There is a part of me that wants to sell my current car and buy one of these.
My dad has had multiple aircooled Volkswagens before and he's said he would be confident doing any mechanical work on one including an engine rebuild.
What issues should I be expecting to come upon?
Don't do it until you can afford both cars. Unless you're pretty dedicated. Then go for it , a 60s VW can be a happy daily driver. It can be a bit of a heart break as well, but not many cars do that to you.
Issues, over priced, hidden rot, often poorly looked after, poor 'upgrades', bad paint jobs, cruddy chicken wire and filler 'welding', all the usual bullshit with an old car.
The very very best is a nearly as close to stock not too cut up solid original air-cooled type 1. Once you've a solid bug most other problems (engine, mechanics, etc.) are not that big a deal.
Say $4500 to $7,500 for a clean stock bug? Sounds reasonable.
Restored beetles, check up on the workshop, take someone who might spot bad work. I've found with even a very very well restored bug, they start rusting again quite quickly. More so than a normal original. Lower quality parts and inferior to factory paint job mean that spending $10,000 on a restoration, seven years later they look really sad again if they see a lot of road use. You rarely get your money back on the re-sale either. Hmmmm, best that you're idealistic to go through all this.
Um,
Right, you've bought one. Every 3,000 miles or 3 months you have to adjust the brake shoes and change the oil. They are high maintenance or they become a poor drive. The shoe brakes on a vintage beetle are not self adjusting. Aftermarket discs conversions are easy to get these days , I don't know if they are good quality or made of plastic, but I'd add it to your budget. The shoe brakes on beetles are awful.
:)
The engines are really good (if they are not totally knackered out). If it's a fresh well looked after engine even the 1200, it should quite happily do its best for you. Like a well meaning lawn mower, it'll become your friend.
They are great at night with the round dash light, it's like you could be flying a bomber over Berlin, it really feels like it sometime as you yaw around a round-a-bout.
I own a 73, I can say that it has been the fallback vehicle in a house full of mechanics with very little upkeep.
Change oil and keep the valves adjusted, and it keeps chugging. All of the work to be done on them is about the easiest I have ever done. I started on a bug, it taught me a lot.
I would suggest you buy this book:
barnesandnoble.com
It comes at VW purchase and ownership from a very simple angle, with minimum investment in tools and equipment. Its also fun to read.
Also,
Betty careful of the VW shows, the web forums, the trendy Air-cooled only VW 'dude' mechanic, the players on the scene, they are total cancer. Buy the parts and your good local mechanic will be able to fix anything gets, stay away from VW specialist workshops...
:/
I second this. The only "air cooled specialist" mechanics in my area are scam artists. Any mechanic worth their salt will be able to work on an old VW just fine.
I have 2 bugs, love them, but they are such a pain in the ass. every single one of them that isnt a $15k+ show car has so fucking hacked together by redneck retard POs that you waste insane amounts of time and money fixing stupid fucking hack jobs. love the cars, yet ive hated almost all the ones ive worked on because the POs are such miserable cunts. ive literally found spraypaint on the cam/rods/crank of a "never been rebuilt" bug motor and thats not the end of it.
Wait a minute...this guy sounds like he knows what he is talking about.
OUTSIDER!
Have fun adjusting your valves at every oil change
That's a 6,000 mile job, maybe even 9,000 to 12,000 miles. Once a year, maybe twice check rocker distances, also while you're their get out the strobe gun, check the timing mark. Oh! You'll need to check the points aren't pitted as well. The Autumn service is a good opportunity to go over these things.
Oh, your window washer may still be powered from your spare tyre air pressure. So check it's pumped up in case your spare turns out to be flat when you need it. Very sensible idea.
The stuff I could tell you about things, like; fucking he'll
I don't know if there is something wrong with the ones that I have worked on, but if I wait longer than 1 oil change you can start to hear the bastards clatter, and long enough you feel a slight power loss.
The points-less ignition conversion is super simple, I recommend doing it.
>etc.) are not that big a deal.
I say 'not that big a deal' as in the mechanics can be fixed by the competent and patient. Parts shouldn't be too much of a problem, except
with a very old car (60 years? a lifetime ago?) you could do with a budget of say $1,500 just in case at all times
(engine drops a valve which is a weakness of the poorly maintained, bad reconditioned engine fries from silicon filler syndrome, National Socialist Carburettor causes engine bay fire, gear box finally drops a cog and needs re-building).
Undeniably even a perfect one will ask a lot form you for being such a cool car, but, however....
you could be that qt
it is part of the adventure actually, what will happen on this journey? God, he knows. Stranded in a Belgian lane at dusk with only a torch and a blanket until it starts again 4 hours later for no reason.
It's really great!
I do not know, doesn't sound like a worry to me. A little bit of clatter is good company. I would recommend bolt on rocker assembly, they are a well worth it upgrade on a 1600
yeah, agreed they do work well. But it's kind of a trade off. Once upon a time you'd buy your rotor arm, points, new cap, maybe leads . do the timing
you know?
For me, I am done with maintainence for zen purposes. I am looking into a hydraulic lash adjuster conversion when I start driving it again.
