleeper is the width of the rear tires. You have to come up on it from behind it to even notice the rear tires are over twice as wide as OEM's. Just loved this reveal, thanks.
Way too much torque steer in and overpowered super short wheelbase car. Especially with those tiny front tires trying to hold the rear end in a straight line. 300 HP would’ve been way more fun to drive.
This little blue Superbug is truly blessed, my Superbug that I have had for 38 years now is mandarin red and I pray to god that one day it can enjoy some of this blue bugs treatment. What a amazingly, well engineered and beautifully built car. Congratulations to the owner/builder-job well done.
My boss let me drive his Viper GTS once...has no traction control. I almost lost it barely hitting the pedal going 60 on the highway. Scariest moment I’ve ever had behind the wheel.
I would be suspicious about the aerodynamics of that car: shape was never designed for such speed, both over the top (aerofoil?) AND under the bottom (lifting? without air dams?)
Reminds me of how Kevin Hart let his buddy drive his souped up barracuda and the guy lost it and almost killed Kevin. Only turn over your beast mobile over to an experienced muscle car driver who dosn't get freaked out when the horses under the hood decide to gallop from a slow trot. Fortunately , he warned her more than once not to rev it up and that she needed the warning.
It's always on the edge of being so. He should have just told her, no offense, but no one drives it but me. He gave an adequate demonstration of what could happen.
I was working as a VW tech from 1971 until 1985. That 73 113 Super Beetle had a 63 HP 1600 cc dual port engine with a 34-pict carb. A plain bug was a "111" with a flat windshield and torsion bar front suspension. The Super Beetle "113" had a curved windshield and McPherson struts.
JR has always been a very modest guy. He was a professional musician for decades playing on countless soundtracks for Hollywood. Then he moved over to fabrication work in the offroad world. Yet if you met him on the street you'd never know.
Owner is not afraid of the car... That look is concentration and focus. If anything, he is probably afraid of wrecking something that he spent 1,000s of hours designing and fabricating.
Watching you is like watching a ghost. Nicole you are the doppelganger of my late aunt Linda. I miss her very much and you bring a little tear of joy into my world. New sub
John's like me. The shorter the conversation, the better and silence is pure gold. My favorite people are the ones you can be around in complete silence without feeling awkward.
Nice bug! I have built many VW's in the last 50 years starting with my first bug at 15 yrs old, 65 now! I had a bug that ran in the 9's in the quarter-mile at 140 mph in the 1970's. That was a type 1 VW motor. I had to rebuild it after about 5000 miles. I raced it on the street at many of the local street racing groups. Lost one race in all that I did and went back the ne=xt week and beat him too. Just had to change the spark plugs it was missing from the top of 3rd and all through 4th the first time so I let off. The next week the guy swore I put another motor in the car. LOL! My last VW was an even faster Ghia in the 90's. Never raced it, so I don't know how much faster, but it was noticeable. If you build the VW trans right, it will hold that power no problem and it will shift much better. That was a bad choice of transmissions to put in that car. It is like driving a big rig diesel truck! There are transmissions that will hold twice the power this bug is putting out. I had a friend who was the teacher at VW of America and taught building transmissions. He built my trans with close-ratio 3rd and 4th gears, it never failed and I put it through hell running 9" firestone wets on the street. That car would holeshot about everyone by a good 10 car lengths racing the V8 cars. Even the V8 vega race cars couldn't keep close. The good ol days! VW's are a blast, always have been and still are today!
Sleeper VW beetles have been around for decades. I remember someone building a V8 powered one back in the 1960's/70s. So not a new concept. That being said, good job on this one. Of course, anyone listening to it start and idle will know immediately that this is not a normal VW beetle or super beetle.
This man deserves a medal for his stoic display of emotion and patience when "teaching" her to drive it. If you've never driven a dog box before (what I learned on) it's a whole different deal and takes some getting used to. Combine that with a hair trigger throttle and it's something bad just waiting to happen. I had a yellow, '75 super beatle with fuel injection and a 5spd and that thing would haul ass! 😆 You can put a radiator in the back and intercooler up front, massaged into the body, allowing you to keep most of your stock front end/trunk space. See the other bug that got a Subaru engine treatment and all the shoehorning they did, but it's beautiful 😀
This is a great build, loved it. I had a 1965 for five years. Drove it in South Carolina, Panama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana. Even got a speeding ticket in Panama for going, supposedly 35 in a 25 zone. Got to be aware of ANY Road signs no matter where they are!!! Bought a boat, needed a truck, hated the truck, wanted(too late) my vw back.
This reminds me of an interview with a guy who had built 12-cylinder aircraft-engined motorcycle. When asked how fast it was, he said something like 'I'm not crazy; I'll never drive this thing.' John's concentration during the drive reminded me of it. He only smiles when he's backing off.
If we'd been going right, it might have been 3 or 4 miles before you'd have gotten scared, buuut since we're going left, your gonna have to get scared, immediately.
i love when she's driving and he's just thinkin "i over-engineered the shit outta this thing and you're either gonna frag my gearbox all over the road or drive it into something hard"
John, you're so awesome to let her drive that wild ride! When I saw your video of you driving it, I had no clue how it had to feel. Seeing Nicole's reactions was priceless! Thanks for sharing the fun!!!
I just watched the Duke video and loved it so much that I went back to your very first video. I paused it at 14:32... He's smiling, you're speechless. Amazing. Awesome build Sir.
Nice interview Nicole! You covered this build very well. It's too bad the test drive had no editing. The test-drive video was nerve wracking to watch. I empathize with the builder and definitely with you as you showcased his treasured one off offspring. Props to John, to the build and to you for showcasing it and to you both for getting through that. The build is so clean! I will say as a shop owner who does this to Vanagon's and every other Subaru chassis, that is so clean, sterile and hospitable grade work. A+ work! It is unfortunate the VW snobs and Subaru snobs will ignore the genius behind this.
