New to forum - got the questions if you've got the time.

[mabus013]

Hey all. I'm new to the forum here, but not necessarily new to the German Look concept (I was heading in the same direction when I heard about it). I plan on building the sickest, most hardcore Beetle ever seen - as a matter of fact, my intentions are no less than to embarass the hell out of the $100k+ cars that frequent Sport Compact Car magazines Ultimate Street Car Competition - even if I don't win, I at least want those overpriced Supras, Vipers, and Ferraris to break out in a cold sweat.

Now, to the questions...

First, I've heard that the 944 front suspension is based on the Super Beetle's. What are the pitfalls of converting the SB over to 944 parts? Really, this wouldn't be needed, but none of the respected tuner companies really make any parts for this setup (well, Koni does have the struts) and I'm tired of the 'mystery springs' that most companies offer as a direct replacement. I at first thought that I could just grab the front struts (all the way down to the brakes) and the steering box, but a quick glance at the forums tells me that there is more to it. Any alternatives to this conversion, such as a coil over/double A-arm setup?

Second, what exactly can be done with the rear suspension? I'm sure that the rear IRS setup is capable enough, but what can be done about the spring rates? I've seen some cheap coil-overs that bolt in the place of the stock shocks, but the same problem comes up as with cheap front suspension parts (mystery spring rates and adjustability). About the only thing I've seen for the rear is the Kafer Cup reinforcement setup for the tranny mount area.

Third, I've had no luck finding out anything about a fuel injection setup for the aircooled motors, other than the stock VW system, which I'm sure won't be up to snuff for real performance. Is there a system that has the full tuning capabilities, mapping, etc? I was thinking that worse-case scenario I could fab a system out of an existing setup, but I really don't want to open up that can of worms if I don't have to.

Fourth, is there any major faults with the early (70-72) SB chassis? In other words, is there any possible castatrophic tendencies (such as the 911's traditional lift-throttle oversteer) that I need to worry about and correct if possible? I definately don't want to do all of this work to a car just to wrap it around a telephone post due to a chassis weakness I wasn't aware of.

I definately have some more issues, but these right now are my main concerns. I hate to dump all of this on my first post, but I've repeatedly wrote to both VW Trends and Hot VWs and I keep getting the same flak - why I want to do all of that work, why I don't just bolt on some webers and a blue coil and put some big n' littles on it, basically build the same bug everyone else has. Half of those retirees will faint if you even mention nitrous - in my personal opinion, those mags are only good if you're looking to do a pan-off on an old oval and want some swap meet tips. Pretty much the only performance tips are if you want to build a drag-only car or a sandrail. I'd really appreciate if anyone can point me in the right direction on any of these matters.

M13