Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1977 Vw Beetle Rat Rod on 2040-cars

US $3,000.00
Year:1977 Mileage:100000
Location:

Oak Park, Illinois, United States

Oak Park, Illinois, United States

If i had a good place to store and work on this, I wouldn't be selling it... but I don't so I am.  This is a completely ridiculous VW rat rod.  It currently runs and drives fine, but the brake lights stopped working so I haven't driven it far in a couple of weeks.  About two months ago I grove around 500 miles in a weekend.  I'm not going to claim it was comfortable, but the car had zero problems.

If you're looking for a reasonable daily driver, you should absolutely not buy this car.  It has one seat, no interior, no heat, questionable wiring and really requires ear plugs for long drives.

If you're considering buying a bright yellow Lamborghini to drive slowly and get attention, I promise this will attract more (and more positive) looks.  You will get used to having your picture taken.  It literally caused an accident while parked as someone drifted across the road while looking at it.  I had an approving, positive conversation about it with a 1%'er at a gas station.

I bought the car mostly as is from a local guy who worked on it with his two sons.  It has so many unique touches I don't even know where to start.  Sanded down to bare metal, rusted, then sealed with epoxy.  Road sign fenders (and the beginning of an interior).  License plate inner fenders.  License plate dash.  Raised coil-over suspension and brand new all-terrain tires.  Headlights are apparently from some 1920's truck.  Chopped & snubbed nose front end. Trimmed engine cover.  Welded roof rack with snowboard bolted on. Stinger header.

Beyond the rat rod nature, major issues are: Floor is solid, but has some riveted in patches and could stand to be replaced.  I have a quote of $1400 including labor from a very reputable VW restoration shop.  Heat channels are solid & in good shape.
Boots on the axles are in rough shape and work but should be replaced eventually.  I have a quote of $490 to replace both axles including labor from the same shop.
The brake lights just stopped working.  It's been very cold, and it's possible one of the switches froze up.
The fuel gauge just stopped working but is likely just a bad connection.   Working on getting that fixed before it leaves.

Other than that, it runs strong, shifts fine, stops fine, and drives straight.

Additional Parts not yet installed:
1920's horn & chain pull switch.
Lots of additional road signs.
Miscellaneous mirrors and other bits that could be welded on.

If it doesn't sell in the next couple of days, I'm taking it in to get the floor, axles, and electrical issues addressed.  I just thought I'd see if someone was interested that might want to do the work themselves.

Auto Services in Illinois

Wickstrom Chrysler Jeep Dodge ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 660 W Northwest Hwy, Bartlett
Phone: (224) 512-4946

White Eagle Auto Body Shop ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Wheels-Aligning & Balancing
Address: 575 Weston Ridge Dr, Big-Rock
Phone: (630) 883-0206

Walter`s Foreign Car Serv ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Brake Repair, Automobile Electric Service
Address: 2828 S Brentwood Blvd, East-Carondelet
Phone: (314) 962-2353

Tyson Motor Corp ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers, Auto Oil & Lube
Address: 1 SW Frontage Rd, Morris
Phone: (815) 741-5530

Triple X Transport Refrigeration & Trailer Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Trailers-Repair & Service
Address: 321 NE Industrial Dr, Eola
Phone: (847) 854-6700

Total Car Total Care Inc ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Alarms & Security Systems, Stereo, Audio & Video Equipment-Dealers
Address: 5333 Northwest Hwy, Fox-River-Valley-Gardens
Phone: (815) 455-2003

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: VW Golf TDI wins green car award, DC buses might go electric

