Superbug Searching - Completed!

Rather than clutter up other threads with my musings on Superbugs, I decided to start up a seperate thread.

I looked at two bugs this weekend. The first you may have seen in my Extractors question thread. THe yellowy green coloured 74 L.

I drove for over two hours each way to look at this car, armed with a unregistered vehicle permit, so I could test drive it. During the journey I though I must be mad driving so far to look at a car that might be a bucket of poo.

Anyway, when I arrived, it was parked in the gravel driveway, and it looked great! Having read "How to Keep Your Volkswage Alive" again, I went over it pretty thoroughly before I even started it. Then I took it for a 20min drive.

The good:
- The interior was really quite nice other than the headlining. There was just that tear on the drivers seat and a small crack on the dashtop. Even the carpets were quite good.
- The dashboard had not been hacked for a modern stereo!!
- No rattles.
- Underneath the guards there was not even a hint of rust. Just dull paint in the same colour as the body. It looked completely original and almost unmarked. No globules of underseal like you usually see!
- Everything seemed good in the front end, no split balljoint boots, no leaking struts, wheel bearings fine, bushes didn't seem to have any play.
- Bumpers, rubbers etc were excellent.
- Paint was original except for the front valance and bonnet. It may have had a minor tap in the front in the past. The paint was nice and glossy all over.
- In the back both CV boots were intact and the diff felt nice and tight.
- It went really well. Accelerated heaps better than any of the bugs I have driven so far. Almost like it wasn't stock. It had a distinct burble at idle like maybe there was a cam in there??
- Clutch fine.
- Gearbox fine. Shifter was beautiful to use. No slop!
- It had 51,000km on the clock with last service (in 2006) at 49,000km. It drove and looked like a 151,000km car rather than a 451,000km car, if you get what I mean.
- The pans were RUST FREE. But the driver side one looked newer than the passenger side? Huh? See my notes below...

The bad:
- There was heaps of seam sealer where the drivers side pan met the centre tunnel. It was the only non-standard sealer on the entire car. I scratched at it with my fingernal and discovered the whole pan had been replaced. It wasn't a brilliant job, having been welded in little blobs every few inches rather than seam-welded properly. Worst of all, the pan was slightly bucked at one place, leaving a 3mm gap between the tunnel edge and pan edge. Looks like it needed all the interior taken out and to be welded in properly. But the car was almost rust-free, so if the battery area rusted, why did they replace the entire pan instead of just patch the rust? Odd. 🤪
- The passengers seat seemed loose on the rails, like I could rattle it a few mm off the pan T rails??? I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
- The handbrake only worked on the left rear wheel.
- There was a really bad shimmy through the steering around 80-90km/h. Wheel balancing? Steering dampner?
- There were rust spots on both rear pillars and both front seams just in front of the doors. The photos the seller sent were the worst sides, the other side in each case was less than 1c piece sized. It still had the "foam of death" in the rear pillars.

So the immediate fix it list:
- Weld the pan seam.
- Fix the shimmy. How?
- Seat rail?
- Oil leaks.
- Handbrake cable.
- Front discs and pads probably.
- Full service and tune.
- Bleed brakes.

Later:
- Headliner
- Rust issues before they get worse.

On the whole, not a bad little car.

The next car was a white 73L nearby. The asking price was nearly double the mustard one, and it had a recent serice history. So I had high hopes of it being a great car.

I was sorely disappointed. It could only be described as "cosmeticaly challenged". A dodgy old respray coming off in chunks, signs of overspray on rubbers and trim, minor rust scabs in the usual spots, damaged bumpers, broken door trims, knackered dash, wires hanging loose under the dash, ratty carpets, split seats, a bad oil leak from a pushrod tube and under the strainer plate (How could a VW specialist leave it like that!?!). Worst of all, the clutch took up only at the very end of the pedal travel, and it shuddered no matter how much I tried to slip it. I think the rear main was leaking onto it, as it got better the more I drove it. It drove well otherwise, but the rest of the car just wasn't up to scratch. I asked him about the clutch and he told me it had always been like that!?!

On the plus side, there were bills in the glovebox totalling about $2800 servicing, a second-hand replacement motor, brake work, rust repairs to the pan and front inner guards and a few other bits.

