cobra kit based on vw

[john chesnut]

I agree Ted. It's a gorgeous car and is one of my favorite shapes of all time.

This past summer I purchased a Crusader body that had been modified from a gentleman that has an original Crusader. He wanted the frame and not the modified body. He is generously letting me duplicate the frame. I know that VW parts are not high tech and do not have great suspension geometry but my friends Crusader only weighs 950lbs. He races it in vintage events and says that with 100hp its quick and on slicks pulls 1.5g. Type 4 vw engines are available with pretty good horsepower. When I saw that the Abarth has the same track and is with in 1.4 inches in wheelbase I thought that it would be a quick and easy job to put the Abarth on the Crusader chassis. I am going to do that.

But, I also want to do a dedicated frame with unequal A arm suspension and run a Hyabusa motorcycle engine. There is a company that makes a neat diff and connector that mates the engine to the diff with out using a chain. The diff has a built in reverse as well.

I'm unfortunately not able to do the work myself on this. I've had 2 heart attacks this year and am facing surgery soon. I have a friend that owns a race car chassis business. He is going to do the frames. And, I have a friend that does fiberglass work for a living. He's going to do the bodies.

Of course there are many engine/transaxles that could be used. I'll sell a body alone or with a frame.

The molds are in transit and I should have them with in a couple of weeks. Since I have the molds and will have jigs for the frames I will offer them for sale. This is a hobby for me. I'm simply passionate about 60's looking sports cars. I'm in love with this one.