03 Feb Art Shapiro’s amazing Silver Bullet
To give Art Shapiro’s ’59 Double Cab justice would take pages, literally. From the pavement melting 406 horsepower power-plant built by John Randolph at Powerhouse VW in Torrance, CA., to the absolutely flawless metal fabrication and body prep by Art’s crew and Troy Hamerick, 2-stage PPG Silver finish applied by David Gongoras and fine leather by Elegance Auto Interior, this ride is perfection by anyone’s standards.
Much of what you don’t see such as the E-Level air ride management system, one-off tube trailing arms, reinforced frame and 944 style vented rotors with Wilwood calipers was handled by Nate Curtis from Wagenswest.
Leaving nothing to second best Art contacted Sam here at Rancho for a transaxle capable of handling all the ponies on a daily basis. Takin into consideration the vehicles power, weight and use Sam chose one of our popular Pro Street packages. A fresh, silver powder coated, steel sleeved Bus case was fit with a full stack of Weddle gears; 3.44 first 2.08 second 1.22 third and 0.82 forth gears, 4.13 ring and pinion, Bus to Bug carrier, chromoly pinion nut and Porsche 930 CV joints and flanges.
As you might expect the crew at Hot VWs took time to really do Art’s amazing ride, full justice. You can get every little detail and more in their March 2020 issue. Coverage includes a full cover shot and complete, detailed layout inside. You really need to shuffle over to your local news stand and get a copy of this issue.
