You can say a lot of things about the Euro scene: it’s repetitive, too competitive, expanding, improving, diverse. One thing’s for sure, though, we can all take things a bit too seriously.
We’ve all been there, on a forum where we see a comment that raises our ire and we feel impelled to respond. But why do that? Why be a hater?
Take a look at this Fox Wagon, for example. It’s guaranteed to split opinions about whether it’s cool and whether builder/owner John Ludwick should be applauded. But the best thing about John is that he and his buddies are having too much fun to care what you think!
A BMX pro from Center Harbor, NH, John didn’t select the most likely magazine candidate when he chose the Fox. Nor did he go the usual route to modify it.
He didn’t use off-the-shelf parts (not that many are available), and there’s no power swap. It’s pure DIY enthusiasm and a little hard work on a very modest budget. “I’ve got about $2500 into the car altogether,” John said. “Everything’s been built not bought.”
Influenced by his father, John Ludwick Sr, who used to ice-race in Mk1 Rabbits for years, Junior chose the Fox because of an affinity for wagons over his preference for muscle cars. Not to mention, his first car was a Fox Wagon – it was supposed to become an ice racer and he always wanted another. “The first one was a bone-stock rust-bucket. I found this one online belonging to a 95 year-old man who’d bought it brand-new – I’ve got the original window sticker and everything. It’s been babied it’s entire life. I got my hands on it and kinda wrecked it!” he laughed.
All joking aside, the car was pristine, but the original silver paint was faded badly. The solution was a quick re-spray in a flat tan, with a black roof and accents.
John wasn’t going to leave the stock ride height for long, but with no suspension systems commercially available, he had to get creative. “The spindle and strut combo is different to most other VWs, so we had to go a different route,” he explained. “We took a set of coilovers and modified them for the Fox, after which we had to modify more parts to get the suspension to work. But with some cutting and welding, we were finally able to get it to sit right.”
At the rear, John built 3" steel drop plates to match the front and maintain some suspension travel for ride comfort. As you can see, the result is one of the lowest static drops we’ve ever seen on a Fox, with the lowest points of the chassis only 1" off the pavement. Believe it or not, this is also John’s daily driver! “It’s my only vehicle. I drive it to work everyday,” he said.
The New Hampshire police haven’t found much they like about the car, and John has the tickets to prove it. “They’re not scared to slap you with a ticket!” he said. “Live free or die! You can do a lot of things, but you can’t lower you car below 16 inches…”
The slammed stance isn’t purely suspension: the tiny 13x6" wheels with 175/50 tires play their part as well. If the wheels look different, it’s because they’re two-tone steelies from a ’70s Chevy Vega. “My father ran them on his Mk1 when he was racing. On the ice, you ran tires chains and he always had problems with the chains hitting the strut bodies. So he ran Vega wheels with more offset. I grew up seeing this and wanted the same on my build.”The wheels lend a unique look, and sit nicely in the arches, which were “self clearanced” on the tires. It’s a decidedly ratty look, but certainly adds to the overall theme.
“When we first built the suspension, we took it for a shakedown run at 3am and didn’t even make it out of the driveway because the exhaust got ripped off!” John said.
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