Photos: James Wallace | Words: Josh Rainwater
With any type of project car most owners like to add and retrofit more modern amenities that either were too expensive at the time of production or were otherwise unavailable. Upgrades are usually parts like a nice set of Recaro seats for a Mk2 or maybe even an M50 engine for that special E30 project. The common denominator is the mods are all upgrades. Few well respected owners would ever even think of installing a power plant that is over 60 years senior to the Mk3 design. A design that is regarded as dinosaur technology when you consider that the automobile has only been around for roughly 125 years.
Most people however, are not Matthew Balls. He has not only successfully mated a Type 2 frame to Mk3 body but he also did it with such a gusto that the average, uninformed layperson could hardly tell it isn’t OEM. Whether you regard this and downgrading the Mk3 to a Bus frame and engine or upgrading a Bus with a Golf body, we all agree that this unique creation looks downright amazing.
Obviously the two completely different chassis, although both hailing from Wolfsburg, are far from being a direct bolt together affair. To my knowledge no one offers a Type 2-to-MK3 adapter plate, so you know all of the work was ‘measure 5673565, cut once’ operation. It features am aircooled frame head, Type 3 transmission tunnel. As far as the custom work is concerned, it has a set of one-off floor pans, firewall, and tubbed wheel wells in the front for that narrowed torsion beam. It even flaunts that trademark, classic aircooled stance where the front wheels sit three to four inches inside the arches. The whole design is a very refreshing blend of water and air. Basically a best of both worlds car.
The body looks distinctly Mk3 until you turn the corner and see that brow-lifting trumpet pipe that is rarely seen beyond the bounds of the performance aircooled community. Once that hatch is popped, it puts all the initial questions of the car’s identity to rest while it raises about 100 more regarding the installation of such a motor in the car.
Matthew was even clever enough to retain the Beetle’s ease of lowering. I don’t know of any other Mk3s that are on the verge of dragging rocker on 18″ wheels, all the while being static. The car is so magnificently slammed that one can only assume that that the wheel even has a full tire on it as most of it has disappeared into the wheel arches to who-knows-where. He also had the front and rear hubs redrilled to accept the 5×100 RML snowflakes from 1552. Measuring in at 18×8.5″, they look perfectly suited to the chassis and are sure to handle all the power put down by that legendary 1600 motor.
I could only hope he actually drove around causing this much of a ruckus; Throwing fire balls all the while. In fact he should probably change his first name to ‘Fire’. That’s right, Fire Balls.
The one feature that impresses me the most is that the car retains most of its practicality and drivability. Although the car isn’t able to turn full lock to lock, it is far from being undrivable. It features a 1641cc on twin 40mm Weber carbs, Con rods, balanced pistons, Engle 110 284º duration cam, 4-1 header, as well as a few other bolt-on goodies. In total, its a low, spark-throwing, fire-breathing(literally) monster. More than that it is a testament to ingenuity, creativity, and design. Very few would ever attempted to tackle such a daunting task and if truth be told Mr. Balls would probably rather not do it again. I tip my brim to him for having the courage to be different and to travel uncharted territories in automotive modification and fabrication. This project could of went South in so many ways but instead, it has become a beautiful ‘Mk 3eetle’ that is sure to still be a head turner 50 years from now.`
Engine
- 1641cc
- Balanced pistons
- Con rods
- Engle 110 camshaft
- Lightened and balanced crank
- Twin Weber IDF carbs
- Water pump…jk
- 4-1 header with stinger tip
- Points ignition
- External mounted oil cooler
- Beetle fuel tank
- Gene Berg throttle linkage
Gearbox and differential
- Stock 1500 from a Type 3
Suspension and brakes
- Beetle disc brakes drilled to 5×100
- Beetle drum brakes drilled to 5x 100
- Type 3 pedal box
- 2″ narrowed front Beetle beam on a Type 2 frame head connected to a Type 3 spine welded to the floor halfs of the Golf
- Rear sub frame is type 3 notched for extra clearance using adjustable spring plates
Bodywork/exterior
- U.S. spec hatch
- Deleted fuel filler cap
- Deleted side marker
- Deleted wing
- Painted Nimbus Grey from an Audi TT
- Type 3 transmission tunnel
- Custom floor pans
Wheel setup
- Fifteen 52 snowflakes 8.5×18
- Falken 205 40′s on front and rear
Interior
- Stock Golf retrimmed in red with removed headrests
- Bespoke Black carpet
- Type 3 handbrake
- Golf seat belts
- Bug Tech shifter
Any thank-yous?
- My wife and kids, mum and dad, Merle, Tim and Sarah, Lee from Beaker’s Blog, and finally the guys from Fifteen 52