11x03 - The Souped-Up Beach Cruiser

[bunniefuu]

I have a soft spot
for these cars,
as you know.

A ragtop, semaphore,
split window.

This is such a cool car.

[Bill] Holy [bleep].

[Cole] Mystery bolts.

[Eric] Every hard 90
in a fluid system
is equivalent

to the restriction
of seven feet of line.

[whooshes]

-[Cole] There's something else
going on here, boys.
-[Bill] Yeah.

[Cole] So much
for just four bolts.

[Bledsoe] On paper
this thing fits,

but it clearly isn't fitting.

[Cole] I don't wanna get stuck
under 1,000 pounds
of metal right now.

[grunting]

It smells like a greasy-a*s
old Volkswagen. I love it.

[Dave] When I look
at a blank canvas,

I see endless possibilities.

As the ideas come to mind,

the lines start
to fall into place.

And before you know it,

we have a Bitchin' Ride.

[screeches]

[Dave] A Bitchin' Ride
has intense color...

-[man 1 laughs]
-[man 2] This is gorgeous!

[Dave] ...performance...

[man] It's fantastic.

-[Dave] ...stance,
wheels, sound.
-[car engine revs]

[Dave] There's one thing
that makes our car stand out,

ours are itchin' Rides.

[screeches]

-[man 3]
Well, it never gets old.
-[man 2 laughs]

[pop music playing]

[squawks]

[Dave] My very good,
beautiful friend, Linda,

is here
from Radford Racing School,

and she gave us
the opportunity to work
on a car for her,

and I'm taking
that opportunity.

-Linda, um, I have a soft spot
for these cars, as you know.
-Yep.

When you called me up,

you guys had
already left Barrett.

And you called me up and said,

"Hey, there's this cute
little black Bug
and love level

-and it had the ragtop and the
red interior." I was like--
-Yeah.

My name is Linda Velasco

and I'm here to talk to Dave

about our
'53 Volkswagen Beetle.

It was a recent purchase
at Barrett-Jackson.

I have never worked
with Dave before.

We've known Dave a few years,

but I know he's
the right guy for the job.

Yeah, I know about the car
'cause actually,
I was gonna buy the car.

Did you have Volkswagens
before then, too?

We did not have Volkswagens,

but I've wanted a Bug.
I've wanted a bus...

-Mmm-hmm.
-...as you all know.

But we just haven't been
able to find them yet,

and this was the first one...

-Well, this was a really...
-...that we were
able to get.

...great price on a...
and a great opportunity

on a... on a really nice car.

I told her, I said,
"If you really want the car,

it's a nice car.

I won't bid against you."

I actually won in both ways

because I get to still do

what I wanted
to do to the car,

but I'm gonna do it
with her money.

That's awesome.

So, where are you
gonna keep this one?

This is gonna be in Florida.

It's going to be
our beach car...

-Oh, very cool.
-...to ride along the beach.

I think it'll fit in
beautifully there,

and I... hopefully, will
turn a lot of heads.

Well, I'm sure it will.

A ragtop, semaphore,
split window.

This is such a cool car,
and it's so nice.

-It's a nice driver.
-[Linda] Mmm-hmm.

It's not over restored
to where you'd be scared

-to drive it.
-Right.

And it's got
some really cool stuff.

I mean, just the details
in the interior,

I mean, the carpet,
the colors.

It's a cute little car.

-It's got all
the right structure.
-[Linda] Mmm-hmm.

[Dave] We just need to fill in
some blanks there.

Um, like the third digit
missing from the horsepower.

-[Linda laughs] You're right.
-[Dave snickers] So...

-[laughs] You're right.
-Yeah, awesome.

We just wanted to have

a really nice ride.

Give it a little more oomph

[chuckles] than what it
has right now.

These old cars
like this, they stop,

-but they don't stop awesome.
-Right.

So, we'll make sure
that it's safe

and make sure that it can
drive down the road straight.

Anybody can get in it
and enjoy it.

But it definitely could use

a much better transmission
with synchros,

so it doesn't
grind downshifting

-[Linda] Great.
-[Dave] I'll probably
change out

the front suspension.
But I think we also

should upgrade
to the 12 volt system,

'cause the radio
does not work...

-[Linda] Mmm-hmm.
-...but it is so cool,
that big unit.

-Right. Right.
-I think that we should

leave that
'cause it's so rare.

-I mean, look how cool
that looks in there.
-[Linda] Oh, yeah.

-[Dave] So--
-[Linda] Yeah, I wouldn't
wanna change that.

[Dave] So, I think what we do
is let's leave that,

but I'll just hide,
like, a Bluetooth

-audio system in here...
-Oh, great.

...so it's just all
on your iPhone.

Would that work for you?

-That works perfectly.
-Awesome. Awesome.

Well, I'm really excited.

I wish it was
gonna go home with me.

Well, you know what?
I will drive it
a couple of times.

-You should. You should.
-I have to shake it down.

We're gonna
take it to Florida,
ride it along the beach.

Um, we just wanted

to have a little more,
uh, modern appeal.

We love the color.

I love the interior
the way it is.

I wouldn't change
anything on that.

This should be
a pretty easy build

'cause we're not, like,
tearing the whole car apart.

-Great.
-Yeah, we're gonna take
the bottom of the car out.

Suspension-wise
and drive train,

but other than that
the body
and paint's already done

-so that just sped
all of this up a little bit.
-[chuckles]

We'll give it a buff
after we're done
and call it Fonzie.

-Wonderful.
-Awesome.

-I can't wait to get going.
-Thank you.

