The BugXS was built in 2001 as and Art Car for the Burning Man event.
I built it by removing the roof of a ’72 Super Beetle and shortening it by about 80cm (3 feet). The driver now sits on the rear seat instead. It was great fun to drive, especially since BugXS was still street legal in California, so I took it for a spin (literally) around the block many times.
Start by finding a regular VW Bug.
Removing the roof is easy. I used a hack saw and just went for it. Before cutting out the middle section, remove the doors, take out the emergency break and accelerator cables.
Be careful to not cut the shifter, the gas line, or the break lines. Shorten the shifter, bend the brake line in a loop, reroute the gasoline line.
Move the front half and rear half closer together until they touch. Reweld the central frame and the floor panels. I also added square tubing where the middle of the doors used to be.
I also shortened the windshield frame and inserted a different glas. The rear area has a 3/4″ plate plywood glued in to cover sharp edges.
As a final step, I welded some of the leftover door skin into the remaining gap.
