Ernie Miyamoto’s ZZ572/620-Powered Super Beetle

Small Car, Big Block

Here is the story of Ernie Miyaymoto’s 1972 Super Beetle, which features a Chevrolet Performance ZZ572/620 crate engine.

Video | Small Car, Big Block: Ernie Miyamoto’s ZZ572/620-powered Super Beetle

According to Chevrolet Performance, the ZZ572/620 engine makes 621 horsepower and is capable of handling 645 ft-lbs. of torque. In Miyamoto’s Beetle, it is hooked up to a TH400 transmission. The Beetle also features a Heidts front suspension and a Dana 60 rear end with 3.73 gears to drive on the street. The large Pro Street rear tires are Hoosier Quick Time DOT versions, while Mickey Thompson radials are on the front. The wheels are OEM and have been modified to run the GM bolt pattern.

The following is an excerpt from the article posted on The Block, a microsite launched in 2012 by Chevrolet:

Miyamoto has lived in Davisburg, Michigan, his whole life and is a car guy through and through. He even owns his own shop, MotoFab, where he does hot-rod fabrication. He specializes in headers and exhaust but also builds cars from the ground up. The hobby is a family affair, as his father is a hot-rod guru, and brother Larry owns a 1970 Chevelle featuring the same Chevrolet Performance big-block crate engine.

Miyamoto’s father originally built the Beetle on a dare in 1985, primarily from leftover parts off of other cars.

“He found this Beetle down in South Carolina, brought it up, cut it apart, made the frame for it,” Ernie explains. “He made the frame for the car, decided to put a Chevrolet big block in [it] and we did the hydraulic flip-up body. But the whole idea of the car was to make it look like a Beetle as much as possible.”

“When you’re driving the car around people give you a thumbs up because the car is cool,” Miyamoto said. ”Then once you elevate the body and everybody sees what’s under the hood the people just go nuts over the car. You just can’t help but smile and laugh yourself because these other people are enjoying something that you actually built.”