Well purists have no ability to think outside the box...this is a rocketsled without rails...I remember back in the day running across bugs retrofitted with Porsche 2180's...
Anything with over 500 rear wheel hp and that short of a Wheelbase is going to be so hypersensitive to anything you do at the wheel, and this is not even taking into consideration what you also do with the gas pedal...
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it's done. You can go out and buy a 700HP Mopar if you'd like to, but anyone else can go and buy the exact same thing. Nothing special there. Building something like this is a work of art, love, and pure design genius.
Came back to this over a year later, still one of the best ride-along/then drives, so many parts made me laugh, made my hairs stand on end, an gave me a very cheap cardio workout, wonderful beast of a VW, awesome video to watch on a rainy dismal day.
Love that ride!!! When I was younger I raced dune buggies with VW motors. There was a guy who ad a 2180 motor, no fan (don’t need it going that fast he said) and ran on jet fuel. I was in the passenger side all buckled up and he said “You will need to hold on the hand grip” and all of us had a T handle welded to the front dash bar with bicycle grips on it. When I went to reach for the hand grips he launched it and I played hell trying to get that bar in my hand and his goal was for me not to. Long story short, the flat pan under that thing would become airborne in the front be squirrelly as hell. Maybe some wind dynamics on the front may help?? Just my 0.02
This is the reason why VW's like my GTI Clubsport (seen on my channel) are getting a Stage 2+ DSG Tune, even if the engine tune is just Stage 1.. And were opting for nothing but the best in business TVS Engineering. Check them out! 👍
In '69 after returning from Vietnam I bought a '66 Beetle that had a 50hp engine that was turned into 100hp it had a 2bbl carb 93mm pistons Empi extractor exhaust and a 3/4 racing cam with a Porsche racing clutch I was told if I could find a '66 Corvair Spyder rear it would do around 120mph. As it was the speedometer only top off at 90mph but I ran along side of another car and he said I was hitting 98mph but you could hear the engine had more to let out. The person who built it had a 232hp VW engine in a Beetle that he raced called the Teeny Screamer. It had 4 carbs 1 for each cylinder the rest has been forgotten, and everything was VW parts. He also had some 150 hp and up Beetles running around the VA area. All his builds were always VW parts.
John's beetle is very impressive. I built low riders years ago with relatives but my favorite was the sleeper. Still drive sleepers to this date. I was especially impressed with his choice of engine with forged internals (I wouldn't have it any other way) and the meticulously manufactured frame work. There were many other things I saw that I liked as well. I could spend days talking to someone like John. Most impressive work.
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Your super cute ,
It's got so much torque, it doesn't matter what gear you're in.
Yeah, yeah I was born in 1973 too...
Or that's what she wants you to think!0)
Wonder what the final cost was on this beast
2mins too short for me!
His face expressions when hes driving is too funny. Its like its scaring the shit out of him but he cant stop giving it gas
This lol
No way I get in that car with that dude driving.
How bout his face when she’s screwing up on grinding the gears🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️😂
@@mlinecomposites1 he was like dammit lol
@@Gordofromthebx she kinda pissed me off talking about how many cars she’s driven, then she looks like she knows nothing about shifting 🤨😂
It was at this moment, that he realized he didn't like other people driving his car.
He was worried about his life.
And I don't blame him!
Oh... oh no... I skipped ahead and couldn't watch past 17:10
She being hard headed as hell !!!!
He’s too timid, wish he would just shut the hell up and let her drive it.
i love that you can see the fear in his eyes when hes driving his own car. Thats when you know hes doing something right
"A car is fast enough when you are standing in front of it and you are frightened to unlock it." Walter Röhrl, Worlds greatest rally driver
Going fast ain't fun unless you're going fast enough to scare yourself a bit.
That’s probably your mind telling your body that if you crash your going to get F’d up
It's a healthy respect for the monster he's created.
That's the look when you get an uncontrolled stiffie at age 55
I was dying when he let her drive. It was like a nervous dad letting his kid drive for the first time lol
Thanks for watching!
18:29 yes and she Keeps on going in the wrong gears - into 1st etc(be gentle- lady)+ learn the" gate"-
It basically was
It was so hilarious
He’s not a good instructor
Every time Nicole shifts poor John is having visions of metal shavings lol
🤣
Yet She's so respectful and Ginger about how she touches the door🤣
So was I. And to think he built this car himself--that makes it more painful.
Well, I have some visions of some shavings, yeah.
Meh, it's a dog box, it'd be aight. Lol
That guy was scared to death when Nicole was driving, funny.
I would have been, too. She's scary behind the wheel.
13:40 He looks scared to death driving his own car lol
@curtis allen i'd like to pull her hair back lol
He reminded me of a father giving his teenage daughter her first driving lesson.
LOL He actually looked terrified when he was driving the car.... Check his face when he's driving and shifting the car....
The best anti-theft device in the US is a manual gearbox...
especially a dog box with no synchros!
Too funny
Weird ,I live in the US and grew up on manual gearboxes. 🙋
@Alexander Freeman that's what they do in Jamaica
Yeah my brother married an american and despite her living in Ireland for the last 15 years she still won't or can't drive a manual. Automatics here are pretty uncommon
This 517 HP Subaru-Powered 1973 VW Super Beetle is a jaw-dropping blend of classic style and modern power. It's a true testament to the creativity and skill of the builder, transforming an iconic car into a performance beast while keeping its vintage charm intact. It's not just a car; it's automotive art on wheels. Stunning work！！！
We're so glad you like it!!! Thank you for watching!
Yes 👍 and it looks like it would be too fun to drive n it’s such a cool 😎 job on it,fantastic!😂
John literally looks like a mad scientist driving that thing
He looks like John McEnroe wearing sunglasses.
