Perhaps it’s by accident, but today seems to be shaping up into a “VW Oddities” day. I speculated in a comment on the Shortie Bus post that the VW Type I and Type II platforms might be the most modded vehicle platforms in history (either by VW itself, kit car makers or owners themselves).
There are certainly no shortage of oddball reinterpretations of the vehicles that put Volkswagen on the map. The only other platform that might have been modded more is the Ford Model T. But maybe there are others I’m not aware of? What say you?
1932 Ford is probably up there, at least here in North America.
Model T?
It’s either a Model T or a 32 Model B.
Probably a different answer if its modded vehicles per vehicle produced or just raw numbers of custom vehicles. VW and Model T would get the raw number vote with so many produced over such a long period of time combined with their highly adaptable/simple mechanical bits. The other category would be later model cars popular with hot rodders like 1965-1973 or fox body Mustangs; all Camaros.
1932 Ford might be a contender if it were modded/total production (this does not count fiberglass replicas); so would the 1949-1951 Mercury.
Made a vw trike so you know where my vote goes.
Actually hooked up an electric motor and ran the story on CC.
On a world scale definitely the VW various countries have their own favourites but dak daks were chopped up everywhere.
Certainly very modded when you count the guys who simply dropped the flat 4 and transaxle out of a Bug and used it for something else.
Yep: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule/rampside-capsule-engines-with-altitude/
I can’t think of any platform that had more aftermarket fiberglass bodies and add on kit’s (RR front end etc.,Baja kits, PU kits, wings, wider fenders, deck lids, tilt front ends, dune buggies, exotic cars, spoilers), you name it and someone, someplace, at sometime probably came up with it. Add engine, trans, electrical, and suspension mods, sand rails, rock crawlers, the list goes on and on. Model T probably is about the only rival. And airplanes, and boats, and industrial power plants. And don’t forget all the older VW Brazilian models that were based on the type one platform, although they were not really “aftermarket”.
I think Ford Econolines and F-Series are up there too.
Especially if you count the Mad Max movies… (c: