Learn Me Classic VW Beetles

I posted the thread about moving to LA and looking for older cars for fun and... fun. Anyway, I've found myself considering Beetles again, but I don't really know anything about them. Are there particular models that are more desirable, or just older? Better to buy the best you can afford, or don't bother and just get something cheap to fool around with. Any particular engines to look for or avoid? I think I like the looks of the pre-'69s ones the best, and its hit or miss for me on liking the well patina-ed ones or those with nice paint. Seems like you can pretty much fully restored drivers for ~$8000, and more beat running cars for $3000. Anything I need to know?

Rust on the lower 8" or so of the car.

If you don't like swing axles, you'll be looking at 1969+.

You want the bigger 1600 engine for not getting run over in modern traffic, though they are all designed to go 100km/h all day long. Make sure the engine cooling system is all there.

It will probably leak oil.

The smaller the rear window, the more desirable/valuable.

Nothing wrong with a driver grade beater. These are as simple as the modern automobile gets, parts are cheap, you need like 5 wrenches to work on it.

I'd pick up a Karmann Ghia. Then you've got a Porsche 356 at a fraction the price.

My dad had one of the very first VW bug convertibles brought into North America back in 1955. 1200 cc and a six volt battery that he removed from the car every night in the winter. He bought it when stationed in Germany at a NATO base. Now I wish we still had that car.

Go check this out from your local library. When you own a VW, buy a copy. It's both a good guide to repair and maintenance and an entertaining book.

Karmann Ghia is quite a bit heavier than a standard. You are going to want to do a front disc brake conversion on any air cooled bug.

They all smell the same...

I've got a 1955, 1966, 1968 Beetle and 1974 Thing and we fix a lot of air-cooled VWs and Porsches at Eclectic Motorworks. A lot of the comments above are valid, and I'll add a few.

I daily drive my bone-stock 1966. It still has 6V electrics, drum brakes, and the stock 1300 single port engine. It goes just above 70 MPH, so it's not a great freeway car, but in town I love it. Easy to park, easy on gas, great visibility, great air flow on a hot day (I have a light blue exterior with an off-white interior--much cooler than black), very reliable. I used to daily drive my 1968 and it had a 1600 dual port at the time. It had a little more torque but really no more top speed. The interweb always says go for 1600 dual port and will too, if you're replacing your engine, but I can say with experience that you can do okay with a smaller engine.

I'll take a polite exception to the disk brake conversion as a necessity. If the factory brakes are properly done, they'll lock up all four wheels consistently for a lot of stops with little or no fade. We see a lot of cars with really poorly "rebuilt" braking systems, often with customers that want disk conversions. We almost always convince them to have us redo their stock brakes after they've driven my 1966 Beetle. We've worked with several versions, and many are of sub-standard quality. We've seen caliper brackets flex, poorly sized piston matches, iffy components, and other issues with some conversions. If you really want front disks, the Ghia setup is the best choice. And it's much easier to keep a good disk setup performing well--no adjustment, few parts, etc. Key point is that you don't need disks, but if you want them, get a proven setup as there are a lot of bad ones.

I think the key in purchasing is finding a car that has been well-maintained and is well-sorted. A lot of cars on the market are pigs to drive because they have all the right parts, but not the right adjustments. I've already mentioned brakes, but there will be tuning issues and power losses because fewer mechanics understand points and carbs, there will be alignment issues, there will be electrical issues, etc.. A good car will drive straight, stop with confidence (and straightness), feel tight, feel light and easy to handle, accelerate to 30 MPH smoothly and reasonably fast (accelerating to 60 MPH is another story), and make you smile. About 3/4s of the cars you drive won't do that due to sorting issues. So look at and drive several before you decide to buy.

I can pick from some pretty cool cars to daily drive--E-Type, Mini, Lotus, Porsche, Alfa, etc. and I keep going back to my Beetle. California is a great place to find one. Good luck.

Looks like Mexico produced them until July 2003. It also looks like it's next to impossible to import one.

The_Jed wrote: Looks like Mexico produced them until July 2003. It also looks like it's next to impossible to import one.

There are TONS of already legal and registered ones in SoCal.

In reply to Carl Heideman:

Poking around on CL, I'm finding a lot of what I would call "rough" ones in the $2,000-$5,000 range. What looks like fairly decent drivers in the $5,000-$8,000 range, and what I would call really nice, restored or decent, original in the $8,000-$10,000, with those over $10,000 being near pristine original or very fresh/well done restores and early models.

