62 CAR CRAFT OCTOBER 2019 OCTOBER 2019 CARCRAFT.COM 62LS-LOVE BUG
What: 1999 VW Bug
Who: Dave Hill
Where: Provo, UT
Drivetrain: Front-wheel-drive LS4
Yes, this 1999 VW Bug has an LS in it. Dave Hill, owner of
Hills Automotive, found this VW on Craigslist for $200 with
transmission issues. He’s become known in Provo for per-
forming unique LS swaps, so the local junkyard called him
when a front-wheel-drive, LS-powered Monte Carlo came to
the yard. It was a match made in LS heaven.
“It’s just something fun,” Dave said, “...built to surprise peo-
ple.” The drivetrain is stock LS4 from a 2004 Monte Carlo SS.
Dave welded the Beetle’s outside portion of the halfshafts to
the inner section of the Monte Carlo’s. He is working with a
company to produce billet halfshafts to replaced his welded
ones. It took him two months to complete, and he scrambled
to have it done by LS Fest West. He plans to build a pickup
conversion using the Smyth Performance bodykit.THE SWEDISH
SWAPWhat: 1983 Volvo 240
Who: Sean Fogli
Where: Portland, OR
Drivetrain: 6.0L/T56
Possibly the cleanest build at
the show is this Volvo 240.
There’s something about a clean, simple, and boxy
design, even if it is a Swedish car. Builder and owner
Sean Fogli found the car in a field with a rotten interior.
He’s built a few other projects before, but never a Volvo:
“It doesn’t matter,” Sean said. “I just like cool stuff.”
The engine is a junkyard 6.0L Sean freshened up and
topped with an LSA blower from eBay Motors. The Volvo
features an ACT clutch, and T56 pulled from a 2002
Camaro, built with upgraded carbon-fiber synchronizers
and bronze shifting fork pads. The car sits on CCW
wheels measuring 18x10. He widened the rear inner
fenders by 2 inches and pulled and rolled the fenders
1.75 inches. Sean has only 300 miles on the build and
plans to do a little of everything with the car.THE SILENT AMC
What: 1978 AMC Pacer Wagon
Who: Phil and Susan Cary
Where: Las Vegas, NV
Drivetrain: LS3 Connect-and-Cruise
Built as clean as a factory restoration,
this 1978 AMC Pacer features a fresh coat
of factory-code paint, new interior, and a
monster LS3. What blew us away was
just how quiet it is, with the dual factory-
style exhaust. Easily, it was the cleanest
and sneakiest swap at LS Fest West.
Phil and Susan’s son bought the car intending to build
a high school project. He went off to college and left the
car. Eventually, the couple decided to make it their own.
“This one took 41 years to become cool,” Susan said.
Unknown to most is the fact that the Pacer was
designed all those decades ago to accommodate the
wide Wankel engine, but the rotary proved
too dirty, too leaky, and too expensive for production,
making its engine bay unexpectedly commodious for
the LS V8 and Chevrolet’s Connect-and-Cruise kit.L
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