Building a Baja Style Bug With a VW Beetle and A Stock Can-Am Maverick X3

(Jeremy)>> Today on Carcass we catch some air and roll a slightly used u-t-v. We spend all of our hard earned cash on a broke down bug, and we cut apart a perfectly good CanAm. You're watching Carcass.

(Narrator)>> When you want to build something different you turn to these guys, Jeremy Weckman and Jimmy King. Jeremy was raised in Minnesota building street rods. He's a builder, fabricator, and welder. Jimmy grew up in Nevada, working in his dad's garage building cars. He's a mechanical engineer, builder, and fabricator. They take left for dead rides and transform them into one of a kind builds. If you can dream it they can build it. This is Carcass, a non-traditional speed shop. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Today on Carcass we're in search of a brand new project vehicle and we think we're gonna find it in Lewisburg, Tennessee. You never know what we'll drive off with next.

(Jimmy)>> Diamond in the rough.

(Jeremy)>> That's not a diamond. That's a Volkswagen.

(Jimmy)>> No I know but when we take the fenders off then it'll be cool. Right now it's just, it looks like a gumdrop with wheels.

(Jeremy)>> Gumdrop.

(Jimmy)>> This is a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle. In its prime it got 49 miles to the gallon, but what's important to us is the wheel base, which is just under 99 inches. [ Music ] Yeah that's gonna be good.

(Jeremy)>> This will be cool. This will be a good build.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah.

(Jeremy)>> Now we've just got to hope it starts. Supposedly it runs. If not we've got a trailer.

(Jimmy)>> And the winch might work.

(Jeremy)>> That's a big might. You want to load it up?

(Jimmy)>> Let's go load it up.

(Jeremy)>> Let's see if this darn thing's gonna start. Oh that's fancy. [ Music ] Oh it sparked. That's a good sign. [ Music ] Nice! Try it again. [ horn honking ]

(Jimmy)>> The horn's on.

(Jeremy)>> I can't shut it off. [ horn honking ]

(Jeremy)>> I don't know how to shut it off! Can you lock and unlock the doors? [ Music ] We'll pull the ramps on the trailer before we go any further cause I don't want to listen to this thing all day. [ horn honking ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Well all there's left to do now is get this thing back to the shop.

(Jeremy)>> You might be wondering what we're doing with this Volkswagen Beetle. Well Jimmy should we tell them?

(Jimmy)>> No keep them guessing.

(Jeremy)>> You heard the man. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> While we figure out what to do with our Volkswagen bug we decided to take an inspirational drive. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> This is our CanAm Maverick X-3 Turbo. Well to be clear it's our wrecked X-3 Turbo. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> It's been rolled but like only once. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> And this thing is awesome. It's got a 900cc three cylinder turbo engine that makes 120 horsepower. On top of that it's got Foxx shocks on all four corners that allow up to 18 inches of suspension travel. And I'll tell you I've driven this thing and it rips. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Let's go. [ engine starting and revving ]

(Jeremy)>> This CanAm can fly. With this thing in two wheel drive we hammered it in and out of the corners, floored it through the straightaways, and had a blast getting it covered in mud. [ Music ] The platform on this thing just works. It's got plenty of horsepower. It runs great. The suspension system just flat out works, and what better place to test this than at Adventure Off Road Park. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> As we work out our welcome at AOP Jeremy and I put the pedal to the metal and launched our mud covered u-t-v over some jumps. [ Music ] Something ain't right here.

(Jeremy)>> That don't work. [ Music ] Check it out. [ Music ] Well I did say this thing can go over almost anything but it's only if you've got four good tires, not three. That kinda ruins our day. We've just got to try to figure out how to get back I suppose.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah we could drive it.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah I suppose it's already broken. Might as well just drive it. Well you're driving. I didn't do it, you did it. So you get to drive it out. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Well that sucked! [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> We rip it!

(Jimmy)>> We get rid of it.

(Jeremy)>> We cut into it.

(Jimmy)>> How we get from this to this.

(Jeremy)>> Coming up, you're watching Carcass.

[ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Yeah I think this is gonna work. I've been waiting to see these two things next to each other for a very long time.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah this is gonna be absolutely awesome.

(Jeremy)>> This is crazy. These things are basically the same size.

(Jimmy)>> I think that body's gonna fit perfectly on this and give it a lot of personality.

(Jeremy)>> Oh it's gonna have so much attitude. This is gonna be amazing. That's right you heard us. We're gonna take our used and slightly abused Volkswagen Beetle and put it on top of our CanAm X-3. Now we're not the first one to do this but Jimmy and I are gonna put our own little spin on it.

(Jimmy)>> It's gonna be a Baja bug. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> You know what Jimmy there's not a whole lot of this car that we're gonna end up using.

