The Goodguys 12th FiTech Fuel Injection Spring Nationals—held earlier this month in Scottsdale, Ariz.—featured more than 2,000 classic and custom rides. Of course, we saw a lot of crazy custom creations, but Ron Howe’s gasser-styled 1971 Volkswagen Squareback was arguably the wildest vehicle on the scene. Howe packed his car with not one but two 2.3 liter air-cooled engines.
Ron Howe
Howe, the owner of HHH Customs in nearby Chandler, wanted to build a vehicle to show off his imagination and engineering skills. “I build for the oddity,” he said.
Howe loves the look of a gasser, so putting little tires up front and big fat rubber on the VW’s rear was an easy decision. The retro-looking paint scheme—and two racing seats and a roll bar—completed the classic look.
Two for the Price of One
What first grabbed our attention was the eight-stack intake popping up from the hood. But the real surprise was discovering the two air-cooled engines deeper under the front-tilting hood.
Howe had first wanted a massive 454 cubic inch Chevy engine. But his son convinced him to go with a VW powerplant. And that’s when inspiration (or a bit of madness) took hold. Howe squeezed in the duo of engines and linked them to a Tremec five-speed transmission.
Of course, the Squareback originally had the engine mounted in the rear. Howe took the two VW engines, put them upfront, and bolted them together at the crankshafts with a flex disc in between. He kept separate cooling fans and oil coolers for each motor.
The flex plate allows the two engines to move and shift separately. Otherwise, you would risk the camshafts breaking when the front engine moved and the rear didn’t. Howe clocked the timing so one fires at 0 and 180 degrees and the other fires at 90 and 270. He bolted the front engine’s fly wheel to the flex plate—and the rear engine’s cam shaft to the same flex plate.
Howe said:
When the car starts up, it takes the sound of a Volkswagen engine and sends it to another planet.
The ’71 VW Sqaureback produces 300 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Consider the potential for that amount of oomph in a car that weighs 2,700 pounds. The additional engine didn’t add much weight overall. The car has more weight on the rear wheels than the front. Howe’s VW gasser, dubbed “Two Cool” is a jaw-dropper.
Shop now for VW Squareback partsThe Scottsdale Scene
The VW “Too Cool” was among hundreds of custom car creations on display in Scottsdale. In addition, there was a model car competition, a burnout contest, kids’ activities, and live music. The festivities concluded when Goodguys handed out awards in unusual categories, such as Best Wide Whites, Sky High 4X4, Suede and Chrome, and Way Cool Wagon. Howe took home the Best Bitchin’ award.
Stephanie Schoennagel, marketing manager for Goodguys, said, “The Scottsdale show is one of our favorite events.” She loves holding the show where there is some asphalt and the coolness from a grass lawn. And Schoennagel is always excited to see what builders do with the new model year that becomes eligible at the show—thanks to the rolling 25-year rule. At this year’s show, 1997 models were allowed for the first time. The newest winner was a 1993 Dodge Ram Truck for the Dodge Truck Pick.
Goodguys will return to Scottsdale in November for the 25th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals on Nov. 18 – 20. That is when the year’s overall “Top Twelve” selections come together at one show. It is also the last show of the season for Goodguys.