He may not be a mad scientist, but he's definitely a mad mechanic!
He also looks absolutely terrified when she takes over.
Doc Brown in back to the future.. lol
Definitely needs the white lab coat 🥼
If ever a man hated for someone else to drive his car, his face says it all! Lmaooooo
it looked like he didnt even like driving his own car
He looks like he's scared shitless of those pulls
I would crap my pants everytime I drove that car too
Actually, it was a tad rude of her to even ask .... and especially on camera. 😊
@@tenspeedtruck4083 agreed. And honestly I’m surprised he agreed to it. I know I don’t let anyone drive my Hot rod
I love the fact that he looked scared while driving himself.
From someone who said something like that while driving a 500hp very old car you maybe should be scared
😂
I'm pretty sure it had to do with the wailing female next to him.
@@m4rvinmartian Where's the laugh emoji?!!!
@@Nordlicht05 maybe you are right. 500+ hp is probably a bit much for a bug.
I've always loved the idea of a sleeper, and the fact that a stock Bug is basically an anti-performance car (even though I prefer performance cars), but a lot can be done with them. This is the PERFECT sleeper, and it's awesome you got to drive it.👍 Thanks for the great video!
We're so glad you enjoyed watching!!
“You did know it was gonna get squirrley, right??”
John: “Nope!”
I was fixated on John's face while HE was driving. He's all subdued, like a college history professor at first, but you see this wild side in him that silently loves the adrenaline etc... lol. It's hilarious. I love people that shock me (appear one way, but have another hidden side to them), in a way he's a sleeper himself so the car is a fitting project to his personality.
Thank you for watching..glad you enjoyed it!!
wrg
What a fitting comment!!! So perfect the way you worded it.
I don't know if John is more scared while she's driving or while he's driving? lol 😯
I learned to drive a clutch on my best friend's '56 Microbus Deluxe, all of 36 horsepower. It struggled to make it up even a slight grade without straining. That was back in '68. What great times those were. This car would have amazed and defeated all the muscle cars back then, but we probably wouldn't have lived very long........it would be like trying to tame a wild horse. Great vid, and what superb engineering went into this project!
We're glad you enjoyed watching!! Thanks for the comment!!
You know it’s fast even the owner has a “oh shit” face when he steps on it hahaha
Lol I was thinking I was the only one that seen his face. 😂🤣
It should be fast. The Beatle I drove was slow as hell. I thought that they as respectably fast due to Herbey's film.
🤔 Yeah, I love how at 18:32 he gets scared and yells, "wooah, woah", but then just 18 secs later, he says, "no, you ain't scaring me".... 😁
He looks like a crazy cartoon when he mashes the throttle haha!
@@tevingay8030 It would like driving on an Icey mountain rode with cliffs on both sides! How fun would that be?
By the look on his face when he’s driving, this car even scares John. It’s a fkn weapon!
I thought the same thing when I saw his mouth get as crooked as his ass end did.
those teensy wee brakes on the front....jesus...
Rocket powered beer can...I had a porsche powered one way back when....miss that thing
@@xeronicus my best friend put a 13b Mazda in his 64..you could feel the air lift it off the ground at 110..
@@deadprivacy
No weight in the car though. They're more than enough even given the performance levels it has.
He puts elegantly into words what makes a great sleeper: “...increase the distance between what it looks like and what it performs like”
Exactly!! Amount of kids I see on YT and other social media who label a car a ‘sleeper’ when it’s got wide slick drag tires, massive engine jutting out of the engine bay and a parachute out the back 😂😂😂
@@friktionrc don't forget sooo many performance stickers you can't see out the side or rear windows.
@@friktionrc good
I've probably watched 100s of such videos. But... this is the absolute best, hands down. The ultimate sleeper here, is Nicole herself! Just a joy to watch this, the fun, enthusiasm, passion, knowledge from two real car experts. Thank you.
Thank you for watching!! We appreciate your comment!!
Best line tho, “It’s like having your foot on dynamite “. He is a genius, a mad scientist that’s afraid of his own creation. John you did a beautiful job, wow
I agree!! Thanks so much for watching!
He knows what the hulk is capable of... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I wouldn't say afraid, but respect it.
For being the first (and probably last!) time someone else drove his baby I'd say he was exceptionally composed. I'd have been green with dread and woulda done serious damage to my skivies.
Have you ever seen "normal" people getting the chance to learn how to drive a Formula One car? They got the same problem as this woman: when you push the throttle too hard, you get far more power than you can handle. And you leave the tarmac. Damage. Oops. It happens before you can lift your right foot, which would probably block the rear tyres. Oops. Fast cars get you in trouble! Did I mention oversteer? Did I mention carbon brakes that do not brake when you'd appreciate it? Did I mention how tired you get, concentrating on everything important?
This dude is terrified of his car and there’s nothing wrong with that! I love it😂😂😂
Yes there is, if he's not going to let it sing he should've just left it stock.
If memory serves me right, bugs went airborne at 130 MPH
@@easternwoods4378 😂😂😂💀🪦
And there should be a certain amount of fear with vehicles this powerful, unlike a lot these younger Hellcat owners who are wrapping around poles and under objects that don’t move.
It's OK to have a car that can kill you at any moment as long as you always remember that it can, and understand that IT wont care if it does. :)
John's focus while driving and fear when Nicole was driving says it all on how intense that car is
I have owned 3 VWs and I love them. One problem is you’ll freeze in the winter. They are so much fun to drive.
Thank you for sharing!!
I love watching his face as he's making it go fast. A nice cross between being thrilled and absolute terror.
