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I'm currently considering ( and probably will ) buying a VW Beetle for a daily driver in the summer/ not snowy months.. found a '74 Super Beetle close by..
just wondering what bolt on go-fast parts are there that actually do somthing. after buying the Beetle I won't have money to build another engine, but I wouldn't mind a little extra kick
................turbo.
Here's a tip the super beetle's are very heavy.
I used to do some racing with a 73 VW beetle.
They can be very fast and beat alot of V8's
but they are not very dependable.
The super bee's were just to heavy
but you can litterly buy anything for them
from a catalog. Just stop at a magazine rack
and buy the VW bug mag's they have all kinds of
catalogs in them.
Kurt
VW's respond well to traditional hop up techniques. Dual carbs, distributor change, and a header make a nice difference in them, and don't break the bank. Beyond that you start tearing into the motor for a cam, some better heads, and more cubes.
My Son had a mild 1915 with dual carbs, cam, head work, header, and an 049 distributor, and it would haul. If you are going to go with a new engine it really isn't all that much more to go bigger, but as you move up in cubes you start running into more heat issues sometimes.
Don
really, I just want a decent daily driver that gets good MPG... my truck ( 1998 Ranger 4L auto 4x4 ) gets 17-18 MPG, at 60 with A/C and cruise... a $500-1,000 puddle jumper could get 30-35 mpg or so. but at the end of my use, it would be worth scrap.. I figure, Beetles are easy to work on, they do get good MPG, and they don't depreciate as long as there kept in good condition.. I also have a Vw junkyard very close by that always has Beetle parts and quite a few parts cars.. so I could have an economical summer/ non snowy daily driver..
I don't want to tear the engine down, but I may build another engine for it ( probably a 1915 ).
bolt on's is all I would want for the engine that is in it.. so probably dual carb,, distributor and a headder will get it going pretty good...
this '74 is red w/ nice black interior.. I will probably paint the fenders black, just to give it a little personality, and I like 2 tone beetles
Good plan Matt. The other nice thing is that virtually every part on them is available in the aftermarket.
Sounds like a nice little car. :)
Don
Actully the bugs do good in the snow just throw a little weight in the front trunk no slide steering. Now the heaters in them is a whole other storie. Of course now they sell them little 12 volt heaters you can plug in, and they have a little fan and all.
What ever you get make sure it is a 12 volt system, they just work better in my opion.
Kurt
yea, I'm only looking at 68- up's.. I like the look of the earlier 1's, but getting the earlier style with 12v was only '67 IIRC.... I can make a mut and get earlier fenders and lights.. possibly a glass W decklid
with the salt we have, I'd rather just run my truck and put the beetle away for the winter.
They have got so many cool add on's for those things it's great.
Reseced vented hoods, whale tails what I always thought were cool looking.
They have flared fenders with turn signals built in to them.
Super nice apolstry kit that are very easy to install with out any sewing.
There is just so much stuff avalible for them Matt.
I liked the 73 because the big tail lights and I didn't have to open the front hood to filler up with gas. It had a little door just in front of the passenger door to fill it up.
Buy a extra gas peddle cable and put it in the car, I used to break one about once a year. Easy to replace but it's a pain in the butt when you ain't got one broke down on the side of the road. Also keep a extra points condencer they like to go out too. Kurt
Matt, here's my advice.
No matter what you build, your going to sell it someday. So.....your better off to start with something they you will be able to get your money and labor back when it's time to sell. Stay away from building anything that will require emmission inspection, in any state. Think of it this way. The paint, bodywork, parts, upolstery, etc cost the same to restore any model. So it's always a better investment to start with something like a '57 Nomad or Convert, over a four door sedan.
I would only consider 1967 and earlier bugs. At least, stay away from any of the macpherson strut models. You can easily (and cheaply) convert a pre 1967 6V car to 12V and also change it to an alternater at the same time.