(Jimmy)>> I don't think so. If we're gonna put this body on the side by side we're gonna have to cut this thing up.

(Jeremy)>> You know the seat's not even attached. We're gonna end up using the steering and all the suspension off of the CanAm. So this can all go.

(Jimmy)>> I think so.

(Jeremy)>> I think the very first thing we've got to do is get rid of all the interior and we might as well get to work huh?

(Jimmy)>> The Beetle is a uni-body car, which means that the chassis and the body are all one piece. We're gonna have to cut the floor out of this thing to set the shell on top of the side by side. So we're gonna have to trash the interior. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> This is one of our favorite parts of the build because we love seeing how big of a junk pile we can make. [ Music ] Oh never mind.

(Jimmy)>> In reality this teardown took us about five hours. We stripped everything from the headliner and carpet to the entire dash. [ Music ] I'll tell you what dude. For such a tiny car this thing is surprisingly roomy without the interior in it.

(Jeremy)>> This thing's huge. I mean the pile outside is just as big as the car but it's nice.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah this is awesome. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Now that the nasty interior is out of the way we're gonna move to the outside of the car. Now we're only interested in the steel body of this car. So all that plastic, and the bumpers, and the fenders can come off and hit the scrap pile. [ Music ] [ drill buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Come on strong guy.

(Jeremy)>> That works. [ Music ] That's an easy way to do. Or you can take it off that way. [ Music ] Alright I got it.

(Jimmy)>> Cool man. With the fenders and the bumpers out of the way we can see the bare metal, and that's gonna give us a good idea what we need to cut to separate the shell from the chassis.

(Jeremy)>> Alright Jimmy I think we're about ready to start cutting this thing apart.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah me too but there's one thing we've got to watch out for. The fuel lines are on my side somewhere in here. So I'm gonna find those and mark them, and the fuel tank is still full of gas. So we've got to be careful.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah that sounds good. We obviously can't use the torch. So we've got a couple of different tools we can use, and if you want to mark that side out I'm gonna get to cutting on my side.

(Jimmy)>> Alright I'll mark it out. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> We're gonna cut holes in the floor with the cutoff wheel to get the reciprocating saw in place. Then we're just gonna run the whole length of the floor and cut this thing apart.

(Jimmy)>> We found these to be the best tools for the job, and as we were cutting we were being mindful of the fuel lines running under the floor on the passenger side. [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Alright I think that's the last cut Jeremy.

(Jeremy)>> Man it took us long enough. There's probably only one way to really pick this up. Let's move it on to the hoist and use the hoist to pick the thing up.

(Jimmy)>> Roger let's do it.

(Jeremy)>> Deal! [ Music ] Flat tire, you hear that?

(Jimmy)>> There's fix a flat in it too. That's why it's making that bubbly sound.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah we ran over a screw and there's fix a flat in it.

(Jimmy)>> That's great.

(Jeremy)>> It looks like anti-freeze.

(Jimmy)>> Good thing we're not using the wheels and tires.

(Jeremy)>> We'll clean that up later.

(Jimmy)>> Up next you'll see this, and this.

(Jeremy)>> But first we have to do this.

(Jimmy)>> What it takes to build a Baja style bug.

(Jeremy)>> Next on Carcass.

(Jeremy)>> Let's get you guys all caught up on the body swap with the CanAm and the Volkswagen Beetle.

(Jimmy)>> So far we ripped out that nasty interior and marked to fuel lines to make sure we didn't cut through them.

(Jeremy)>> Then we made some very strategic cuts so that we could separate the top from the bottom.

(Jimmy)>> And now the challenging part, using the hoist to see if we can do that.

(Jeremy)>> So you could block right here and pick this up but this is still under the body. What do you look like on your side? Obviously front's fine.

(Jimmy)>> I'm close-ish but not really.

(Jeremy)>> Not that close.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah! [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Shoot! [ Music ] Wait a minute. So we cut way up here. [ Music ] Put the hoist in and pick up right here. Can you put the hoist in back of that? That works doesn't it? So we finally figured it out. Instead of lifting up on the bottom pinch weld we're actually gonna move the hoist arms up, and then we're gonna pickup by the rear shock mount and by the front strut mount. That way we can pick the body off the chassis and then just roll everything out from underneath it. [ Music ] [ mechanical humming ]

(Jeremy)>> Ooh, that's a loud noise. [ Music ] I think we're okay. Just kinda stuck on the body. [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ] [ mechanical humming ]

(Jeremy)>> Ready? I'm just gonna kick it.

(Jimmy)>> Kick it.

