My name is Steve and I live in north central Iowa. I've owned three VWs in my life, a 65, a 69 and a 77. I loved driving them and with the price of gas today I want another. I also have another project plan for a VW in mind too and I'm curious about the feasibility. I would like to build a lakester or streamliner to run at Bonneville. Current records in the F and G, blown and unblown gas and fuel classes are in the 210 mph range up to 260 mph. I've done some research and found some spreadsheets where you enter gear ratios and engine rpms and get speeds. According to one spreadsheet a final gear ratio of .82 turning at 8000 rpms will get a top speed of 211 mph. This is assuming a 28" tire is used. Can a built motor turn 8000 rpms without coming apart?
Another spreadsheet computes horsepower needed to attain a certain speed. 200 mph needs 400 horsepower. What is the highest horsepower number that can be attained throwing every power adder available in the mix; turbocharging, nitros, whatever? This spreadsheet doesn't take into consideration variables such as the aerodynamics. I'm not looking to set any land speed records, unless it is feasible, but I wouldn't mind having the world's fastest Volkswagen.
So. Am I pissing into the wind here? Does anyone know what the land speed record is for a VW powered vehicle? Should I just go find a beetle for a daily driver and forget about going fast?
I've seen several VWs at the dragstrips over the years and I appreciate the time and effort put into these cars but drag racing is not for me at this point but it is something I could get into. I like being different.
I thrive on racing and projects that involve cars and performance. Over the years I've been into drag racing racing a 56 Chevy with a fuel injected 327 in the mid 60s and a Plymouth Duster with a 340 six pack in the 70s. I restored and road raced, in club racing, an Austin-Healey Sprite when I lived in England in the 80s. I recently sold a 'poor man's Cobra' in the form of a 289 Ford powered 1959 Austin-Healey 100-6. A real rocket ship. Two years ago I sold an MGB with a 3.4 liter Chevy V6 with T5 transmission. I built and showed a street rod in the late 90s and early 2000s. I sold it and I'm starting to build another.
My daily driver is a 1996 V8 Thunderbird with 208k on it. The only way it can get decent mileage is to keep it in the driveway so I need another Volkswagen and I'm actively looking for either a good runner or a project car that I could get on the road with a little work.
I apologize for getting wordy. I do that sometimes. I hope to get some answers to my questions here and I look forward to spending time on this forum and learning more about Volkswagens and VW performance.
