Speed Shack

13/08/2025

Le BUG SHOW ...
You were great again. Once more, you have proven to be THE event which always delivers, on all fronts.

On Sunday, it seemed I had beaten the all-time track record with an ET of 6,81 (only marginally faster than Vito Versluys's 6,82 seconds set on Saturday morning with his very beautiful, but also very fast "The Edge" racecar. In fact, Le Bug Show's 1/8 mile uphill track is the only place where I can challenge him and the other big boys. But of course, I love doing that, and running my mouth all weekend about it. And showing my beautiful cheeks to all who want to see - and even more to those who don't like to see.

However, I asked Anne-Marie from the dragstrip organisation to check into all data from previous years all the way to the early nineties, since I don't want to claim a record that isn't; and it turns out that at least 1 car has ran faster; the Bugster (http://bugster.co.uk/bugster), back in 1998, with a 6.6s ET. So.. more work to do on the car.

If anybody has any data on other cars running faster at Le Bug Show, please share! Would be very informative.

I did end up claiming first prize in the sub-2000cc class, with my 6.81 being faster then any other wheel-driven car last weekend.
Donald Pottier's Armageddon Jet Car is definitely faster. Will have to do a lot more work on the car :D

At the start of 2025, I decided to only run the car here, at Spa. I needed time and funds to be able to repair our camper after an accident. So, the speed bug had been itching for quite some time.
Now, I scratched, but the itch isn't gone... And the car seemed to run very well with the minor modifications done last year. Need more data... Next year will be a very special year for me.
Let's see what happens!

15/06/2025

Hell yeah we should!

One last dance

56

European Bug-In 2026

Should we do it or not?

Tell us your thoughts

06/10/2024

Goeiemorgen!

27/08/2024

Little over a week ago, Spa, Francorchamps. Le BUG SHOW.
Having the fastest piston-powered IC engine at the strip this year made me really proud. Yes it's only a rail, but then again it's only powered by a 1641cc engine. Two cars were faster: the insanely fast electric-powered 1303 (and while an electric conversion does not make my heart race; a fast car does, KUDO's to this 1303 which makes speed at a God-level) , and Donald Pottier's Armageddon Jet Car.

I can live with that :)

The new superlight crankshaft/flywheel combo makes the engine much more quick revving, my fear of the small engine not having enough torque to get off the line with the huge 1st gear proves to be ungrounded(until 2023 I raced with a full-weight flywheel providing inertia coming off the starting line). Only with a rear tire pressure of around 0.50 bar the engine bogs down after about 5m of wheelspin: proving we have plenty of margin to play with. The idea is to have as much tire pressure as I can get away with, without the rear wheels spinning too much; creating a balance between mild spinning and the engine keeping it's rpm in the power range.

The heads, pistons and rods are removed from the engine again, last Sunday was a good time to check on the rod bearings. It seems that with current power and rpm, the rod bearings only last somewhere between 10 - 20 runs - with the rev limiter at 9500 rpm. They now have 11 runs on them and are starting to degrade. I may install a smaller oil pump to confirm it isn't the consequence of cavitation leading to air bubbles in the oil. Next outing is Zerbst, first weekend of October. The hunt for the 10 is on, as ever.
(if somebody knows which VW sized rod bearings are the toughest, please tell me, New Mahles, Old KS, Old Federal Mogul, Old Glyco, they all suffer from surface fatigue in a few runs, without the engine going in detonation, which does confuse me a bit)

Le Bug Show continues to make the best show on earth. It was as magic as it ever is.
Thank you very much to the organisation, the staff and the volunteers, not the least to the drag race crew. You make my weekend! I will be back next year(with a belt to hold my overalls up when I need both hands to hold up my prize )

Photos; thank you Anne-Marie, thank you Duges_Photography
https://www.instagram.com/duges_photography?igsh=MXg4MW96MndqdHk5cg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

30/06/2024

Speed Shack on European Bug In last weekend! See y'all at Le Bug Show?

21/08/2023

Le Bug Show 2023. Fastest car in the " under 2000cc class" on the dragstrip, and second fastest allround.

After building the dragster in the spring and early summer of 2017, Le Bug Show '17 was the place where the dragster first started, drove on it's own power, and did some runs with this very engine, only producing aroung 80 hp. Now it makes more a little more :).

Le Bug Show is special. The circuit of Francorchamps is my happy place, I come here often to unwind, relax, walk in the forests and center my brain. This place, combined with the awesome Bug Show event, creates a phenomenal atmosphere which cannot be recreated anywhere. You have to be there to believe it, there is happiness for all types of VW fans.