I think the sweet spot for me is going to be a 1958-67 for $5,000-$8,000. It seems like that gets you one that is being driving regularly (if not daily), is well cared for, nearly or entirely rust free, maybe with some partial or older resoration.

I won't need to rely on this for daily transportation, and it'll probably get driven about 15 miles round trip to work a day or two a week and then to outings on the weekends, etc. No freeway driving needed at all, so I guess I don't need to be too concerned about finding a "freeway flyer". From what little I've read, I'd prefer a 1600, but from talking to you I shouldn't pass up a nice 1300. Ideally, the one I'd find would either have good paint in a color I like, or maybe a cool patina (I'm not too bothered by that... I just don't want black or a really bright red or yellow or something). I wouldn't mind if it needs a little interior work, I think it would be fun to try reupholstering the seats or making a headliner or new door cards, etc. I really really like the semaphore turn signals, but those seem to be on the much older and more valuable cars. Anyway, thanks for your insight... I'm have several dozen bookmarked from CL already.

Also... tires. A cursory search of tire rack revealed only a single tire in the original 1965 Beetle OE size, 165/can'trememberR15, the "Classic All-Season", out of stock until 30 Nov. Is this pretty typical? Other options?

Good point. That is an issue--165R15 was the original size and they're hard to come by right now. We found some at Universal Tire about a month ago as most other VW and big tire suppliers (including Coker and Tire Rack) had them backordered.

I think you can fit a 185/65R15 (common crapcan size) on the stock wheels, it's an inch shorter though, 4.4% less revs/mile.

They look Hilariously Cool when drifting.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vXyFsN7LniU

When I was a kid the '60's, we had a white with light green interior '58 Beetle, and a cream over tan '62 Karmann Ghia. I remember both but the Karmann Ghia was especially tight in the back even as a 5 year old. Years later I drove a VW Bus for work. There just something special about air cooled VWs.

LainfordExpress wrote:

The_Jed wrote: Looks like Mexico produced them until July 2003. It also looks like it's next to impossible to import one.

There are TONS of already legal and registered ones in SoCal.

I suspect those cars aren't necessarily legal, unless there's a company out there that's Federalizing them. If I had to guess they're probably licensed using a title from an older US spec VW that was junked.

If you really want a sporty VW then pick up a bus.

I suspect those cars aren't necessarily legal, unless there's a company out there that's Federalizing them. If I had to guess they're probably licensed using a title from an older US spec VW that was junked.

I don't think I accurately stated my thoughts. I meant "There are plenty of legally in the US ones to choose from, therefore, I do not see a need for a grey-import Mexican one."

TR8owner wrote: If you really want a sporty VW then pick up a bus.

The Buses are cool, but my other car will be a 4Runner TRD Pro, so I think I'm covered on the "hauling stuff/people" front.

In reply to stuart in mn:

I remember hearing it's somewhat common to drop a older, legal body onto a newer Mexican pan.

Toebra wrote: Karmann Ghia is quite a bit heavier than a standard. You are going to want to do a front disc brake conversion on any air cooled bug.

100lbs?! Not sure that's quite a bit, but they are a tiny bit heavier (heavier frame I believe). Way more aerodynamic though. They don't have that "let's just get the front end airborn over 100mph" thing the bugs have.

MrJoshua wrote: They look Hilariously Cool when drifting.

Just to be sure everyone is aware, that is not a real video (sim game). Either is this:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aEcOdEh4Y-M

Still cool though.

In reply to aircooled:

Now im sad.

In reply to aircooled:

Yeah, I was waiting for a tire to catch and axle jack it.

I've owned many, many air-cooled Vws over the years, all were my daily drivers and I was never let down by any of them. My most recent was a '71 Karmann Ghia which would not die. My daily driver for six years, Winter and Summer. There are many ways to get the heat from the engine into the cabin and once done, there is PLENTY of it, you just sometimes have to be creative. In the end, my Ghia looked like a scene from the movie "Brazil" on the inside, but you could serve umbrella drinks in a bikini comfortably in February.

Cheap parts, simple to work on, great support, wonderful fun, decent on gas, everyone smiles at you, great for any age, what's not to love ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! I'm looking for another one right now, I ALWAYS am.

Hit here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/

For ALL things Classic VW, and good luck. You're in for a wonderful experience ! ! ! !

TC