Build Features
Build Features
Every chassis that rolls through Orange tells a story. These are the builds we've completed in-house — what came in, what we did to it, and what went back out the door. The same parts and the same hands that built these are what we sell.
1965 Beetle — Pan-Off Restoration
The car came in as a running driver with original paint and the kind of rust you only see in cars stored in coastal garages for sixty years. Heater channels were perforated, the front frame head had cracks running back into the tunnel, and the rear quarters had been patched with sheet metal screws and bondo. The owner wanted it driveable for weekend cruises, not show-quality, but solid — the kind of work that won't need to be done again.
We pulled the body off the chassis, replaced both heater channels and the floor pans with reproduction stock, fabbed a new frame head from scratch since the available repro pieces didn't quite fit the early-style tunnel, and re-welded every spot the previous owner had screwed together. Rear quarters were cut out and replaced cleanly. The torsion housing was tested, found straight, and reused.
Build Specs
- Pan New floor pans, new heater channels, custom frame head
- Body Both rear quarters replaced, doors reskinned
- Engine Original 1300 rebuilt — cleaned, new bearings, new tin
- Suspension Original front beam, new King & Link pins
- Brakes Stock drum, new shoes, all new hardware
- Paint Single-stage in factory L639 Sea Blue
The body fit went back on better than the day it left Wolfsburg — not because we did anything fancy, but because we took the time to set the gaps before painting instead of after. The owner picked it up in fourteen weeks. Last we heard it was running fine.
Shortened-Pan Dune Buggy — Long-Travel Front Beam
A long-time customer brought us a Manx-style buggy he'd been driving for fifteen years. The car was solid but the front end was limiting him — stock-length beam, drum brakes, no real travel for the desert runs he was starting to do more often. He wanted long-travel up front, discs all around, and a steering rack he could service.
We shortened the pan another four inches behind the kickup, fabbed a new front bulkhead, and built a long-travel beam with adjustable spring plates so he could corner-weight it after the build. Front discs are a Wilwood kit we've used dozens of times — reliable, serviceable, sized right for a light car. Steering is a rack-and-pinion conversion with the column relocated for clearance over the new beam.
Build Specs
- Pan Shortened additional 4" behind kickup, new bulkhead
- Front beam Custom long-travel, adjustable spring plates
- Brakes Wilwood front disc kit, drum rear
- Steering Rack-and-pinion conversion, relocated column
- Engine 1776 with dual Webers (carried over from previous build)
- Suspension travel 8.5" front, 11" rear
The car came back six months later for a routine inspection — everything held up. The owner's now running it in regional events and has put more miles on it since the build than he had in the previous decade.
1972 Bay Window Bus — Full Rocker & Cargo Floor Replacement
This one was bad. Both rockers were gone, the cargo floor had separated from the outriggers in three places, and the battery tray had rusted clean through into the engine bay. The owner had bought the bus cheap from a Pacific Northwest seller who hadn't disclosed the rust, and was wondering whether it was even worth saving. We told him the truth: it was worth it, but it would take a while and it wouldn't be cheap.
Eighteen weeks later, both rockers were replaced with full-length OE-spec panels, the cargo floor was cut out completely and replaced with new sheet metal welded section by section to the outriggers, and the battery tray was rebuilt from scratch since the reproduction tray didn't match the early-bay mounting points. We left the rest of the body alone — the patina-look exterior was part of why he'd bought it.
Build Specs
- Rockers Both replaced, full OE-spec panels
- Cargo floor Complete replacement, hand-fitted to outriggers
- Battery tray Fabricated in-house to match early-bay specs
- Outriggers Two replaced, one repaired
- Engine bay Cleaned, undercoated, original engine reinstalled
- Exterior Untouched — preserved patina per owner request
The bus drove out under its own power. The customer's still got it.
Have a Build in Mind?
Restoration, chassis work, or full custom — we take on a limited number of builds each year so we can do them right. If you're thinking about bringing a car in, the best first step is a phone call.