“If you can’t afford a Ford, dodge a Dodge” goes a saying in hotrod circles. When you have two sons who are dyed in the wool Volkswagen aficionados and the street rod bug bites, you ditch the Dodge and chop a Dub.

The story starts with Allan Hobson considering a vintage Mopar, with a desire to rod it and plenty of ambition, but with little knowledge of pre-war American vehicles. After protracted pondering about where to start and how to go about the build, the prodding of his sons towards a Volkswagen based custom build won out.

Allan says, “My sons, Darren & Shane have both owned numerous VWs, and through them my wife and I have met some wonderful people. In particular, a group of enthusiasts that go by the name of the “Late Shifters”, as well as the members of Flat Four who adopted us on one of their social days and made us feel right at home.”

“After going to a lot of shows we decided to build something a little bit different, just to get people really looking and thinking. Still having the street rod inspiration in our blood my son rendered a chopped beetle with cycle guards and top mounted wipers.”

“We were offered a car with body off the pan which the owner said was too good to junk and was happy to be put to good use. We drove to the Blue Mountains where we loaded her into the trailer and bought her home to Narellan.”

With Shane’s rendering, a 9 inch grinder, a welder and several eager folk ready to get cutting the 1961 Beetle was delivered to “Mikey’s Chop Shop” for the start of the behemoth task of giving the bug a 3 inch haircut. While taking a section of metal out of a Beetle is no mean task, getting the window shapes, the gutter lines and the overall appearance just right is a little more demanding. Untold hours went into keeping the body aligned while the roof was lowered, widened and lengthened and then stitching it all back together in a way that would keep both the aesthetic appeal and the engineering authorities happy.

Shane also tackled the task of widening the rear guards 3 inches at the back, tapering to just 1 inch at the front. The bottom edge also had to be modified to line up with the new body line after the removal of the running boards. At the front, rather than just removing the front guards the inner guard was reshaped to smooth out distracting contours and the apron widened retaining the spare wheel well which is integral to the front end strength of a Beetle. The front guards were replaced with contoured fiberglass cycle guards to keep road debris away from the body and other road users.

Along with the chop and the removal of superfluous metal, numerous other body mods were still to be undertaken. These included de-seaming the area in front of the doors for a smoother more flowing line, the shaving of the chrome trim and the boxing of the void left by the removal of the running boards. The rear apron was smoothed and hidden catches were fabricated for the engine lid, which also received some metal massaging with the centre swage and top lip eliminated. A gas strut was fitted through the smoothed firewall to assist the popped engine lid to stand and open freely. With the permanently popped engine lid providing adequate airflow for cooling the vents below the rear window were replaced with fresh steel. Even the fuel tank got the works, being hinged to allow easy access to the steering and the hydraulic clutch and brake cylinders.

At the extremities the standard bumpers were ditched in favour of some modified vintage Ford items. A pair of 1934 Ford bumpers were acquired at a swap meet, the ends cut and flipped to follow the car and narrowed some 200mm at the front. Aftermarket Harley indicators were hung off the bumpers and 1934 Ford taillights and stalks were mounted in place of the VW items while at the front a pair of 7 inch motorcycle lights with cats eye reflectors were put to use. Side markers from a BMW were also employed in the front quarters. Vintique mirrors continue the street rod theme along with the winged radiator cap on the scuttle.

The old school hanging link-bar wipers that featured in the original sketch were sourced from the UK along with the Vauxhall motor to actuate them. The motor itself is enclosed in a custom steel roof console, which also houses a sunglass compartment and interior lights from a Commodore. Another Vintique mirror is mounted inside for rearward vision.

The dash has been remodeled to resemble that of a 1932 Ford. Once again Shane created it from fresh steel, inserting the VDO gauges and setting off the leather bound drilled 3 spoke Grant steering wheel. Between the Nissan Pulsar front seats is the Flat Four “Boomerang” shifter which is enclosed in another custom steel console, the front of which was fashioned from the dash pod from a split window Kombi. The console also contains the cleverly fashioned Mooneyes control switch for the drop down under-dash stereo enclosure. The Sony head unit slips up inside the boot when not in use thanks to the mechanism from a pop-up headlight. Sony 6 by 9 inch speakers reside in the parcel tray behind the Mitsubishi Lancer rear split fold seat. Allan, being an electrician by trade, handled the wiring with guidance of Mike Kristen. No mean feat when you consider the amount of extras and non-standard components in the car.

Brett from Cruis’n Car carpets stretched the salt and pepper carpets over the floor and foot wells, while trimming the seats in driftwood vinyl along with the custom headliner. The matching custom door cards have resin-set foam bolstered tops and custom stitching neatly framing the electric one piece windows.

The colours chosen for the car again came from the initial sketch made some 3 years earlier. A custom blended Volksrod Blue over white. Shane Hobson completed the body work and prep with Chris Holland applying the final colour. The responsibility for the street rod styled pinstriping and airbrushed flames under the floorpan going back to Shane Hobson.

Powering the Volksrod is a 1776 air cooled VW engine. Dave Stoker of LMS Engineering handled any necessary machining while Mike Kristen and Ryan Heymans of CBB assembled the engine, the internals of which are largely stock VW, employing the 90.5mm Mahle pistons and barrels to increase the capacity and a mild grind cam to aid the breathing. The twin port 044 heads have seen some mild porting and are fed by dual Webbers with an electric fuel pump. A Bosch 009 dizzy fitted with Pertronix ignition controls the spark. A Gilmour belt drive spins the alternator and cooling fan while a Kombi oil cooler conversion has been performed on the 36 horse style shroud. The shroud also features Shane’s handiwork with the striping brush. Gases exit the engine through a custom merged 1 ¾ inch header and modified stainless fatboy muffler. At the time of writing the engine is out and a CBB – Redline electronic fuel injection system is being installed, complete with MSD ignition and a twin throat 45 IDF Redline throttle body. The 75 rear wheel horsepower makes its way through a Henry Spicak built L Bug box with welded 3^rd and 4^th cogs. Aiding the shift is a CBB hydraulic clutch conversion.

Allan says “Mike Kristen has always been trusted with the ride and stopping power in my son’s cars and didn’t fail to impress with the great combination he packaged into my new ride.The floor pan received special attention with CBB lowered adjustable beam and dropped spindles on the front and CBB adjustable spring plates on the rear.” The brakes were converted to disc all round using the in-house fabricated CBB disc brake kits. The wheels are modified VW steelies wrapped in 145/50/15 and 225/65/15 whitewalls and stainless steel ribbed wheel trims sourced from Antique Tyres at Ingleburn.

Allan deliberately didn’t keep track of expenses over the 4 year build, instead enjoying the “absolutely priceless” experience of working side by side with his son on turning their vision into reality. Allan would like to thank the extra hands and encouragement of the Late Shifter crew (Ryan Heymans, Darren Hobson, Shane Hobson, Dean Hodge, Chris Holland, Russell Sarten and Matt Sherwood) with special thanks to Mike Kristen of CBB for his expert mechanical guidance.

Since making its debut at the Canberra Rod & Kustom Krooze where it was well received as a custom, the car has picked up the Top 10 accolades at the 2008 Bug In and Valla VW Spectacular, Best Engineered and VW Car of the Day at the VW Nationals and a trophy at Dino’s Pizza Glenmore Park Rod & Custom Car Show. Allan and Lynda now get to enjoy their ultimate ride while spending time with the family in the best way possible… cruisin’ in the Volksrod.