Coming from a guy that races a 11 second 1960 bug, I'd suggest to stay away from any high performance parts if you wany a good reliable "driver". A fresh stock dual port motor with late model cooling tin/oil cooler will run forever on a "stock geared" street car.
what's wrong with the Super Beetles ( macpherson strut )? other than the super shimmy that can be cured.. problem with my finding '67- down's is, there few and far between, and expensive when found..
the '74 Super I found is pretty nice, and $1,500. as I understand, they have 1600 dual ports which are good for economy.
I found a '73 1302 Beetle ( not super ) that would be a good parts car, or restoration. I would guess the 1303 super beetle body could be swapped onto the '73 beetle chassis, to make a '74 1303 Beetle.. that's a lot of work tho, and added cost as that 1 is $700, and runs altho it's missing tin and is leaking oil
Here's a good tip for you Matt, first listen to John. though I do like the 73 Beetle's not the super beetle.
All the bugs will leak fron their push rod tubes so pull the push rods and push rod tubes out with out removeing the heads. then buy some aluminum adjustable push rod tubes and put them back in with out removeing the heads. With the stock push rod tubes you had to pull the heads and expand the tubes by pulling them out or apart then to reinstall them you had to reinstall the head crushing the push rod tubes in to place. Then if you had a leak you had to do it all over again, what a pain in the butt.
I remember when the first introduced the adjustable push rod tube what a god send they were!!! So I've been there and done that. The 73's are also not a macpherson strut model, the super beetle is though. stay away from it like john said.
We have a entire junk yard full of old beetls down here in Dade city that is full of all kinds of bugs and if I was not so sick I would be building them and selling them off.
Kurt
Yeah, the super beetles just never had the same respect or following as the torsion bar models. They had their own issues and were a little more complex. Not as pretty either IMO.
Don
well. I took a big chance and bought a '74 Super Beetle. same 1 mentioned earlier... it needs some floor pan work, but I'm probably going to make my own out of 16 or 18 ga. because I have ither or, and the Mig welder.. other than the floor work needed, it's solid and in good condition for a 36 year old Super Beetle. brakes have been redone sometime in recent history, and everything works. except the aftermarket radio ( standard shaft mount Kenwood so dash not cut ).. I'll get another shaft mount Pyle or Dual brand radio and put it in so I have tunes.. also has a good working autostick transmission.... but it runs good as is, and is quick enough to get me to work, so I won't buy any go fast parts
http://i26.tinypic.com/25hzq4y.jpg
Well if the floor pan is not too bad then patch it.
But remember most of the strength is in the floor of a bug.
You can buy a new floor pan pretty cheap for them and they just unbolt
all the way around the bottom of the pan. then lift the body off and remove every thing else. Plus you'll get a new title with a new floor pan as well.
Kurt
passanger side pan is very good, even under the battery, and the drivers side is the 1 that needs a little attention, mostly the front section, back to the seat riser, altho the seat sits straight.. I may buy a full driver pan just to make sure everything is 100%... I'm going to pull the seats tomorrow to see how bad it really is or isn't
How about this one...
1776 cc, dual Dellorto 40's, 110 cam, Pertronix elect. ign., ceramic header and J-tubes, Flowmaster, full flow oil syst., 3.5 L. sump, K&N filters, rebuilt trans, Kennedy clutch, Empi shifter, urethane mounts with trans strap, new starter, alternator and wiring, tinted glass, rare pop-out windows, all new brakes with braided flex lines,Autometer Sport-Comp gages, Pioneer CD, amp,speakers, Grant wheel, new grey interior, full air ride suspension with air management, air bags on all corners, 4" narrowed front beam with adjusters, CB 2" drop spindles. Paint is in urethane Concept 1, all steel body. Eagle Alloy wheels.
Engine cover is included but removed for picture. If you like bugs, this is the one for you.:D
While I respect John Palmer's expertise, and he and I are friends, I have to disagree with the "stock" part of what he said.
1600 dual port, fresh rebuild, with a counterweighted crank, and have everything balanced (flywheel, rods, pistons,, even the clutch disc and pressure plate).
Dual Solex 40 "Kadron" carbs, or, if you live in a cold climate and need chokes, Scat and CB sell smaller, 34mm carb setups that have the electric choke.
