Barbie

1973 split window - Phoebe
2002 beetle - Fiona
1975 bay window - Farrah
1969 V8 Stealth beetle - Felix (our winter kit car build)

My story:
Volkswagen Barbie

PHOEBE’S STORY, 1973 SPLIT WINDOW BUS

Growing up, I was never exposed to the wonderful world of Volkswagen. No one I knew owned one. I rarely saw them on the road in West Texas, yet I had a burning desire to own one of these beauties. From childhood, I was fascinated by both the Beetle and the iconic split-window bus. I often wonder where my interest in VWs got its origin, the only thing I could come up with was that it was the only time I was allowed to slug my siblings without getting into trouble. Perhaps there was an ornery child hidden in my hippie soul.

Over the years, my husband and I would often have “daydreaming” talks. The topics were often all over the place—just dreams or thoughts of our future. One recurring chat we often had was about cars—one of those “if you won the lottery, what car would you buy” kind of chats. We talked in elaborate detail of our dream cars, the colors, the interiors, the wheels, the engines, and the extra options. As always, my brain circled back to the VW split-window bus.
I was happy to dream along with him and enjoy the conversation—but, at the end of the night, I put no further thought into our dreamy talk. After all, I was ecstatic with the vehicles we already had. I felt like I won the lottery years ago.

After working away my 20s and 30s, I found myself in the position to purchase a vehicle for fun rather than function. Finally, in my 40s, the dream was going to become a reality! I am embarrassed to admit the amount of time I spent scouring the internet for VWs. After two utter failures and money spent on inspectors in the UK, it became apparent that finding an old bus with minimal rust was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

The disappointing news from inspectors in the UK had me broaden my search. It turned out my search didn’t need to be so vast. I found a beauty online that was located in Miami, which is my home state! After receiving over 100 photos and even videos of the bus driving around Miami, to say I was excited would have been a gross understatement. I was so certain this was the bus of my dreams that I loaded up the truck, hooked onto the trailer, stopped at the bank for a cashier’s check, and made my way south. After a sleepless night of anticipation, it was finally time to go pick up my girl.

Beaming with pure joy, I headed out bright and early. I arrived at the storage unit to discover a hot mess of a bus. I inspected the poorly renovated bus with all of its rust, dents, mismatched bolts, poorly installed headliner, horrible door closures, and the interior layout was simple transporter benches. Not what I was wanting to see, nor what the photos/video showed. I sucked up my disappointment, put on my best lying smile, and told the owner we had a few more busses in the area we were going to look at before making a decision. I drove off thinking about how I could turn the bus into something spectacular, but the end seemed so far away. Seeing as how we were already in Miami, I decided to do a Google search and see if there were any other busses for sale in the area.

That’s when the magic happened! I stumbled across not one, but three impeccably beautifully restored VWs. The only issue was that they were not for sale. After contacting the company, I discovered that they import and restore VWs, so they only have busses that other customers have ordered. They kindly offered to let me stop in so I could see their workmanship. I promptly made my way to Pompano Beach, FL, and much to my delight, the three busses being restored were all ineffably stunning. Unsuccessful in my pleas to purchase any one of the three, I was informed that they could import a bus and restore it to my specifications. I was sold! I made the deposit and hauled my empty trailer back home to wait 6 months for my custom-built bus.

The restoration process was fairly smooth. I wanted a yellow and cream bus, L-shaped seating in the back, LED floor lights, an entertainment center (TV), a retro-looking Bluetooth radio, and an engine rebuild. I received updates along the way and was involved in the small details to ensure I was going to make my dream a reality.

The day finally arrived when I could officially pick up my girl, whom I have dubbed “Phoebe”, and off to southern Florida I ventured once again. Upon arrival, I was in tears of sheer happiness. She was a stunner! She was everything I had envisioned, everything I had hoped for, and I could not have been happier. I hopped in and drove her a few miles to where we had parked the trailer, and I was already questioning her power, her shifter, and my ability to drive her. Still, my happiness exceeded my worry. After loading her up, I drove back home listening to 70’s music the entire drive.

