in the market for an old vw bug

[MossRoad]

nice site.. I just registered there!

Cool. I just found it this morning when searching for the ww/spare tire for my own nostalgia. Glad it'll suite you. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

We used to leave the house, pull the center seat, toss it in the weeds around the corner, then toss in a washtub, a keg, and ice. Put some huge speakers in the back and a Pioneer Super Tuner II w/massive amp/equalizer and you have rolling partymobile! Ah, those were the days... no seat belts, no air bags, no crumple zones, sitting on top of the front tire, being the first one to the accident if you hit anything.... ahhhh.... good times! :laughing:

 

[TripleR]

Our first hunting vehicle was our 71 VW Super Beetle. We put our gear in the big trunk and back and got way back in the woods where no one else could get; great little car and it was orange.

 

[zonta223]

Just a point that nobody seems to have brought up is that the early bugs did not have a collapsible steering column. Have a front end accident and that steering column became a lethal weapon aimed directly at your chest. Having said that I owned a few bugs including an old split rear window model and enjoyed them all.

 

[Rayster]

I have a 1973 beetle, and have every intention of getting it back on the road. Then I think to myself, "crap when do I have time for that, it should go up for sale". The wiring is a major headache too.

It's finding the time for those types of projects...

 

[jaotguy]

a collapsible steering column..... no car had that until it was mandated by the gov ....

those tire pressure windshield washer pumps cut out at 22 PSI ( so you had an inflated spare )

if you set the valves (cold) at .005" for intake and exhaust, you could skip the valve adjustments for the next 10,000 miles.

brakes past 1969 should have been self adjusting.

before 1965 they were 6V after that they were 12v systems.

the 1600's were the first to get dual port heads and 2 in one carbs ( or 2 stubby intakes and separate carbs.)

[any one remember the BUGSPRAY carb?]

1971 saw the first EFI in the fastbacks.

COLD !!!! driving around in a skidoo suit and boots with the windows cracked open at 30 below ... to keep the front window free of frost.

and a scraper in hand for inside the window at stop lights.

last one I had was 72 superbeetle , bought for $250 drove it for 105,000 miles then sold it for $200.

 

[RobertBrown]

I've owned and fixed several. The last V.W. I owned was a 411. I decided after that to never own another Volkswagen product. I would not even accept one as a gift. That was back in 1976.
Back in the day, the dogma attached to German engineering far exceeded it's functionality. Volkswagen's were only an option because they were cheap. The operating costs more than made up for the up front costs, making it an expensive vehicle. At the onset they were cheap and relatively easy to maintain, but it was obvious that the design was very rudimentary and inferior. The engine would shake itself apart.
An air cooled boxer engine is a loser. It has 2 inherent flaws right out of the box: heat and vibration. This makes it a poor choice.....unless you just want to wrench on something, in which case it's just underpowered, loud, unreliable and vindictive.
It may be a good investment, I'll bet the parts are outrageous.
I hope you enjoy your Volkswagen...really.
What's wrong with an old Ford Falcon? Or a Fairmont? 225 inline six, manual trans...

 

[Grateful11]

Ah my first car. I paid $700 for a '66 Beetle with 104K miles on it in '78 and put another 60K on it. Still regret getting rid of it. Oh the memories that thing brings back.

I also remembering having to always having a toolbox full of tools, spare set of points, set of wires, and plugs. If you drove an air-cooled VW you just about have to know what makes them tick.

I had one these manuals, coolest car repair manual ever made:

 

[ultrarunner]

I've got a 62 my godfather bought new when stationed in Germany... the front got smacked and he sold it to my brother who gave it to me.

Also a 1973 VW Thing that has been a lot of fun... the California smog inspection guy told me they don't inspect "Kit" cars... he had no clue it was all VW... needless to say I didn't want him touching it either!

 

[vwnotrunning]

Thesamba is a good site. The good thing about the VW bugs is almost everything in available, unless you want to keep it original. Presently have 4 on hand - only one running! We always convert to disc brakes - more reliable and less to adjust. You can get some inline heater fans and get all the heat you need from the heater boxes. Just keeping the valve cover gaskets changed to minimize the oil from running down into the heater boxes and smoking up the interior! I need to get my garage built to have someplace to start putting them back together.