Do I want a VW Beetle as much as I think I do?

Thanks y'all. Good info all around. I want one, if only for this reason:

stuart in mn wrote: I think everyone should own a Bug at least once in their life. I had a '71 for a while, it was a total rust bucket but it ran pretty well and was fun to drive.

Chris_V wrote: IRS started in '68 with the autostick Bugs, and '69 across the range. '67 was still swingaxle and it had the newer headlights. '66 was the last year for the covered glass headlights, but they were 6V stock (it's easy to convert them over, though) A few more of my Bugs:

^That rules. Love the style. I remember reading old '80s issues of 'Hot 4s' magazine as a kid. Often they'd feature a Cal-look Bug amongst the Datsuns and (Holden) Geminis. Good to know about the dash.

aussiesmg wrote:

modernbeat wrote: Get ready to do a LOT of maintenance. They required a lot when new, and even more when worn out. The heat sucks. Even in tip-top shape it was barely adequate during their day, and not up to modern standards. There's no AC. Liveable if you are in Seattle, but not in Kansas or Texas. There are aftermarket solutions, but they aren't very elegant.

Lol, Luke is in Western Oz, their Summer temps are 110 plus.

Bah, never had a car with air con ;) 40 deg. C Summer days in an air/oil cooled car do concern me, though. For the car's health, not mine.

bludroptop wrote: Beetle model year changes Trivia question: Beetles made before what year did not come with a fuel gauge?

'62?

That's a great site!

JohnInKansas wrote: If you have issues with power, swap in an EJ22 from a 90's Subaru. That's what I'm working on at the moment.

Have you seen this forum, John? http://frost.bbboy.net/vwengineconversions

Make a build thread for yours sometime.

A pal has two 914 5-speed trannys. He says that they can be flipped and run in rear-engined configuration very easily. Can anyone confirm or deny that?

Super Beetles had a kinda spooky characteristic: if you got going fast enough the shape of the nose would create lift. That meant the front tires were only skimming the ground. before anyone hollers 'no they didn't', one of my high school buds had one and when girls rode to school with us he'd saw the wheel back and forth at ~70 MPH and scare the shi+ out of them (not to mention me).

kreb wrote: A pal has two 914 5-speed trannys. He says that they can be flipped and run in rear-engined configuration very easily. Can anyone confirm or deny that?

Yes, they can. Those are called 901's and are basically an early 911 box. I learned that one the hard way; I had a box rebuilt for my 914 and the builder put the diff in backwards, thus creating a 'French battle tank' transmission: one speed forward, 5 reverse. For that matter, the Bug transaxle can be made mid engine by flipping the diff, a buddy built a mid engine VW trike that way.

Curmudgeon wrote: Super Beetles had a kinda spooky characteristic: if you got going fast enough the shape of the nose would create lift. That meant the front tires were only skimming the ground. before anyone hollers 'no they didn't', one of my high school buds had one and when girls rode to school with us he'd saw the wheel back and forth at ~70 MPH and scare the shi+ out of them (not to mention me).

I could remember riding in my high school friends autostick, and while at highway speeds, you could change lanes simply by rolling down a window on one side of the car.

Being passed by trucks with a fair cross wind blowing was a fairly white knuckle experience.

Curmudgeon wrote: Super Beetles had a kinda spooky characteristic: if you got going fast enough the shape of the nose would create lift. That meant the front tires were only skimming the ground. before anyone hollers 'no they didn't', one of my high school buds had one and when girls rode to school with us he'd saw the wheel back and forth at ~70 MPH and scare the shi+ out of them (not to mention me).

Simple solution: lower them with a bit of rake. Done. Supers are nice in that they can accept 944 suspension and brake parts with just bolt on ability. There are two Supers, as well, the '71-72 flat windsheild versions, and the 73-up round windsheild versions. I prefer teh '71-72 flat window oneas you can make it look like a classic Bug pretty easily. (except for the width of th efront trunk and the roll under of the front apron). Another view of my '71 Super:

My mom had a '73 Super Beetle with a crank sunroof, they were known as Sun Bugs.

She used to drive us to school in the winter so that someone could scrape the INSIDE of the windshield to keep the frost off it.

Dad picked up a gas heater for it but never got around to installing it.

They sold it to my Grandfather. Mom borrowed it one night and the oil light came on. She was afraid to stop where she was and drove another mile down the road. It never moved again under its own power.

For whatever reason, girls really get hot over ACVW 'verts. Not necessarily the worst reason to buy one.

Having grown up in the ACVW era when they were common as dirt and having driven quite a few, IMHO there's much better cars from the same era for much lower prices.

VW beetles are LEGO's.

I would love another split window on a 69 chassis with a 1776 and freeway flyer box with some airride.

They make fine, slow, rides. They do breakdown quite a bit if you do not keep up with the maintenance but parts are so cheap and the engines so easy to build it just make sense to upgrade when they go.

I wish I had pics of my old 74. It was pretty hacked up as my Father than I stuffed a 2.0 Type 4 into the back of it. The only way to make it fit (in the days before the porsche style cooling fans) was to cut away all the sheetmetal below the decklid and the between the fenders.

wearymicrobe wrote: I would love another split window on a 69 chassis with a 1776 and freeway flyer box with some airride. They make fine, slow, rides.

They don't have to be slow. I had a nice 2180 in that teal and red scalloped '69 that would walk most V8 musclecars in a straight line on the street. A bit scary at the top end, but pulled hard through the century mark. It was pretty easy to make a 10 second drag bug for the street.

