WICKEDVW - The History
Background
WICKEDVW was purchased in February 2017 in E. Moriches, New York. The seller had built a number of custom rods and street machines over the years and had always wanted to do a VW Bug...so this was his baby.
The car had been built with a Dave Barrett tube chassis under a '68 VW Bug body with pop-out rear windows. Actually, the builder used the Barrett tube chassis but modified the back end of it to accommodate the VR6 engine and 02a 5-speed transmission.
The VW Bug had a bullet-proof drive line including Porsche 930 Sway-A-Way axles, Porsche 930 CV setup, mid-engine VR6 Turbo engine, Peloquin Limited Slip Differential connected to an 02a trannie with O2j stubs and more. I was shopping for a street-legal performance VW Bug and decided this was it.
The car was absolutely beautifully painted and detailed. I knew I would buy it as soon as the garage door opened! But, not everything was perfect for a street-legal car that was going to be a weekend warrior. There were things that needed to be changed.
First of all, the radiator was in the rear of the car which made engine access impossible. The back window was lexan; the engine tin was thin aluminum painted black; the engine was built with a T2 Garrett turbo and tuned for about 200 HP (my guess) because of the undersized turbo & injectors (440). One of the major problems with the build was that the tube chassis did not allow for engine removal. There was no way to remove the engine except through the door (almost impossible)... or by removing the body!!
None of that worked well, but in fairness, the VR6 Turbo Bug was built primarily for bragging rights and show & shine around the builder's home in NY, so this set up worked for him.
The car was beautiful and a great build overall. After a little haggling, the deal was made. WICKED was on its way to Canada for some major upgrades.
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The first step in upgrading WICKEDVW was to move the radiator to the front of the car.
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This was the radiator location when the car was purchased. You can see that the owner had a licence plate bracket installed so that the car could be driven with the VW engine lid removed in hot weather.
The rear fibreglass fenders are each 4" (total 8") wider than VW stock.
Wilwood pedal assembly had been installed and it was 4-wheel single-piston disc brakes.
We later installed dual-piston Wilwood brakes up front.
Three separate Wilwood master cylinders were installed, one each for front & rear brakes and a third one for the South Bend organic clutch.
The fibreglass hood has dual hydraulic piston lifts.
Kirkey drag seats had been installed but no harnesses, just regular seat lap belts.
Once the car was home, I installed Sparco harnesses but didn't like them, so later upgraded to Schroth Porsche 991 GT4 4 point harnesses. The Schroth belts are easily adjustable for different passengers, similar to a regular seat lap belt. And the button quick release is awesome.
The car came with a full set of guages... Water Temp, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Boost Guage in PSI, and Battery Voltage. Tach is Autometer.
Starting the car is not done with the key. First you turn on the key to go live, then use the toggle switches to turn on the... (L to R) ...CPU, Boost Level, (spare), Ignition and lastly far right is the Starter Switch.
The Boost Level switch (High-Low) was added
The Bug came with staggered wheels... 235/45/R17 on the rear and 145/65/R15 up front.
We later polished and ceramic coated the wheels and added Porsche center caps.