“It makes the conversation shorter” every introvert classic car driver felt that 😆
When you get asked the same question(s) a million times the answers start to get amusing. The spotlight, figuratively, literally too, is a unique experience for a introvert
OMG great. John looks naturally scared. WHY would he let anyone drive it? I love her though grrrrr
This guy was wishing he'd said "no" the whole damn time.
watching from 18:20 your comment couldn’t be more accurate 😂
😂😂😂 he's like FML!
shit made me nervous...
Lol that’s what I thought too
I think we all feel the same way.
You look like you're at the county fair bobing for apples the way your head goes forward & back while John is accelerating thru the gears, with a 😯 expression on your face! What an incredible wild ride Nicole! Thanks for sharing. 😎👍
We're glad you enjoyed the ride! Thank you for watching!!
You know you've reach mad scientist level when your own creation scares you.
Her: Hits 50mph
Him: WHOA!
He hated every second of her driving.
Maybe because she was rushing it too much before mastering how to shift properly :)
I hated her driving a little bit as well, just so you guys know he isn't alone. Asskisser
Yeah, I know me too lol I couldn’t take it I had to fast forward though it.
Did you see his face when HE was driving?
Pretty sure she was looking for "D" the whole time 🤣
He’s like the most patient dad dealing with his hype daughter lol
hahaha that was pretty much what i was thinking too
@Jeff S give her some credit- she used the word "wastegate" and knew that it's exhaust🤷♂️ 😂
That guy makes the most intense face when he’s driving.
@@iameatingursnack are you sure she isn't playing "dumb" for the audience? Who's going to ask the questions for us?
@@patrickfitzwater5511 Exactly. Asking questions and hearing answers is how we learn. I'm pretty sure she was playing dumb, but even if she wasn't, at least she's asking questions.
Who didn't have a Herbie Bug in the 70s? I had the flat window model, yellow, and that thing was fast and easy to work on. I had a lot of fond memories driving that car. And WOW John, you made that bug even more fun! How is that possible?! Congrats!
Thank you so much for watching!! We're glad you like it!
It was like watching a Dad teaching his daughter how to drive a stick shift. Enjoyed this video immensely!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Why weren’t they double clutching? For those who don’t know what that is, you’re in a gear, you put the clutch in, shift into neutral, let the clutch out and rev the engine, put the clutch in again and shift into the next gear without grinding. I had a 1950 International Harvester Metro delivery van without synchromesh. A little tricky at first, but once you are use to it, you don’t even think about it.
I felt the same way
@@myfantasy4u296 aka granny clutching. Never even knew that was a thing since all my cars always had synchros. I'm sure you can get used to the process but it's hard to invision it. Heard that truckers still do it because it makes trucking easier.
@@myfantasy4u296 I was learned the same driving trucks in the army in the 80'ies. It was the Danish infantry, and we had some really old trucks, probably left overs from WW2.
Shift up, double clutch, shift down skift to neutral, hit the gas and shift down... not so bad when you get used to it
What a great build...I'm surprised he let her drive it...this guy is a master at engineering..500 plus horsepower.in a 2000 pound car is getting it done...I love the car...thank you for showing us..
great build , but my personal choice is to always keep it vw body vw (porsche) engine
A really nice conversion.... for Germany. But what are you going to do with it in the States? You are only allowed to sneak and not really drive properly. The original 50 hp would have been more than enough for that!
500 HP in a 2000 lb car is damn near useless. It's got significantly more power and less tire (No aero, not to mention) than top-level GT cars, let alone lemans prototypes!
The most usable horsepower with an old volkswagen is somewhere around 200. Wicked fast but still controllable - chassis won't be flexing like crazy, no major mods, and the kind of rubber you'll need is available for the street.
@@_Briegel Because people only do what they are "allowed" on the road lol #facepalm
@@Diax1324 wym? He cant drive that thing on the street because it will crash?
"You did know it was going to get squirrelly, right?"
"No, I didn't. You never know."
LOL
that would made swallow very hard
I learnt to drive in a VW Beetle. Years later, I bought my own and restored it. It was the 1302S, with the 1600 engine. Flat out, it could do 0 - 60. Maybe even 70.
This is amazing. Doing without synchromesh isn’t as big a deal as you might think. It wasn’t very good on my Beetle anyway, so I spent most of my time rev matching. That and scraping ice off the inside of the windscreen in winter.
Thanks for sharing with us!!
I like johns reaction to nicole’s driving
It was priceless! hahaha
If more builds continue to be a series imma sub
Ugh... dude let her punch it!
"Your foot is on dynamite" 🤯😎🤣
@@ubacow7109 kkkeeeeeTap on a clip to paste it in the text box.Tap on a clip to paste it in the text box.Tap on a clip to pareerste it in the text box.
My dad had an orange '73 Super Beetle ❤ The look on his face when she's shifting...I used to see that look on my dad's face when he was teaching me to drive. I learned on a VW bus. I was terrified. That was 35 years ago. I love manual transmissions though and always will. Thanks, Dad, I miss you so much ❤
Thanks for sharing!
Had a '72 blue 1200 in the mid ' 80s,and my girlfriend was learning in it. One point, a few hundred miles from home on a weekend away, she stalled on a slight hill, she rolled backwards, screaming her head off in panic, me pulling my hair out from by my ears, screaming back repeatedly "HANDBRAKE.. HANBRAKKKKEEE!", she did, almost at the bottom of the hill, and SNAP, both cables gone at once😂. Luckily, no damage at all, and a very scary drive home the nxt day, with a slipping clutch,which had started on journey up, and now, no handbrake at all! 😳. I was slipping gears, trying to get that power down, and boy oh boy, did i shite myself on many incidents getting home. Every slight hill, may as well have been mount everest 🤣. She apologised so many times on the way home, my girlfriend, not my totally innocent little bug ❤️😅😂
I learned in a 72 VW bus also. That thing was cold in the Montana winter and hot in the summer. I somehow did doughnuts in a gravel pit without rolling it. I didn't tell my dad till about 20 years later.