So, I've discounted that one from my list. The seller virtually begged us to make an offer, as he wanted it gone. A shame because I someow felt sorry for the car. I reckon the same money as the mustard car would have bought it, but it just didn't present as well. He was a nice guy, but it's a car I'm buying, not a person. 🙁

I'm not sure yet whether I should close the book and buy the mustard one or keep searching. It seems like a pretty good deal.

Thoughts?

Cheers,

In all honesty, the mustard bug doesnt seem too bad. The shimmy is easy to fix. I put urethane bushes in the front end and a new steering damper, and a wheel alignment. It cost me $100 in parts and about an hour to change the parts. You must consider the front wheels need to be in balance and the tyres of good tread,

The other mechanical items seem normal and you will have other service items come up needing to be done. It is the nature of older cars as you would understand.

The rust in the rear pillars is very common. There is expanding foam put behind there from factory and it would be wise to scrape it out. The rust in the front pillars doent sound too bad, however it is not fair to say it is nothing to worry about. Cars made of steel rust. This cannot be avoided and you will need to investigate all sections of concern. The floor pan may be roadworthy, and it seems to be done with sealer, so if having that under the car where you cannot see it does not worry you too much, then dont worry about it for now. If you buy the car and in 10 years you get to a stage where you want to fully restore it, then you will have a good opportunity to have the floor pan done to perfection.

Agree with above

The rust get fixed properly and rattle can over it just so it looks close in colour
Pan sounds ok
Probably needed more than a patch. Just check the seat rails
new pans have poor welding of the rails. Mine actually tore off once
Otherwise the plastic covers are probably missing on the rails

With the shimmies - get some spare control arms. Get new ball joints and bushings pushed in
Then it is a simple job to change them over.
Good chance the strut inserts have never been changed

Thanks guys.

I'm not expecting perfection. It's a 35 year old car after all.

Other than the pan issue I was quite happy with the car. As it wasn't seam welded in properly I figured it would not meet RWC standards and would need to be rewelded. The cosmetics aspect of it does not worry me, but even if it did meet RWC standards like that I'd stell redo the seam sealing to make sure no water could get in.

I should have mentioned the tyres are new. The front and rear light lenses and the running boards look like they are new too.

Having a had a night to "sleep on it" I'm pretty sure I will buy this one. Will probably call up tonight and start the negotiations.

Stupidly I left my trolley jack handle there, so I have to go back to get that anyway! 😵‍💫

Well, I now own a 74 L Bug. I pick it up this weekend.

I pretty excited, I've wanted a bug on-and-off since I was 14 and I'm now 36! 😁

My 3.5yo old son is VW mad (he gives them hugs when he sees them - but only air-cooled ones!) and he is VERY excited. So it's all good. 👍

EDIT: Thanks for all the help and advice from this forum. I would not have done it without you guys, and that's the truth.

Cheers,
Brett.

Time to think of a name... Stay away from using mustard, that's my teritory.... Hahaha


Sounds awesome mate, supers are sick, you'll love it 🙂

Congratulations. How about some photos when you get a chance.

Pics 😀











There's no name yet, my classic cars usually name themselves soon enough. 🤪

I'll ask the old owner what she called her.

Cheers,
Brett.

Looks a great find that one!
the shimmey could be wheel alignment but being a super its more then likely your steering damper, ball joints, any front end bushings...
first off check out the steering damper, also check out your steering box adjustment

Hand brake needs an adjustment if its only pulling one wheel

looks great though matey!

Looks like a good find to me, and especially for the money. Now the fun begins!

Well I'm impressed.

Brett,

Congratulations on your purchase the car looks to be in good condition and the move you drive it the more you will appreciate it.

What plans do you have for the car? and yes you need a name lol.

Bought my 69 (Rosie) a month ago and have been driving her every weekend, the commodore stays in the garage. You can see mine in the my69bug thread under members rides.

Look forward to seeing more updates

nice car.👍As soon as you get it ,get rid of the filter in the engine compartment.from what i can see it looks like it is on the pressure side.😢
pretty sweet ride otherwise.

nothing screams mid 70s like martini olive

got an earlier dash fitted and the seats have been reupholstered but looks to be amazingly unmolested overall

Lbugs like that are getting hard to find
good score 👍

Martini Olive? So that's what the colour is called.

The fuel filter will be flung as soon as I get it home.