Wed, Jul 23 2014

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI has won the award for 2014 Northwest Green Car or the Year. The distinction comes from the Northwest Automotive Press Association during its Drive Revolution event in Portland. Co-chairman of the event, Jeff Zurschmeide, says, "Volkswagen has led the diesel passenger car market for years, and the Golf TDI proves that they're likely to stay on top for a while." The 2015 Golf TDI has 10 more horsepower than the outgoing model, while improving fuel economy thanks to a new engine. It also has a base price $3,000 lower than the 2014 Golf TDI. Read more in the press release below. The BMW i8 gets its laser high-beam headlights from lighting company Osram. The laser lights use half the energy of their LED counterparts, according to BMW, which is important when one is trying to get every last bit of range out of the car's battery. The laser high beams can also reach about twice as far as LED lighting. Because of their brightness, they won't be available on cars sold in the US. In laser-equipped i8s, the laser high beams will not work below 60 kilometers per hour, nor when other lights are detected in front of the vehicle. Head to Automotive News Europe to read more. Renault has delivered a fleet of 30 Kangoo ZEs to Uruguay's government-owned power company, UTE. The electric fleet will allow the company to reduce its CO2 emissions by 36 metric tons, says Renault. 84 percent of Uruguay's electricity comes from renewable sources, with a goal of 90 percent on the horizon. Uruguay aims to get a third of its electricity from wind farms by 2016, meaning these Kangoo ZEs will be powered in no small part by renewable energy. For Renault, "This order is a further sign of the interest in the region for electric vehicles," according to Denis Barbier, Renault's senior vice president, citing previous deliveries in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. Read more in the press release at Renault's website. Washington DC's "Circulator" bus routes may go electric. Some of the diesel buses, which were first put to work in 2003, are nearing the end of their life cycle, and DC sees an opportunity to make the switch to something a little greener. "Electric has not been a viable option in previous procurements, but now it is," says Will Handsfield, Georgetown Business Improvement District's transportation director. Handsfield is concerned about air quality, and says he also appreciates the long-term stability of electric rates compared to diesel.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla details factory expansion; Ford and SunPower raise money for Sierra Club

Thu, Nov 20 2014

Tesla has revealed the details of the upgrade of its Fremont, CA factory. One major change is the addition of a dedicated production space for the dual-motor P85D version of the Model S. Robots will be doing the battery installation on the Model S to save some time, and new export docks allow Tesla to get the cars out the door and on the way to their new owners more quickly. The new robots that move the cars around the factory have been named after X-Men characters, which makes our inner geeks smile. Check out the factory upgrade in the time-lapse video below and read more at Teslarati or at the Tesla Motors Blog. A program in Beijing for privileged registrations for EVs hasn't had much success. Of the 1,424 lottery winners, only about 30 percent went on to register an electric car despite a two-month extension of the deadline to do so. Buyers are likely discouraged by the lack of charging infrastructure, which the city hopes to ameliorate with the addition of 1,000 new charging stations by the end of the year, and by requiring new and renovated developments to set aside parking specifically for EV charging. Read more at Green Car Reports. The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies suggests that laws designed to protect dealers and consumers are stymieing the adoption of EVs. Laws like the ones certain states have in place that block or otherwise restrict Tesla's direct-to-consumer business model are not helpful for companies that want to introduce new products to the market. They prevent companies from passing on savings to customers for whom they would likely make the difference in a purchasing decision. One possible solution would be to allow exemptions to certain selling restrictions for a certain number of vehicles sold. "This could give automakers the degree of control needed to work out kinks with early customers, develop scalable processes for supporting PEVs, and ensure that effective dealer performance standards are in place before handing the reins over to wholly independent retailers," according to UC Davis ITS. Read more at the UC Davis website. Volkswagen says its environmental program, called "Think Blue. Factory," is meeting the automaker's own sustainability targets. The main purpose of the program is to move toward eco-friendlier carmaking at each of its plants worldwide.

VW going turbo-only in 3 to 4 years

Wed, 18 Sep 2013

This really was a matter of when, rather than if. Volkswagen will apparently be the first manufacturer to phase out naturally aspirated engines in favor of turbocharging its full slate. VW is kind of responsible for ushering in this push towards small-displacement, turbocharged engines that's taken the industry by storm. When it dropped its direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbo in the 2005 GTI it demonstrated that strapping an iron long to an engine can enhance the powertrain as a whole. VW made fuel economy gains, while also giving a linear, non-laggy turbo experience that it has replicated, model-after-model, to this day.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Volkswagen's executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan, told the paper that, "We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it's in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum."
Really, it's hard to get teary-eyed about either of these engines going away. VW has access to smaller powerplants that could easily match the performance of the 2.5 five-cylinder and the 3.6 V6, while gobbling up less fuel and providing a better driving experience. What we are sad about is that a similar statement about the extinction of NA engines came from the Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford, Joe Bakaj. We'd certainly get teary-eyed over a world without Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8.