Hi all. I am very very new to this forum. I am not the most mechanically minded bloke you will find here. In fact, the most I know about my 74 Beetle is it is red and it doesnt go. It used to go....but I the engine is buggered. I could tell this by the way it sounded like it had a bag of marbles inside it before it stopped working altogether.
I was driving home from work (a couple of years ago) and suddenly I lost the ability to speed up. I managed to crawl home with the marbles sound coming from the engine. The following day, Little Red died....or at least lapsed into a coma which has lasted a couple of years. I havent touched it - not because I dont want to - but because I dont know how to. I dont know where to start!
Little Red lives in my garage now with the redback spiders. My friends tell me to sell her and get a new car...but I dont have the heart to. I love the car.
So....someone, anyone...help! Where do I start? (Oh...and if youre going to tell me to start with buying a manual - I put a bid on one tonight on ebay. I am feeling inspired!)
Scott - Moorabbin, VIC
BizarreModeratorThe artist formerly known as blue74l
Your motor sounds like it is dead and needs a rebuild
This will cost between $500 for a 2nd hand one amd 🤪
Gotta agree there, I just had a replacement motor dropped into my beetle, about 5 months later than I shoudl have I reckon, I thought I could revive the old motor by fixing bits and peices as I went along, but the truth of the matter is, if your motor is shagged and you dont have the money to fix it all at once, you will just run into problem after problem, you think you have fixed it and 2 weeks later you need to fix something else.. Its gets under yous skin badly after a whlie..
You can pick cheap motors with a lot of life left in them for very cheap .. Just find someone that can help you put it in and your laughing.
OK.....my uncle has come to the rescue. He found an engine in Canberra and I should have it all paid off in a couple of weeks. Next step is to find a way of getting the thing here lol.
ok.... Engine is paid off and on its way. A big thank you to Michael at Beetle Exchange in Fyshwick. My quote for freight was MUCH higher than the one he got. Great service!
Little Red had a little bit of trouble. She started but unfortunately there was an issue with a fan rubbing on casing (attached to the generator I think). I had to take it to a mechanic for surgery. All the bits now work. I just need someone to put the bits back together as I do not know how. It is awful being so close but yet so far away!
I must admit though, I did get smile out of hearing her start again, even if it was only for a moment!
68AutoBugBeetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --
dukebongo wrote:Little Red had a little bit of trouble. She started but unfortunately there was an issue with a fan rubbing on casing (attached to the generator I think). I had to take it to a mechanic for surgery. All the bits now work. I just need someone to put the bits back together as I do not know how. It is awful being so close but yet so far away!
I must admit though, I did get smile out of hearing her start again, even if it was only for a moment!
Shame You aren't close to someone who could help You..
Your red 1974 beetle is a SUPER 1303 MOdel called an "L" Beetle in Australia.
cheers
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Actually in Australia the model was called the 'Superbug L'. Only the 1976 torsion bar model was ever officially sold here as the 'Beetle'.
The European '1303' name was never used in Australia; I try to discourage people using it here because it only causes confusion with new VW fans. And our Superbugs were roughly equivalent to the German 1600cc '1303S' and '1303LS' models, not the base '1303' model that had a 1300cc engine. The Americans knew the Superbug as the 'Super Beetle' - they didn't use the European names either.
Yes that's right. In Germany the 'base' Superbug was the 1303, which came with low-back seats, front drums and a 1300cc engine. It was called the '1303' because of it's 1300 engine. It's the 1303S that was 1600 with discs.
The 'VW 1300' was the European torsion bar Beetle (similar to the model we got here). VW wanted to use '1301' for the new Macphersion strut model in 1971, but couldn't because Peugeot had trademarked names ending in '01'. Therefore VW used '1302'. And when the curvy windscreen model came along in '73, it was '1303'. The higher-spec models of the 1302 and 1303, which had front discs and the 1600 engine, were called the '1302S' and '1303S'. Which started to become confusing.
In Australia, , we only got the Macpherson strut Beetle in the high-spec 1600cc version, very much like the Euro 1302S and 1303S. So VW Australia never used the European '1302' or '1303' names - ours were the Superbug S and Superbug L. Ours were assembled from German-made CKD kits in Melbourne, with some Australian-made components like tyres, glass, battery, trim and Nissan paint colours. So yes, the Europeans would recognise your Superbug as very close to a 1303S, but they would be puzzled by the colour and trim, and engine badge!
Here's an Australian ad for the Superbug L. See how the '1303' name is not used.
VW in Australia and the USA may have shied away from using 1302 & 1303 as it may have confused buyers thinking that they had 1300 cc motors.
It wasn't just Germany that used 1302 & 1303 model designations, it was virtually every country bar Australia and the US.
1302 & 1303 is what VW themselves called them, I worked in VW dealers in the 1970s, all of our parts books and Micro Fiche referred to 1200 (6 volt style) 1300 (late body style including our 1976 bugs) 1302 (flats screen super or Volkswagen S) 1303 (curved screen super or Volkswagen L)
VWs in Australia in the 70s were using many Australian sourced parts, wipers, instrumentation, clutches, trim, headlights etc, so when looking up parts for any local VWs you had be careful to be sure if the car needed local or overseas parts in some areas of the car.
