Introducing Olive - My 1975 Superbug L Rack & Pinion 1916cc

Hi all

Here is my pride and joy - Olive.

She is a 1975 Martini Olive rack and pinion Superbug L. I am the 3rd owner. I bought her in Victoria, where she had not been driven for 3.5 years. Had her transported to Wollongong where she was slowly restored.

Body was in good shape (solid pan) and the rust repairs (minor) were attended to. Need to have rear passenger pillar resprayed (colour mismatch) but otherwise she is in original condition.

New rubbers, chrome windows strips, brakes, hoodlining, vidors, mirrors, bumpers, hubcaps, SAAS steering wheel, EMPI trigger shifter, new speedo, 1916 cc engine with twin kadrons , kennedy clutch and pressure plate, extractors running off a mexican exhaust which comes out of the original position. Mudflaps at rear really show her off nicely.

Plans going forward include carpet, re-pad and reupholster the seats, new door cards etc. Building a 10inch sub box for the rear to be run off a Pioneer headunit and pioneer amp. Front speakers are a pair of Boston Pro 60's which really sing.

Bought Olive to take my mind off my divorce, and she has been a great and pleasant distraction. Fantastic to drive..so much power as I overtake BMWs and Audis up Mt Ousley road when I drive from Wollongong to Sydney where I work.

It is great to have a Beetle again.

Lovely! Nice to be friends with the right people 🙂 Do you have any pics of the engine?

Just getting the hang of attaching pics.

Here is a pic of the engine.

looks sweet man. very sharp.

Lovely tidy looking engine.

Hi

Nice car. Love the black & white shots.

IMHO you have the best model bug ever built.

May the struts be with you, Steve

top stuff... the rack cars drive real nice

That's a very clean looking little car,

good find!

1303Steve wrote:IMHO you have the best model bug ever built.

May the struts be with you, Steve

what he said. 🤓

Thanks all for the nice comments. It is wonderful to be part of the great VW community. I look forward to hopefully meeting forum members at events during 2009.

1303Steve - I agree with you of course. I have owned a 60, 68 semi-auto, 71, 2 73 and 1 74 Beetle - and now Olive. Had my heart set on a Rack model - I can't express just how much better it feels on the road.

BTW, I also had 2 1977 Golfs, and a 1973 Type 3 Wagon, and so have truly caught the VW 'bug'.

I hope to lower it this year, and put Empi 8 spokes on her. Just trying to work out how to do it. Then swaybars front and rear, and in 3-5 years time may turbocharge it.

Couple more pics of the interior - my next project.

Cheers to all.

Looks like a nice sleeper.

izac wrote:looks sweet man. very sharp.

What he said! Go the strutters!!! You running kadrons there?

Very similar car to my 75L bug. It is also martini olive and has a 1916, but doesn't have a rack. Is it possible to change over to one?

SNAP

God I hate you and Bizaar. Its nice TOOOOO NICE !
Happy bugging

Oops. I didn't realise it was a photo fight. OK, here is my photo. lol.

Bizarre wrote:SNAP

I love the front! With the indicators in the bumpers/not on the top of the guards. That will be happening with mine when paint time comes around. also will be changing from elephant lights at the back to the nice looking ones.....


Actually, I have a question. Since they are S bug lights, will the guards fit on the rear of an L-bug.... straight bolt on????

Hate u 2 Jeff

Mine must be a slightly earlier 75, because it originally came with the front blinkers on the guards. I added the later bumper later. I reckon the more that people can see what my intentiions are, the less chance that they will run into me.
Interestingly, I actually prefere the elephant feet rear lights. I reckon they look a bit bigger and tougher. I guess they also slightly fit into the bigger and more easily seen catagory as well.

TruebelieverVW wrote:I hope to lower it this year, and put Empi 8 spokes on her. Just trying to work out how to do it.

Just be a little carefull with 8 spokes
They can stick out a bit at the front - especially with R&P

You car looks VERY nice

As you can se i am bias though

beetleboyjeff wrote:Mine must be a slightly earlier 75, because it originally came with the front blinkers on the guards. I added the later bumper later. I reckon the more that people can see what my intentiions are, the less chance that they will run into me.
Interestingly, I actually prefere the elephant feet rear lights. I reckon they look a bit bigger and tougher. I guess they also slightly fit into the bigger and more easily seen catagory as well.

Hi Jeff

Check your chassis number, it could be a 1974 model, don't pay attention to the month/year markings on the ADR plate as they do not indicate the actual model year, only the time when the plate was attached.

Steve

I had a similar problem with my 10 spoke Performance mags. I can remember going on holidays with the bug loaded up with the family and gear, and braking going around a right hand bend and having smoke pouring off the left hand front tire. It wore a small groove in the outside edge of the tread.

I later had the front guards widened by having the inside edge cut off where the guard bolts to the car (but comming out past the bumber braket hole at the front and the running board hole at the back), and having about 25mm added to the width of the guard. This way, they look standard, but don't rub on the wider tires.

I know of another car up this way that had a similar thing done after they saw mine.

mines a 9/74 build date but on the original bill of sale it was bought new on 17th jan 75 so VW classed it as a 1975 model

2 bolt suspension has more offset than 3 bolt so nearly all 4 lug mag wheels stick out passed the gaurd

My chassis No. is 1342796988, so what year does this make it? It was originally sold to its' first owner by Muller & Muller on 27-5-75.

jeff thats after mine its 134270 and its a september build

so its probably around nov-dec
it would have the 3 point runner front seats ??
they started 11/74

will say on your compliance plate

My compliance plate says 5/75, so it must have been sold almost imediatly

seems strange
especiallly when beetle sales were slowing right down at that time

usually they were sold atleast a few months after compliancing

my 2/71 super sold in april, 8/74 1300 sold in november and as i put above my Lbug sold 5 months later

Yeah, but yours wasn't Martini Olive (babyshit green). lol.

Hi Jeff

From a VW parts perspective your car is a 74 model, 3rd digit is the year model. **4 is a 74 model

In 1975 VW sold 1974 Passats as 1975 models, they were often loose with the manufacture date. I worked in VW parts at the time, it made it difficult to work out models, you had to go by the actual chassis/vin number, not the year model stamped.

Steve

beetleboyjeff wrote:Yeah, but yours wasn't Martini Olive (babyshit green). lol.

hehe yea gotta love the 70s
i guess martini olive bugs were selling like hot cakes

Interestingly, when we bought the car (in the mid 80s), the main thing I didn't like was the colour. However, it has grown on me over the years, especially its ability to not look very dirty, evein if it hasnt' been washed for 3 months, and the fact that everyone knows me in the car this colour, so when I had it re-sprayed in 2007, I actually paid to have it re-sprayed in Martini Olive again. Go figure huh!

Thats how I'm know, because my car is mustard... and the name stuck to the car quite well. Im with you jeff... they dont really look dirty for ages... 🙂

Hi guys, have not checked this thread for a while - pleasantly surprised to see some discussion.

Due to global financial crisis, no new wheels or lowering this year.

Love all the L Bugs on this forum. This is my first R&P bug and I can't rave enough about the handling.

Am running Kadrons, and even with smaller jets installed fuel consumption is in that 11 to 13 litres per 100kms. And that's driving sensibly. Will electronic ignition improve this at all?

Cheers

yes-ish
It will certainly help keep it in tune compared to points
And a well timed car is more efficient than not

A whack on a sniffer might be a good idea to see what it is doing

Small jets i have found dont always mean better fuel consumption

Any specs on the 1916? 🤓