-You're very welcome.
-Thank you.

-Thank you for letting me,
uh, play with your car.
-[laughs]

This is gonna be awesome.

-[laughs]
-[Dave] You know, even though
we're not gonna go

to the moon on this car,

I don't think
we really need to,

but it's gonna be bitchin'.

You know, I've been around
the Volkswagen block
so many times,

I've had a great time building
each and every one of 'em.

Whether it was a bus,
a double-cab, a Karmann Ghia,

a Beetle, a Hebmueller.

Now, I've got a '53 split rag,

semaphore Bug.

It just needs
some mechanical updates.

So, Linda's 1953 split window
just showed up,

and I'm so stoked
to get working on this car.

Kevin's not the biggest
fan of Beetles,

but I'm gonna give him
a little bit of time

to get a little bit more
acclimated to the fact

that we are
gonna build this one.

And while he's doing that,
I'm gonna dig in deep.

...and then that whole
speedo cable should
pull right out the back.

That's all it does
is [bleep] hook onto this...

[Dave makes buzzing noise]

...and spin the [bleep]
speedometer cable.

I love how simple VWs are.

One cable to the wheel
for the speedometer.

You know,
as simple as these are,

why does it seem like
I'm always doing all the work?

We're gonna get a...
put a new transaxle in it,
new engine.

Dave's got a mid-line
hot rod motor
for a Volkswagen ready for it.

[Kevin] These cars
are so simple.

All you need
for an engine swap
is a jack and a buddy,

and maybe
a case of beer to split.

Four bolts for the motor.

Four bolts for each axle.

Dave has put together LEGOs

that are more complicated
than this.

Probably what he's doing
right now actually.

We're gonna rip
this stock beam out.

So, the beam that we're
gonna put on it
is a little bit narrower,

so it allows us to get
the wheel up in here

to have the car
at a lower stance.

[Dave] Linda's big list

is basically to make
the car a lot more safe

and a lot funner to drive.

We wanna take away
the six volt and add 12 volt,
make it a lot more reliable.

We wanna put
some tunes in this thing

so you can enjoy the ride.

[Kevin] We're not painting it.

We're not redoing
the upholstery.

We're just wiring it,
doing the engine

and then, maybe
a couple of things.

And then, that's that.

I'm an important person.

I have important things to do.

I'm gonna give
my last advice to the boys,

and I'm gonna let them
have at it.

It's a Volkswagen Beetle.

It's simple.

What could go wrong?

Dude, tear her up.

All joking aside,
we're gonna tackle this thing.

First up, is the front beam.

We're gonna put a new one up
that's fully adjustable.

Once Cole gets a couple
of things out of the way,

this thing will
fall right out.

[Kevin] There's not really
a right way or a wrong way
to do this.

Just try to keep
everything intact.

That's the move.

[bangs]

-Yeah, buddy.
-[Kevin] There might be
more than four bolts,

but this isn't the most

engineered wazoo
design thing

that we've ever worked on.

-It should be simple...
-[banging]

...once you get
everything out of the way.

[Cole] Yeah, I know,
it looks super simple.

There's not a lot
going on here.

I think it's just
these four bolts

and then
the rest of it comes out

It should just fall out.

[country music playing]

The strategy is get
all these loose

and then grab a jack stand
and a buddy

because I think
these things are gonna fall.

As the, uh,

the chunks of paint
are falling down into my face,

I'm kind of wondering
if any of this
is still lead-based.

[Bill giggles]

[Bill] Tastes like my
old playground.

[Cole giggles]

Bill, what's the jam for, uh,

dropping this beam?

[Bill] Shaft stays in the car.

-[Cole] Yeah.
-Box in the joint...

-[Cole] Comes with it.
-...come with it,

-so you have to get that
completely disconnected.
-[Cole] Okay.

[Cole] Up.

All right, that's loose.

[Cole] Yeah, I'm ready.

Bring the thunder.

[suspenseful music playing]

[rattling]

I'm not sure
why this isn't chopping out.

Stuck on the top.

[rattling continues]

Okay, hold on one sec.

-[Cole] Okay.
-[Bill] Now try and go down
with it a little bit.

Nope?

I feel like there's
another bolt up top.

[man] I think
you're right, Bill.

Bill says that the bolts

are hidden under the spare.

Seriously?

[Cole grunts]

-[Cole] Wow,
it has two more bolts.
-[Bill] Holy [bleep].

[Cole] The mystery bolts.

[speaking indistinctly]

Now we gotta rock it.

[rattling]

[speaking indistinctly]

What the [bleep]
is holding it now?

[rattling and clanking]

[Cole] Watch yourself,
Austin.

I don't want this thing
to just let go.

-[Cole] There's something else
going on here, boys.
-[Bill] Yeah.

Something else
is holding that.

Yeah, it's hung up
on multiple things.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bill] Holy [bleep].

Mystery bolts.

-[Cole] There's something else
going on here, boys.
-[Bill] Yeah.

Something else
is holding that.

[Cole] So much
for just four bolts.

We can't see
what's holding it in place,

so I guess we're just
gonna start taking stuff off

until it lets it go.

[chuckles] And hopefully,
the whole thing
doesn't come apart.

Ah, ha-ha!
Bringing the thunder.

Your side's crashing?

-[Fred] Uh, yeah.
-[Cole] Of course.
Let me un-crash.

[Fred] Uh, it
is too tight to fit.

[Cole] Now we're good.

-For the win.
-[Bill] Look at Fred.

-[Cole] Oh, hell, yeah.
-[Fred grunting]

[Cole] Why are you shaking?

