Today is shaping up to be the day of awesome stuff on Craigslist, but Mateo Lopez sent us the link for this VW Beetle which we almost didn’t even click but then decided if he thought it was cool, maybe we would to. Turns out Mateo was spot on! This Beetle is BangShifty to the core because it is powered by a little Mazda rotary engine out back. The very light car with that little screaming rotary must be way more fun than the mid-double digit factory horsepower rating. The Beetle has been largely stripped inside with just a driver seat, a simple but nice sheet metal dash, and the cooling system plumbing passing where the passenger seat would be. Hey, we never said it had to be practical, right? You could still bolt a seat over there, but if the thing ever blew a coolant line off, the person riding with you would be bathed in molten hot anti-freeze. That may hurt your relationship.

The seller did a great job laying out the car in his ad and since he did such a good job we’re going to share his words with you right here:

Very cool custom project with all the hard work and engineering done, ready for you to finish. This bug starts easily, runs great, and is drivable. The motor swap is at 100% and has no issues. Runs smooth, makes good power, and runs cool. Clean CA title in my name in hand, current non-op registration. Totally street legal! Headlights high/low, turn signals, tail/brake lights all fully functional. All this project needs to be fully street-able is the usual, easy volkswagen beetle work: Brakes and suspension need to get done, some finish body work and paint and it’s done.

Some highlights:
1968 Bug matching pan/body, straight shell never hit
Full fiberglass WIDEBODY kit, 6″ with matching running boards (not installed)
Mazda Series-5 13B Rotary engine, great compression, stock ports
Weber 45dcoe carb with Racing Beat intake manifold
GSL-SE distributor setup, no computer ignition to mess with.
Kennedy adapter plate, with lightweight flywheel option, stage-1 clutch
Motor/Trans mounts with 1″ lift, welded center mount
Stock FC RX7 oil cooler mounted in back with Stainless braided lines
Stock FC RX7 radiator with SPAL electric fan, runs in the 160-180 degree range
Custom aluminum dash full of Autometer Carbon Gauges:
-Tach, Speedo (needs sender), Water temp, Clock, with space for Oil Temp and Pressure
Complete new wiring harness from front to back, with everything on fuses and toggle switches
RX7 Seats with brackets and sliders (matching passenger seat included)
RX7 Seat belts (matching passenger included)
Completely rebuilt pedal assembly with roller clutch cable setup and new throttle cable
New big bore brake master cylinder (ready to push 4-wheel disc)
Stainless braided brake lines in rear already
*brakes are currently stock and not very good
CB Performance drop spindles

There is a lot more about this car that I haven’t covered. I spent many years dreaming this project up and collecting parts, and countless hours doing the build. All quality parts were used wherever any work was done. The project was finished to this level about two years ago. It has since been sitting awaiting more time/money to finish it. But the time has come to pass it on to someone else to finish. The car still needs the brakes and suspension done to handle this level of power. The body is in pre-paint stage. Still needs minor filling and sanding and a quality paint job. It looks good from far but its far from good. Basic prep and good paint and it will look beautiful.

I am asking $4000 for the car as it sits and have many extra parts that will be included with it. I will not negotiate the price over the phone or email, only in person once you have seen the car.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS THIS THING WORTH FOUR GRAND? TURBO TIME? SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS AND THE HIT THE LINK FOR THE CL AD AND EVEN MORE PHOTOS AND INFO –