hey all havnt had my bug long and havnt been outa town as yet, im thinking of taking it sawtell.
whats a good speed to sit on in fourth. also what parts should i take with me?

cheers deon

I'll start this off, It all depends on condition of motor.
For a motor you dont know the condition of - you
or myself personally would travel at 50 mph for a half hour and stop and check the temp of the motor. I hold the dip stick - may take some attempts to find the normal running
temp and discover your threshold for pain, but generally
if the dipstick is burning hot then there's problems.
I would drive faster if ok , say 60 mph for an hour then check again.
Before all this I would change oil to known good brand
and would be nice if could clean the strainer at bottom of engine
but this is Messy job, also should check tappet clearances if can organise it.
Hey its got to be done some time anyway so why not spend a couple hours checking the condition of the valve train(when you check tappets you may discover valve or follower problems before they ground you).
And you thought owning a beetle was maintenance free!
Very important is to check around engine bay to make sure hot air from underneath cant suck into engine bay and that fan is not obstructed.

mine sits on 100 clicks no troubles, but im running 1600 runing gear, so the rations are changed offering less acceleration but more top end capacity.
i wouldnt go far past 90 on 1300 running gear

thanks , its going in for a service on wed
no car is maintance free, but very good info cheers
deon

also make sure you have an arsenal of tools at your disposal. i always carry a full set of spanners including a 36mm (for undoing the fan) wratchet set, screwdrivers, pliers, gaffer tape and zip ties, jack, wheel-nut-undooer, torch

for parts, keep oil, spare tyre, spark plugs, fuses, fuel lines, hose clamps, fan belt, and all the other little things.
good luck dude

but no spare tire :P

If all is in tune and good nik, (points, plugs, head torque, tappets, good rings, good oil) run it at 110 kays no worries... that's what the factory designed them to do

As suggested, do a shorter test run first

i usually sit on between 50 to 60 mph in my 1300 as the high end gearing (1200 box) sounds like it will blow up if pushed any harder

did a run 2day went well at 55 and no burning dipstick
also put my roofrack on 2day, very exciting..looking good for sawty
hehe deon

Yep
I ran my 1300 on the highway at 60mph for years with a 1200 box no worrys at all. but I used to keep premium oil up to it every 3000 miles, regular valve clearance and tune, and change the gearbox oil once a year.
Rob...

My 1200 (40 hp) '63 bug will run happily at 110km/h all day if required, just make certain that everything is as the factory intended (engine bay seals are ok, no open holes in tinware, engine is tuned correctly, etc) and it should be fine if the engine is in good condition.

R

cheers for thats guys:thumb
deon:beer