Welcome to Dude's 58 Ragtop Resto

 

I've always loved VW's and have been tinkered with them for years. In the past I have built and drag raced a 1969 beetle which ran on race fuel and nitrous (click here for more info), as well as milder projects such as my wife’s lowered splitscreen camper van which has been fitted with porsche brakes and a 1904cc type one motor (click here for pictures). Although I loved racing the drag car I was frustrated that I could only use it at the track about 6 times a year on the rare occasions in the UK when it was dry. My preferences for VW had also changed with age and I hankering for a early style cal look car with a ragtop. However, true to the cal look style the car had to be road legal with a large capacity engine.

Thus the build of my dream car began with the shell of my 1958 (1959 model) beetle undergoing a 7 year restoration (for full details see the 'restoration' section), which was finished just in time for the 2015 Volksworld Show where I won the Best of Show (see the report in the 'news' section). Later that year at VW Action I also won Europe's Most Beautiful VW! (see the 'news' section). I really couldn’t believe it! The cherry on the cake came at Avon Park Raceway (now sadly gone) in July 2016 where I ran a personal best time of 13.21 at 101.29mph (click here for timing data). The car won yet another award after a hard days drag racing at VW Action in 2019 taking the 'Baddest Bug' trophey (see the 'news' section). It was a amazing way to finish off a weekends racing!!

Since then I have made a number of suspension upgrades and and I'm hoping there is a 12 in the car. For details of these upgrades please see the 'upgrades' section at the botton of the restoration pages.

Please feel free to look around the website, and I hope you enjoy my restoration. For the latest news on the car please see the 'news' section.