Manual: the only way to go! 💯👍
I loved manual shifting, but by now At 67 I enjoy tue Subaru Lineartronic.
This is one of the best sleeper cars I've ever seen!!! The expression on his face while accelerating is quite a show lol. I can't imagine how exciting it must be to drive this Beetle!
You said it! That's the ultimate sleeper, largely because he put so much effort into making it look close to stock. The thing goes like a rocket, and looks to be about as hard to drive as one. I'm not really a VW fan at all, but that's a really cool car.
Love the VW .
I owned a 73 Super Beatle back in the early 80s. I paid $1,000, drove it for 2 years, had it tuned so well, I was getting 42 mpg.
Sunroof...no gas heater or a/c.
Loved it.
Thank you for sharing!!
The most painful part of this video was watching John's expression when she ground the gears. Even though I normally don't care for vehicles like this, I found this very informative and amazing what John did to this vehicle.
I couldn't bare to watch her try to shift the transmission. I quit watching it at that point.
I put my VW 74 super in reverse today with no clutch. Talk about cringe. I’m an idiot. Lol
The part where he forgot the engine wasn't in the front was pretty tough to watch too
@@j.w.7579 if its anything like the originals ive used they shift like shit haha
That's how to nick gears and make metal flakes. Very cringy.
She's a beauty! Back here in Brazil we call the blue color as "Azul Calcinha" or "Panties' Blue".
🤣
The car looks good too.
Hey Bob....muchas gracias! Let us know if you run across any mindblowing cars in Brazil.
- The Producers
@@michaelbadami8579 "Muchas gracias" is in spanish, you gotta say "obrigado!"
@@OOICU812 beat me to it....lol. Never gets old...
19:43 Nicole senses that John is about to say GET OUT, so she deftly changes the discussion to allow John to discuss other topics of the build rather than suffer the driver training session. Then they change seats and John proceeds to scare the crap outta Nic and himself. So fun! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching!!
Showing your imperfections is so genuine and relatable.
I have watched you expertly drive a dog box in the years after this which exhibits personal growth.
I'm a happy fan and subscriber going through your back catalogue.
Thank you so much...I appreciate that!! We're glad you enjoy watching!!
John’s such a nice guy to let Nicole drive that monster. You can tell it’s his baby, and I get it. NICE SLEEPER!!! 🤘🏼🌶💯
Yes! He has a lot of work into it... I get it too!
@@NicoleJohnsonsDetour hey babe get to England and check out my saxo vtr lol, I have a harley too maybe we go for a ride?
Nothing pisses me off more than someone thinking they need to slam the door on my Bug. That is a beautiful conversion
the problem is as you know if the other door is open it shuts so very easily. On a sun roof model the top lets the air out. They need the vents like the 914 has.
@@charleswittmer2477 my "94 Mercedes E Class Estate has one way vents each side behind the rear wheels.
Still makes a big difference when closing the door if nothing else is open compared to when a door, window or the roof is open.
I winced every time they slammed the door. I have a 1974 Super Beetle
When people do that, I say DID IT SHUT?! DAMMMMM
If Teddy Kennedy had been driving a VW Beetle, he would have become President.
John looks absolutely terrified every time he gives it gas. He looks horrified every time Nicole does anything. It's a death trap, I want one.
I want one also.
Cars like this might be fun to drive occasionally, but they're way too unrefined to be used as as actual transport. Also, that kind of "On/Off" power delivery without traction control means you're always at the mercy of the weather. If you drove it somewhere and there was an unexpected light shower, the return trip would go from being "Fun" scary to "OMG, I don't want to be doing this" scary instantly.
I've tried to use track spec cars (Though none as wild as this one) as my only car a couple of times in my life, and after a while I'd always get to the point where, if I actually had to drive somewhere, I'd borrow a van from work rather than use the car. After a couple thousand miles you learn that big power, straight cut dog boxes and ceramic puck clutches might sound cool, but are NOT what you want on the road.
@@Reman1975 I didn't say I want to drive one I just want one.
@@Rimrock300 I agree with you on all points you stated. He is one heck of a fabricator as well! Fred
@@Rimrock300 I couldn't have said it better. I like to build them, owning and driving them isn't that important. My daily is a Honda Accord with a CVT transmission. Boring, smooth and safe.
Well done Nicole! The key here is you get to know the RATIOS of the gearbox you are driving - Very difficult as every syncro gearbox is different. To my point - I'm a retired accredited semi truck driver instructor. Semi truck transmissions do not have0syncros, but each gear separation is the same RPM difference, so the spacing is is a constant. When you know the spacing you listen to the rpm's and shift shift accordingly. Many truck drivers shift without the clutch once underway extending clutch life. Shifting an syncro-less automobile transmission is much more difficult task! Happy trails and well done!
Thank you so much for sharing with us...much appreciated!!
Poor John -- he looked like he was going to lose his cookies in anticipation of Nicole driving his pride and joy! You can't really blame him, that is one very cool bug!
yeah i would not let her drive it. moslty for fear of her hitting the gas when there is oncoming traffic, a death wish for sure.
You would think she would have done better what with the knowhow?
@@zvotaisvfi8678 It has no synchros in the dog box transmission. Of course its going to be harder to change gears, therefore more challenging to drive.
@@dohabandit after watching her shift....no way in hell
Gas Grass or Ass, nobody drives my car for FREE !
When you took over the car John's reactions were priceless. He was sweaaaating.
On the one hand you have the guys who saw “Fast and Furious” and then went out and bought a lot of fancy looking doo dads and stuck them on their Hondas and Toyotas to give the illusion of a tuner.