How can you tell it's an earlier dash? I thought all L dashes were the same. I also didn't realise it had been retrimmed. Not that it matters to me really. I want it to be a tidy driver, not a concourse show car.

As for the name, in my collection I already have:

- "Mopoke" the Moke
- "Corrie" the Corona Coupe (also called "the sliver ghost" because one of my mates reckons it's rarely seen in public and renders people speechless when it is.)
- "Trixie" the Mini Traveller
- "Mongrel" the Mini Racer
- "Beep Beep" the Corona Liftback - my son named that one.
- The Pathfinder is just "the Pathfinder"

This one might end up being "Vera the VW" or "Beryl the Beetle" or something similar. If the previous owner doesn't have a name for her that is. It's apparently bad luck to change the name on a ship, so the same might apply to a car. 😂

I spoke to Gary from Wolfsburg Automotove in Geelong yesterday, and he reckons the shimmy could be the steering damper or the steering box. I reckon it's not likely to be the box, as there is bugger-all play in it. Either way, it's not going to be expensive.

Basically I'll fix the obvious stuff, then take it for an RWC and see what it fails on, then work out what I will fix myself and what I will farm out to Wolfsburg.

Cheers,

LOVE martini olive!!!

Joel - what do you mean early dash??

colonel mustard wrote:Time to think of a name...

Do you have any other imaginary friends?

the 73 dashes have a different defroster panel at the top and the round style glovebox catch like this one.
the glovebox lids cant be swapped cos the catch in the dash is different
74 and 75Lbug had the squeeze type and the plastic defroster outlets

with how good the condition of the dash is, it was a good chance it wasnt original anyway
count your blessings, most Lbug owners would kill for a dash that good

with your shimmys, more often than not its the wheels causing it
a quick easy expirement to try which often works is take one wheel off and rotate is 90degrees around with the wheels bolts, only do one side at a time though and see if that makes any difference

I was going to say, that ain't no mustard!!

Steve, no imaginary friends (well, just the ones who never want to talk to me... Darn you g people today with their facebook and rare face to face meetings) , just a car that I love too much.

Typical VW - changing things to improve them, but its so subtle that most don't notice.

I think the hazzard switch was mounted upside down, probably they messed that up when they replaced the dash.

I will have to get a dash cover to protect that dash! There was one on eBay last week, but I didn't need it then. 🙁

Other items on the immediate shopping list:
- Window winder handles - drivers one is broken, so I will replace both. Are there any durable alternatives available these days?
- The knobs on both seat tilts, to allow access to the rear, are missing. The tilts still work though, I tried them both using a screwdriver.

On the less immediate list of accessories.
- Child Restraint Points. Easily done if they are not there already? Anyone know when VW started fitting them. I had a poke around the firewall, but could not find any captive nuts.
- A tow bar so I can tow the little trailer I built for the Moke.
- A decent stereo. It currently has a nasty no-name cassette player from the 80's. I don't want to cut the dash to fit a modern stereo. I've got a nice 90's shaft model Kenwood tape deck sitting idle, so I will probably use that. Ideally I'd like a shaft model head unit with CD changer control ability or an aux input. Some hope. Maybe I can find an old CD changer that uses the FM band. (Call me old school, but I prefer CD stackers to MP3 players.)

Cheers,
Brett

bnicho wrote:- Window winder handles - drivers one is broken, so I will replace both. Are there any durable alternatives available these days?

Yep, you can get metal ones, forget the plastic originals, i broke 3 sets in a month. metal ones, 2 years nearly, and still awesome.

bnicho wrote:Call me old school, but I prefer CD stackers to MP3 players.

thats not oldschool.... just a bit silly. Why? MP3's = more music, no jamming, no in-betweeen time..... need I go on?
Mainly, if you want to upgrade to more powerful/quality speakers/subs/amps later, you will need a decent headunit. but, use what you have 🙂 thats how money is saved!

Cheers,
Brett [/quote]

colonel mustard wrote:thats not oldschool.... just a bit silly. Why? MP3's = more music, no jamming, no in-betweeen time..... need I go on?
Mainly, if you want to upgrade to more powerful/quality speakers/subs/amps later, you will need a decent headunit. but, use what you have 🙂 thats how money is saved!

I'm not that into stereos, ultimate sound, subs etc don't interest me. A decent head unit, four speakers and maybe an amp will do. I just want to play a few CD's I don't even have any music in MP3 format yet. Anyway, it's not a priority until the car is on the road.

