NEHA

Some of you may remember my father, Charlie Rutan, and his '64 VW Beetle that he raced in the 1990s. After he retired, his youthful passion for auto racing was reignited and he decided to try his hand at hillclimbing in the car he knew best from his early days, the VW Beetle. He stopped racing after an accident in 2000 and he passed in 2004 at 81 years of age. After the accident damage was repaired, the car was co-driven by my brother and I in the 2002 CART Autocross series when these photos were taken. We finished the season with 1st and 2nd in class A-modified and flirted with FTD on occassion. It has not been driven since. The car has been stored inside a garage since he bought it. At this time circumstances are such that the car is going up for sale. Dad built this car for the hills. It is quite unique from its antique body to its center steering. This forum has an exclusive first listing.

Don't let the antique body fool you, this is a fast car and he did quite well in it! His 1999 Mt Washington time of 07:38.19 was good for 13th overall. Not bad for a 75 year old driver! Many modifications were made to lighten it, improve handling, and maximize power. The motor has a SCAT 86mm crank with 90mm cylinders for a displacement of 2,188cc. It features a dry sump oiling system with oil cooler, Engle cam, Pauter rods, dual port heads/ported and polished, electronic ignition and fuel injection. The engine is currently apart. The transmission is a 5 speed with custom gearing. There are lots of extras including wheels, spare parts for suspension and engine, a wing, even a trailer. The car does need new rubber and some TLC after all this time. I am asking $4,500 and will listen to all reasonable offers.

I will respond to serious inquiries posted on this forum if you give me some contact info.

Bill Rutan

Bill. Glad you were able to finally get this posted; I will post the other pictures (hopefully tonight) and add them to this forum post.

It was always fun watching your father (Charlie) and uncle (Bill) battling it out at the hillclimbs wth some very unique and different cars.

Steve

Hi Bill,

I'm very interested in the Beetle. My shop number is 802-467-3893.
If I don't answer I always call back, please leave me a message, I'm in and out all day.
I'd love to see it in person.

Cheers, Evan

Evan, you are the ideal guy for this car! I hope you get it!

Ryed wrote:Evan, you are the ideal guy for this car! I hope you get it!

Thanks man.

I decided to back out. Not that I don't want it, I really do, thing is sweet, but the reality is I have ambitions that require financing that outweigh buying another car, especially a project race car. It would be a distraction.

Bill, thank you for your time.

Someone buy this thing. I need a competitor.

No worries Evan but if things change, give me a call.

Next week I am heading off to Maine for a week or so. When I get back, the ad is going out to a wider more focused audience (Samba). Hopefully when it hits the aircooled VW site someone will want it. You guys and your friends still have a couple weeks before that happens. I had hopes that it would stay in the NE Hillclimbing community but bottom line is it needs to go.

how is the cage to the current rules? would it be grandfathered in or need significant updates?

Our rules dont have a grandfather clause.

It appears from the limited views in this thread of the current cage that it would need at least a main hoop diagonal and a second sidebar between the A-pillar bar and main hoop. I cannot say that would be it (or even required) without a firsthand inspection.

It would also require replacing and augmenting the padding in the helmet impact areas with SFI/FIA approved stuff.

I will get some better views of the cage when I get the chance. Do you have an interest sciroccohp?