The original, split-window Volkswagen Bus lends itself well to engine swaps, but most end up with either a Porsche 911- or a Subaru WRX-sourced engine. California-based dealership Crown Classics is selling something a little different: It’s a 1966 21-window Bus with an 8.3-liter V8 sourced from a classic Cadillac and an extensive list of modifications. It looks like a Hot Wheels, and I’m strangely enthralled by it.
Shoehorning an eight-cylinder into a space designed for a four-cylinder required extensive fabrication work. The engine remains rear-mounted but takes up a whole lot more space, and the body was widened by about six inches to make it all fit with relative ease. The flared quarter panels each house a radiator, because the cooling system now relies on water instead of air to keep the temperature in check.
The engine spins the rear wheels via a General Motors-sourced Turbo-Hydramatic 425 three-speed automatic transmission and a rear end borrowed from an unsuspecting Cadillac Eldorado. The list of modifications doesn’t end there. This split-window also features disc brakes (thankfully) instead of the stock drums, a custom-made torsion bar front end, and a custom-designed frame built using 2×4 steel rails.
Viewed head-on, this Bus looks pretty much stock. It’s a totally different story out back, where air vents, a pair of exhaust outlets mounted right below the roof line, aftermarket lights, and, of course, the aforementioned box flares strongly hint that there’s no longer an air-cooled flat-four sitting between the rear wheels. Speaking of the wheels, they look like they escaped from SEMA in 2003, and they’re my least favorite part of this build. I wonder how difficult it would be to widen a set of stock, five-lug steelies for that oh-so-cool sleeper look.
Inside, there’s a pair of Porsche 914-sourced seats for the front passengers, a second-row three-person bench, and that’s it. The big ol’ V8 takes up the space occupied by the third-row seats in a stock 21-window. Fair trade-off, right? There are lots of custom touches scattered across the interior, including a wood-look steering wheel, extra analog gauges on the dashboard, and a headliner-mounted Sony CD player.
Crown Classics is asking $80,000 for this one-of-a-kind Bus, which almost sounds reasonable considering the uniqueness and the massive amount of work that went into building it. For context, Bring a Trailer sold a restored, mostly stock 1966 21-window Bus for $51,000 in 2024.
Now, who’s going to try to V8-swap an ID. Buzz?
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