On the other hand, you’ve got this guy
He considers a Tuna to be fish in a tin. Tuners apparently believe a loud exhaust makes you go faster. Its what they do around here other than stick, bolt or screw parts from Auto Zone on their cars. Irrelevant rear spoilers have run their course.
You forgot put too small of tires on wide rims and run negative camber
This brings back an embarrassing moment of mine from 1976. I had just gotten off work at a ham packing plant on Burbank Blvd, Burbank and was at a stop light in my yellow souped up 1969 Roadrunner. I had added headers, a racing cam kit, and a few other things to boost my already decent horsepower. I was more than confident that I could blow the doors off many cars that might come along, when all of a sudden this VW pulls up to me with two young women in it. The first thing that struck me was the sound that the bug made. It was not super loud, but had that very distinct radical cam rhythm and guttural exhaust that had no business coming from the VW. I also noticed that the back seat area was covered in a plastic shroud, not to mention fatty tires and the suspension being beefed up. Anyway, these two young women were just looking over at me smiling. I knew something was up! I kind of gave them this look like, I know somethings not right, but lets go for it. When the light turned green, it was on. From the moment I released the clutch and started blasting forward, that damn VW basically just bounced forward and ahead of me like someone shooting a rubber band. The race was over in seconds, I lost this one to a bug. When I caught up to them, they were laughing. What could I do. At that moment, I'd would rather be having a root canal then feel the way I felt. Well, as mentioned, that was back in 1976, so I've been over it for weeks now.
Hahaha...Love it!! Thanks for sharing!!
This guy looks so calm, and then suddenly he is driving and you can see on his face he KNOWS how this thing is dangerous.
It's the automotive equivalent of Little Shop of Horrors. He created a monster and now he is (rightfully) afraid of it.
rear engined car... while it sits quietly, it is plotting to kill the owner.
This thing would not wreck well.
I actually have seen something like this before, in a magazine back in the day.
Someone stuffed a 426 hemi into a Gremlin. I can't imagine there being much room under that hood.
@@insomniacbritgaming1632 I had 72 vega with 6.0 lq9 Twin turbo, 5 speed. Much like this VW it wanted to kill you.When I was younger fast cars was my dream. Now that I am older, I cant keep up.
As cool as this car is; I'm more impressed by how clean and well organized his shop is. Very impressive!
You can always tell the guys that basically live in their shop......LOL
Usually the coffeepot is out there and maybe even a hotplate.
form over function unfortunately... like the car. That thing looks gorgeous and would handle like a pig. You can put all sorts of engines in Beetles or soup up the originals to crazy horsepower but nothing makes them handle decent at high speed. They're death traps.
Without any synchcros in the dog gearbox makes it more challenging changing gears. Love this bug, he made it tough to drive to make it exclusively his own. Cool riding video!
Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoyed watching!!
When you're skilled in using the non synchro box it can be quicker than synchro. I learned to drive on a truck with what we called "crash" gears and before long I had the gear changing perfected, even the double clutching and matching revs when changing down. You have to learn it but it's not hard to learn.
Non synchro gearboxes simply require timing your upshifts and Rev matching your downshifts...and can be done without the clutch in case of failure and not having to start from a complete stop.
I let my wife drive my 57 Chevy Belaire hot rod. When she took off, she let up on gas peddle, and it pulled a wheelie when she hit the peddle again. She didn't want to drive it any more. 😆😆 It was a sweet hot rod. I keep the body original. with all its chrome, beef up the suspension, and bigger tires and mag wheels> SHE WAS A BEAST > With the Pontiac 389> she would get it down the road big time
How cool!! Thank you for sharing with us!
Dude is horrified listening to her destroy that gear box.
those things are built to be hammered on its fine
@@williepie Sure but they're also designed to be rebuilt after a very short time racing. I'm sure he doesn't want to do that.
He probably replaced the transmission oil right after she left.
Hew dun give a fuck. Those are made to get rebuilt.
I think the only reason he let anyone drive this car was because he had a camera pointed at him.
That was great! The only exterior "tell" of this sleeper is the width of the rear tires. You have to come up on it from behind it to even notice the rear tires are over twice as wide as OEM's.
Just loved this reveal, thanks.
Thank you..so glad you liked it!
You can tell by the look on his face as he's accelerating that this car scares the crap out of even him.
Way too much torque steer in and overpowered super short wheelbase car. Especially with those tiny front tires trying to hold the rear end in a straight line. 300 HP would’ve been way more fun to drive.
Russell Williams; My thoughts, EXACTLY. 'Nuff said!
Nicole's videos are fun to watch.
Thank you!!! We appreciate that!
The face he put every time the gearbox sound when she made a shift like "I don't want this interview anymore"
This little blue Superbug is truly blessed, my Superbug that I have had for 38 years now is mandarin red and I pray to god that one day it can enjoy some of this blue bugs treatment. What a amazingly, well engineered and beautifully built car. Congratulations to the owner/builder-job well done.
I like how he admits you never know when it will get squirly. Gota be ready.
My boss let me drive his Viper GTS once...has no traction control. I almost lost it barely hitting the pedal going 60 on the highway. Scariest moment I’ve ever had behind the wheel.
I would be suspicious about the aerodynamics of that car: shape was never designed for such speed, both over the top (aerofoil?) AND under the bottom (lifting? without air dams?)
Reminds me of how Kevin Hart let his buddy drive his souped up barracuda and the guy lost it and almost killed Kevin. Only turn over your beast mobile over to an experienced muscle car driver who dosn't get freaked out when the horses under the hood decide to gallop from a slow trot. Fortunately , he warned her more than once not to rev it up and that she needed the warning.
It's always on the edge of being so. He should have just told her, no offense, but no one drives it but me. He gave an adequate demonstration of what could happen.