Chris_V wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: I would love another split window on a 69 chassis with a 1776 and freeway flyer box with some airride. They make fine, slow, rides.

They don't have to be slow. I had a nice 2180 in that teal and red scalloped '69 that would walk most V8 musclecars in a straight line on the street. A bit scary at the top end, but pulled hard through the century mark. It was pretty easy to make a 10 second drag bug for the street.

Yeah but I have done that, all I want to do is cruise down the coast and do longer drives with the wife.

Curmudgeon wrote: Super Beetles had a kinda spooky characteristic: if you got going fast enough the shape of the nose would create lift. That meant the front tires were only skimming the ground. before anyone hollers 'no they didn't', one of my high school buds had one and when girls rode to school with us he'd saw the wheel back and forth at ~70 MPH and scare the shi+ out of them (not to mention me).

Odd. I had a SB to drive for a year, never noticed that. Had it to top speed many times.

Did a tuning trick I found on the above SB. Set the timing at 32 degrees at 3K rpm and install a one step richer main jet plus the header type muffler they had. It really woke it up.

NGTD wrote: My mom had a '73 Super Beetle with a crank sunroof, they were known as Sun Bugs. She used to drive us to school in the winter so that someone could scrape the INSIDE of the windshield to keep the frost off it. Dad picked up a gas heater for it but never got around to installing it. They sold it to my Grandfather. Mom borrowed it one night and the oil light came on. She was afraid to stop where she was and drove another mile down the road. It never moved again under its own power.

I may be wrong but I think Sun Bugs were 74 only. A friend of mine had a beautiful gold Super Sun Bug. It had nice corduroy high back seats.

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to Woody: You are correct,, sun bugs are 74 only. Oddly enough it was a package available on a Standard, Super Beetle or a Convertible. It was special paint, wheels, sunroof with wind deflector (Super only), rosewood dash panels, four spoke steering wheel, corduroy upholstery, door and side panels, and a center console. Most people think it was just a super, with a sunroof, painted gold.

Wasn't there also a 'Sport Bug' around the same era? Blackout trim, bolstered seats, smaller diameter steering wheel, maybe wheels? This was a factory trim level, not dealer installed.

Edit (Google 101)

Chris_V wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: I would love another split window on a 69 chassis with a 1776 and freeway flyer box with some airride. They make fine, slow, rides.

They don't have to be slow. I had a nice 2180 in that teal and red scalloped '69 that would walk most V8 musclecars in a straight line on the street. A bit scary at the top end, but pulled hard through the century mark. It was pretty easy to make a 10 second drag bug for the street.

Wait, what? Are you berkeleying serious?

That's awesome!

As long as you are moving (not idling) and the heater system is sealed up the heaters work fine. I've had 6 bugs and 2 Ghia's in my life and the heat in each was dependent upon the condition of the system (and the door / window seals). My nicest was a 61' that you couldn't drive with the heat on high.... it would cook you.

Have to get off my butt and finish my current ACVW project......

You definately DO want a Beetle! I've never been so sure of anything in my life.

I had a '74. Bright orange. Best car in the snow ever. I mean EVER. Great off road as well and kids just love to point and wave.

Plus, just think how many people will be punching each other as you drive around!

ebonyandivory wrote: Plus, just think how many people will be punching each other as you drive around!

Say What?!

Woody wrote:

NGTD wrote: My mom had a '73 Super Beetle with a crank sunroof, they were known as Sun Bugs. She used to drive us to school in the winter so that someone could scrape the INSIDE of the windshield to keep the frost off it. Dad picked up a gas heater for it but never got around to installing it. They sold it to my Grandfather. Mom borrowed it one night and the oil light came on. She was afraid to stop where she was and drove another mile down the road. It never moved again under its own power.

I may be wrong but I think Sun Bugs were 74 only. A friend of mine had a beautiful gold Super Sun Bug. It had nice corduroy high back seats.

It was a long time ago, so I might of got the year wrong.

BoostedBrandon wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: Plus, just think how many people will be punching each other as you drive around!

Say What?!

You've never played "Punch Buggy"???

ebonyandivory wrote: You definately DO want a Beetle! I've never been so sure of anything in my life.

Well that settles it then .

The hard part is finding a good one. Not even a good one, just a non-entirely E36 M3ty/overpriced one would do. Of the ~20 for sale around me, there's all of two I'd actually want to own.

NGTD wrote:

BoostedBrandon wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: Plus, just think how many people will be punching each other as you drive around!

Say What?!

You've never played "Punch Buggy"???

Yeah, EXTACTLY! I play it with my kids now and my coworker and I play it at work if we're taking patients to appointments. She kicks my you know what!

Back to the OP, I seriously think every kid should own and maintain a ACVW as thier first car. Build it from the pan up even better. It gave me a real appreciation of the mechanical workings of automobiles and how utterly simple things can work so well.

z31maniac wrote:

Chris_V wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: I would love another split window on a 69 chassis with a 1776 and freeway flyer box with some airride. They make fine, slow, rides.

They don't have to be slow. I had a nice 2180 in that teal and red scalloped '69 that would walk most V8 musclecars in a straight line on the street. A bit scary at the top end, but pulled hard through the century mark. It was pretty easy to make a 10 second drag bug for the street.

Wait, what? Are you berkeleying serious? That's awesome!

Very Serious. My Type 4 powered 2.0 had twin carbs and a lumpy cam... I could spin the rear wheels in three gears. Idiot in school had a 73 911T that thought he was hot E36 M3 and used to razz me all the time because I "only" drove a superbeetle.. until he tried to race me at a light.