I understand the love, though. I just have other cars to dedicate my spare time to and I just want it to work now as a reminder of what it is to drive something truly analog.
I love my '73, plan on building a 69x94 from scratch. Anyone done that before?
>wants to sell my current car
A want is not a need, so you will have to tell us your car now.
>69x94
What's that?
Seems like a 1.9L air-cooled VW beetle engine from a quick Google search
1915cc, 94 bore with 69 crank
I've always wanted to. The closest I got was a tunned 1600, it had a lot of work done to it.
If I ever had the money to play with vws again I'd probably go 2ltr than the 1.9. Does the 1.9 have thinner piston walls or something?
I cannot remember
I always wanted something like this. I was so close...
Could you imagine something like this with 2ltr engine and disc brakes? It'd be the best ride in the world
snap overmeme.
Also center of gravity so high it intersects with moons orbit
>nap overmeme.
Go for a later model then
>What issues should I be expecting to come upon?
Grenading your engine if you dare to try and go on the highway.
>don't go on the highway
The car was designed to be able to cruise at 100kph/60mph on the Autobahns from day one. That was one of Hitler's design requirements.
Sure, you might have to go in the slow lane, but it will be fine on the highway
While I was in Florida on vacation this past week, I was searching Craigslist for fun and came across a few bugs for sale. One had a mazda 12a rotary engine in the back of it. How hard would it be to do that/is it even worth it? (They were way overpriced rust piles so I didn't even try to message the guy)
>ne of Hitler's design requirem
I think the correct argument is that the roads the fascists built were a technological advance beyond that of the cars designed to drive on them.
From what I've read they are pretty reliable and don't require frequent rebuilding. I was thinking of doing a 82 crank with 90 bore for a 2110cc, that's probably as high as I would go. Engines bigger than that seem to require constant rebuilding and new gear boxes. Even a 2110cc is estimated to require a rebuild every 50k miles iirc. Still it would be a fun engine but there's a lack of quality parts from what I can tell. Place I was looking at buying from said 90 pistons were out pretty much everywhere. Places that did have them I'd probably not risk using.
Oh and the 90s to 94s use stock 1600cc walls, so it's not thin if done right. They just tend to run hotter.
Right, well I'd up the oil filtration and add a deep sump with the build and add a temperature gauge too maybe sending from the dip stick. I wonder if a rear pop out deck lid would help keep the engine cool?
I do not know but I totally couldn't be bothered with it
>Even a 2110cc is estimated to require a rebuild every 50k miles iirc
That must be bullshit wouldn't it? Still 50k is a high mileage for a Sunday death trap senpai
>but it will be fine on the highway
I've seen more broken down beetles on the side of the road then any other single vehicle.
Some of these cars are knocking on 60 years old.
I've also counted at least two threads on Veeky Forums in the last year where someone someone listened to a person like you, bought a beetle and baked a cylinder on his commute.
Stop and go traffic will murder an air cooled engine.
Put a Porsche engine in it m8
Well t doesn't take much to push something that weighs less than a ton. A 1600cc engine can easily get highway cruising speeds of 70 mph and be a daily driver without too much work or maintenance other than changing oil and valve adjustment. That can last you a long time.
Bigger engines are more performance orientated. A 2100cc can provide 150hp and that should be able to beat stock mustangs with 300hp.
That's probably due to other problems desu. VW engines are pretty reliable and don't usually have problems with stop and go traffic. Like you said, these are pretty old so a lot of parts probably need to be replaced. That could cause breakdowns but pretty easy to fix in most cases.
>That's probably due to other problems desu.
Not likely.
>VW engines are pretty reliable
In the sense that they are easy to fix, not that they will function without problems for a long time.
>don't usually have problems with stop and go traffic.
Air cooling is fundamentally ineffective in stop&go traffic. The primary source of air is ducted fresh air from the vehicle moving. The purpose of the fan is to push the hot air away from the engine while the car is either stopped, or the engine is moving too fast for the ducted air to be sufficient.
These cars were built at a time when people didn't really drive that fast or that far and air cooled engines reflect that.
I'm not saying it's a bad car at all but if your commute is more than down the block you might want to keep it for a side car.
I'm sorry but you have no idea what you are talking about. A well maintained air cooled engine would not overheat while idling for long periods of time. Please stop.
>A well maintained air cooled engine would not overheat while idling for long periods of time.
>Stop&go
>idling for long periods of time
you go from load on the engine to no load on the engine and standing still.
This is why cars overheat in traffic to begin with.
>would not overheat while idling for long periods of time
That's because they technically don't overheat until the oil starts boiling.
Ask corvair owners on any forum if their car ever overheated. They'll always say no because there's nothing to overheat until the dummy light triggers at 570 degrees.
Corvair engines though, have a normal operating temperature of over 300 degrees. Well above overheating status for a water cooled engine.
Educate yourself beaner.
Speak for yourself. There's no reason for an air cooled engine to over heat, even in stop and go traffic if everything is maintained. Please show me anything that says this happens. Everything I have read and my own personal experience with driving a bug in traffic says otherwise.