1.25 to 1 ratio rocker arms, on solid shafts.
a good exhaust, with a single or dual muffler system.
STAY AWAY from the small diameter crank pulleys aka "power pulleys') on the street.
If you are going to build the engine, then a tiny bit of headwork (slight port and polish, and unshroud the valves, a lot of suppliers carry heads just like this) will do wonders to wake the motor up.
A good ignition system, while desirable, isn't really, IMHO, necessary, just a stock mechanical advance distributor will be okay for what you are doing.
You can bore the case and heads for up to 94mm pistons and cylinders, and clearance the case for up to an 88mm stroker crank, which gives you a huge 2300cc displacement, but anything more than what I have outlined, with make reliability suffer,
again, IMHO.
Now, if you want a street-driven 11 second, non-racer looking Bug, John and his son Troy, are the "go to" guys...
Dave what have you been up to? LOL
This guy really does not want any of our "old guy" VW advice, he just wants to do his own thing which is just fine in my book.
He started out originally with a $500 to $1000 project budget and then went and spent $1500 for "a rusted" (strike1), "autostick" (strike2), "SuperBeetle" (strike3). He's got nothing left to build your wisely spec'd freeway flyer engine which would cost at least another $2K.
But maybe it's just me. I have grown up in Arizona and California and have been spoiled with easy access to nice clean, "rust free" cheap builders all of my life. With the car crusher programs, and the demand of scrap steel for China, none of us will have anything to build in the future.
I really didn't mean $500-1k for a Beetle.. I meant I would rather spend $2k or so on a Beetle, than $500- 1k for somthing like a Ford Escort as, the Beetle will maintain value if I take care of it.... I looked at a couple other Beetles b4 this 1. a '73 standard Beetle, which had the rusting rear pillars. it did start and run pretty good, but daylight could be seen from the sides of the engine tin so somthing was up, and it was leaking bad.. other negatives were, the drivers door sprung open with some force, trunk latch was hard to release and everything put togther, almost seemed like the car was twisted.. it was also missing the side peices that connect the fenders togther, brakes were out, and the guy wanted $700.. the other didn't run, and was pretty much a junkyard heap. but it was a '69...
when I saw the 1 I got in craigslist, I noticed it was a Super ( altho it was not listed as 1 ). with the 1303 body and padded dash.. but it was only 35 mins away and looked pretty good... when I saw it had the autostick I was a bit leery of it. but after taking a test drive, the AS worked like a charm.. the floor pan being rotted doesn't bother me. I did end up ordering a drivers side pan, and have the Bug Me video for floor pans coming on rental. parts of the Super Beetle do bother me, but I'v heard the good and the bad. I'll just have to deal with whatever comes up.. the main thing is the car is actually drivable as is.. I am looking for a 4spd transaxle locally, as a 'just in case' replacement..
for right now, I'd just like to enjoy a neat little car to go back and forth to work in, and get better than 17 MPG, which I get now... I think this '74 AS Super Beetle will do just that for the time being
Matt, sorry if I was hard on you. Nothing really wrong with a Super Beetle, in fact about 30 years ago Dean Lowery (of world famous Deano Dinosaur fame) built one of the fastest VW Pro Stockers of all time. In fact it was so quick they outlawed it! They have a little longer wheelbase, and with the curved windshield more aero allowing them to run faster! It would be my only choice for a bonneville attempt car.
My original advice to build a 1967 and earlier ACVW car is based totally on "potential return on investment". You can find any model, and any condition VW on The SAMBA.com, in fact that would be a good resource for any parts you might need in fixing you SB.
Pull the carpet back around the pedal assembly and look to see if you have a floorpan with the clutch tube installed? You might also check on top of the driver's side frame horn for the rear exit of the clutch tube. Many of the autostick cars had floorpans that already have the clutch cable tube installed which would make a future conversion much easier.
I'll dbl check but I think the tube is there... I will be getting all the parts lined up for the conversion, but will only convert when/ if it goes out, or I just feel like driving with 3 pedals..
the seats are pretty comfy too.. IDK if regular '74 SB seats have lower tilt and lumbar on the drivers seat, but my Wolfsburg does