Body kits take many forms. Some are unique creations fashioned by the tuning industry; some others are homegrown aberrations created by maniacal minds operating idle hands. Some of the best are inspired by well-conceived factory creations--such as the New Beetle Cup Racer, a VW Motorsport model that runs in a series of six races on two continents (its first season was in 2000). Each of the 20 New Beetle Cup cars was hand-built from the ground up with a VR6 engine, six-speed transmission, massive brakes and lowered suspension--in short, everything needed to deliver inspiring performance. In terms of its styling, the New Beetle Cup cars boast a striking visage created by a revised front end with three mesh-covered air intakes.
Dave Anderson, proprietor of ABD Racing, was inspired by the look of the Beetle Cup cars, so much so that he commissioned his designers to develop a roadworthy rendition of the front spoiler for everyday use. In developing the spoiler, Dave made several key mandates: 1) the spoiler should be made of a flexible material to help prevent cracking; 2) the spoiler should be fitted using the factory mounting points; and 3) the turn signals, omitted on the race car, should be stock to reduce costs (Porsche 993 signals were considered but discarded in favor of the standard pieces).
After seeing ABD's results, I was hooked. Recently I acquired a New Beetle project car, and over the next few months I'll be transforming it from a "chick car" (as several of my misguided friends call it) into a machine worthy of gracing these hallowed pages.
Dave and his crew spent a few days with my New Beetle, and I followed along on the final steps to document it (For a complete step-by-step photo representation of the process, log on to europeancarweb.com).
The first step is preparing the spoiler for painting. Dave and his technician Adrian prefer to disassemble the Beetle, precision fit the spoiler to the existing fenders, drill mount holes in the factory locations, then send the spoiler off to be painted. Although ABD's painter has the VW factory paint codes, the tow hook cover was sent along to ensure a perfect match.
After the ABD Beetle Cup spoiler is painted and ready to be re-fitted to the car, the whole installation can be done in a couple hours, providing the prep steps were properly executed. As usual, it would be wise to have a factory manual on hand during the procedure, and make sure to exercise caution when working with metal shears, drills and other hand tools.
Procedural Notes
This job, like most, is best accomplished on a lift, or, if you don't have a lift at your disposal, a set of jack stands will do.
One of the first steps is to remove the inner fender liners. These liners serve several purposes--reducing noise inside the passenger cabin and, in the right front fender, protecting the back side of the intercooler. On the left side it protects the A/C system piping. There are a number of screws and fasteners that first must be removed.
Once the inner fender liners are removed, there are a number of screws--including two at the bottom of the rear edge of the fender. When you put your car on jack stands, be sure not to obscure access to these screws.
At the front, there is a screw attached to a bracket mounted on the inner fender.
The rear of the fender attaches to the body using nuts on studs.
Along the front bottom edge of the factory spoiler, there are three round clips. By pushing into the center of the clip with a sharp object, you can pop the clip free.
The headlight is held in place with just one lever, which rotates part of the inner housing that locks the light into place. With the lever lifted, the headlight housing can slide out. From there, simply remove the plug at the back of the light.
The front turn signals, which are reused, have small orange plastic covers on the single mounting screw. Once the yellow plastic cover is removed, the light can be unscrewed. The turn signal is powered by one small plug. Note: The small metal clip behind the turn signal can be reused, but they are cheap to replace.
On the driver's side, there is a small air-temperature sensor that must be unplugged. When reinstalling the air-temperature sensor, you will need to have a small piece of sheet aluminum to make a new bracket.
Near the air temperature sensor is the left-side foglight plug. There is also one on the right side. Once the lights, fender liners and other fasteners are removed, attention can be paid to the bolts along the top edge of the fenders and nose panel.
Once the fasteners and wires are all removed, it's time to have two people separate the fender/spoiler assembly. Pull the fenders out from the body and slide the whole thing off.
Although the subsequently exposed screws can be accessed with the fenders on the car, it's best to do them now. These four screws--two per side--can be resoundly cursed, as they are the only reason the fender liners and fenders had to be removed.
Part of the prep work is cutting the steel-mesh grilles. After the mesh is cut, hold it into position and drill small pilot holes for the self-tapping screws that hold the steel mesh grilles into place.
Once the grilles are in place, the fenders can be mated to the new nose. The rest of the re-installation is the reverse of the disassembly procedures.