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As the pool of viable classic VWs shrinks ever smaller, a lot of focus among preservationists seems to center on faithful factory restorations. There can be no doubt that it's a great challenge restoring a 40- or 50-year-old Volkswagen to exact O.E.M. specifications and trim, as well as such a project being a valuable contribution to posterity. But even in this new millennium there's something to be said for a quality custom restoration, complete with an augmented fire-breathing powerplant and well executed and designed sheetmetal modifications. This '63 is a perfect example of such a vehicle.

Anderson, S.C.-resident Tim Osborne has always wanted a chopped Beetle, especially one in which he could go out and roast V8s whenever the desire overtook him. He purchased this car from a friend who had already begun work on it. That was in 1990. Eleven years later you can see how far it has progressed, but even these pictures don't represent the full extent of what's been done as you'll find later on.

The car's extensive body work was performed by Kevin Shull Racing in West Columbia, S.C., and Rick Kelley at Super Shop in Anderson, S.C. Among some of the more obvious and impressive modifications are suicide doors and a healthy top chop that relocates the car's headliner about 5 -1/2 inches closer to the floor. The fenders were replaced at all corners--up front, new 1966 NOS sheetmetal panels and three-inch flared fiberglass panels in the rear. True German running boards mediate between front and rear. The taillights, replaced with teardrop pieces, were relocated to the fiberglass fenders. The rear fenders have been matched to a trick custom decklid and rear wing fabricated by Shull. Six slots have been cut into the lid to facilitate improved cooling and to allow onlookers to sneek a peek inside the engine bay while the lid is latched. All exterior distractions, badges, door handles and whatnot, have been removed. The rich Indian Red paint, a Porsche 911 color, was applied in three coats by Super Shop, Anderson, S.C.

Beneath the panels, a pair of 1967 pans were dissassembled, painted semi-flat black and reassembled with new hardware. Osborne himself cut the front beam and welded in adjusters to dump the car 2-1/2 inches in front, and used adjustable spring plates to effect the three-inch drop in the rear. New parts abound from nose to tail: Sway-a-Way heavy duty axles, sway bars and chromed KYB shocks provide improved damping properties to the springs. A camber compensator keeps the meaty rear tires planted firmly and correctly on the pavement, while a new steering box from TRW keeps this Beetle pointed down the straight and narrow. Additionally, upgraded disc brake assemblies have been placed at all four corners, Wilwood kits in the rear and CNC billet calipers in the front. Earl's stainless braided lines deliver the pressure. Rolling stock consists of the ever popular Centerline wheels, 15x4.75 front and 15x8 rear, wrapped in Pirelli rubber fore and BFGoodrich rubber aft, which is sized 275/50R15.

Considering the bulk of the rear tires and heavy duty brakes, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce the 2332cc engine is a real screamer. Based on a 1600cc case, it has been extensively modified to cram nearly four times the factory horsepower, according to Osborne's own estimation, through its diminutive drivetrain. The buildup is credited to Pat Tafta and Kevin Shull at Donald's in Columbia, S.C. The case has been deburred, clearanced for a stroker crank, and bored to accept 94mm Cima/Mahle graphite-coated pistons. These high-tech slugs are linked to a BUGPACK 84mm stroker crank using BUGPACK chrome-moly rods. The 8.5:1 compression is maintained by Total Seal rings. A set of ported, polished and 62-CCed BUGPACK Super Flow heads have been stacked on the case halves and filled with bulletproof valvetrain components: stainless steel BUGPACK valves, 44mm cold and 37.5mm hot, Autocraft 1.25 ratio rockers, doubled up high-rev springs and chrome-moly retainers. An Eagle 296-degree cam nudges the valves. Polished Super Flow valve covers contrast brightly with the PPG red engine tin, wrapping up an engine package that looks every bit as clean as the car's exterior.

Aspiration is facilitated by a pair of 45 Dellorto DRLA carburetors tied together with a hex linkage and mated to super flow short intake manifolds. A Vertex magneto holds flame to the mixture. Since our photographs were taken Osborne has also added a forced induction system to his engine bay. The system is centered around a Garrett T04 turbocharger with integral Turbonetics wastegate. Osborne tells me he intends to run between 12- and 14psi boost once the system is up and running (he's currently waiting on a pair of pipes to finish bolting everything in place).

The interior work was the product of both Tim Osborne and Kevin Shull. A custom dash holds an array of VDO gauges to allow Osborne to keep an eye on the engine's vital signs. The dash was painted to match the exterior. The lower center portion of the dash, door panels, headliner and seating surfaces (Flo Fit sport buckets front, Z28 buckets morphed into a single section in the rear) have been skinned in classy gray tweed. Mike and Gary Thornton in Anderson, S.C., get credit for the actual reupholstery job. Red flames were silkscreened onto the door panels for added street rod effect. Just in front of the trigger-style shifter you'll see the Panasonic head unit for Osborne's enhanced listening experience while he's out hunting lumbering, domestic V8 dinosaurs. The head unit is linked to a Jensen 200-watt amp which throws signals out to a quartet of Kenwood 6x9 speakers.

Since we don't have pics of the turbo yet, you're going to have to make it to an East Coast show to see the tricks that have just fallen from Mr. Osborne's sleeve. He tells me the wing is intact, but the squarish decklid is gone and the lower apron is back in its place. The turbo assembly and dual Dellortos are exposed, I understand, and can now make a statement about the car's performance potential even greater than the custom Stinger-type exhaust and trailing chrome-moly wheelie bars. Believe me, this car is all about show: it'll show you its hips, and then it'll show you just how fast it can go.

As intensive as this project has been--11 years of painstaking planning and careful work--it has only served to whet Osborne's appetite for speed. His next plans are to convert one of his garaged '67s into a full blown drag racer so he can hit the track and drive as fast as he can without getting into trouble.