1970 San Francisco westfalia resto

Early Bay Forum

Help Support Early Bay Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.




Went over to the workshop at 8 this morning for 1 final check over, greased the beam and checked the levels then headed home. Stopped at the garage and filled it up with V-power, 🫣😥😂 took the scenic route from my workshop back to my house in Felixstowe which is about 14 miles. Bus ramn great, forgot how nice this thing drives. I didn’t thrash it but use the power and it’s got gobs of it 😳 And considering the cam, heads and carbs it has a lot of low down grunt! Well worth the time, effort and money 😎

Bug jam Friday 😬
 
Last edited:




Went over to the workshop at 8 this morning for 1 final check over, greased the beam and checked the levels then headed home. Stopped at the garage and filled it up with V-power, 🫣😥😂 took the scenic route from my workshop back to my house in Felixstowe which is about 14 miles. Bus ramn great, forgot how nice this thing drives. I didn’t thrash it but use the power and it’s got gobs of it 😳 And considering the cam, heads and carbs it has a lot of low down grunt! Well worth the time, effort and money 😎

Bug jam Friday 😬
Perfect timing 😎 Don't break it on the 1/4 mile after all your hard work!!!
 
Perfect timing 😎 Don't break it on the 1/4 mile after all your hard work!!!
I’m not going all out, not raced it since 2017 and I’ve now got an entirely different set up. Engine, box and suspension are all different so I’ll need to get my eye in again as such 😅 I’m not looking to break records 🤣
 
Went round Grazy’s earlier, he wanted me to take him for a blast so naturally obliged…



He loved it 😂 Not the best demonstration as it’s hot as hell so the air is warm & thin making it run rich and sapping power plus I had it in 3rd at low rpm coming off the round about 🤦🏻 😅😂
 
Last edited:
A fast bus is fun but to do it properly isn’t a cheap affair I’m afraid. It’s not just the engine itself, you need an improved oil cooling system, beefed up gearbox with taller gearing to take advantage of the power, decent shock absorbers, anti roll bars and if it’s a 68-70 bus a front disc conversion is a wish choice. I’m a firm believer in oil gauges, in a stock VW A decent fuel system using new Weber IDFs is about a grand now 😳 Proper exhausts are big money too.

That said I do love a stock bus and in my opinion really nice original examples should stay that way. My bus had a lot of bits missing and was a bit ropey when I got it so modifying it to such a degree didn’t seem as barbaric if you get what I mean.
 
Bug jam was fun…. Had a good party with good people and gave the bus a couple runs up the strip. Did a 17.1 @ 78mph & 16.9 @ 81 without the nitrous, overall the bus ran very well but did highlight I need to do some delicate jetting work as the wideband told me it got rather rich up top which made it lay down a little plus as I had so much camping shit with me there was no room for my jack and M&H slicks so I run the street tyres, spun like a MF and killed the 60ft time 🤦🏻 but it did get a move on once it got grip. Early days with this set up but it’s a powerful engine and has alot of potential with some tweaking, tuning and possibly some weight saving. On the plus side the mid mount i fabricated to make use of the ears on the 091 box bell housing has cured the bad wheel hop which plagued the bus before 😀





 
Last edited:
Sounds brilliant! Thanks for the run down of events 😄.
Lovely 🥰 photos of the turbo monster oval, the sweet panel and of course your 70 Westy on the start line 😍
James Wotton and is a 9 sec 600hp beast, the panel van belongs to my mate Graeme (Grazy) on here. We’re both early bay OG’s, got our vans in 2007 😎👌🏻
 
Wow that’ll be the fastest Beetle in the UK, if not the world!
Congratulations on 15 years of Bus ownership and building an engine the can run fast times 😄
I bought the bus as my first car in 1998 and it was my daily driver until 2005 when I bought a 1991 Subaru Legacy estate. The bus sadly stood behind the garage for another 9 years until I brought it over here.
 
Wow that’ll be the fastest Beetle in the UK, if not the world!
Congratulations on 15 years of Bus ownership and building an engine the can run fast times 😄
I bought the bus as my first car in 1998 and it was my daily driver until 2005 when I bought a 1991 Subaru Legacy estate. The bus sadly stood behind the garage for another 9 years until I brought it over here.
It’s very fast but not the fastest. Richie Webb has the fastest in Europe with 7.97 @170mph and fastest in the world is The Hater maker in California i think which is in low 7’s.

I can’t take credit for the engine, That was built my mate Hector Howe who is an engine builder and former outlaw flat 4 racer.
 
Well after a 280 mile round trip to Santa pod plus a few licks up the strip the starter motor on my bus decided it’s had enough and shit itself on Tuesday when I got in it to go the gym 🙄
I guess my 10:1 compression 2276 is a bit much for a stock 2 litre/091 starter motor 😂 so I splashed out on a Wosp gear reduction high torque jobbie



I say splashed out, wasn’t much different to a genuine Bosch standard starter so 🤷🏻
 

Latest posts

Top