1975 JC Whitney catalog: A bonanza of aftermarket Volkswagen goodies

Back before there was the Internet, or even big car-parts chain stores, there was the JC Whitney catalog. Printed on cheap, pulpy paper and featuring tens of thousands of tiny, hand-drawn illustrations, these thick books gave me many hours of enjoyment in the early 1980s, as I fantasized about how I'd modify my incredibly sketchy and hooptified '58 Beetle. Now I've picked up a 1975 JC Whitney catalog, and the Volkswagen section is even better than I remembered! Let's check out a few highlights.

JC Whitney
You had to split open the engine case to install a cam in an air-cooled VW engine, so these kits were not for the faint of heart.

POWER for your Volkswagen! Yes, for 50 bucks, you could get a complete camshaft kit, including one with an absurd 342-degree duration and a (probably optimistic) idle of 2,000 rpm. The illustration showing a Beetle exploding into a berserk wheelie tells the whole story here.

JC Whitney
I have never seen one of these in the wild, though I have seen a few Beetles with Ford 2300 Pinto engines.

Back when junkyards were overflowing with Chevrolet Corvairs, this Corvair-to-VW engine-swap kit might have made sense. Actually, no, it never made sense. Overheating? Lethal oversteer? No problem!

JC Whitney
Why should the Econoline guys have all the fun?

When customizing your Beetle back in 1975, you really needed some groo-oovy bubble windows. Which is best: the funhouse-mirror-style, hallucino-vision double-bubble rear window or the Sawzall-the-roof bubble skylight?

JC Whitney

I don't recall ever seeing a Beetle with bubble windows back in the 1970s, but I sure saw plenty of Beetles with these Baja Bug kits during my Northern California childhood. You could stick with the quasi-street-legal "wide-eye" kit (which gave you headlights and taillights in roughly the factory locations), or you could let The Man know you weren't following his stupid rules and get the "basher" kit.

JC Whitney
Want to make your Karmann Ghia into an Alfa Romeo Giulietta? No problem!

These accessories were also very popular. Beetle owners were always bashing in their sheetmetal hoods, so the fiberglass replacement sold well. The air scoops for Transporters and Beetles allegedly helped with those vehicles' chronic overheating problems, and I'm sure someone still makes them. And how about the "grille" that turned your Karmann Ghia into an Alfa Romeo Duetto?

JC Whitney
Want your Beetle to look like a 911? Only $19.98!

A set of 911-influenced hubcaps would make any air-cooled Volkswagen look sportier.

JC Whitney
You still see the occasional "Rolls-Royce" Beetle, but the "1940 Ford" Beetles have all been crushed.

If you were ready to shell out close to 200 bucks, your Beetle could have had a Rolls-Royce- or '40 Ford-influenced body kit, complete with Continental-type engine cover. These kits were surprisingly common back in the middle 1970s, and you still see them from time to time.

By Murilee Martin