I am looking at going back to my roots with a beetle after 2 years of type 3 ownership. I have always had pre-67 beetles previously, but as the car I
buy now will likely end up being driven by my daughter in the future, I am looking at the 70's models for the disc brakes etc.
Are there any reasons to go for or steer clear of the mcpherson strut cars which fall into this age bracket.
Any comments welcome, it would just be for normal city driving typically, no racing etc intended.
Any other tips of particular issues to look for would be appreciated as well.
Cheers
Angus
Purists hate struts mainly because they are not beams.
Beams are definitely a more "robust" design
Beams also have a WIDE turning circle.
Struts handle better and REALLY handle better with a bit of work
Just read the current issues of Motor Magazine and the $10k Callenge
Another factor to consider along with the brakes is IRS
That limits your choice to 2 supers ( S 1302 and L 1303) Macpherson strut beetles or the 1976 beam beetle
Both of the cars have rust issues with foam in the back C pillar bit.
A well set up strut is a very nice drive. I have only ever owned strut cars.... but once I replaced the bushes got a decent wheel alingment the car was perfect.
Hi
Ive owned strut cars since 1973 and have never had a part fail on the front end other than a balljoint.
They do suffer with the shimmies but this is easily fixed with new bushes.
The single most important thing is to get one without rust, no matter what model it is.
Steve
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Thanks for the comments. The handling side of it doesn't worry me much - I just putt around the place, and I'm used to driving ovals with dodgy
brakes as well.
The purists comment is probably as much around the look - the strut cars have a more bulbous look about them at the front.
The C pillar rust is caused by using foam I think, not allowing any condensation to drain away? My old beetles used to have a bag of 'something'
shoved up there as a noise suppressant. Is the foam removable?
I have heard comments around the shimmies - is replacing the bushes a big deal?
Pete, the Ford Zephyr had struts and it was a piece of shizt... so not all strut cars 'rock' 
The foam just needs to be dug out
Painfull but can be done.
The shimmies fix can be easy to difficult
The bushing kit is about $75??
Getting some of the old ones out is also a pain - but a hammer and chisel fixes that.
The new ones are 2 piece and hjust push in from either side
You may as well do the ball joints while you are at it - but that is probally the dearest part
Biggest problem is the steering box
They are NLA
If the box is notchy look for another one
A good 2nd hand one will be at least $250
The pick of the bunck is a 1975L bug with rack and pinion
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| Originally
posted by VWCOOL Pete, the Ford Zephyr had struts and it was a piece of shizt... so not all strut cars 'rock' |
I play with both, and I reckon you can get greater gains with less effort and $ with a beam car
But yes ultimately strut VWs rock 
but don't tell anyone,
okay!
As mentioned, the big problem with owning strut VWs has nothing to do with the suspension - it's the rust
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| Originally
posted by VWCOOL Pete, the Ford Zephyr had struts and it was a piece of shizt... so not all strut cars 'rock' |
There's no doubt that struts are better than beams for racing. The serious German 'Kafer Cup' racers always use Superbugs, fitted with souped up
Type 4 engines and many Porsche bits. They usually use Golf GTI front struts. The best cars are faster around a circuit than a Porsche 911 GT3, but
the serious guys spend 100,000 Euro or more. Beam fronts are still used in Baja-style racing to some extent, but are slowly being superceded by modern
custom-built setups.
But that's racing - you want one for the street, for your daughter. In this case, I would suggest that the front end design isn't the important
criteria. It would be getting a Beetle with 12 volts, safety steering column, and IRS and front disc brakes. That means either the Superbug S (flat
screen) or Superbug L (curved screen), or the '76 1600. The 1300s sold alongside the Superbugs ('71-75) are good little runabouts, but they had
front drums and rear swing axles. Still good for daily commuting, but just not as good as the Supers.
There are more Supers around than the '76s, as the 1600 '76 (beam, disks, IRS) was one-year only (actually they were only made for 7 months). Both
are fine for what you want, assuming you can find a good one.
Another possibility is the '68-'70 1500 semi-auto, which also had front disks and rear IRS. But getting old now, and you may not want a semi-auto.
Harder to find too.
struts are best 
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Get the early for yourself and buy your daughter a new Beetle:lol
No seriously, you want your daughter in the safest ride possible. I don't think it is just a matter of front end.
The later models (1302 1303) have a few more safety features. Still not the safest car around but its better that not.
Love the remark about the Zephyr as I remember sitting in one going down a main road in London when one after the other the tops of the struts
appeared through the bonnet as the front of the car crashed to the ground
As for struts vs beam in a beetle for on road to me it doesn't make a difference (my preference that is) I always feel the beam
feels much more solid and can be made to handle with a few well chosen parts again it would be the rear suspension that would possibly swing it for me
for the street going for double jointed rear.Don't forget discs are available for both/
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| Originally
posted by Craig Torrens struts are best |
I got a 71 manual that had been converted from an auto.
So ive got beam front end, irs and disc brakes.
The lady i bought it off didnt mention the discs or the conversion, so dont just presume its what they say, check it all out yourself.
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My chassis number is 102990873.
Its a standard not a super
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Sorry its 1102990873
How do i check for a clutch tube.
regardless of strut or beam...
I rekon if you had a 60 km front ender into a brick wall you would be pretty rooted in either :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRbwTutw-Hk
As long as you have a collapsible steering wheel you will definitely be better off.
Handling wise... well, she ain't racing it! She ain't competing and attempting tight corners at 100ks...
or is she a rev head :P?
Speed limits and recommended corner speed signs take account the worst of vehicles, ie: heavy rolling semi trailers etc.
Best bet is get something thats mechanically sound and least rust that will last, and the extra biccies put to defensive driving lessons and teaching her to be responsible.
By the way, you can apparently bolt on a collapsable steering column form the later 1500 bugs onto 6 volt veedub models i believe (can someone back me
up?). SO if you wanted early curves with the 'extra' safety... etc.
I was considering back when i had a 67'.
ive had 4 standards and heaps of supers, both S and L and i could never go back to a beam front end now
the ride difference really is night and day
theres a very good reason nearly all passenger cars made today are still running the same mcpherson strut front end that supers have
its the same reason all the serious germanlook bugs are made on supers and usually later Lbugs as they have alot better aerodynamic characteristics
than flat screen bugs
the pictures of 71-BEETLE-SEDANs beetle show its one of the cross over 1500 beetles
i had one the same dated 12/70 which was during the superbug transition
they have the 5 dash vents of the later flow through system but no rear crescent vents or inside backwindow slots
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Lee, the 1303s in the US, UK etc were rack and pinion after early 75
unfortunatley by then it was mainly only cabriolets as hardtops '03s stopped in most countries in 76
even here super steering boxes are getting hard to get and expensive
ive got a 75L rack and pinion to put in mine....one day
you have to find that happy medium with lowered cars
too hard and you chip your teeth, too soft and the ride starts becoming unpredictable and body roll takes over in corners
Doesnt have a clutch tube that i can see.
And it was a 1500.
So What does all that mean.