(Jeremy)>> Rah! And it actually rolls right out from underneath. Let's go! [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Now we have the bug body removed from the chassis but that's only half of the equation. So now we're gonna work on the X-3, take all the plastic off, and cut the cage off, throw it under there, and see if it fits. [ Music ] [ drill buzzing ]

(Jeremy)>> Panel after panel we're trying to get our eyes on all of that metal that's hiding underneath all of this plastic. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Anything outside the roll cage needs to go. That means sliders, body panels, and even the lights out front. [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> That looks completely different than when it came in here.

(Jimmy)>> It doesn't look like a plastic toy car anymore. You can see the shocks, the engine, the roll cage.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah I want to drive it just like that. Let's go.

(Jimmy)>> There's an empty field with your name on it.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah this thing's way easier to get into without the doors on it. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> This CanAm absolutely soars with a 900cc turbo engine in the back our now stripped out Maverick can really throw us around. [ engine revving ]

(Jimmy)>> With this thing in the buff we can really get a feel for how the bug body will sit on this X-3. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> And we now know this thing has enough power to handle the extra pounds we're gonna throw at it. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> Dude this thing's a riot.

(Jimmy)>> Oh it's smooth. I love it!

(Jeremy)>> We've got to go cut it up now.

(Jimmy)>> Yeah let's do it. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> We're gonna spread, we're gonna cut, and we're gonna squeeze this bug body over our CanAm.

(Jeremy)>> But first we have to cut up a perfectly good u-t-v. This is Carcass.

(Jimmy)>> Jeremy and I have made some headway on our u-t-v bug body swap.

(Jeremy)>> We've ripped out all the interior and made some very specific cuts to the uni-body donor car.

(Jimmy)>> With us reaching the point of no return we lifted the body off its chassis and starting digging in to the CanAm's classic exterior.

(Jeremy)>> We've stripped it down so we could get a better look at the meat and potatoes on this CanAm.

(Jimmy)>> You know Jeremy there's only one thing left we've got to do before we can slide this guy under the bug. We've got to cut the cage off.

(Jeremy)>> Yeah I saw you taking some measurements. Where do you think you're gonna end up cutting?

(Jimmy)>> I think about 15 inches from the base plate on the front and on the back we'll just cut it right at the base plate.

(Jeremy)>> Sounds good! We'll get the cage off, slide it underneath there, and then we'll actually be able to see if this thing fits.

(Jimmy)>> So you've got tools, so let's get started.

(Jeremy)>> Great, I'm gonna take some measurements. [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ]

(Jeremy)>> To finish it off we'll use this guy. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> There you go Jim.

(Jimmy)>> Thanks man. [ saw buzzing ]

(Jeremy)>> With the top cut off the side by side we now know after doing some measuring that it won't fit underneath the Beetle. So it's time to start doing some trimming. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ]

(Jeremy)>> You got it. [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> Now that we've taken more material from the inside of the rockers we're ready to slide the X-3 under the bug.

(Jeremy)>> There you go.

(Jimmy)>> I think we get that...

(Jeremy)>> Port-a-power. Try to port-a-power it out?

(Jimmy)>> I mean that's gonna flex out but.

(Jeremy)>> Oh yeah, it ain't gonna take much. The port-a-power is like a big spreader. It's a hydraulic press that pushes the bug body outward. We need just a few inches so we can squeeze it over the CanAm.

(Jimmy)>> Oh yeah! [ Music ] That's good!

(Jeremy)>> We're not that far off.

(Jimmy)>> Really?

(Jeremy)>> No, so we've just got to make a couple of those little changes up front. We should be golden. We know we've got to cut the cowl out of it. So let's just go back up, roll the chassis up, and cut the cowl out of it.

(Jimmy)>> Alright sounds good. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Jeremy)>> We are so close to finally having our bug body attached to our CanAm.

(Jimmy)>> We needed some brackets to mount to our u-t-v's frame. So we used two inch flat bar and sheered it to three inch sections.

(Jeremy)>> And adding a punch hole will make sure that the bug body is removable in the future.

(Jimmy)>> And finally we tacked in the body mounts to see how this duo came together. [ welder crackling ]

(Jimmy)>> Oh my god!

(Jeremy)>> Dude that's the weirdest feeling in the world.

(Jimmy)>> This is incredible. I can see us now just sending it off some jumps.

(Jeremy)>> We've got handles. We've got door handles.

(Jimmy)>> There's tons of room to put the cage in here.

(Jeremy)>> Look at that. Like the door works.

(Jimmy)>> This is awesome.

(Jeremy)>> We get real tricky and hook up the power windows. I've still got the switch. Oh we've got the regulators. I can put a three way switch in here and just hmmm, the windows go up. This is kinda way cool.

(Jimmy)>> We're pretty smart guys.

(Jeremy)>> Yes, two points. [ Music ] Next time on Carcass our transformation of this baja bug continues. We add a roof rack, a whole mess of lights, and some shiny exhaust. It's gonna look Bajawesome!