-Oh, yeah.
-[Fred] Okay.

Let's slice that off.

[Bill chuckles] All right.
Let's see if this, uh,
fixes our problem.

What the [bleep]?

Why?

The [bleep].

Kevin's like, "Oh, dude,
what, four bolts.
Just falls out."

[Kevin] They usually do.

[Cole] I'm not mad.

Like I said, I'm just...

disappointed.

It's just about time
to pull out the angle grinder.

What do you think it is?

[Bill] I think we
might have to get it.

-[Cole] Oh, mama,
things are happening.
-[Bill] Yeah, buddy.

[Cole] So, I'm
about to give up,

but I think we found
what we're hunting for.

It's just like a weird bubble.

-[Bill] Uh-huh.
-[Cole] I'm assuming
its intention is to keep

the beam from falling out.
[mimics sobbing]

[Bill] If she decides to go,

-I'll try my best to stop it
but no guarantees.
-[Cole] Save it.

[clanking]

-[Bill] Sorry.
-[Cole] Go ahead.
Put that anywhere.

[Bill chuckles] That's right.

-Dreams in there.
-Mmm.

[Bill] All right.
Are you ready?

Let's see what happens now.

Oh, look at that.

Oh, wow.

Science.

Okay, so now we know.

Make sure to take
that thing out, too.
[chuckles]

And in three easy steps,
you can have your beam out.

Before the transaxle,
and engine comes out,

[laughs] I'm taking
everything off.

So, for the horsepower
or the business end,
as we say on this car,

we're gonna go over
and visit my good friend,
Eric Allred.

He's built lots of motors
for me over Red-E Motorsports.

I'm gonna order a badass motor

that's gonna be reliable
with a lot more horsepower.

Hey, Eric.
What's going on, man?

-How's it going?
-Good man. How you been?

-[Eric] Good.
-[Dave] I don't know
what your schedule is,

but I've got
a special project

I'm building for some
really good friends of mine.

A 1953 split window rag,
semaphore.

-Oh, nice.
-Beautiful car,

crappy motor.

These cars originally
were built with
about the capability

of going 60 miles an hour
at best downhill.

But we're gonna go ahead
and fix that problem
right away.

-It isn't even a pea sh**ter.
It's more like a spit baller.
-[laughs]

[Dave] Inside and outside
of this car
is really done nice.

Nice driver.

But I need
a lot more horsepower
than this thing's got.

It won't get
in the gutter without...

-I have to bring up the Rs.
-Right.

What would you suggest?

I want reliable

with a little more kick.

Just something snappy
to keep up in traffic

-a lot better.
-Something great in traffic.

Absolutely.

Well, you know,
one of my favorite
combos right now,

just for good
street engines...

Like, you know
the old school combo,

you're from back in the day,

-the 2110
was everywhere, right?
-Sure. Sure.

The one I like
that's very similar,
but different is a 2109.

[Dave] Eric has such
great knowledge

of building engines.

He's done a lot
of them for us,

and, of course, a lot of them
for other people.

I completely trust him.

I don't know what the hell
the one cc means.

I don't care.

As long as it gets
down the road
and rides a wheelie, I'm in.

-Okay.
-It's a shorter stroke,

but a bigger bore.

And a larger bore,

you can do more
chamber shaping
in the heads,

and you can run bigger valves.
You can get more power.

A lot of builders have
their own favorite recipes...

-[Dave] Sure.
-...and this is mine.

I just want it fun to drive,

but I want it reliable.

-Yeah.
-That can stay cool.

-So, 2109.
-2109.

-Okay.
-Yep.

It's kind of not...
not an old school combo,

-but I love 'em.
-[Dave] Okay.

-I think they work out great.
-[Dave] How's your time frame?

Uh, we're not too far out.

We've got a couple
of motors

-to go, so--
-[Dave] If you can
just fit it in,

I'm totally cool with that...

-We can time it out right.
-...'cause I got other stuff
to do with it., so...

-[Dave] Awesome. Okay.
-No problem.

-Put a build sheet together
for me, son.
-Can do.

Man, you got some
cool stuff always.

Always have a little
rotation going through.

Yeah, you know
I got a soft spot

-for these Volkswagens.
-That's right.

I better get out of here

-before some keys
stick to my hands.
-All right.

-Sounds good. [laughs]
-[Dave] Okay. Thanks, buddy.
Let me know.

You bet. We'll see ya.

[Dave] On these
air-cooled VW engines,

and especially
when you get

stroking 'em
and porting 'em out,

they can generate
a lot of temperature.

You gotta make sure

that the oil flow is perfect.

And Eric has

a perfect recipe
for every one
of these engines.

[Eric] We're going
with an aluminum engine case.

Oil flow is king.

When you look
at all these hard 90s

that are coming out
of the pumps,

every hard 90
in a fluid system

is equivalent
to the restriction
of seven feet of line.

So you figure,
radius everything.

Get rid of all
those restrictions.

Get rid of the turbulence.

You've got
you're bearing halves,

and it's like
anything after market.

You're putting it together,

four different
brands of parts.

How do you make sure
those are all gonna fit?

Well, that's where
it comes to...

Do some Prussian blue on there

and you dab it
around the hole.

And then once you
pinch the bearing,
it will leave an impression.

Where something hits
and, like, how they're
gonna line up.

But once you got
all your bearings in,

now we can pinch it down

and see where
that oil marking is.

You can go
back and forth on that,

but on race day,

man, you'll do
some scabby stuff

just to get in the race

'cause you've got
rounds to go.

