1927 Bugatti type 35

My Bugatti Story

If you want to skip the story and just see the current pictures of the car, CLICK HERE.

I am 52 now, when I first saw this car I was in my early 20's. My dad bought it and loved it. He called it his parade car. The car is a 1927 type 35 F Bugatti replica built on a Frankenstein mix mash of parts from Volkswagen. Its core is a 1965 Beatle frame.

The official state of California Bureau of Automotive Repair tag inside the "trunk" say's its' a 1978 SPCNS, Engine year 1965, This tag has an additional date of 1/18/94 which is when this tag was installed. The only other "official" tag is a stamp on the frame containing the VIN.

My first ride in this car was in the early 90's in the high desert hills of Littlerock Ca. The back roads were seldom used and went on for miles in a straight line. I recall freezing as it was about 45 degrees out, he was doing probably 45 MPH and the wind actually hurt my face. When we got back to the house my face was numb and red, his face was locked in a smile. He was wearing the biggest dumbest goggles on you could imagine. They came with the car and he loved wearing them when he drove.

He didn't drive it very often as it had problems. It ran ok, it just would not stop. He often would be going and press the brake pedal only to find it pressed to the floor with no stopping power at all. This was built on a 1965 VW bug, they had not converted to a dual circuit brake system until 1967. Till then if the brake master cylinder failed, it would cause all the brakes to fail. A very dangerous condition that kept him from driving it often.

The brake master cylinder was located behind the gas tank and was really hard to get to. He was not mechanically inclined and could not afford to have a mechanic look at it.

Original Gas Tank

Gas Tank Removed Exposing Brake System

Master Brake Cylinder

Time passes... A lot of time...

Very hot summers

Frigid winters

As the years go by animals take up residence...

The First Restoration... 2016

In 2016, I found peace and a relationship with GOD. As a result I started going to church, specifically Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley. I was welcomed in and made great friends. I was invited to come and share fellowship at the church car club, Cruzaders For Christ. (link). My first visit was awesome, had pizza and prayer with the group. I met and started a wonderful friendships with many members. They showed me I could have a cool car and worship the lord. They also taught me that we can use these cars as tools to spread the gospel. This set me on fire and I asked the car club to help with my old junker.

The first restoration does not have may photos but here they are.

This restoration was not so much about whatit looked like but getting it going. This was the first time we attempted to fix the brakes. They club got the engine running and tuned up, They installed a roller peddle. The brakes were a chore.. I replaced the master cylinder and wheel cylinders. We were trying to pin down a leak somewhere in the system and figured replacing most these parts would do the trick. It did for some time but the old parts and infrequent driving took its toll, the brakes would fail again a couple of years later. The big part here was the engine. The guys worked VERY HARD. On the left is the engine before they worked on it, on the right is the engine in 2021. Few new parts, running great.

Sneak Peek of the engine in 2022... (SPOILERS)

Here is a video taken by my buddy Ken while my other buddy Jeremy took it for its first drive after the very long wait.

A new beginning,

The car ran ok but it need a serious fuel filter and even then I was worried. The gas tank was fully rusted on the inside and was not redeemable. I could never take the car on long drives or really enjoy the trip without worrying about the carb suddenly clogging and the engine dying. In addition to this there was a registration problem. All those years sitting left me with the feeling I was going to pay well over $1000 for 20+ years of unpaid registration. It also had electrical problems as well as the continued unreliable brakes. The last time I drove the car with the car club was at a parade, I had to park it because the brakes were not working. The time before that the engine bay caught on fire due to a wiring problem with a new oil cooler. The new beginning was a rough one.

Again it sat... But not as long as before. This time it sat at my friend's Ken's place under a car cover. I was not really sure what I wanted to do with it, i just knew I wanted to drive it. I moved it home to Littlerock and got to work.

First thing I had to do was make a list of what was keeping me from driving it...