I was working as a VW tech from 1971 until 1985. That 73 113 Super Beetle had a 63 HP 1600 cc dual port engine with a 34-pict carb.
A plain bug was a "111" with a flat windshield and torsion bar front suspension. The Super Beetle "113" had a curved windshield and McPherson struts.
Thanks for sharing!!
This guy doesn’t want to be doing this interview at all.
Sad but very true
I don’t even blame him tbh, I take it he built the car for his own enjoyment and nothing else
Yeah, he doesn't want the car publicized. Might not get any payoffs from sleeper street races. LOL
JR has always been a very modest guy. He was a professional musician for decades playing on countless soundtracks for Hollywood. Then he moved over to fabrication work in the offroad world. Yet if you met him on the street you'd never know.
@Skip White Not everyone thinks like you. He is a man who likes his privacy.
Owner is not afraid of the car...
That look is concentration and focus.
If anything, he is probably afraid of wrecking something that he spent 1,000s of hours designing and fabricating.
Agreed.
Lol confidence in letting her drive drops, “nope that’s the emergency brake” 😂😂😂
Watching you is like watching a ghost. Nicole you are the doppelganger of my late aunt Linda. I miss her very much and you bring a little tear of joy into my world. New sub
Wow, what a kind thing to say! I'm touched that you see a resemblance!! Thank you for the sub..we appreciate it!!
“It’s not in the front, it’s a VW. It should be in the back somewhere.” 😁 18:30 my favorite moment btw..
Subaru symmetrical drivetrain replaces with major torque steer.
However, what an amazing build. amazing project.
That's funny af🤣
Then again I guess depends how they built it. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been in the front 🤔.
John's like me. The shorter the conversation, the better and silence is pure gold. My favorite people are the ones you can be around in complete silence without feeling awkward.
say no more.
Your like me! My wife calls it anti social.... I call it peace and quiet!
my favorite people are the people on my computer screen who dont know i exist and I have complete control of whether theyre in my life or not.
👌👌
100% Ken. 100%
Nice bug! I have built many VW's in the last 50 years starting with my first bug at 15 yrs old, 65 now! I had a bug that ran in the 9's in the quarter-mile at 140 mph in the 1970's. That was a type 1 VW motor. I had to rebuild it after about 5000 miles. I raced it on the street at many of the local street racing groups. Lost one race in all that I did and went back the ne=xt week and beat him too. Just had to change the spark plugs it was missing from the top of 3rd and all through 4th the first time so I let off. The next week the guy swore I put another motor in the car. LOL! My last VW was an even faster Ghia in the 90's. Never raced it, so I don't know how much faster, but it was noticeable. If you build the VW trans right, it will hold that power no problem and it will shift much better. That was a bad choice of transmissions to put in that car. It is like driving a big rig diesel truck! There are transmissions that will hold twice the power this bug is putting out. I had a friend who was the teacher at VW of America and taught building transmissions. He built my trans with close-ratio 3rd and 4th gears, it never failed and I put it through hell running 9" firestone wets on the street. That car would holeshot about everyone by a good 10 car lengths racing the V8 cars. Even the V8 vega race cars couldn't keep close. The good ol days! VW's are a blast, always have been and still are today!
Thanks for sharing your story ..very cool!
Sleeper VW beetles have been around for decades. I remember someone building a V8 powered one back in the 1960's/70s. So not a new concept. That being said, good job on this one. Of course, anyone listening to it start and idle will know immediately that this is not a normal VW beetle or super beetle.
Thank you for the comment!!
This man deserves a medal for his stoic display of emotion and patience when "teaching" her to drive it. If you've never driven a dog box before (what I learned on) it's a whole different deal and takes some getting used to. Combine that with a hair trigger throttle and it's something bad just waiting to happen.
I had a yellow, '75 super beatle with fuel injection and a 5spd and that thing would haul ass! 😆
You can put a radiator in the back and intercooler up front, massaged into the body, allowing you to keep most of your stock front end/trunk space. See the other bug that got a Subaru engine treatment and all the shoehorning they did, but it's beautiful 😀
This is a great build, loved it. I had a 1965 for five years. Drove it in South Carolina, Panama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana. Even got a speeding ticket in Panama for going, supposedly 35 in a 25 zone. Got to be aware of ANY Road signs no matter where they are!!! Bought a boat, needed a truck, hated the truck, wanted(too late) my vw back.
This reminds me of an interview with a guy who had built 12-cylinder aircraft-engined motorcycle. When asked how fast it was, he said something like 'I'm not crazy; I'll never drive this thing.' John's concentration during the drive reminded me of it. He only smiles when he's backing off.
Having owned a 1973 baby blue Super Beetle, I find this hilarious!
Thanks for watching!
Nicole: "Now you're scaring me."
John: "Yeah."
If we'd been going right, it might have been 3 or 4 miles before you'd have gotten scared, buuut since we're going left, your gonna have to get scared, immediately.
I was about to type this very thing. LOL
@@davidkeeton6716 favorite quote of favorite movie
"Its like having your foot on dynamite" oh my.
I imagine it's prone to the same kind of snap oversteer as a porche.
@@macelius ageee but what I think he meant was that if you get into it and shift wrong the engine would blow up.
I suspect he was glad when that interview was over.
She is not good at using the clutch
@@johnleotaud7933 Why would anyone let her drive anything when she cant use a clutch =| The noises, ugh i can only imagine how pissed he must be
Amazing, impressive and tears in my eyes for 2 reasons.
1 The incredible rocketship. And 2 Nichol's driving during King of Hammers. Thank you both.
Thank you for watching!
i love when she's driving and he's just thinkin "i over-engineered the shit outta this thing and you're either gonna frag my gearbox all over the road or drive it into something hard"
He is still scared of the car, you can tell on his face. Love the dog box!!!!
Congrats Nicole, the episode turned out really nice.
