Approximately nine years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 43. I got to the point where I couldn’t even hold a wrench, but after taking medication I was able to control it a little bit – enough where I can at least work on cars. My wife said you need to build something nobody’s ever seen before you’re not able. So, my friend Nate, my wife, and I came up with an idea to build a gasser Bug since I’ve never seen one. At the time I was working on my ‘59 Volkswagen, so over the course of five years give or take I’ve made the frame, suspension, firewall, floorboard, and most everything else with the help of a few friends on stuff that I couldn’t do because my Parkinson’s was shaking too bad. I was able to build a nostalgic-looking 60’s Gasser-inspired Bug, and I competed in Hot Rod Drag Week 2021 and won the spirit of drag week award with it! I made the whole trip, and my fastest pass was 11.9. The car will run lower 11s if I can stay in the gas pedal. It has a 385 stroker motor, 350 turbo transmission, 3100 stall converter, and 7 1/2-inch rear end with Yukon 342 gears and axles. It’s a blast to drive and gets all the looks with the Pepsi-Cola Express theme down the side. I’ve always loved Pepsi and I like the way it looked on the car!
