Exklusively Käfer Kabrioletts
"The Vintage Aircooled Beetle Cabriolets" CMS Weblog
02/04/07
Arnie Boyle' Piranha Roadster
When Arnie Boyle decided to build a car that echoed the style of the early '30s Ford Roadsters, but at the same time was accessible to the average man, there was only one man to see - Thom Taylor.
Thom is know around the world for designing some of the most radical stateside customs of recent years and is responsible for many of the superb illustrations that appear in American magazines.
The result of their collective ideas and no small around of hard work is the Piranha Roadster - a traditional Californian Beetle-based kit car that combines some of the conventional ideals of the hot rod world with the simplicity and economy of the Volkswagen Beetle.
Arnie has used a full hot rod set-up comprising a chromed, Super Bell drooped tube axle with a pair of chromed wishbones to hold it in place. The drop tube substantially lowers the front end and looks wicked at the same time. Damping is handled by a pair of Alsan coil-over shocks which are located at the top by another bracket that fits into the top tube of the modified original beam. Retaining the centre part of the front beam meant that the VW steering gear could still be used although, with the chromed drop arms and the disc brake set-up, from the outside you would be hard pushed to recognize any VW parts at all in the front suspension.
The eagle-eyed among you will also have noticed that the front axle is further forward than VW originally intended. This both lengthens the wheelbase and increases the rake at the same time. A set of unusual Centerlines and two pairs of very different profile BF Goodrich T/As keep the hot rod influences high at the back and low at the front.
The choice of interior finish is, of course, entirely up to the customer, but this demonstrator has been kitted out with a pair of Dee Engineering seats and matching gray door panels. Dark gray carpeting, a sport steering wheel and some billet accessories finish off the cabin.
As a tip of the hat to the concessions of legality - in California, at least - teardrops with blue dots warn motorists from behind, while a pair of chromed accessory headlights and on-the-shelf billet front indicators keep oncoming traffic aware.
The Piranha may not be very practical, or indeed legal to drive on the roads of Old Blighty, but no-one can deny that it would make an awesome show car and, with the addition of a set of removable cycle fenders of some description, could be driven over here when the sun deigned to show its face. A finish on a par with the standards demonstrated here would be sure to win a few trophies for its owner and maybe, once and for all, it would show the hot rodders that Volkswagens can be part of "their scene", too.
The rear suspension, gearbox and rear brakes are standard Beetle, although the engine has been given a very healthy injection of cubic inches. Starting with a GEX exchange unit, the case was split, the old crank and pots were binned and it was opened out to take an 82mm stroker crank and a set of 92mm Cima barrels and pistons. Although the engine displaces a very hefty 2180cc, the rest of it has been left fairly mild. The other ancillary parts that were bolted on in order to make the motor run include: a pair of Dell'Orto carburetors; a late model alternator with internal regulator; and a chromed Bosch 009 distributor. It is in the looks department that this baby really shines. Everything that is not made of plastic or rubber in the engine bay was either bought chromed, or subsequently chromed and polished to perfection.
An original style bonnet complete with handle and badge closes the front end and retains a touch of nostalgia for the car that the kit is based on. As far as the front section is concerned, this blends into the rolled sills that help to visually lower the car and hide the new subframe. The cut down saloon doors have had the window apertures capped and the external handles removed - after all, with no hood and no side glass, reaching inside to open the door is an easy task. The front screen has been cut down to less than half its original height and finished off with an aluminum strip across the top.
The Super Bell, generally reserved for old Ford, front train leads one to imagine this kind of engine half-VW half-Roadster of the 40s.
The Roadster is equipped with "suicide" doors. A hard top will replace the hood and is being manufactured.
If anyone is interested in building a Piranha Roadster, or would like more information about the most radical kit car of them all, they should drop Arnie Boyle a line at: Piranha Motor Car, 2486 Fairview Way, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
When Arnie Boyle decided to build a car that echoed the style of the early '30s Ford Roadsters, but at the same time was accessible to the average man, there was only one man to see - Thom Taylor.
Thom is know around the world for designing some of the most radical stateside customs of recent years and is responsible for many of the superb illustrations that appear in American magazines.
The result of their collective ideas and no small around of hard work is the Piranha Roadster - a traditional Californian Beetle-based kit car that combines some of the conventional ideals of the hot rod world with the simplicity and economy of the Volkswagen Beetle.
Arnie has used a full hot rod set-up comprising a chromed, Super Bell drooped tube axle with a pair of chromed wishbones to hold it in place. The drop tube substantially lowers the front end and looks wicked at the same time. Damping is handled by a pair of Alsan coil-over shocks which are located at the top by another bracket that fits into the top tube of the modified original beam. Retaining the centre part of the front beam meant that the VW steering gear could still be used although, with the chromed drop arms and the disc brake set-up, from the outside you would be hard pushed to recognize any VW parts at all in the front suspension.
The eagle-eyed among you will also have noticed that the front axle is further forward than VW originally intended. This both lengthens the wheelbase and increases the rake at the same time. A set of unusual Centerlines and two pairs of very different profile BF Goodrich T/As keep the hot rod influences high at the back and low at the front.
The choice of interior finish is, of course, entirely up to the customer, but this demonstrator has been kitted out with a pair of Dee Engineering seats and matching gray door panels. Dark gray carpeting, a sport steering wheel and some billet accessories finish off the cabin.
As a tip of the hat to the concessions of legality - in California, at least - teardrops with blue dots warn motorists from behind, while a pair of chromed accessory headlights and on-the-shelf billet front indicators keep oncoming traffic aware.
The Piranha may not be very practical, or indeed legal to drive on the roads of Old Blighty, but no-one can deny that it would make an awesome show car and, with the addition of a set of removable cycle fenders of some description, could be driven over here when the sun deigned to show its face. A finish on a par with the standards demonstrated here would be sure to win a few trophies for its owner and maybe, once and for all, it would show the hot rodders that Volkswagens can be part of "their scene", too.
The rear suspension, gearbox and rear brakes are standard Beetle, although the engine has been given a very healthy injection of cubic inches. Starting with a GEX exchange unit, the case was split, the old crank and pots were binned and it was opened out to take an 82mm stroker crank and a set of 92mm Cima barrels and pistons. Although the engine displaces a very hefty 2180cc, the rest of it has been left fairly mild. The other ancillary parts that were bolted on in order to make the motor run include: a pair of Dell'Orto carburetors; a late model alternator with internal regulator; and a chromed Bosch 009 distributor. It is in the looks department that this baby really shines. Everything that is not made of plastic or rubber in the engine bay was either bought chromed, or subsequently chromed and polished to perfection.
An original style bonnet complete with handle and badge closes the front end and retains a touch of nostalgia for the car that the kit is based on. As far as the front section is concerned, this blends into the rolled sills that help to visually lower the car and hide the new subframe. The cut down saloon doors have had the window apertures capped and the external handles removed - after all, with no hood and no side glass, reaching inside to open the door is an easy task. The front screen has been cut down to less than half its original height and finished off with an aluminum strip across the top.
The Super Bell, generally reserved for old Ford, front train leads one to imagine this kind of engine half-VW half-Roadster of the 40s.
The Roadster is equipped with "suicide" doors. A hard top will replace the hood and is being manufactured.
If anyone is interested in building a Piranha Roadster, or would like more information about the most radical kit car of them all, they should drop Arnie Boyle a line at: Piranha Motor Car, 2486 Fairview Way, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
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