Hi guys. I'm sorry my opening post to the forum was in desperation and demanding but here's a nicer one while the car's getting fixed.

Ok so what I'd like to know is what people think we could do to my girlfriend's bug to improve performance.
Specs:
It's a 1971 1600 Beetle with ball joint rear end (so i think this means it's not a super?). It's got four wheel drum brakes which make me nervous. It has the (I think) nicer old tail-lights and i've been told that it's interesting because it has elements from the earlier beetles and some from the later 70s models. The guy who works on it reckons it's just about the perfect match/era for drivability.

I'm getting the work done as a present and I'm not made of cash but I'm willing to spend between 3-4k. I'd like to reward the car as well because it has worked very hard for me getting me to work and we both love it (probably too much).

Things I think could be improved:
Brakes definitely.
Engine performance.
Suspension/ride height.
(but of course these are all the big ticket and $$$ items)
Paint job (starting to look a bit tired but no rust).
Empi 8s (although really expensive).

What do you guys think?

Sorry I don't have photos yet but the aesthetics aren't what I'm focusing on first anyway.

Thanks for any help guys.
:thumb:thumb

[Edited on 8-7-2004 by ruckus]

Do u mean it has a swing axle rear end. The front should be ball joint - this should make it a standard beetle, this was the econo version of the beetle, the super was the more expensive one.

The 4 wheel drums are adequate for street when they are in good tune, they are only scary when they are out of adjustment, need a good bleed, have a leak in the swing axle which causes the brake shoes to get covered with oil and a few other things. it should be easy to upgrade to late disc brakes, they should more or less bolt on.

It would probably handle a lot better if you lower it, get a camber compensator, rebuild the front beam, get some bigger sticky tyres. It might even be worth it to skip swing axle altogether and swap the pan to a semi-trailing arm pan. They handle a lot better.

A budget performance engine can cost about $3-4k, so i reckon your best bet is to just tune the 1600, they can be pretty zippy if they are in good tune, with the right gearing.

a cheap paint job can cost $3-4k as well

empi 8's cost about a grand for repros.

Hello

At a guess I think you may mean that it is ball joint front and IRS rear? These are a good chassis to work with.

If you've got drums at the front then you can easily upgrade to disks using factory parts, and unless your really pushing them these are more than ample brakes. Make sure that everything is in new condition and you'll be impressed with how well it does work.

Engine - read around here, then read around http://www.shoptalkforums.com/ 
then ask around and read more and when your totally confused it may not be an issue any more

Engines cause more than a few arguments on here - but there are a few good posts on warming up the 1600. Also check out http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/mods.htm 

Suspension - well lower is definately the look. Don't go too low if you still want to carve the corners though. New shocks on each corner will suprise you. And bigger swaybars help. Again read around - there is a heap of info here just put a keyword into the search and hit go!

By the time you've done this you'll have probably used up all your budget and some more - it's really easy to get carried away!!! But heaps of fun when it finally comes together.

Good luck
Cheers
Jeremy

if ur after a cheap rebuild of the 1600, get it balanced (all from clutch to pulley) and a mild work over of the heads, 3 angle valve job, and mabye a slightly lumpier reground std cam (it cost us about 2k for a nice rebuild as above of a 1600) and rejet the carb. Also try the disk brake front and mabye some 15 by 5.5 inch rims with 185 or 195 ish semi perfomance tyres and you won't believe the difference!!!!

[Edited on 1-7-2004 by BiX]

a set of empi 8 are just under a grand from micks whack a twin barrel progressive webber with vacuum secondary in and a big bore kit and it will fly along

I agree with Barls - the first two low budget mods to make to a 1600 twin port I would suggest are;

A set of extractors (thunderbird are a good cheapish brand, kadron about the cheapest, both better than standard though).

A twin barrel progressive webber - whether its vacuum secondary or mechanical secondary is not really important. These add a bit of power, and retain the cars drivability - a good model is 32/36 DGAV (i think). If you still have the stock vacuum / mechanical advance distributor, then keep it - it will help prevent flat spots that can occur if you go to a 009.

Best of luck and enjoy your bug !

sound like what i had but i found the better version is the one off a lada niva which is a webber copy and has all the adjustment screws at the front instead of the back as is on the webber you described which was originally on the cortina and escort 2 litre. the new ones that you buy from webber have the adjustment screws at the front:alien

Sorry I probably should have mentioned that the exhaust isn't standardeither. It's got extractors by the looks of it and then an exhaust bent to the right with a muffler tucked up under the right rear wheel housing then down to the lower right corner with a flaired end piece with a pretty nice note. Is this common or is it just plain dangerous? I think it'd have to be changed if we drop the car any?

re: dropping the shell onto a different pan, how much would this typically cost and how difficult is it?

thanks again guys

sound like whats on my old bug. it not a bad system from the sound of it. lower it at the back is just a matter of adjusting the torsion bars but the front is a different story. that gets hard and i have no experience with this.

sound like whats on my old bug. it not a bad system from the sound of it. lower it at the back is just a matter of adjusting the torsion bars but the front is a different story. that gets hard and i have no experience with this.

It doesnt cost anything to actually swap a pan other than the purchase of another pan.

the $$$ is in actually building up the pan u are putting it on. 3-4k should build a really sweet pan. but even just getting a used complete IRS pan should set u back about $500. Replace all the rubbers and mounts, do some other mods and that'd be about $1500 all up for something basic. would handle a way lot better. And swapping to a late pan means u get discs by default too.

project on hold due to engine dramas :cussing

Hi

That car should have a 1300 twin port motor. I good basis for a 1600 motor, just change the barrels & pistons.

1302Steve

Don't happen to have one just lying around do you:thumb

Hi

Just used it.

1302Steve

Ok. So we've got her up and running again with a nearly new engine (new heads, internals etc. and a second-hand case). I can't believe the difference in the engine even though I'm nursing it for the first 1000 kms.

I just managed to stumble into a money tree and find myself in a good situation to give the car some attention, so the plans are back on the drawing board.:thumb

I think we'll leave the engine alone for a while, but it needs a new carb setup, or at least a replacement for the one that's on it 'cause it's on the way out.

Going to post some pics when I can get my hands on a digital camera to see what people think.

thanks again for any help.

it cost me about $300 bucks for my webber and manifold. but from memory i was also offered a dcn webber by al at mr bug or bill mann enterprises which ever they trade under now it was 3 years ago now but he still may have it

are dual kadrons worth it? Will I need much work to fit them and will there be much difference in milage and/or power?

from what ive heard they are gas guzlers but ive never used them all performance carbies use more than stock.

Ok so we got a new standard carb and fitted a 009 'cause the old one was on the way out. Car drives heaps better now, with power coming on quicker and much smoother through the revs.

A couple of weeks ago I had a decent look around the car and found some body dramas:

The rear window leaks at the bottom right hand side and this has caused rust through in the back parcel shelf thing and some rust right through the pan behind the passenger in the rear footwell.

So i guess there's not much of a decision to be made in regards to the pan because I'm a bit sketchy on keeping the one we've got.

So we're now officially in the hunt for a new pan.

How hard will it be to repair the rust behind the back seat? Has anyone come up against this?

Is it possible to use a super Beetle's pan and swap the front or am I completely stupid?

No,and yes but most of us are too.Supers have coil shocks and no torsion bars so not interchangeable,best pan is a semi-auto beetle with discs ball joint front and irs at back,slater dude.

its not that hard to fix the rust if you know some one who can wield if not it can be expensive. i have a 72 sbug pan available in the next few months if you have to go down that avenue