Here’s another find from my uncle in Iowa City. This one is quite a bit different from the last VW he found.
As he related:
“I saw this yesterday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts store on Riverside Dr. in Iowa City. It reminds me of a gas-powered car model from the early 70’s called: The Baja Bug. If you can zoom in on the side shot, you may be able to read the bumper sticker in the passenger side window which says: “Zombie Pursuit Vehicle”. I also attached a picture of the driver. Ole!”
I knew I’d seen this car before!
I still have a gas powered Baja Bug in my basement. When I was in about 5th or 6th grade, my friend Tim and I spent a lot of time with Cox gas powered vehicles. He had most of them, including one I think was called the Shrike – a car with an airplane prop for its motive power. The only way to control that one was via a long string that threaded through a guide. That thing would fly.
The Baja Bug was slower, and was meant to drive offroad – like in suburban yards.
I still feel the rawness between my right thumb and forefinger where the little steel cables used for the recoil starters would chafe my Cox fuel-soaked skin. Ouch.
This reminds me of one of my favorite stories involving my father. That year for my birthday I got the coolest Cox plane of all, a black German Stuka. We got it started and the control strings all hooked up, then Dad said “you had better let me take it first and show you how it works. I started it. We had to use the concrete driveway for a runway. The plane took off on a freakishly steep angle, did an aeronotical (not engine) stall at about 40 feet, then crashed to the driveway, where it snapped that beautiful V-bent wing in two. Bye bye, Stuka.
I had the same Stuka. It took me three flights to crash it in the same manner. That was one beautiful model, kinda different for it’s time as it had the details of a static model, yet was meant to fly.
My brother had the Baja Bug, and we had hours of fun with it… I had the Corsair U-control, and my first flight was captured on 8mm home movies. Didn’t make it more than about 3/4 of a circle. Dad and I went on to build numerous planes as I was growing up, and even flew together at an air show once (U-controls and RCs were the side attraction).
Fun times…
There’s something ultimately minimalist about the Baja bug that’s extremely attractive. The Bug’s always had this pure functionality about it. Exposing its drive train and suspension takes that to the max.
Baja’s a popular platform with the shade tree EV gang. They’re 100+ pounds lighter than stock.
VW went to some trouble to make sure that the exhausted hot cooling air was away from the cooling air intakes. Anybody have information about engine temperatures when exposed like this?
Is that why they have the big scoop over the air intakes? All the same, without the ducting around the cylinders, who knows how much air flow (cfm) they’re getting.
A transit engine conversion is easy on these or a Zephyr V6 solves the cooling problems. The NZ made terra was a roadable farm ute built on a VW platform available with Ford engines.
You can put anything in the back of this (Hondas and Corvairs run backwards). Just be careful about axle snapping power or wheelie making weight. The bajas with the exposed engines like this survive quite well. If you are prudent, you can make your own ducting to cool the engines with the stock fan.
Kennedy Engineered Products is where you find the adapter plate and drilled vw flywheels to make any swap work. Where you put your radiator would be the only problem left to solve. Most people I have seen just make them roof mounted with electric fans. Good for desert and bad for woods.
What a nice looking machine. If I were still in youthful vw lusting stage I would want to track it down.
Engine direction dont matter just swap the crown wheel about VW did that to run geared hubs on the early Kombis. Run nerf bar behind the motor and hang the radiator there.
Rotaries are a popular swap in Aus it seems due to weight and size. Part of me wants a Baja, but it’d have to be dropped into the weeds! Which goes against the whole point of it, but hey 😉
I read “rotaries,” and just for a moment, was picturing a Pratt & Whitney back there…
Well they do make much the same sound! 😉
I could easily see myself tearing through some cornfields after harvest with one of these. If I could fit in one..
Would have to be the most fun form of VW?
Wow. My “home” O’Reilly!
I’ve spent more time wrenching in that parking lot than I care to admit.
When I added up all of the receipts from my ill-fated ’89 K1500 shortbed stepside (4.3, 5-speed), I’d spent over $4000 at that O’Reilly alone. Not to mention all the “special” parts that I had to buy at the Chevy dealer up the hill.
Hit a deer with it on my way to pick up the next vehicle. Dad sold it out from under me (it was in his driveway) for $1500. Somewhere in the Midwest, there’s a guy still laughing about what a steal he got on that truck, what with the brand new engine and (apparently ultra-rare) transmission, with only 120k on the clock.
I miss you, woefully underpowered gas-sucking truck…at least you looked good.
I grew a mustache?
I must have grown a mustache!