G'day all,
I'm a bit new to VW's. In the process of restoring a 69 Kombi we picked up last year. Have just picked up a 74 Beetle with the top chopped off (professional job not a cowboy one), no motor and gearbox. The boss wants an auto if possible, there doesn't seem to be many around. Any info on where to find one, technical details on fitting or suggestions as to how good/bad they are would be apprciated.
Cheers
Terry

You need a gearbox (003) from a Type 3, they do not fit straight into a beetle and require major modifications to fit. If you are brave/foolish enough to attempt this a full donor type 3 would be your best option.

nbturbo has a conversion into an Oval on here but I'm having trouble finding it.

Kombis were not fitted with automatics until the Type 4 (pancake twin-carb engine) was introduced in 1973. The 1600 Kombis were always manual-only. The Kombi auto is the same as the Type 3 (Sedan, Squareback, Fastback) - a fully automatic 3-speed gearbox.

The Beetle never came with a fully automatic gearbox. The closest they had was a 'semi-automatic' - a modified manual gearbox with the normal 1st gear removed, a torque converter added and an electric switch under the gearstick. There was no clutch pedal, but you still shifted gears. You could leave it in top and it would accelerate, but verrrrry slowly. Porsche had a similar system called the Sportomatic, and NSU also used it on their Wankel Ro-80.

The semi-auto was an option on Australian 1500 VW Beetles from 1968. From 1971 it was an option on the 1600 Superbug, but not the basic 1300 Beetle. It was discontinued at the end of 1975 with the Superbug, and the last 1976 Beetle was manual only. It was more expensive than the manual, so no there were not many sold at the time.

It's a good system when everythng works correctly, but of course now it's 40 years and more later and things wear out. It would be a major project to convert a manual Beetle to semi-auto as there are many extra/different parts, and one even a specialist Volkswagen workshop would baulk at. Not impossible, but extremely difficult if you are new to VWs. Don't even attempt it unless you have the Bentley manual (the most comprehensive) and have read it.

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/volkswagen/repair-information/vw-type-1-1970...

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=40166 

Probably the best place to start.
Anything's possible, especially for the boss.

Thank You All!
As a manual driver who hates slushboxes, I now have the answer as to why it shouldn't be done!

Now I can plan out a nice twin carb neat motor so as to enjoy the driving. Theres a single port 1600 in the engine bay of the kombi to be removed so as to replace the original twinport that I'm rebuilding. Who's got a good manual box to suit a 74 Super Beetle available?

While I'm asking, this one appears to be one of the late 80's or early 90's convertible conversions. This one has SUNBUG decal on the side. Can anyone tell me a bit about these, things to look out for. Origin of the conversions. any info would be useful. I remember seeing them around in the 90's. I'll put a photo in soon.

Cheers Vduboy, Gave him a call and he still has it, could be an option if I can't talk the Boss out of it.

There was recently a not too bad Type 3 fastie at Hobart for sale for $1000 and it was full auto. think Gumtree. good for the boss.

I have a auto trike with the 003 auto. its amazing how many trikes powered with vW engines from Brazil have this transmission. That's why they are rare. As said, they are 45 years old now. Mine is out of my trike for reconditioning for that very reason.