I am very happy to be able to come here.
Thank you very much to the organisation and the volunteers. You make the greatest show on earth!

20/08/2023

16/08/2023

Most of the time, I love the cars my customers drive. I treat them better then my own cars and try to keep improving on the setup all the time.
But sometimes there is a car that is a little different.
Len's squareback is one of those. On the one hand I absolutely adore it. On the other hand it has given me so much sh*t that I have been at a loss for a solution more then once. Sometimes I think it's posessed(my girlfriend calls the car "Christine").

But like a true freak, it knows how to make fun.
Sporting a 2387cc motor with the same specs as the one I made later-for Guy's type34 among others- Len's motor was the test bed for this concept. It has seen some lows-though actually most of it is due to poor product quality, parts that used to be good now failing in under 100km etc- but it mostly produces a lot of smiles and I think we have all the glitches sorted now. Less then 1 year old and 7500 km's covered, Len does not baby this car-and he's right. The squareback weighs in at over 1000kg without driver, but it sees 100km/h in a little over 5 seconds. It peaks at 200, all with the original transmission. I was scared to death on the dyno we'd shred the box, but it seems to be one of those "one-in-a-1000" cases where even brutal launches dont kill the box-they just make the clutch sweat a little :D

Len's motor is an 2387, with the same specs as Guy's;
94mm Caddillac pistons in Revmaster barrels
86mm CB crank, 5.7 CB rods, modified ACL chevy rod bearings, Tims stage 2 heads, Web 163 cam with 1.32 rockers, Dan Ruddock's beehive springs, alu push rods, Thorsten Pieper lifters, CSP 42mm type 3 Python, 44 IDF's with stock 36mm vents, CB Cranktrigger ignition with the sensor at the flywheel. It pulled 162 HP@ 5400 and 237 Nm @ 4500 with very hot oil on the dyno.

Len's unassuming car really is a wolf in sheeps clothing, which makes it great fun. One of his first victories was shaming a Ferrari F355 at the lights, which-granted- is not as fast as Modena's latest, but not exactly a slow car either; and definitely not what the pastarocket driver expected! Len's new hobby is trolling Golf GTI's and the like, so if you think you're fast.. you be warned.

29/07/2023

Some time ago, long-time friend and faithful Speed Shack customer Guy ordered a killer engine for his awesome Type 34. Having just completed a quotation for just such a motor for Len's Squareback, the goal being driveability with tons of torque and no high rpms, I discussed the same concept with Guy as well.

Both customers confirmed, so I ordered all the necessairy parts and after several delays, I got to work.

These motors both have a 94x86mm 2387cc displacement using low height Cadillac pistons in Revmaster barrels, 5.7 rods with narrowed ACL bearings, Tims stage 2 heads with 42x37.5 valves, Dan Ruddock's Beehive springs, S**t 1.33 Rockers, alu pushrods, TP 54GR lifters, Web 163 cam with helical gears, 9.5/1 CR, 44IDF's with short manifolds, and a 42mm CSP type 3 Python exhaust. Ignition is accomplished by a CB Cranktrigger setup, with the trigger-teeth milled into the flywheel. The motors are only 7mm wider then stock on each side, not even requiring mods on the sheetmetal(actually Len had a great idea and solved the problem with a custom rubber)

Len's motor was finished first, and went on Thone's dyno producing 162HP@5400rpm and 237NM@4400 RPM. I was pretty stoked with the result, knowing the short manifolds and 20mm stacks really weren't helping torque. I had guaranteed 230Nm with those short IR lengths, knowing longer would be way better, but being a squareback it HAD to fit under the stock cover.
Later, Guy's 34 went on the same dyno(by Thone's Tuning and Service) with 54mm stacks, and produced a whopping 263Nm on the first pull! Subsequent pulls up to 6000 rpm placed the max HP at 161, but it lost some torque due to heat soak.

Some testing will continue with longer stacks, with different configurations on these two engines.

Both cars are now on the streets, terrorizing new "quick" cars, and both are-more importantly-giving their owner A LOT of smiles. No matter which gear you're in, if you press the right pedal, you better hold on. Pictures show Guy's awesome Type 34, stay tuned for Len's wolf-in-sheep's-clothing Squareback.

21/06/2023

WANTED urgently, in Europe;

5.4" length, Chevy sized Connecting rods.

Offer all types, both new and used condition, full sets or partial,.. anybody has anything in stock/lying around?