They also produced them in South Africa. For a bit of extra cash, you could have your Puma with a 1.7-, a 1.8- or a 2.0-liter engine instead of the standard 1.6 boxer. That still wasn't enough to make it fast, but at least from the side, it almost looked like a Porsche 911, no matter which engine you had under the…

Oh God Yes!

You don't generally call it a rebuild if you're not cracking the case, which means figure crank and/or cam (I assume the cam's on the bottom of the crankcase in a 356, as it is with a standard VW Type 1 engine, since they're so damned similar, and you need to crack the case to get to it). Pistons and cylinders are a…

From the source article: it's had a grand total of three engine rebuilds, and its transmission was rebuilt once at 900,000 miles (though it only needed three bearings replaced so, even then, not a full rebuild). That's an astoundingly low amount of major work done.

Definitely agree on the Fastback link, but I don't think those are faux vents: notice there's no vents above the deck lid in the back, where they were on all the early Beetles with the exception of the convertible (which added vents to the deck lid instead), and those vents are in the same place that VW ended up…

I see your Herbie and raise you a Class 11:

In that case, we should definitely add a Crank start.

It's actually even more specific than that. There's a car at the workshop that's really the spirit animal of all the Singer-reworked 911s, and that's Rob's own 1969 Porsche 911E, modified to be close to a 911R, the period racing version of the 911. This lovely little orange brute has many of the visual cues and…

That's the book that showed me how to do my first major repair (well, other than changing a tire), when I did a generator swap on my '73 Super Beetle.

Hopefully over $9000?

Yep, same engine, drivetrain and fuel system layout. Well, except for the ones with 4WD in first gear (Schwimmwagen, for example), which ran a driveshaft from the transmission nosecone up to a transfer box on the front wheels behind the front beam, sitting underneath the gas tank.

If you were running the anemic automatic slushbox, I'll agree it was a sad kind of car. I had an '04 with the 2.2L Ecotec with the 5-speed manual afor seven years before an uninsured minivan driver decided to ruthlessly smash mine, and, FWD or not, loved it.

I suspect it isn't actually slanted like the diagram shows, at which point it's exactly the same.

I've been wanting to retrofit semaphores onto my '66 Bug for years now. Adding the wiring and solenoids, making holes for them in the B pillars, etc. has just seemed like too much of a pain in the neck on a car where I'm trying to simplify and add lightness, though.

My concern about having CARB make it "worth it" is that they then go and do stuff like this:

If you'll spot me 31cc (for 1131cc), I'd say Schwimmwagen.

I can haz Porsche 912?

Not quite a barn find, but close. One of the guys in the Type 3 Club down in San Diego was looking to find good homes for his Squareback and Fastback. Neither had moved in around eight years, and his health wasn't the greatest anymore, so he wasn't going to be getting them back up and running anymore.

Interstate's a good suggestion, actually. It's not likely, since they've been on the up-and-up when I've dealt with them, but you never know what someone's tried sending their way lately.

Posted a link to this article on our club's Facebook page (San Diego Aircooled Syndicate) and our radio show's page (Syndicate Motorsports Show). I'll give you a mention Saturday on our next show, too, and keep an eye out at the shows down here and around San Diego.