After getting my girl home, I discovered that as pretty as she looked, her drivability was horrible. I found myself struggling to go up even the slightest hill. Shifting into reverse was nearly impossible, to the point I actually pushed her back out of her parking spot at the DMV when registering her. This was not going to be acceptable; after all, I wanted a VW to drive and enjoy, not just a show pony. After her first car show, it was time to pull her underpowered engine and replace it with something that could actually push her down the road. I ultimately decided to go with the Powerhaus 2110 Engine, giving my girl 150hp. The upgraded power then led to replacing her transmission and she would also need better brakes. It was going to take over 6 months to get her new engine, so I kept myself busy putting finishing touches on her. She received a new stereo system that featured custom VW speaker covers, extra LED lighting that included her front VW emblem, new flooring, a new fuse box, a new horn, front/side/backup cameras, a digital rearview mirror, and lots of daisy embellishments. Her entertainment console was rebuilt, adding in extra cup holders for passengers, her TV was re-centered, and a smoother sliding mechanism was installed. After installing disc brakes and a new shifter, it was time to swap out her engine/transmission and take her for a spin.

Second cruise in Miss Phoebe was so much better than her first spin. She actually had power; however, she seemed to wander on the road more than I care to admit. It was time to address her suspension. After hours of research, I landed on the perfect design from a company in the Netherlands. After more downtime waiting on parts, the crate arrived, and the unveiling of the Red 9 Design independent coil-over suspension was spectacular. It was a work of art, and the install was as surprisingly simple. After slight adjustments to her ride height, I was ready to take her to her first campout / car show. She made the cruise over to Niceville, FL, and was a smashing success. She’s been winning everywhere I have taken her since. Truth be told, the “winning” part is seeing her spread joy anytime I have the pleasure to take her out!

FARRAH’S STORY, 1975 BAY WINDOW BUS

Prior to Fiona’s restoration, I had been searching for a bay window bus project. I didn’t care if it was running or if it even had an engine; I just wanted minimal rust on the body. I knew I would be upgrading most of it anyway. That’s when I got a message from the company that imported my split bus saying they had a bay window bus I might be interested in. It was a one-owner, garage-kept beauty; however, it had already been mostly restored. It was time for another trip to Pampano Beach, FL to take a peek at the pink bus. It took all of 2 seconds for me to know
this trip would end with a pink bus on my car hauler headed back to my place. She was dreamy, and I dubbed her “Farrah” as I loaded her onto the trailer.

Once home, it was time for a test cruise. Although she technically ran decently, at about 40 mph, she became a fishtailing hazard. I wanted to make her my little road warrior, so a call was made to Powerhaus to order a new 2332 engine, pepping her up with 175hp. Another call was made to Red 9 Design to order her a new suspension. With a long lead time for her new engine and suspension, I decided to button her up and enjoy her as an in-town-only ride for the next several months while waiting. I used the time adding Aztec feather vinyl art to her pink exterior and putting my Volkswagen Barbie flair to her interior.

FELIX, THE V8 STEALTH BEETLE KIT CAR

While I was elbows deep in the Volkswagen world, my husband, Mark, had an equal passion for muscle cars. One night as I scrolled the internet looking at all things VW, a YouTube video captured my attention. I ran across a company out of South Africa that made kit cars and not just any kit car. This was a V8 Stealth Beetle. A car that would merge my husband’s love of fast cars and my love of Volkswagen. A project we could build together, like an extra-large 3D puzzle. After reaching out to the company, placing the order, waiting for months, a crate arrived with all parts and pieces to build the chassis. I was able to obtain a 1969 VW Beetle locally. I needed the body to be in decent shape as it would be the final look, but ironically the only VW part on the entire build. The separation of the old body went surprisingly smoothly and he was dubbed Felix during the separation process. I secured his LS3 hot cam engine boasting a whopping 525hp at the Triple Crown of Rodding Car Show. This project, our Winter 2025 build, should be an interesting build.