I drove 150 miles through Central Florida with a trailer to pick up a donor.

That was the plan. 1972 Beetle, chopped top, swapped 1969 body. Cut the shell, keep the drivetrain, rest goes to scrap. The 964 design has been sitting finished for months and 964 shells got hard to find. Beetle has almost the same wheelbase. Air-cooled. A bit narrower. Less power. But it's a mule, so it doesn't matter.

Heavy rain the whole way down. Picked up bolts in two tires. Arrived four hours late.

The seller waited. Good man. Sold the car without a word about the time. Then he says, want to go around the block. Sure.

No passenger seat. I sit on the metal floor. No belt.

He turns the key. Everything rattles. He's saying something about sound deadening panels he doesn't want to part with. I barely hear him. Every bump goes straight through the floor into my spine. The whole car is a tin can with an engine in the back.

The last time I felt this was 1993. Karting championships. I was twelve.

I never had Beetle. Never wanted one. Didn't know they existed until I started reading about Porsche. Sketching one is one thing. Sitting on its floor while it rattles is another.

We pull back into his driveway. I drive home. Tell the team - temptation is strong. They say yeah, yeah. Next day - temptation is really strong. They say yeah, would be cool. Third day - what if we buy a second Beetle for the 964 and keep this one whole. They say it doesn't make financial sense. I say doesn't matter. They say okay.

That night I climb into the attic. There's a folder up there with Beetle sketches I'd forgotten about. Pulled it down. Opened it.

The roof in my old sketches is chopped. Almost the same line as the car sitting in my driveway.

I wake up at six in the morning at the desk. Empty pack of paper. Pencils everywhere.

Walk out to the trailer. Open the door. The smell of gasoline hits before I see her. Nothing leaks - just the perfume air-cooled cars wear in the morning. Turn the key. Fires instantly. My '68 Mustang takes a second to think. This one doesn't.

Roll her into the shop. Time to scan. The plans are accurate but without the actual mesh the fitment is a fight. Better to scan first, adjust, then move.

Now the work begins.

Day 1.