1972 VW 411 Variant? An odd little wagon

Nobody's freaking out, because nobody likes type 4s.
They're not separate chassis like Beetles or type 3s, though. I don't know whether that screws your plans or not.

Oh yeah I've been reading that nobody likes these, but it wouldn't matter if everyone loved em, it's still going under the grinder/saw.
Might take in a Jag Etype into the saws one day- I like interesting vehicles and if I get a vision, it's happening.

That's right- he did say that it was a bus engine, and these axles are specific to them. When it stops raining I'll empty the thing out and see what is exactly inside of it. I know the engine and gearbox are not inside, I was offered a frozen Porsche 914 engine with the stuck original engine but I struck a deal without those, for obvious reasons

Subaru.

I'm leaning towords the Subaru but if I do use one- I'm keeping the entire front engine layout and modern suspension. This vehicle I have is a 1972 and to get a new engine under the thing, with old steering/brakes- ahhh, yeah that part is unlikely. But the Scooby platform bonded to the VW shell? Now this has potential. We're looking at one on Saturday

As was said above, nobody cares about these. My pal has a barn full fo panels that he bought, thinking that one day someone would want them. He still has them. Rare or not, they aren't pretty enough, or fondly remembered enough for people to get all dewey eyed about.
Seen one with a 911 motor once. Easy to fit apparently. Kind of messed up the luggage carrying capability of it though. Not sure I'd want to go front engined with it. One of the cool things about these is the flat floor. Also the titanic luggage space up front.
Boxster motor and gearbox would be fun. Then you can keep the front suspension and save a lot of trouble. Do something different.

Man I love the look of that Maserati! It was so cool and a crazy challenge getting that 1UZFE in there. It had electrical gremlins, needing data from the transmission etc- it would do a burnout, so that's all that mattered. No idea where it is now.

As far as the "purists" theory? Oh they exist. I go round and round with them all the time lol
As far as the "rat look" brigade? Not a fan of "rat rods" per say, but more a fan of ancient, original looks with performance from today. I like naturally worn, weathered vehicles that when you look at them- they tell a story. What kind of life it must have lived, how it was cared for and who may have used it for all those decades. Very cool.
I remember saying that I wish I had a car that looked old but handled well and had the reliability of a new car. I was telling my friends that- forty years ago. Now I create them.

The VW 411? We like the way it looks. It reminds me of a Reliant Scimitar, a Volvo P1800 and a Datsun wagon. All very cool, quirky little things.
Now imagine 165hp+ front engine, four wheel drive? Manual shift? Come on! That sounds like silly fun to me.
We're off in a couple hours to measure one up.

Some fun facts about VWs type IV:

when it was released, german public gave the 411 the nickname Nasenbaer, which in english is an animal called nasua.
I think horrido demonstrated really well why.
(Actually the later passat b3 got called that name, too, but maybe not in its time of production.)

And german public explained the 411 with 4 doors, 11 years too late.

Lookswise I prefer the successor 412.

Slammed look, not for me. Wide tires that stick out of the body- more my style. But the Fuchs style rims look pretty cool. As of right now- it's still up in the air as to which donor vehicle is going under it. Our Subaru got rescheduled until tomorrow. I want to do some measurements even if I don't buy it.

3 series BMW's might work too. It's more than likely getting a roll cage, if it goes V8