You know, they're dumping
the oil in the top,

you know, before they put
the manifold on.

There's like, mosquitoes
and moths, and you go in,

it's like, it's race day man.

[chuckles] You got to go.

So now,

we can see where
the bearings are hidden.

Where it goes into the...

the galley feeding it,

we actually do have
that one centered.

There's a lot
of times you'll see

that thing
way off to the side,

and which is just less oil.

I'll still take a...
a small tool,

and I'll open it up
just to get more oil
to the bearings.

See how that's
off center right there?

That's not centered.
So, I'll machine that out,

cut that out a little bit
to fit that one.

See, that one's
pretty close too,

but I'll still open it up.

Like I say, I... in my head,
it's all about oil flow.

There's something
satisfying about, you know,

you put together

all these parts

and it all works,

and you send them
out the door.

[Dave] While Eric
starts building

our new engine
for our '53 project,

we're gonna go
back to the shop

and get the old one
out of there.

The transaxle in the back's

a lot heavier.

I'm not fighting that
while it's up on the jack.

I'm gonna pull
everything out first.

[Kevin] It's the front beam.

It was a little trickier
than expected.

Nothing goes perfect.
Nothing goes as planned.

Just roll with it.

[Cole] Yeah, like you said,
it's just the four, right?

[Kevin] Yeah, I believe so.

Four, and then the starter.

So, you should be able
to just take those out,

and then get a jack under here
and just wiggle it,

and it should come down.

This looks like there's
a cable on each of these

feeder channels right here,

so undo that.

This is for the heater,
that's how they use it.

They just take the heat
from around the exhaust

and channel it up
into the cabin.

-Okay.
-[bleep] Germans.

This is the whole cradle
for the transaxle

on... on the backside.

Once you get the engine out,

you should be able
to undo these two bolts

and this one
and this whole thing
should slide right out.

-Super [bleep] easy.
-[Cole] Cool.

You should be able to slide
kind of the whole thing

back and off
and then out and down.

[Cole] Okay.

It's like you can still
slide the engine
off of the... clutch.

I think, he said, "Maybe".

Like he's
figuring it out, too?

It's just kind of as we go.

I'm not sure.

[Kevin] Easy-peasy.

It's like you can still
slide the engine
off of the... clutch.

Like he's
figuring it out, too?

It's just kind of as we go.

I'm not sure.

[Kevin] Easy-peasy.

I'll just check in on you
here and there.

If you need
any direction, obviously,

-if I'm not around, grab Bill.
-[Cole] Yeah.

[Kevin] Bill, like Dave,
also has a love
for Volkswagens.

He's the expert
in the VW field.

So, Kev wasn't here
for the front.

And, like,
I'll take his advice,

but I don't wanna get

stuck under 1,000 pounds
of metal right now.

I don't wanna realize later
that there's some bolt

that I need to get to
that we don't have

access to now.

[chuckles] So, my
game plan strategy

is everything is coming off.

We're not... we're not
gonna reuse this old,

crusty exhaust, right?

[grunts]

[groans]

I don't think Kev
will mind too much

if I borrow his SAWZALL.

That'll take it off.

That part's removed.

Do you wanna to be...
I'm gonna run up to here
[bleep] doing this,

or I can be underneath,
looking at the bottom
saying, "Up, down."

When I'm there,
things go as planned.

Things go as smooth
as possible,
watch and learn.

Can I go down a little bit?
'Cause I'm right up
against this seal,

so I'm gonna come down,

-but very slowly.
-[Cole] Okay.

[Kevin] Nicely.

A sick pulse.

-[Kevin] Hold it.
-[Cole] Holding.

There you go.
Now we're past the seal.

[Cole] Okay.

[Kevin] What are we
hanging up on?

What are we hung up on?

[Cole] Uh, probably
fuel lines.

-No fuel lines, no?
-[Kevin] No, we're good.

But what are we caught on?
I don't see anything up here.

It's supposed
to just drop out.

-Where are we at now?
-[Cole] Uh, downsies.

[Kevin] Okay.

-You good?
-[Cole] Yeah. Yep.

-Oh, yeah.
-[Bill] Oh, yeah.

Like I said,

easy-peasy.

[Cole] How are we
gonna get it out?

[Justin] [bleep]

-[Cole] Oh, [bleep].
-Oh, [bleep].

[Kevin] There's not even
enough room
between the ground

and the Bug
to get this out.

[Cole]...is that gonna
give us enough room
to get it out?

[Kevin] At least if we get it
off of jack, then
you can jack it up.

[Justin] Oh, and it's
pulled on where they're
supposed to be welded.

Whose idea was that? [laughs]

-[Kevin] Good?
-[Cole] Yeah.

We're gonna need like--

[Kevin] That's it.
That's all you got.

-[Cole] That's all we got?
-[Kevin] Yeah, we're gonna
have to take it off the jack.

[Kevin] Come back here, Cole.

Me and Justin are
gonna lift up,

then you're gonna pull
the jack out and we're
getting soaked.

[Cole] Yeah.

Ready, steady, go.

[Kevin] When I say
things are easy,

you gotta be equipped,

you know?

-Could've done that
the whole [bleep] time.
-[Kevin] Hear that?

[Justin and Cole laugh]

[Bill] This should be
a stock 1.6,

which is a 1,600 cc
stock, one barrel.

Makes about 35-40 horsepower
on a good day,

basically powers the count
of maybe, like,


on a good day downhill,

with something else
pushing it probably.

Because they're actually
kind of dangerous
on the highways

'cause they don't
go that fast.