That's right Steve, it probably made sense in much of Europe where the basic Superbug model was a 1300cc with MacPherson struts, while the 1600cc version was the expensive option. Hence the 1302/3 and the 'S' option to differentiate it.
But here, where the 1600cc was the ONLY version available, the 1302/3 names makes no sense and VW Australia logically made the choice to use the Superbug name.
Yes the fiche came from Europe, which you would expect. VW Australia did not have the sales turnover or the resources to make their own fiche! Likewise today's ETKA refers to Kafer, which is another name not used here. However VW Australia DID print their own parts listings and spare parts books, which don't use the 1302/3 names.
Sorry, I disagree about how widespread the '1302/3' names were. Firstly the 1302/3 names weren't used at all in ALL of North America, not just the USA. In Canada they were also sold as the Super Beetle. It was unknown in Mexico, where they only ever made and sold the torsion bar Beetle. Likewise South America, where the market was served by the Brazilian factory that only ever made torsion bar Beetles (with the Australian small-window body shell). MacPherson strut Beetles were unknown, although they did get their own '1500 Sedan' and '1600 Sedan' versions of the torsion bar body. The Africans, too never knew the Macpherson strut Beetle as the South African factory only ever made torsion bar Beetles (their '1600L' was torsion bar), while the Nigerian factory made Brazilian Beetles from CKD. Closer to home, the New Zealanders also bought Superbugs shipped in from Australia, and not VW 1302/3.
Even in Europe, some countries did not use the '1302/3' names; in fact some did not import the Superbug at all. In Spain their '1600 Sedan' was torsion bar. In Italy their Superbugs were sold as the 'Maggiolone 1600' and had Volkswagen on their engine lids (see the ad below). I think you'll find it was only VW Germany's major European export markets, such as France, Scandanavia and the UK, that used the 1302/3 names. Of course today they are also the locations of the 1302/3 enthusiasts websites (we know the Yanks aren't into struts), so this gives a false impression that the names were more widely used than they actually were.
No one called them '1302/03' in Australia until recently - I know because I have been through and redited all the old issues of our magazine back to 1985. Even in the great articles you wrote on your old yellow Powertune car, you called it a 'Superbug' in the '80s!
Phil74Camper wrote:Yes that's right. In Germany the 'base' Superbug was the 1303, which came with low-back seats, front drums and a 1300cc engine. It was called the '1303' because of it's 1300 engine. It's the 1303S that was 1600 with discs.
There was a 'base base' one below the 1303 as well only sold in Europe where they were taxed on engine size.
It was the 1303A.
Just a 1303 but with a 40hp 1200 instead.
Imagine the power
Can't overtake that pushbike, don't have the power captain 😂.
I'm looking at fitting a 1303S badge to Zelda, I think enough people do know what they are these days.
It is widely used, I've seen videos from all over Europe boasting about the 1302/3 S models as well.
Anyway,
I just wanted to clear things up, I didn't want cause any issues. Thanks for the information gentleman!
"Nobody knew what a 1302 was then..more people know about that it now."
Quickly followed by Phill having to clarify it, again. I don't think so Steve - I rest my case.
ETKA is made in Germany, so they use German names. Books, manuals and videos made in Europe use European names. That 1302 badge from Cloughs was made in Europe. All beside the point! In Australia they were made here and called Superbugs; end of story.
Putting a 1302 or 1303 badge on your Superbug is exactly the same as putting a Rabbit badge on your GLS Golf, or a Vanagon badge on your Caravelle GL, or a Mexican 'Sedan 1600i' badge on your '76 Beetle. You're just pretending it's from another country.
Unless David's Superbug was actually imported from Europe, like Belinda's was? In which case yes, it would be a real 1303.
Excellent. ETKA (Elektronischer Teilekatalog) does come from Germany and is made for Volkswagen AG by Lexcom GmbH of Munich. They also make Porsche's PET system and MAN Trucks' MANTIS parts system, and similar systems for Volvo and Mitsubishi. ETKA replaced VW's parts books and fiche in 1989.
So VW's US market is large enough (~350,000 sales) to justify their own customised version of ETKA (still made by Lexcom), which uses the unique model names for that market (don't forget the Routan!). It wouldn't surprise me if there are similar local ETKAs for South America, South Africa and China where VW has large manufacturing centres and their own unique or renamed VW models. What's the part number for a gear stick knob for a VW Sagitar, a Lavida or a Magotan?
So therefore, IF Australia's market was much bigger, VW Australia would have done the same - we could have had our OWN VW parts fiche with our own local models and names. But we didn't - we were too small so we used the German ones. Likewise most of the dealer plant and equipment. But we made a start in that direction - the 1965-67 glovebox owners' manuals were printed in Australia (all others were German), and LNC produced their own parts price lists, dealer bulletins, brochures and advertising.
