very unique 3800 build swap driver thingy

[3.8scbug]

hi I am new here but not new to cars, I got bored one day and decided to see what craigslist had to offer. I came across a 2001 Bonneville ssei with the supercharged 3.8. I thought it would be a good swap candidate as the car was totaled and I could pick it up for around $800.00. I knew I did not want a fiero to swap this drivetrain into. so I got back on craigslist to find a car with a few requirments.

1. it had to be cheap
2. something no one else had
3. I wanted a sleeper, and by that I mean looking at the body you would not see one deviation from factory
4. a car that would be cheap as far as replacement parts

I came across a 98 beetle shell for $250.00. it was in great shape. Had a clean title, decent body. and the replacement parts would be cheap and easy to find unlike the fieros. so I picked both cars up and got them to the shop. 20140826_133119.jpginbox_1027__draft_1410044361775.jpeg20140819_161840.jpginbox_1003__draft_1410044179996.jpeg

Then I removed the drivetrain from the Bonneville
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then I needed the front unibody structure from the Bonneville so I cut it at the firewall
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that cut left me with this part of the Bonneville frame
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I then took measurements from the Bonneville frame, this is where it gets really interesting At first I took measurements to check about just doing an engine swap..... then I had an amazing idea. I had never seen a new beetle with the engine in the rear like the old bugs had. so I took the measurements and moved to the rear of the car to see if it would fit. I came to the conclusion that I can make it work so I broke out the tools and got to work. the first thing to go was the trunk pan cause hey.... who needs that.20140901_122118.jpg

That left me with an empty soul feeling.
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By some amount of luck the beetle has a "frame" in the rear so I took the measurement off the Bonneville frame piece and transferred those to the beetle frame and notched accordingly.
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I then test fitted the Bonneville frame with suspension attached, I set my wheelbase back to the factory beetle specs.20140905_153344.jpg20140903_110024.jpginbox_1013__draft_1410044224098.jpeg


once I got it where I wanted it I made a mark and cut for strut tower clearance
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I then plated them and welded the strut towers in place
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I then went to the inside and using 1/8" plate I boxed the Bonneville frame and the beetle frames together

[3.8scbug]

After a few days of playing around this is the beetle back on the ground with the Pontiac suspension and engine subframe bolted in
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Then I get to install the engine and transmission so I pulled the subframe out, sat the engine and tranny back on and put it back in the car
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the Bonneville has 8 speaker surround stereo and I needed a firewall so I cut the rear deck out of the Bonneville and put it over my engine
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then I decided I would like to have a really good sized access panel to get to the engine because whats the use of having a toy that you cant work on. so I cut the cross bars off the rear deck and welded them in straight up and down. if you look at the bottom right you can see the top of one of the frame boxes, I will be using this as a roll bar base plate. as I tie the roll bar into the front subframe later it should help eliminate the Bonneville frame from trying to torque up in front and also provide lift in the front of the car resulting in extreme weight transfer and extra traction for launching the car out of the hole.
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[SappySE107]

Very unique, especially on this site. The 3800 is a 90DegreeV6, so not really something we deal with on here.

[3.8scbug]

I thought my 60* bellhousing ment I was ok to be here

[SappySE107]

You are more than welcome here, but its not a bellhousing that makes it a 60V6.

[bszopi]

Definitely an interesting swap, no matter what the engine.

[Superdave]

that thing's gonna haul ass!

Just make sure to replace the valve cover gaskets while you can and check for any other oil leaks. 3800's are very well known to randomly catch fire and burn cars/garages to the ground.

[3.8scbug]

that thing's gonna haul ass!

Just make sure to replace the valve cover gaskets while you can and check for any other oil leaks. 3800's are very well known to randomly catch fire and burn cars/garages to the ground.

Yeah I'm gonna get it running then pull it back out, do all new seals, gaskets, plugs wires, thermostat, belts, tensioner, idler, rebuild the tranny, New struts all around. Ball joints, wheel bearings, tie rods, axles, all suspension bushings. Pretty much a completely new car

[staytrue2u89]

How do i post to the trending feed im new here

[3.8scbug]

What do we have here

[young gun]

Very interesting combination here. Did you end up stretching it a bit with the yellow one or what is up with that?

[Superdave]

looks like the red one had front end damage, probably just grafted the good stuff from the yellow one onto it.

[3400-95-Modified]

You missed the fact that it's a right hand drive half cut though...

[Superdave]

so I did... wow, this is going to be pretty neat.

[ForcedFirebird]

Why did you need to weld the entire clip in from the yellow car? Was the red car damaged?