It's too slow
for the slow speed lane.

So, the new engine
probably has
about 130 to 150 horsepower,

so it's gonna motivate it
a little bit easier,

and it's gonna
probably push it...

at least the speed limit,

and that's exactly
what the customer wants.

Ah, the good old days.

[Bill laughs]

Smells like greasy a*s
old Volkswagen. I love it.

Eric has gone through
and poured out and aligned
all of the oil passages

to make sure
there's no obstructions

to make sure there's
gonna be lots of oil flow.

But one of the biggest
problems you'll have

with the high
performance engine

is you're gonna need
a lot more
than 2.5 quarts of oil.

[Eric] It puts it about
that high up in there.

You start sloshing that oil
to one side,

that 2.5 quarts of oil
runs out pretty quick.

It goes off to the side
or high RPMs.

You know, as you pump oil up,

it takes a while
to drain down,

so you're suspending
that oil up,

you start running
a pickup dry.

So, you put
a deeper sump on it.

Give yourself
another 1.5 quarts,
a little bit more depth.

Now, taking turns,
hard acceleration,
things like that,

you're not gonna have
any trouble.

So, we make our own pipe.

We'll cut it
to the right thing.

We'll fully weld it
so it doesn't leak any air.

So, basically,
that pickup tube extension's

gonna come down
into the sump right there,

and we're gonna line it up

so that when
that sump screen is in place,

that pickup tube's
gonna go right in

and just go right
into the top of that.

So, we're using
the factory screen still,

even though we're gonna have
an external filter on this.

Eyeball it twice,
cut once, right?

[heavy metal music playing]

Gotta weld that to there.

First try.

Holy mackeroly.

[hissing]

There you go.

It's not pretty,

but it does seal it

really well.

And then, you know,
that's lined up perfect

for your screens.

That'll make sure
you keep all your oil flow
like you should,

and you won't suck
any air around it.

I just figured...

So, it's kind of a press fit.

You heat it up enough
that you'll slide it
right on down

and then it'll cool
and grab right on.

[man] That's your hand, right?
There we go.

Yeah, it goes
all the way down.

Brass warms up
a whole lot quicker,

so you gotta be
a lot more careful with it.

There we go.

There we go.

And now
the last little key
way to go in.

There we go.

Perfect.

Now we got all our gears.

Our bearings are in place.

We'll let that cool
a little bit,

start hanging some rods on it.

You see it on all the, uh...
all the VW pages,

everyone shows video
of their rods dropping.

[whooshes]

But it is gratifying
to watch your, uh,

connecting rod just
sweep down like it should.

Grease. We are set.

[whooshes]

Eric has double checked
and triple checked everything,

and now it's time
to go back together
one last time.

[Eric] May...

There we go.

And here's how
you make the, uh...

the V8 guys jealous
of building the VW motors.

Their stuff's too heavy.

[laughs]

And we like
where that rotor points.

We're set.

You can tap it
all the way down
with your hand.

You haven't
pinched a bearing,

all your dowel pins
are where they should be.

This is the check valve
train geometry.

We just measure how much lift
the cam actually has,

and then we'll, uh,
go to half lift,

and we'll see where
everything lines up.

About 202 is half lift.

I would like
to see that, kind of, in a...

sweet, neutral spot
on the valve train.

Well, there we go.

[Kevin] This little black Bug

is definitely not easy.

It's thrown us
some huge curveballs.

[Cole] We pulled
everything off before working
on the transaxle.

[Bledsoe] You're
upside-down.

-[Bill] Are we?
-[Cole] No.

This goes to the front
of the car.

We got the engine back
from Red-E Motorsports,

but we have to get
the transaxle installed

before we can
make that happen.

[Bill] Coming in. Is there
a mount or something?

[Cole] Yeah, the two studs
slide through that.

I left it all loose
so we can--

[Bill] I see. I see.

[Bledsoe] So, this is a pretty
simple alignment.

There's really only
one way for it to go in.

[Cole] Keep going up.

[Bill] Yeah. All right,
go ahead.

Up a little more.

[Bill] I'm in a hole
right now.

[Kevin and Cole] Yeah.

[Bill] We should be
able to push it

all the way in
'cause the shifter's right

lined up right now.

Oh, whoa. Hello.

[Bledsoe] Well, we're...
we still got a ways to go.

Okay. There you go.

There you go, boys.

[Cole] Let's go.

I think I need
some wigglage.

[Bledsoe] Try to lift
your side up, Bill.

Can you pull down
on your stat axle?

I'm already all the way down.

Things gotta go down
on your side.

-Oh.
-There we go.

-[Bill] 180.
-We're... Yeah, 180.

-[Bledsoe]
The other way, Bill.
-The other down.

[Bill laughs]

It go down.

[Bledsoe and Bill laugh]

[Cole] There you go.
Okay, that started.

-[Bledsoe] All right.
We're good then?
-Yeah, We're good.

Cool beans.

We put the transaxle

in the Bug.

We are winning.

We're gonna assess
the situation,

probably take lunch,

and then put the, uh...
the new motor in.

The new engine just arrived,
and it's beautiful,

and I cannot wait to fit
in this little body.

Well, let's grab a jack
and do it that way.

It, uh...

[Bill laughs]

[Bledsoe] Jeepers, mister,
you're strong.

[laughs]

So, this engine's
a little bigger
than the one we pulled out.

Dog thinks he can
bench press it,

so maybe we ought to try that

before we go ahead
and start using

trans jacks and stuff.

[Bill] Let's go. Uh...

[Justin] Okay.