Cheers,

the window winder handles are a PITA, thats what drove me to installing power windows

the stock style break to easy and the chrome ones with holes like mustard mentioned if the knobs dont fall off its the fact there designed for a standard bug and are too long for an Lbug so your hands hit the dash winding them

old datsun ones fit and are pretty strong but also incredibly ugly

Hmm, do the winder handles screw on, or are they the type that have clips or pins that side out?

they screw on

Bizarre wrote:they screw on

Which of course is harder to find on non-VW's. Damn.

I though early Gemini might work, as they are short and interchange with Datsun 120Y's. (Some useless trivia for you!)

LOVE martini olive!!!

I did not like martini olive much at all when I first got my 75L, but it has grown on me over the years, and when I had it re-sprayed a couple of years ago, I did it in martini olive - much to the annoyance of my wife and a number of other people I know.

It is a great colour - sometimes I don't get time to wash my car for months on end, and it doesn't look dirty (unless you look closely)

I'm not so keen on the colour. I would have preferred blue, white or red (in that order). But I don't dislike it either. It suits the car's era.

I doubt I will ever chnage the colour anyway, because it's such a pain to do it properly - inside, outside, underside. I can't stand cars that are one colour on the outside and a different colour in the engine bay, boot or door jambs. That's just tacky. 🙅

bnicho wrote:- A decent stereo. It currently has a nasty no-name cassette player from the 80's. I don't want to cut the dash to fit a modern stereo. I've got a nice 90's shaft model Kenwood tape deck sitting idle, so I will probably use that. Ideally I'd like a shaft model head unit with CD changer control ability or an aux input. Some hope. Maybe I can find an old CD changer that uses the FM band. (Call me old school, but I prefer CD stackers to MP3 players.)

Cheers,
Brett

For my 69 I have bought a Kenwood system that has usb for the ipod as well as bluetooth for the phone.

Technology has come a long way when i had my first VW it was an inverter playing a portable cassette player, the funny thing is with all the technology my new bug will be playing the same music as i did 30 years ago ACDC lol

- Window winder handles - drivers one is broken, so I will replace both. Are there any durable alternatives available these days?

I had the same problem with my 74 1300 beetle. The cheap plastic replacements will break after 2weeks, The nobs fall off the chrome metal ones. So I perchased a pair of brand new Genuine Volkswagen winders from Mick motors for $50.00. They work grate and are very solid and should last many years. I hope.

I bought a pair of chrome ones from Classic VeeDub and they seem pretty good

Irocically, the "broken" one on my car is actually just missing the knob. So all I may need is the knob off a broken one. 😏

How about the name 'Martini'.

Not sure where I got it from 😀

Hi

The best factory style handle is this one, used on later water-cooled cars.

Steve

Well, I arrived home with my "Prize" around 5pm this afternoon after leaving Marong (near Bendigo) about 3pm and stopping for a very late lunch and some fuel in Woodend. I'm very pleased with my purchase. 😀

The only problems coming home was that the battery decided to die, so I had to push or jump start the car every time I stopped. No big deal.

The more I drive it, the more the car seemed to free up. In the early part of the jopurney I was sitting between 100-110km/h and havaing to floor it up the hills. By the time I got home I had to watch my speed, as I crept up to 120km/h on the flats a couple of times, and also found I was accelerating up the hills if I floored it. But the country was flatter, so that's probably part of it.

Oh yeah, the odometer decided to freeze up halfway through the journey.

So now I have a few questions for L bug owners:
- What do the knobs on the dash do (I have no handbook)? I worked out the two speed blower, but not what the other two beside them do?
- Similarly, the two levers between the seats for the heater. Is one heat for the front and the other rear? Or is each one the heat for that side?
- How do I fix the odometer (mileometer) in the speedo? Lubrication?
- Is it possible to set up electric washers using the factory stalk on the column? Or will I have to fit a non-standard push button on the dash? Alternatively, how do I get the factory spare tyre setup working again?

Cheers,
Brett.