>Stop and go traffic will murder an air cooled engine.
That is more true of water cooled cars you complete berk.
VW flat 4 does not bother over heavy traffic in the slightest.
>There's no reason for an air cooled engine to over heat,
That's my point but the hotter the engine gets the more it cooks every seal on the engine, the more risk you have of knocking, the thinner the oil gets.
>Everything I have read and my own personal experience with driving a bug in traffic says otherwise.
There is no steam flying out of your car when an air cooled engine over heats. It'll just keep running.
The problem, again, is they start burning seals and gaskets.
I know from experience that oil starts vaporizing before it boils, that usually amounts to lost oil, through the PCV or making it's way through the cylinder. If you start burning oil then you're engine is going to get even hotter plain and simple.
>VW flat 4 does not bother over heavy traffic in the slightest.
Bullshit. Just because the engine is still running doesn't mean it's not getting hotter.
Ctrl+v the post
>Bullshit. Just because the engine is still running doesn't mean it's not getting hotter.
Srsly,
And what's your problem?
a thank you.
Oil in an air cooled engine should not be getting over 230F, even in traffic. I could be wrong but seals would get damaged around 300F, right?
If oil is getting over 230F in an air cooled engine, that would most likely point to a problem with something like the valves or a hose. So proper maintenance should prevent that.
If your point is that an engine can overheat without care then that's moot.
Cancer?
>If your point is that an engine can overheat without care then that's moot.
My point is that
>If oil is getting over 230F in an air cooled engine,
You have no way of knowing that this is happening.
Maybe consider suicide then.
>I could be wrong but seals would get damaged around 300F, right?
No retard, that starts at 230 degrees.
>Maybe consider suicide then.
I thought homicide first,
Buy a '68-'69 and swap the shitty pancake type 1 for a 2L Type 4 motor
Contact Raby's Aircooled Tech and get the all aluminum one and get a good strong trans
Don't forget suspension and breaks and she'll be right
>I prefer the doghouse cooler
Ugh fuck no
Give me the Porsche style cooler
Keeping tailpipes on a 2ltr beetle, so classy.....
Upright lights europa bumpers>Small window 60s>big window 60s>Oval>Split>KDF Wagen>1302>1303
?
>I thought homicide first,
babby mad his little shitbox runs 50 degrees hotter than any water cooled car?
2deep4U
Exactly
That exists, pretty much. Behold the Porsche 356 Carrera 2.
2ltr flat four? Noooo really? I did not know this.
It's a shame they're stupidly expensive. That's a collector's item for ya.
They're not disc brakes are they?
All 356 Cs featured disc brakes all around.
I prefer Hot Rods full stop,
Why not a Karmann Ghia?
1500CC owner reporting in
There were 16 valve models too.
Beetle owner here, '72 1200cc - this book is a fuckin' godsend. Every penny buying it is the best money you'll spend on your VW.
This takes all of half a fucking hour. Jesus Christ man grow a pair!
>Found the millennial.
Freaky!
its a fucking fashion accessory on wheels stop sugarcoating it
like what other reason to buy one than to pull some sleeve-tattooed hipster chick.
Really good car, considering its a 74' car. Since I live on a tropical country, no need for heaters.
Some people like the all mechanical aspect of it. No driver assists, no electronics, everything's analog.
>king fashion accessory on wheels stop sugarcoating it
Quite the reverse, it's the bitter truths
They do help scoop air, so yes, its good to have.
I would quite like one of these pop-out conversions if I build a new bug; it hints that things might not be as they seem.
Stop talking shit m8
>There is a part of me
That part can be removed. I think it's still covered under Obama-care.
Bamp
>Beetle
>high CG
lol
Are you asking a rhetorical question?
Is this the new bench racing? Comparing operating temps?
I think nigga wanted a reaction, hitting me with some low-level beetle memes
I love the bumper less chrome less look and then a paint job that makes them look like a plastic toy.
It really brightens them up.
+ disc brake conversion + twin 40s
>buying a beetle
forgot beetles trait. they change their own oil...
beetles drip oil.
change the nut washers when changing the oil filter.
If the mechanic didn't buy an oil change kit out of laziness and stupidity then bad things might happen
Mine doesn't.
Well kept ones doesn't, actually.
I'm thinking about changing the windows for modern ones (those with the slight gradient on the top). I still have the original windows all around, but I found a small crack on the corner of the rear window the other day.
I do like the smoked windows look too.
Totally blacked out windows are a bit gross ( very popular now in Discoveries and Mercedes for some reason).
1302 and 1303 respond well to those sort of tricks
Yes, they have a more Eighties feeling about them.
Does anyone have any experience with the mexican made later models of the original VW?
Where to find one, how much it costs to get it passed over the border, etc.
I love Beetles, I have for years. Thinking of restoring one as a project. What's the best route?
I also have to mention I live next to the US/mexican border, so I can get into the country relatively easily.
>e to find one,
Mexico
>w much it costs to get it passed over the borde
It ranges from nothing to lots of dollars
>hinking of restoring one as a project. Wh
Now ....... let's think about it