On paper this thing fits,
but it clearly isn't fitting.

[Justin] It won't fit
between the [bleep] rails.

[Bledsoe] Well, if they
don't fit,

valve covers, all that stuff,
I don't--

[Justin] The valve covers
sit below it.

[Cole] Yeah, the valve covers
look clear.

[Bledsoe] We gotta grab
the tape measure

and just look at this
before we... [chuckles]

[Bledsoe] Try to manhandle
it in?

[Kevin] Kenny is saying
we should measure

before proceeding.

This isn't Kenny's style.
Hey, but I like it.

Well, we're not gonna clear
the front to the back.

Has... It's not even
[bleep] close.

It's gonna hit right here.

[Bill] Uh, we're nowhere
close to the air cleaners.

[Bledsoe] I don't see
the front of it.

Can you get
the cover on after?

[Bill] I mean, maybe if it was
all in there and stuff, but...

[Bledsoe] That's what
I was saying is,

like, if it went
through the top,
all of this would fit,

but then we've got this,
and then we've got this.

[sighs] Oh, [bleep].

[Dave] We got the engine back
from Red-E Motorsports,

but the guys here
are having
a little bit of trouble

fitting that big a*s motor
in that little a*s car.

We're just gonna
have to pull this off,
take the intakes off.

alternator and all that stuff
off of it.

'Cause there's no other way.
This is all.

We don't have enough room

-to pull it out.
-[Bill] So let's do that.

We're gonna have
to pull off carburetors.

We're gonna have
to pull off engine cover,

alternator, get all the stuff

off the top end
of the engine,

but we'll make it work.

The factory engine
is a lot smaller
than this one.

[Bill] Is that supposed
to be like that?

-I don't know.
-[Bill chuckles]

Don't forget
how it goes back together.

I'll try not to.

[laughs]

That's easy.

Try to put it in now.

[Justin] I don't know how
I'm gonna put it
together in the car.

[Bill] It's real
[bleep] close.

-[Justin] It's very close,
yes.
-[Bill] Let's try.

[Justin] How much further
we have to go up?

-[Bill] Uh...
-[Bledsoe] Four inches or so.

...six.

Yeah, we're not gonna...

[Justin] That's not
gonna work.

[Bledsoe] We know
it's gonna fit.

I'm just not sure
how that's all gonna
go together right now,

but we'll get it.

Don't jostle it.

It's barely on the jack

so don't move it
around too much.

-[Bill] Getting pretty close,
aren't we?
-[Justin] It's getting closer,

but I don't know
if it's hanging
right on that [bleep].

[Bill] It's hanging
on the body.

[Bledsoe] Well, I'm still
moving it over here.

-Where...
-[Justin] Uh, all you're doing
is twisting.

Oh, valve covers
hitting on my side.

[Bill] Yeah, valve cover's
hitting on my side, too.

[Justin] It's gotta
twist this way.

So the [bleep].
Let's try to...

-[Bill] Try to what?
-[Justin] I don't know.

[Bill laughs]

[Justin] How far
is the input shaft
sticking over?

Probably... a quarter inch
on it.

And then we're what?

Half inch from hitting
the hole.

You gotta get Bill's side
of the engine back.

[Justin] Uh, I can't.
I'm against the floor
over here.

Yeah, mine's hitting
the floor right here, too.
The valve cover is.

[Justin] [bleep] it's about
[bleep] drop in it.

[Bledsoe] If we pull
the valve covers,
we could probably get it in

-and then put
the valve covers on after.
-[Justin] Yep.

[Bill] Can we go down
just a smidge?

Yeah, that's good.

I'm extremely happy for Bill,

that this wasn't
filled with oil.

-[Bill] Input shaft good?
-[Bledsoe] Sorted.

-[Bledsoe] Okay, maybe up
a little more. Justin?
-[Justin] Yep.

-[Bill] Everything's okay.
-[Bledsoe] Hold.

[Justin] Well, there you go.

[Bill] It's in.

-[Bledsoe] I guess.
-[Bill chuckles]

So this engine
was built and run
with a regular doghouse,

but I'm gonna actually
upgrade it
to a Porsche style fan shroud.

Typically on these
Porsche fan shrouds,

we'll put a higher amperage
alternator in this thing

to make sure that we can
put a big stereo system

and just make sure we have
enough power to run it.

[rock music playing]

[Dave] We're almost
finished up
with Linda's Volkswagen,

but there is one more thing
that we wanna definitely do,

and that is to upgrade
from six volt to 12 volt

so we can add
our performance
with the engine,

as well as the electronics
for the stereo system,

the gages and so forth.

[Kevin] Bill, what's up,
buddy?

How's this pizza
German engineering going?

The German engineering
is German-ing.

Is that good or bad?

It's kind of bad actually,
right this second.

I wouldn't expect
anything less
from a Volkswagen, honestly.

-I'm not disappointed at all.
-What's happening?

[Bill] For some reason,

it drops voltage
at the LED flasher,

and I don't know why yet.

-Does this have
signals in the front?
-[Bill] No.

[Kevin] There's none
in the headlights, huh?

-No.
-[Kevin] Okay.

-[Bill] There's
parking lights.
-Okay.

The only ones that we have
are the '74s
and the ones in the back.

-Okay. You have, like,
a... a voltage drop?
-[Bill] Through this.

-So, I--
-Through... through the relay?

Yeah, so I had to see
if I could swap it
with another relay.

-Okay.
-[Bill] And if that works...

[Kevin] Then we
should be good.

So the '74 doesn't go
up and down, up and down.