Brett,

go to samba.com you can search and download a owners manual i have a 69 one here if you need it

You have 7 days to down load the driver manuals from here

https://www.yousendit.com/download/OHo1eFVkWkI1R00wTVE9PQ

Thanks Bizzare. I will download them this week. 👍

Pics at my home:





The family check her out:


My Beetle-crazy son Kenzie gives his approval:




Cheers,

My L bug speedo wasn't working when I got it but the needle did, I removed a cover on the back and the fuel guage and the drive cog for the odometer wasn't meshing and only needed pushing sideways a little, has worked fine ever since. Speedo just pops out, need to mark wires etc and unscrew cable, 1/2 hour job.
Heater levers: closest to driver is for the front, left for the rear
The two knobs next to the fan switch operate the butterfly valves to allow fresh air from the grill on top of the boot to the tiny vents above the knobs, if you don't get air there might be a plastic pipe missing somewhere, I had to replace a few bits and re-attach the knob cables but works well now, well enough to leave the wing windows closed most times which is a bit quieter. If your L is cruising at 110 it is in good nick👍

The speedo may also just need a little lubrication. I had to do that once.

The levers on the tunnel beside the handbrake - the right one (drivers side) turns on the heat from the engine to both sides of the car - The left one (Passengers side) turns on the 2 vents under the rear seat, in the footwell. Heat only comes out if the other lever is pulled up.

There should be a heater vent in the front footwells (near the floor), each with their own lever to turn them on. Once again, heat only comes out if the right hand lever on the tunnel is pulled up. Pull the levers back to turn them on, foreward is off.

The 2 round knobs on the dash - the right hand one opens the air to all the vents to the dash - windscreen, side windows, and centre vents to the occupants - The left hand one opens the centre vents to the occupants (you only get air if the right hand knob is open). If the right hand lever on the tunnel is pulled up, you get warm air out of all these dash vents. Turn the vents anti-clockwise to turn them on - they start with a 'tight' bit of a turn - and clockwise to turn them off, turning untill you get past the 'tight' bit to close them right up.

Of course, this is all if everything is in place and hooked up.

the odometer is a common one.
the drive gear is only plastic and breaks in half
if your feeling adventurous early speedos have the cog made of brass and that can be retrofitted

jeff has nailed the heater system but the way i remember the 2 fresh air knobs is this

V W
left one Vent
right one Windscreen

if you turn them clockwise i think it is youll feel they lock just at the end, thats off
the otherway opens then up letting fresh air from outside in
vent one is just for the outlets above the radio

windscreen one is for the outlets below the windscreen and the 2 round ones on the edgeof the dash that do the door glass

Jeff,

I assume the vent levers are the same for my 69? Awesome explanation until reading your post i still couldn't figure it out

Thanks for the replies. I've figured out how the heater/fan/vent controls work now. They are all connected and working fine!

I will worry about the odometer after she is registered.

Did a bit of fiddling today. The handbrake cables are adjusted to the max and don't do anything, although there is a little tension on the cables. I reckon she may just need to have the rear drums adjusted up, or even new shoes.

We have decided she will be called Olive. The name just seems to suit her, being that colour. 🙂

Cheers,

The name olive suits her so what are your plans? New set of wheels???

Plans are to get her registered.

After that, I'm thinking;
- Add some tunes.
- Fix the headliner.
- Add a set of wheels (preferably chromed widened stockies - Mangels?).
- Drop the front end 1-2 inches.
- Add a 2" tacho in the dash and volt and oil pressure guages under the dash.

Basically nothing radical, just subtle changes that can be easily reversed.

I have the inspection booked for Monday. Almost every car fails, so I'll just let it fail and fix what's on the list I guess.

bnicho wrote:- Add a set of wheels (preferably chromed widened stockies - Mangels?).

There is a set of mangels with tyres for sale on here for $200 I would by them but my family prefers the Empi 8 spokes

Yeah, I'm waiting on a repy from the guy with the mangels.

Be a little careful with the chrome wheels

I use to have these on a 75L bug and the offset is wrong
The sit too wide

You can see them in the very first pic on page 1
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=36756&page=1

For offset look here
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

Ideally for a 6" rim you want an ET between 36 and 50

The chrome mangets are 20
In fact most 4 stud wheels are

Also the chrome on new mangels is not very good - and the quickly rust in the joins.

A 2" drop will rub with a 51/2" - 6" rim with an ET of 20

Thanks Bizzare. I was concerned about the offset and tyre size. Hence I asked the seller those questions, so I could do some measuring. If they have the wrong offset anyway, I won't bother with them. It's not a priority spend at the moment anyway.