Thanks John! Your bug is off the charts! Loved loved LOVED working with you on this episode
John, you're so awesome to let her drive that wild ride! When I saw your video of you driving it, I had no clue how it had to feel. Seeing Nicole's reactions was priceless! Thanks for sharing the fun!!!
John very very nice car, i'm in the middle of building a 4x4 1303 Beetle in the UK at the moment.
Wow!!! Keep us posted on how it turns out! 🤙
I saw the build videos before and instantly knew it was that same car! Nice job! I’m gonna go throw my beetle away now...... hahaha
I just watched the Duke video and loved it so much that I went back to your very first video. I paused it at 14:32... He's smiling, you're speechless. Amazing. Awesome build Sir.
Thank you for watching!!
Nice interview Nicole! You covered this build very well. It's too bad the test drive had no editing. The test-drive video was nerve wracking to watch. I empathize with the builder and definitely with you as you showcased his treasured one off offspring. Props to John, to the build and to you for showcasing it and to you both for getting through that. The build is so clean! I will say as a shop owner who does this to Vanagon's and every other Subaru chassis, that is so clean, sterile and hospitable grade work. A+ work! It is unfortunate the VW snobs and Subaru snobs will ignore the genius behind this.
Well purists have no ability to think outside the box...this is a rocketsled without rails...I remember back in the day running across bugs retrofitted with Porsche 2180's...
My dad put a subie engine in his VW Combie...it was scary! But heaps of fun!
You can tell in his face when he’s getting at it that he has a healthy fear of his own creation. “You never know when it’s going to go squirrely”
Anything with over 500 rear wheel hp and that short of a Wheelbase is going to be so hypersensitive to anything you do at the wheel, and this is not even taking into consideration what you also do with the gas pedal...
Hear that pop off valve when he shifted a few times?
I would definitely be checking the rear suspension for cracks after runs like that.
When she said, "your gonna have to show me how to drive it. The gears and everything..." John was like, "WTF?" "I do?" 😂😂😂
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it's done.
You can go out and buy a 700HP Mopar if you'd like to, but anyone else can go and buy the exact same thing. Nothing special there.
Building something like this is a work of art, love, and pure design genius.
Thank you for the comment!! Glad you approve!!
The amount of patience this man has is very impressive!
I thought that with him just dealing with her. She knows enough to just be dangerous.
Came back to this over a year later, still one of the best ride-along/then drives, so many parts made me laugh, made my hairs stand on end, an gave me a very cheap cardio workout, wonderful beast of a VW, awesome video to watch on a rainy dismal day.
Thank you so much..we're glad you enjoyed it again!!!
When I was 16 and on a date, I thought I could teach this chick how to shift my '74 blue beetle. It was so painful. I feel for this guy!
Yep, except yours had 50 HP and this one has 500. It's like a roller skate with a rocket on it.
She did fine actually better than him
Love that ride!!! When I was younger I raced dune buggies with VW motors. There was a guy who ad a 2180 motor, no fan (don’t need it going that fast he said) and ran on jet fuel. I was in the passenger side all buckled up and he said “You will need to hold on the hand grip” and all of us had a T handle welded to the front dash bar with bicycle grips on it. When I went to reach for the hand grips he launched it and I played hell trying to get that bar in my hand and his goal was for me not to.
Long story short, the flat pan under that thing would become airborne in the front be squirrelly as hell. Maybe some wind dynamics on the front may help?? Just my 0.02
Thank you so much for sharing!!
That face of, “yep I’ll be putting in a clutch this weekend if I’m still alive.” ⚙️💥 Poor guy... glad he and his car are still naturally aspirating 😂
Bahaha! This is exactly what I was seeing in his face!!!
The car isn't naturally aspirating before or after the video.
I could see a whole invisible river of sweat running down John's face when she took over.But she did well - I might have killed the gearbox 😆
This is the reason why VW's like my GTI Clubsport (seen on my channel) are getting a Stage 2+ DSG Tune, even if the engine tune is just Stage 1.. And were opting for nothing but the best in business TVS Engineering. Check them out! 👍
The gearbox might be half way there.
"There is nobody around... but that cliff face, and the guard rail."
Gariel2007 for real dude I would be like ”can we find somewhere flat please?” lol
So it would be days if not weeks before anyone would find our bodies ......!!! That thing is SCARY....!! LOL
and his rigid eroction
In '69 after returning from Vietnam I bought a '66 Beetle that had a 50hp engine that was turned into 100hp it had a 2bbl carb 93mm pistons Empi extractor exhaust and a 3/4 racing cam with a Porsche racing clutch I was told if I could find a '66 Corvair Spyder rear it would do around 120mph. As it was the speedometer only top off at 90mph but I ran along side of another car and he said I was hitting 98mph but you could hear the engine had more to let out. The person who built it had a 232hp VW engine in a Beetle that he raced called the Teeny Screamer. It had 4 carbs 1 for each cylinder the rest has been forgotten, and everything was VW parts. He also had some 150 hp and up Beetles running around the VA area. All his builds were always VW parts.
Thank you for sharing with us!!
14:00
Her: you did know it was gonna get squirrelly right?
Him: no
Her: huh?
Him: YOU NEVER KNNO
*loud silence*
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
John's beetle is very impressive. I built low riders years ago with relatives but my favorite was the sleeper. Still drive sleepers to this date. I was especially impressed with his choice of engine with forged internals (I wouldn't have it any other way) and the meticulously manufactured frame work. There were many other things I saw that I liked as well. I could spend days talking to someone like John. Most impressive work.
Couldn't agree more! Thank you for watching!!
I liked the skinny exhaust pipes
@@tomcrosby6332 Yeah those are sweet!
Never in my life have I wanted a VW Beetle.... until today. This thing is friggin amazing!