Swallowtail MK1 Golf

About a year ago I featured an Audi A3 turbo belonging to a very talented man by the name of Alex. He was the driving force behind my idea for creating a post tag called People Who Get It, for those special build threads belonging to people who take the time to take nice photos and keep their threads updated. Well, that A3 was just a daily driver, something to tinker with while his real project was being worked on in the background. This is that project.

Continue reading “Swallowtail MK1 Golf”

Forgotten Builds: ’70 VW Notch

I’ve lost track of how long this build has been sitting in my drafts, but I look at it every time I access the back-end of the site and check it’s link for updates but sadly come up empty handed. It’s one of the many threads out there that sit forever in cyber limbo, forgotten or neglected by their owners for whatever reason, the prospect of another update dwindling, sustaining life only by the few readers who bump the thread periodically with an optimistic “any updates?”, or “what ever happened to this?”. Well, I don’t care if it isn’t finished, or if it ever will be, because I think it’s cool enough for everyone to check out, even if only for the amount of awesome garage photos there are.

Continue reading “Forgotten Builds: ’70 VW Notch”

Lifted MKV Golf

I’ve noticed a little bit of backlash whenever I feature a Golf on the site. Not much, but enough to make me second-guess posting the next candidate I come across. I like Golfs, I own one, and if you think they’re too common, modded in the wrong way or even if you don’t like the owners for some reason, I don’t really care. So, here’s another one, but it’s modified in a very different fashion, so it should shake things up a bit, consider it the ‘anti-stance’.

Thanks to Nicolas for submitting.

Continue reading “Lifted MKV Golf”

UPDATE – MK2 Golf Mid-Engine RWD

I love posting updates to previously featured projects, but it’s always a bittersweet moment as it usually means there’ll be no more progress pictures to enjoy. But hey, cars are built to be driven and bikes are built to be ridden, so we should rejoice when a build reaches it’s final destination. I posted this mid-engine converted MK2 Golf way back in June 2009, and it’s been one of the most popular cars I’ve ever put on the site, I always see links in my stats to this build popping up on forums regularly. Well, just this week a video was posted of the wide-body creating roaring into life, so it’s time to reacquaint yourself with this incredible home-built ride and see how much work has been carried out over the past few years.

Continue reading “UPDATE – MK2 Golf Mid-Engine RWD”

VW Beetle / Porsche Boxster

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since the last chassis swap build was featured, especially considering it’s one of the most popular and impressive forms of construction. This latest one takes a couple of specimens from the Porsche/VW bloodline and meshes them together, creating a Boxster S chassis and driveline hidden beneath an aircooled Beetle body.

Thanks to Matt from roadster life for submitting
(via Motoring Con Brio via Ralf Becker)

Continue reading “VW Beetle / Porsche Boxster”

RWD VW Golf MkIII

From the same forum that brought you the Viper powered Saab 93 Wagon comes another frankenstein build. Function-over-form readers will be pleased to notice the absence hectic stance, bags vs static arguments, ground clearance measurements or rusted body panels. This Golf is different…very different. I’ve featured a few MKIII Golfs before, each with their own impressive qualities, but none as all-out as this one with it’s Volvo T5 power, a change in driveline direction from FWD to RWD, and a whole lot of one-off fabricated goodness. I think I’ve made up my mind, when I die I want to be reincarnated as a Scandinavian car builder. Race quality fabrication, bodywork, carbon fiber…is there anything they can’t do?

Continue reading “RWD VW Golf MkIII”

VR6 MK1 Cabby 16-day build

Remember the Eurowise AWD R32 powered Mk1 rabbit? Well it’s still in progress, but the team responsible for the build decided they wanted a sweet ride of their own to debut at the recent H20 show. So with that in mind they locked themselves in the Eurowise compound and built a VR6 powered Mk1 Cabby in 16 days. That’s an engine swap, bodywork, paint, interior, suspension…all in just over a couple of weeks. Anyone else feeling very lazy and incompetent at the moment?

Continue reading “VR6 MK1 Cabby 16-day build”

VW Fox ute conversion

Take one VW Fox 2-door wagon, wield your choice of cutting utensil around some structural pieces of metal rearward of the B pillar, mix in a bit of hard work and welding, and you end up with your very own US version of a VW Saveiro. That’s exactly what Shawn did, and he was nice enough to shoot me a link to his build thread to share with everyone. One thing is for certain, all the custom fabrication work wasn’t done so it could sit pretty and hardpark it’s whole life, this little truck was built to work!

To see more ute conversion builds, click here.

Continue reading “VW Fox ute conversion”

Thai Kombi Restoration

Have you heard the one about the Thai guy who makes his own replacement metal panels for air-cooled VW’s? Well you have now! This build has been doing the rounds for a while, I always see it pop up on forums within various “best builds” style threads, and for good reason. The man with all the skill is Pat, a metal magician from Thailand who works in a very humble shop, bringing classic VW’s back to life, one hand-formed piece of metal at a time. Come and see for yourself how he restores his brothers very rusty 67 split-window Kombi ute, you won’t believe your eyes.

Continue reading “Thai Kombi Restoration”