Car Project Wanted VW Beetle Air Cooled

[Ian Anderson]

My daughter is starting to get interested in cars!

She is after an air cooled VW Beetle and other than using a highly modified VW engine in my Formula V days I know little / nothing about them and which years are considered good, bad and ugly.

I have also done some tawling on the WWW and there seem to be so many forums etc that cover some specific years but nothing like this forum where the responses are so good that anyone can ask a question and the knowledge base responds!

So is there any one on here that is a VW fan?
Is there a VW club / forum anyone can recomend? (Preference to UK Club)
Or even a longer shot does anyone on here have a Beetle looking for a home that will be restored over the next few years to ensure Alana knows what to do as and when it stops? Ie does not phone dad and get me to come and fix it!

Please point us in the right direction

Thanks
Ian

 

[james Rudland]

hi ian

vw is where i started.... i built a vw baja bug when i was 17....and went on to drag race vw , winning my class in 1991......they are easy to restore and parts are very easy to find with lots of nos available......the best beetles are 1967 back.......they had the slopping headlights etc.....try and stay away from the 1302,1303....nobody really likes them....too chunky looking.......if you have a look on pistonheads or ebay you should find something....at one stage you used to be able to pick them up cheap, but these days they seem to hold there price. if you need anymore info let me know....go grab a copy of volksworld magazine....will have most of the good clubs listed in there

james

 

[Dalton Veitch]

Hi Ian,

My wife had a 1971 VW Superbug (1600S) for many years. By 1971 they had a double-jointed rear axle with suspension geometry similar to the classic 911's and handled superbly (much better than the early swing-axles). Later models, about 1974, had a more moulded dashboard and curved windscreen and looked a little more modern. They are tough, run for ever, cars, but have plenty of little quirks. Tons of parts and improvements available for them here in Oz, and probably over there as well.

Good luck, Dalton

 

[Randy V]

One tiny recommendation of VW Beetles -

Install a small electric fuel pump at the tank to move the fuel to the mechanical pump on the engine. My 71 VW Beetle was the ONLY car to have ever left me stranded with a case of vapor-lock in which I ultimately cranked the battery to almost dead. By the time I had pushed the car to the top of a hill to coast down and re-fire the beast, it had cooled down - but I was ever hotter!!!

Okay - I lied - 2 recommendations;

Put clamps on the fuel lines. The manufacturer though it sufficient to only have a tension fit on the fuel lines even though they were fit over smooth (no ridge) tubes on the Solex carb and fuel pump. Why this was never forced into a world-wide re-call I'll never know.

 

[Ivan]

my brother used to have a old yellow beetle, from what i remember about his experience :-
1) standard exhausts dont last long, get a sports exhaust :thumbsup:
2) fit an inline fuel filter, and change the filter at every service (i dont rember why it had to have one, but i do remember it was sometimes a pig to start before it was fitted)
3) they rust, you can drive it as fast as you want, but rust drives faster :laugh:

if memory serves me correctly, you can take off the body and fit a 911 kit to it..... if they still make the kit that is :thumbsup:

 

[Doug S.]

2) fit an inline fuel filter, and change the filter at every service

Funny you should mention service and a VW flat 4 in the same sentence (he says sarcastically)!

My ex drove one for a few years, it needed CONSTANT service.

Of particular importance is to have the valves adjusted on a regular basis. If you don't, the air cooled flat 4's burn their valves and there you are again, stranded, no compression (and no amount of cranking will start the motor)! Then you have to pay a mechanic to take the heads off for a valve job. It's so much cheaper to just pay for a "tuneup" and insist the valve lash be set every 10K or so.

Doug

 

[Al Jones]

Co-incidently,that's how my Dad taught me what a burned exhaust valve condition sounded like.The 'blop,blop,blop'sound was unmistakable.

 

[Tony Hunt]

Watch out Ian, it's a cunning plan.
Within weeks of getting her VW, she'll be after the '40!
Happy New Year.
Tony

 

[Dean Lampe]

I agree, pre 67 is the best way to go. Stay away from the superbeetles. I think they are to complicated. I am a huge fan of the beetle. That is a great choice. I still have a big "Thing". Although it doesn't get much use anymore!

 

[TimB]

I owned a 72 superbeetle was the last year for the flat windshield. Front suspension on it was struts but other than that nothing complicated at all in fact it still had drums on all four wheels. I would stay away from the later fuel injected models but mine was a 1600 with carb. When I rebuilt it I put in an engle 110 cam and dual webers. It was a very reliable piece of transport

 

[Simon]

Ian, any use to you?

VW BEETLE 1964 unfinished on eBay, also, Volkswagen, Classic Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 07-Jan-09 21:20:49 GMT)

NTDWM

 

[Dean Lampe]

That car looks like a great build. The great thing about a bug is you can have the whole thing done and on the road for less than the price of a ZF gearbox! :thumbsup:

How about a 23 window VW microbus? That was always a favorite of mine. I was never able to afford one as a kid but they they are really cool.