-Do you have a tail light?
-[Bill] No.
That's the problem.

-I don't have--
-[Kevin] How do you know?

[Bill] 'Cause they're
not flashing.
I only have four volts at it.

-But if I apply 12 volts...
-Let's see.

[Bill] It flashes.

So, you're getting
some voltage here?

[Bill] Yeah, four volts.

-That's not...
that's not enough.
-[Bill] No.

That's what
I've gotta find out.

[Kevin] This power probe's
awesome.

Not only does it work
as a test light,

but you can also send power
and/or ground.

It looks like 12 volts
is leaving the relay,

but only four volts
is getting to my taillight.

Something is wrong here.

It's probably...
it has something to do

-with the... a negative
ground issue.
-[Bill] It might,

but I replaced all that stuff.

-It might be a bad flasher.
-[Kevin] Yeah.

Maybe there's not enough
load on it
'cause we got the LEDs.

Well, it's for an LED so...

and it has
battery voltage to it.

[Kevin] But regardless,

obviously of the small problem
that you have,

it looks like we're making
really good progress
on the car, yeah?

Yes, everything else
seems to work okay so far.

Heck, yeah. Well, hopefully
it's just that simple.

I hope so. Yes.

Cool. Well, uh, I probably
won't be doing
the test drive, but...

[snickers] Come on,
you don't
wanna drive this thing?

I mean, maybe. Is it fast?

Faster than stock.

[Bill laughs]

[Kevin] Faster
than 25 horsepower?

-You're really sh**ting
for the moon on this one.
-[Bill laughs] Forty.

It might do above 40, yeah.

-[chuckles]
-Okay. Well, I'm excited.
I'll probably...

I might drive it.
I might ride in it, who knows?

But I... I think it's cool,
and you know what?

the customers for this car
couldn't be better people,

so I'm excited
to give this to 'em.

-Yeah.
-I'm gonna leave you to that.

I'm gonna leave now.

-Good luck.
-Thank you.

Solid power.

[key clicks]

That is a regular relay,

instead of an LED relay.

The LED relay
has a resistor in it,
which makes it blink,

whereas a regular relay
just sends power.

So, I know that by putting
a regular relay in it,

I know my wiring's good.

And I have 12 volts
back to it now,
so I have a bad relay.

Just got to get one now.

I'm gonna rob it out
of his wiring kit, yes.

Then if I know
that it's good,
I can just order one.

Well, it's not a bad relay.

[Kevin] It's not the relay.

We got one more idea.

For some reason, if I...

check the hazard,
it actually flashes.

[Kevin] When Bill injects


the taillights come on.

It's time to rob
from Dave again.

[Bill] So, I'm gonna
put this in the flasher

and see what happens.

Yay, success.

Blinks at a different
pace, but...

it still blinks.

[Linda] It's a fabulous day.

[Dave] You know, this isn't
a typical build
at Kindig-It Design.

We didn't, like, go ham.

Take the car away
down to bare metal,

re-upholster it, chop the top,

do any of that kind of stuff.

And it is just...

-[Linda] Oh, what a...
-...a sweet little ride.

[Linda] I am impressed.

-[Linda laughs]
-[engine revving]

[Linda] It's a fabulous day.

I am excited to see
the car finished.

I am excited to get in the car

and to really drive it
for the first time as is.

-[Dave] It is just...
-[Linda] Oh, what a...

...a sweet little ride.

Oh, wow. This is...

Yes, look at this.

I knew what it had before,

and I knew we could just

about take it on the main road
of the beach at that speed.

So, you know, I'd hoped
to get a lot more pep in it,

and it's exactly like I
would have expected,

so I'm thrilled.

Nice and smooth.

-Very smooth.
-[Dave] Got a little bit of...

-[Linda] I'm impressed.
-A little bit of attitude.

[Linda] I am impressed.

You could feel the suspension.

It's just an...
it's an easy ride.

It's a comfortable ride.

So, that was another thing
I really didn't expect.

[Dave] So, you have
all of the creature comforts
of 1953?

[laughs]

-I cannot believe
it has power. I love it.
-[Dave laughs]

-[Linda] I love it.
-[engine revving]

[Linda] And I love...

I mean, I really never
would have expected that.

-The sunroof.
-The sunroof.

Dave, thank you.
You did a great job.

-Oh, thank you.
-I'm so excited.

-Thank you very much.
-[laughs]

I'm... I'm very excited
that I got to work
on this car.

[chuckles] Oh, good.
Good, good, good.

I didn't really know
what to expect,

you know, until today.

Now I see what a great
car we have, so...

Oh, my God. Oh, Dave.

[Dave] I have got
one happy client.

Linda loves her car.

-Isn't that cute?
-This is fun!

You look great in here.

-I love this.
-This is cool. I love
that shirt in this car.

-I love it.
-It actually looks like...
Did you do that on purpose?

-It totally matches
the German motif.
-[laughs]

[Linda] I love this.

A lot of people, you know,

get used to modern cars
and just...
they feel different.

-[Linda] Oh, yes.
-[Dave] And when you're
in a classic Volkswagen

like this, it... it's more,
uh, visceral, I guess,
is the best way to say it.

[Linda] I agree.

[Dave] You know you're...
you're jamming gears...

-[Linda] Right. That's right.
-...you're feeling
a little bit more

of the bumps and stuff.

[Linda] Oh, this is fun, Dave.

-We're gonna have
fun with this.
-Awesome.

-[Linda] All right.
-[Dave] Cool.

[doors slam]

-How fun is that, huh?
-[Linda] That was wonderful.

