The birth of the Volksrod
Where do ideas come from?
Inspiration is a strange thing. One day you just wake up and have a vision.
It was just floating around in the atmosphere somewhere and lands in your head like
a snowflake falling on your nose. Boom...there it is.
In 1965 one gentleman had this idea land in his head and he put pen to paper in the sketch above.
What if you made a Beetle an open wheel hot rod?
The "Volksrod" concept was born.
At the time he was working for the American Honda Motor Company which was a pretty exciting place
for the era as sales were starting to really crank up in the US. Its funny when you look back at something and realize
that things you did at some point in the past have gone on to become much much bigger things as the years pass.
For Honda in the time period the "butterfly effect" of people flapping their wings in the office in Gardena
turned into one of the biggest winds of change in the US car and motorcycle scene that we have ever felt before.
These little scribbles on a note pad unknowingly ended up blowing some wind of their own
into our little world of custom VWs...but the winds of change were slow to build.
The original sketches went in the file and the idea went dormant for the next 5 years.
But the idea would not go away and in the 1970 sketches above it took even finer shape.
.
As the design evolved I am certain that the creator had no clue that now 40 years later,
the "Volksrod" scene would be a big as it is today.
Now I will say that the design is something that I have not seen replicated exactly in recent years
but the open wheel "hot rod" look has become a massive trend in the VW scene across the US
with every VW show having at least a few in the lineup.
Fortunately this time, the idea went from the drawing board to the driveway and the creator got busy
making the dream a reality.
This photo dates back to early 1975 with the project taking shape and all the goodies stacked up.
I love this shot!
You can see it all coming together.
The front hood and grille creation, done in fiberglass has a great flow to it.
This was the very first prototype of the "Sandwinder 32" hood kit
that was to be sold to the public so others could create a similar custom.
The project was introduced in Hot VWs Magazine in May of 1975.
Check it out! So fun!
And when it was finally "finished" in 1977 the image was complete.
And the image was good! Even though the car was together prior to this, it was improved upon constantly
with the addition of chromed suspension parts and other details in 1976 including a full
custom interior by Dons Trim Shop in Bellflower California.
Great comparison shot with a 32 Ford next to it.
The car was featured in Hot VWs Magazine back in April of 1978
as well as Street Rodder Magazine the same month and in VW Greats Magazine in June of 1978!
Out back at the time was a tuned up single port VW engine with a two barrel carb and zoom tube exhaust.
It really was cool. In 1977 after the owners move to Utah he further refined the grille
and improved the paint finish on the hood.
I love these 70's shots!
By the way...the sale of the car comes with all these period images and drawings and full documentation!
After a move to Utah the fun continued for a few years.
At one point he decided to sell it off and in October 1980 it went to a new owner without the engine.
The new owner installed a Porsche 356 Engine in 1981 and converted it to 12 volt electrics.
Shortly after that the car went into storage, never to be seen again until 2012!
After its hibernation it was sold to a new owner and a few hundred miles were put on it
until the original builder caught wind of its existence and negotiated to buy it back in 2014.
Reunited with his baby from long ago the fun and detailing continued.
After a full clean up, service and tune and the addition of a couple more tasteful custom touches
like the knock off style wheel centers and such, the car was again photographed for feature in Hot VWs magazine
in January of 2016 as well as Ultra VW Magazine in the UK in March of 2016!
The car is in fantastic shape and shows very well.
The little custom details are many.
Steering wheel is a genuine Porsche banjo wheel ,
the same one that the builder installed in 1975.
Looks fantastic in here!
Love the gear shift knob!
Super cool "weed burner" side pipes!
Headliner holding up very well
Nice
Ford "teardrop" taillights
Cool air cleaners
Great stance
Ford headlights
Trunk is clean
Porsche 356 engine runs strong!
Loaded with chrome too.
The engine by itself in this car is worth half the asking price of the whole rig at least!
Bonneville aluminum plate is not included in the sale
In closing this is really an amazing little car with a wonderful history.
In addition to its place as a historical landmark custom in the VW world,
it is also a very well done car that is loaded with cool stuff. The Porsche engine and steering wheel,
the custom chrome parts, the custom interior, that big slide back ragtop sunroof.
You will be a hit with this car wherever you go!
Asking
$17,500 obo
For More Info...CALL
951 767 1600
or email oldbug@earthlink.net