OUR CARS – TORRENS
AFTER THREE YEARS WITHOUT A TRACK ATTACK DAK-DAK, GLENN TORRENS GETS BUSY WITH HIS NEW SUPER BUG. AGAIN…
GT GETS THE BUG, AGAIN!
IT’S BEEN THREE years since I sold my bright yellow VW Beetle tarmac/hill climb car. Built initially to a $5k budget, I owned it for a decade and – after spending plenty of extra to put more cracker up its clacker – I scored myself a couple of trophies in the NSW and Australian Hill Climb Championships.
It was a reasonably successful and terrific fun car – and a source of great pride – but I wanted to build a new Super Beetle (yes, that’s a thing!) with better performance.
Prior to selling the old one, I bought a Super Beetle and began
“IN THREE YEARS I’VE HARDLY TOUCHED THE BUG, BUT I HAD A FRESH FLASH OF INSPIRATION”
work. My ambition was to have my new car track-ready by early 2018.
Then by early 2019… Then… ummmm…
In three years, I have hardly touched the Bug – except to display it at the Unique
Cars event at Sydney Motorsport Park in mid-2019 (but please don’t think I’ve been lazy – I’ve been working on my Commodores, my Pajero and another Bug!).
I had a fresh flash of inspiration about my new race Bug early this year. After three years, I didn’t want to miss any more terrific events such as Sydney’s Twilight Tarmac Rally Sprint, the great club-run weekend hill-climbs at Ringwood, Cooma and Gunnedah, the Leyburn Sprints in Qld, and some fresh events such as the re-established Speed On The Tweed in northern NSW. So, I rolled the Bug out from its hidey-hole in my garage and got
stuck into it!
Three years ago, I’d fixed the rust in the turret, in the wheel-arches and the Super Beetle’s infamous hidden rust zone behind the dash. I also added some stitch-welding to the body. Earlier this year, a few late-summer evenings and weekends were spent grinding the welds and working on the body before its underside, engine bay and wheel arches were hit with fresh white paint.
I was keen for my new car to be yellow but I wanted something a little more subtle than the ‘Warning! Hazardous!’ hue of my previous car. I looked at various late-model Toyota, Porsche and Hyundai yellows. But… In the mid1980s my dad owned a Cameo Yellow VH Commodore; it was the car I received my licence in. I test-painted one of my Bug’s front guards to see how Holden’s famously pale yellow grooves and moves on the Bug’s rounded surfaces… and I love it!
Then, in March, The Virus arrived… that meant little chance of any motorsport events in 2020. Not being able to race my Bug this year dampened my desire to keep working on it: my ratty farmfind 1979 Commodore V8 became my priority as it would require less effort and dollars to enjoy driving again.
So, for now, I’ve rolled the Bug back into its place in my garage. I’ll get back to you later… I promise it will be fewer than three years!