What rims, other than the stock ones, do have the correct offset for my Olive? I prefer the mangels because I like the classic widened stockies look. I'd even settle for stock front rims and widened ones on the rear, as long as it didn't cause wierd handling problems.

By the way, since I needed a new battery, I bought a DIN53L. It's the low-line type used in many euro cars. It fitted perfectly in the carrier and gives a bit more clearance between the seat springs and battery top. Plus it has a built-in cover for the positive terminal to help prevent shorting. I've still put the plastic cover back over it though.

bnicho wrote:What rims, other than the stock ones, do have the correct offset for my Olive?

This is where it gets difficult

Anything wider than 5 1/2" you really need to go to a thin spring strut. At that point you mas as well go adjustable
These are 3 bolyt - yours should be 2 bolt, but you get the drift



A 6" 36ET - 50ET is the go

A Porsche Cookie Cutter and a V Force Spider is 15" x 6" x 36ET
One is 5 bolt the V Force is 4 bolt
A Porsche Boxster is 16" x 6" x 50ET

Have a look in my Members ride post and you will see both the Spider and Boxster on my L bug

Take your time and work out what you want

Barry

Thanks, I had a look at your thread. Martini Olive must have been a popular colour.

Besides the mangels, I like the Spider rims on it best I think. I'm not so keen on any of the Porsche rims.

Can you fit two bolt struts into a three bolt car and vise versa? Maybe by changing the strut tops?

I did some more fiddling today. Fixed a bad earth in the left tail light which was causing the left indicators to stop when I put my foot on the brake. The spare wheel only had 20psi in it. With 42psi in it and the plumbing reconnected the screen washers are working. 🙂

I discovered my interior light is broken, as is the plastic clip that holds the passenger side sunvisor to the roof, near the interior mirror. So those two items go on the shopping list. I will adjust the rear brakes and handbrake on the weekend and then it's off for an RWC on Monday. I expect it will fail on the floor pan weld and whatever is causing the shimmy.

Paulc1964au wrote:Jeff,

I assume the vent levers are the same for my 69? Awesome explanation until reading your post i still couldn't figure it out

Sorry for the late reply Paul, I went for a job interview in Newcastle on Wednesday morning, and unexpectedly started straight away. Just got home for part of the weekend, then back to Newcastle for the Pit Stop cruise and then work for the week.
Yes, it is the same for the 69.

While working on Olive again today I noticed something interesting. Three bolt struts on an August 74 compliance car??

Myabe olive sat around for a year or so before the complaince plate was fitted, just before going to a dealer?

Chassis is: 134246723X
Engine is: AS11261X

(Last digit replaced by X to avoid the unscrupulous rebithring her details!)

I adjusted up the rear drums, but the handbrake is still useless despite adjusting the cables to the max. I guess I have broken or streched cables.

Cheers,

I have been brourght up with superbugs cause before i was born dad had a few 1300 and 1500 bugs but then he got rid of them when he knew i was comming thinking the car would'nt be suitable for babys with the seat harneses and all. but then when i was 10 we got a 1972 super bug followed that was a 1973 L super bug then followed that was a 74 superbug and now i have got my own 72 superbug. I love all bugs but supers seem very modern to me with the strut suspension and IRS i think there the safest beetles you can get.

Good luck with your new car binicho = ]

From Dylan

Thanks Dylan.

My Dad had a 64 Beetle he bought new, which he managed to roll over somehow. He never did tell me the details, but I suspect being a single soldier in the sixties, alcohol may have been involved. His insurance repaired the car, but he sold it a few years later, well before I was born.

I've always had a soft spot for Beetles. I wanted one for my first car, and that lead to me gaining a part-time job at a local VW specialist when I was 15. I ended up getting a Mini as my first car instead.

In the late 80's Superbugs were not rated highly. The cool models to have were a 1500 or a 76 and it was a 76 I wanted back then.

Now I've got a family of my own, the larger boot and more modern feel makes sense. Especially as I intend to use the car daily.

So far I'm having fun with this car. It's so simple to work on.

bnicho wrote:My Dad had a 64 Beetle he bought new, which he managed to roll over somehow. He never did tell me the details, but I suspect being a single soldier in the sixties, alcohol may have been involved. .