-Oh, my God.
-[Dave] I love it.

-Right? I just love it.
-[Linda] This is so much fun.

[Dave] So, the things
that we really had to,

kind of, pay attention
to the car

because, I mean,
it was all there,
and it was drivable,

but it just didn't have
a lot of power.

So, under the bonnet here...

[clicks]

...on the business end
of the deal,

we had to put some horsepower

to this thing to actually
get it to where it would
actually merge into traffic.

And so putting
about 150 horsepower down.

-This is a 2109.
-[Linda] Nice.

[Dave] So, it's a much
bigger engine
than the 1,100 ccs.

This is like a thousand...
It's about double the size.

Oh, the Porsche fan shroud,

I just love this those.
I put one of those
in my car as well.

-I've been doing that
on a lot of the cars.
-[Linda] Ah.

-[Dave] They cool really well.
-[Linda] Mmm-hmm.

[Dave] They look
so much cooler
than the slammed ones, so...

-[Linda] Looks great.
-[Dave] Yeah.

And then we put
a nice, uh, transmission
in front of it.

Basically, it's
a freeway flyer.

A lot smoother shifting
as you felt.

-[Linda] Mmm-hmm.
-[Dave] And, uh, we put

adjustable spring plates
in the back,

disc brakes in the back.

And then, we also did

disc brakes up front,

and did
the 12 volt conversion,

and the stereo system.

[Linda] He actually
kept the radio
as it looked in the period.

I think it looks right.

I'm very happy with the way
that turned out.

There is a new
sound system in it

that is Bluetooth.

That will also be exciting

to have the music
on the beach.

[Dave] I mean, it's just,
kind of, really cool.

One of my
favorite parts, though,

is the rarer of the rare.

-And that is the semaphores
with the split and a rag.
-[Linda] Yes. Yes.

[Dave] Did you
see 'em actually?

Or were you just driving
and you didn't get to see 'em?

-No, I didn't get to see 'em.
-Hang on, stay right there.

You gotta see
how cool they look...

-Okay. All right.
-...from the backside
of the car.

-They're so cool.
-[Linda chuckles]

-[Dave] Isn't that cute?
-[Linda chuckles] Amazing.

I said cute...

-[Linda snickers]
-...and I meant it.

I just... I love those.

I can stand here
all day, Linda,
and just do that.

-Just playing
with my semaphore.
-[Linda laughing] Okay.

[Dave laughs]

You know, and, of course,

when you look
at the car, the stance.

I mean, we didn't
really change

a whole lot of anything
on the outside

because it had
such cool wheels and tires.

Everything was already
kind of stock and restored,

but I did end up changing...

I went to a smaller tire
up front,

so it had a little bit more
turning radius

-'cause I wanted to give
a little bit more...
-[Linda] Okay.

-...stance to it.
- Linda] Mmm-hmm.

But you still got tons
of ground clearance.

It's not slammed.
It rides nice,

and I just call it
the full package.

[Linda] Oh, my God, I love it.

-[giggles]
-[Linda] I love it.

[Dave] How did you like
driving it?

[Linda] Oh, I loved
driving it.

I mean, I was...
Actually, I was
quite surprised.

-Yeah?
-It's really got,

you know, some power,
and it just...

it feels great driving it.

-Yeah, yeah.
-So, I'm happy.

We'll get it out on some, uh,
some more roads
and, uh, go a little faster

-and see
what you think, huh?
-All right.

-Awesome.
-Let's do it.

[Linda giggles]

-[Dave] Let's get out of here.
-[Linda] Okay.

[Linda] When Linda
got behind the wheel,

-it was smiles galore.
-[Linda] Whoo!

[Dave] We had a great time.
We're driving along.

She picked it right up.

[Linda] I love it.

[Dave] But it was something,
obviously, that you
need to get used to.

if you're used to driving
brand new cars.

This is a little different,
but once you get going,

it's like riding
a bicycle really.

It just goes.

[Linda] It had more power
than actually I thought
I would have felt,

but it was easy to drive.

It was easy to maneuver.

Except, there's
no power steering,
but... [laughs]

but other than that, fabulous.

We're gonna have
a lot of fun with it.

[Dave] It's like a perfect car
for the park.

-[Linda] I mean, this
is a perfect park car.
-[Dave laughs]

[Linda] I'm ready.

I want him
to ship it. [laughs]

Oh, I love this.

-Oh, Dave!
-[Dave laughs]

[Linda] Oh, we...
I'm telling you,

we... we are gonna have
so much fun with this car.

-[Dave] I can imagine.
-[Linda] You have no idea.

[Dave] They're so much fun.

There are certain cars
in the Volkswagen world

that are just the...
those are like
the... the cars to have,

and a split rag
has always been one of those.

-[Linda] Oh, yeah. I agree.
-[Dave] The bonus is
with the semaphores

-is just that much cooler.
-[Linda] I agree.

-[Dave] That sounds great.
It's not obnoxious.
-[Linda] It does sound great.

[Dave] It sounds healthy.

[Linda] Oh, my goodness.

This truly
is the ultimate split window.

It's got split window,
ragtop, and semaphores.

Cruising this thing in Florida
down the beach

is gonna be awesome.

[Linda] I probably never
expected to get
a VW with a sunroof,

-so that was just
an added bonus.
-[both laughing]

[Linda] That's just...

that's just perfect.

I have a bitchin' ride.

I hope Dave
gives it back. [laughs]

[Dave] Linda absolutely
loved it.

I love Linda, and this

is one bitchin' Bug.