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The past few decades have been very good for the air-cooled Volkswagen community, as the entire vintage lineup has been reaching new heights of restoration and show car builds. Like any other car of this vintage though, it suffers from rust and under-whelming engines. This dilemma leaves owners with limited build options. They can choose to restore to OE-spec, replace with aftermarket Volkswagen parts, or go wild. Thankfully, the owner of this Bus took the latter route.
In the case of the 1958 Volkswagen Bus, a 1.2-liter engine would belt out approximately 36 horsepower. The lack of aerodynamics of the Bus combined with a shortage of power meant a much slower pace than modern traffic. Facing the obstacles of building a performance flat-four engine and replacing floor pans, the owner of this 1958 Volkswagen Bus took a much different approach.
Opening the side door open reveals the air-cooled engine has been replaced in favor of a Ford Performance Aluminator 5.2sx. This is not the first, nor the last V8-powered Volkswagen, but this one takes the cake on the Ford spectrum. The Aluminator engine jumps the power from 36 to a whopping 580 naturally aspirated horsepower. The original transaxle setup was replaced with the 6R80 transmission with a driveshaft going to the custom rearend.
When was the last time you saw a Volkswagen Bus on the dyno? The owner stopped at VMP Performance to have the 5.2L Aluminator XS tuned by VMP Performance.
As you can imagine, the factory chassis was never meant to handle such a powerful engine, so the owner of this Volkswagen Bus contracted Art Morrison Enterprise to build a custom chassis. Incorporated into the chassis was a complete independent rear suspension from a Chevrolet Camaro. The newly designed chassis allows the bus to not only handle the power, but also the corners. A set of 19-inch HRE Wheels allow 285 series tires to be mounted. Massive Wilwood calipers allow the owner to brake late into any corner, without fear.
With the vintage Volkswagen scene still running strong, we’re excited to see owners breaking from tradition with custom chassis and powerful engine combinations. We hope to catch this one in any setting aside from competition!