I would be blaming swing axles and torsion front end 😂

Be happy you bought a Super 👍

Olive is now in the hands of Gary at Wolfsburg in Geelong.

I nearly flipped when I walked in his shed. Not only does he have one of the last Mexican beetles, he also has an early Czech Tatra and my highlight, a Schwimmwagen!!!

The Schwimmwagen was just a shell and looked more like a rusty colander than a car/boat. But anything is restorable given enough time and money. 🙂

might wanna fix that typo quick lol

its possible 3bolt is original but highly unlikely asthe swap happened abit earlier in the year

it maybe a case like mine, where i swapped it over myself
2 bolt supers were only made for 1.5 years and by early 74 beetle sales were really dropping off so 2bolt parts are really hard to come by where as 3 bolt were made or 3.5 years and were sold in higher numbers too

the 3 bolt has a couple of other adavantages aside from being easy to find, it can go lower, can run a bumpsteer kit and gets the track same to the rear, 2 bolt have a much wider front track

Joel wrote:might wanna fix that typo quick lol

Oops, typo fixed! Freud would have had fun with that one. 😂

It looked like it was three bolt struts originally, as there were no extra unused holes in the shell. But I'm glad it's three bolt, since it makes mods easier.

Hmm, earlier dash and earlier struts? I hope I haven't bought a rebirthed car, or one that's had a cut and shut! 🙅

theres no extra bolt holes or anything, its a direct swap
everything else about it is 74 though aside from the dash

its definately the original engine
mines a september 74 and is pretty close chassis and engine number

Okay, I didn't realise that the struts were a bolt in swap.

So if three bolt struts make the track narrower, will ET20 Mangels fit and still allow a drop of an inch or two? Or have I got it wrong?

I got an e-mail from Gary tonight. My little Olive passed RWC today. I am over the moon!

I'll have to ring him tomorrow and find out what needed fixing to get through.

Next step - Registration! 👍

I finally registered Olive this afternoon. XSO.801 if anyone sees me on the road.

I gave Wolfsburg a list of what I though was wrong with the car when I dropped it off, and they fixed it all. Ironically it didn't require any work to pass RWC, but it should have. There were quite a few things wrong that I knew it should fail on, like no handbrake, rear brakes binding, dodgy washers etc.

Wolfsburg fixed it all, sorted the shimmy and fitted a new headling and electronic ignition too. The only problem was the large bill of just under $3K. Even with that, they didn't charge me for a few things, like the seat knobs, a winder handle, sunvisor clips.

I kind of regret that after it passed, I didn't get them to do the harder stuff and leave the easy stuff for me. But at least she should be reliable for years to come, and the missus won't complain that I'm working on the bloody thing every weekend. :P

The only thing bugging me now is the non-functioning choke. Since it appears to be wired correctly, I'm assuming this is likely to be the element. Are they still available new? Or is there a manual choke conversion available?

Cheers,

Cheers,

if the chokes not working and always open then the shaft is binding up.

the way they work if the element burns out or doesnt get power they're actually on/closed all the time instead of not working at all

Joel wrote:if the chokes not working and always open then the shaft is binding up.

the way they work if the element burns out or doesnt get power they're actually on/closed all the time instead of not working at all

Hmm, I'd like to think it's not shaft binding up, since it just had a carb rebuild! ❗

I'll take a look tomorrow.

mine had the same syndrome when i first bought it

was actually the brass bush the shaft runs in,
just had to grease it and it was fine after that


when its nice and cold pull the throttle lever on the carb and see if the choke arm and fast idle cam flick down

if the dont hold the throttle down abit and see if the choke arm is stiff to move.

You were right on the money Joel.

Went out this morning and flicked the throttle lever and the fast idle didnt move. The arm from the choke to the fast idle was siezed in situ. I dribbled a little WD40 into the choke shaft and worked it back and forth. Choke works perfectly now. Too easy! 😀

Cheers,

Now I'm getting a minor misfire at idle and the occasional stall. No sign of any vacuum leaks.

Also noted my No3 plug lead is crap and very occasionally pops off and the coil lead connection isn't brilliant either. Just ordered a new set of plug leads from imported. $36 delivered. 👍

I hope to fit my new head unit and 6x9 speakers this weekend.

I have some 4" splits for the front. Should I fit them in the door trims or buy those kick-panel mounts?

Cheers,