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Theresa Good-Hornbeck’s ’58 VolksRod is all show AND go!

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“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home…”

The home of this Ladybug is at the drag strip, where it does plenty of flying of its own over the quarter or eighth mile, depending on the event.

Theresa Good-Hornbeck, a school bus driver for the Three Rivers School District, said she watched her husband of 32 years, Paul, enjoying the VW drag racing sport for several years before deciding to join in on the fun. After all, couples that race together, stay together, as they say.

Their stable of race cars includes Paul’s 2026cc Type 1-powered VolksRod, dubbed the StudeBug — it’s an Oval Window Bug at the front grafted to a Studebaker pickup cab in the back — and Paul’s 2180cc-powered bracket racer ’65 sedan. Theresa said her husband had been racing for five or six years when he volunteered her to participate in the Powder Puff class at a 2021 Fast4Cartel event. She quickly became hooked.

Theresa’s ’58 Ladybug used to be a black-primered rat rod that she and Paul primarily took to local car shows for eight years.

“I said, ‘I want to drive that car, that’s my car,’ ” Theresa said.

Paul tore the car apart and commenced work to bring it to the level seen here. He performed 90 percent of the body work, which included welding the fender bolt holes and smoothing the sharp edges left behind in the wheel wells and such. He commissioned John with Brotherton Pipeline to paint the car in its unique colors. The red is a Honda Fit color, while the black portion is GM. Early hot rodstyle headlights add to the early rod vibe. A Speedway dropped straight-axle provides LadyBug’s nose-down stance up front. Torq-Thrust wheels (four-inch width in front, six-inch out back) round out the exterior, with 125R/15 rubber up front and 6-inch cheater slicks out back.

Paul commissioned Bob Heckhouse of Wolf Creek to stitch up LadyBug’s interior. Along with two-toned black and grey door and quarter panels, the seats are upholstered in tuck-and-roll style. The headliner is a black perforated vinyl custom design, while the carpeting is black square-weave.

Under the front hood, the minimalist trunk features an amp for the stereo and a spun-aluminum gas tank.

Additional details include a 5-inch tach with shift light, EMPI Hurst-style shifter, and custom steering wheel. The red-over-black motif continues over the dashboard. A CD player and rear speaker deck with 6x9-inch speakers add a modern flair.

The LadyBug’s motivated by a Paul-built 1915cc Type 1, based on a magnesium case and featuring a 69mm EMPI counterweighted crank and VZ-30 cam with stock 1.1 rockers. A pair of EMPI HPMX 44mm carbs top off the 40 x 35.5mm heads, while a 1-3/4-inch merged exhaust and stinger extract the spent gases. Dave Casperson rebuilt the ’68 long-axle swingaxle for drag racing use, adding a Super Diff, heavy-duty side covers, solid buggy mounts, a Berg midmount, and a Kafer Bar for good measure.

Theresa noted it has been a challenge learning the nuances of bracket racing, but no question she wants to go faster. 2022 was a tough year with limited opportunities to continue getting in valuable practice, as four of nine races in Medford got rained out, she said. Her best finish to date has been runner-up in Powder Puff at the Fast4Cartel’s 2021 Summer Slam event in Medford. She also finished third at the 2021 Bugsn-Bikes event at Coos Bay Speedway. Best times so far have been 16.2 in the quarter mile and 9.2 at a recent eighth-mile Fast4Cartel race.

“My goal is to get better and to go down to Irwindale,” she said. She wants to compete in the very popular Powder Puff program at Irwindale Raceway in SoCal. Having tracked the popularity of the class online and in magazines, she’s determined to add her LadyBug to the lineup soon.

If you happen to hit up a VW drag racing event in southern Oregon, keep an eye out for a red-and-black blur screaming down the dragstrip. But don’t blink, or you may just miss Theresa Good-Hornbeck and her LadyBug buzzing by in full flight!