Buttle's Beetle
By noderel:
You can tell it's spring when the flowers bloom, the robins sing and Tim Buttles brings out his latest project car. The Ogdensburg, Wis. resident spends his winters in the workshop building another car for an unbelievably low cost each year.
This year's creation is a 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle "woody". The German automaker never made such a hot rod, but Tim Buttles did. He started with a $400 Beetle that was little more than a junkyard refugee. Then, he spent 20 hours a week for the next four months working on the woody.
Tim figures he invested an additonal $750 in the project, bringing his total cost (with insurance and tags) to $1,150. The wood was $150. The textured vinyl top was $50. The upholstery cost $30. The wheels started out on a PT Cruiser and cost Tim $20 apiece. He found a good set of used tires for cheap. A gas station donated the grille and he formed a hood out of metal that came from the chopped roof.
In addition to the wood paneling on the outside of the car, Tim fabricated wood decking for the cargo area behind the seats. A paint rep for an auto parts chain sold him the orange paint for $100.
Tim finances his builds through just his Social Security checks, so he doesn't do high-dollar builds. Instead, he looks for bargains and giveaway items to use in his projects. Having an eye for good design, a sense of balance and a feeling for color helps him come up with sharp looking builds that other people fall in love with. He'll generally drive the car all summer, then wind up selling it for enough to get another project started the following winter.
"These New Beetles are cheap cars and good cars," he says. "They make a neat little hot rod. Tim might just start a trend. In the '60s and '70s, hot rodders got pretty involved in hopping up air-cooled Beetles and turning them into Baja Buggies or clones of '40 Fords. So, it wouldn't be that hard to envision woody conversions like Tim's car catching on. "Volks Vagen Voodie Vagon" does have a certain ring to it...