About two weeks ago I got my first car. To me, she is beautiful, to others, she's just a '73 L Bug.

She needs a lot of work and has a lot of issues that I have uncovered over the past few weeks. Some of which I need people's help with when it comes to determining what the issue is and finding a fix!

First issue:
Second gear is practically not there when trying to engine brake. Usually you'd take a roundabout in second, if I do, she shutters. But if I use third, she's fine.

Second issue:
Fumes galore. I feel like I'm killing myself each time I drive her. I took a look underneath and the muffler and extractors are completely rusted through. Could this be the problem or is it something else entirely?

Third issue:
Heaters don't work. They just, don't. Could simply be not connected?

Fourth issue:
Seems the previous owner has replaced the interior/roof lining, he forgot to put in the interior light. Would I need to replace the entire roof lining just to install the interior light? The roof lining is very dodgy regardless, may need to reupholster the whole thing...

I'm currently residing in Adelaide, South Australia. Either I need a local mechanic for air-cooled volkswagens, or I can do it myself. I have heard that GHR Motors is excellent, may give them a call though.

Does anyone have any rough ideas as to what is causing some of the issues mentioned above?

Anyway, this is Zelda. Did I mention she has had a 1600cc Superbug engine dropped in her?

Images can be found here!

I can upload more images if people want to see them. I'll also continue to update this thread when it comes to restoring Zelda back to original looks. Want to build her into a sleeper.

For those that are interested, here is a small list of what I want to achieve.

• Original taillights (preferably want to put the old snowflake taillights on).
• Chrome front and rear bumper.
• Interior trim will go back to stock, including removing head unit from dash and installing into glovebox.
• Dual carby setup.
• Heavy duty clutch.
• Maybe even get a high RPM pulley kit.

What do you think I should be doing engine wise to get the most out of my 1600cc?

Welcome to here, looks like a tidy bug.

If the muffler is rusted out that will be the source of the fumes but also the heaters can let them in as well.

The lever on the right of the handbrake pulls the cables on the heater boxes so you first need to make sure that's happening and also that someone hasn't removed the hoses that connect them to the car.

An Lbug is a Superbug just so you know when buying parts as a fair bit is different, but that's not a Superbug motor though, its a 1500 single port engine from a 68 or 69 beetle.
Superbugs have 1600 Duel port.

You'll need some original steel rear guards if you wanna get rid of the Torana tail lights but they aren't hard to find.

Hey Joel,

Just had a chat with my Uncle. He said the only stock car that came with a dual carb setup were the type threes. However, he states that an L bug is definitely not the same as a superbug. The engine is a rebuilt engine and put into the car, it is definitely a single port 1600cc motor.

Before the superbug, the engines found in beetles were only 1200cc, 1300cc and 1500cc. This was originally a 1300cc engine and has, from what I was told, had a 1600cc dumped in it.

As for the muffler and extractors, will get them replaced as soon as possible. If that's where the fumes are, then that needs to be replaced straight away.

Will have to take a look at the heaters as well, its bloody freezing and wouldn't mind using them some mornings!

It isn't too hard to source original rear steel guards, it may be a little difficult getting them perfect looking with some snowflake rear lights.

**EDIT**
Just re-read what you said, my apologies, thought you said dual carbs not ports. I'll grab a picture of the engine from the side as soon as possible.

All good mate,
I can see from the pic it's a single port, the H in front of the numbers means it was original a 1500 bug motor but 1600 cylinders bolt straight in.

Your Uncle knows his stuff but he's a little bit off on a couple of things.

There's a good discussion here about the differences

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=87044 

It's an Sbug he is thinking of, it's just slang names that cause the confusion.
An Lbug is technically known as a Superbug L in Aus, the flat windscreen ones that people call superbugs (Sbugs) are really Superbug S but they are both Superbugs.

Lbugs were only ever sold in Aus with 1600 duel port engines, its just after 40 years most don't have their original engines anymore.
Because they all interchange you can bolt what ever in.

That definitely cleared up a lot of questions I had!
Thanks for that Joel!

My next question is what do you recommend I do to the engine to get it into a sleeper?
Or, do I go all out and just grab a brand new engine? I've seen some new old stock, and completely rebuilt engines, but what is the largest I can get without having to cut any tinware/engine bay? Basically, something I can just drop in.

So, I have a L bug, which is the superbug of '73, with a 1500cc engine with a single port setup?
I'm curious as well, as to how hard it is to replace a padded dash with the straight metal dash... Something I've craved for a while.

Looks like I have a nice little project car coming along, I use it as my daily driver at the moment but might see it return to a garage for a few weeks during school holidays and such...

Looks like I'm looking at purchasing myself a nice prebuilt 1915cc long block to drop into the engine bay.
After that, I'll need to upgrade the clutch and suspension to keep up with the engine. From there, it'll be down to fixing up the rear end.

This will mean changing the rear fenders to fiberglass 2" wider ones, a new rear apron for a W decklid to fit from '63 (may need to get a fiberglass one made, the decklid that is) and then grab snowflake taillights and an original chrome bumper.

Noticed that the previous owner has just painted straight over the chrome front bumper. Mighty be able to just get some paint stripper and take it back to metal, then just polish away. Easy.

Then it'll be the interior, which may be the most time consuming. To get everything back to stock is going to be hard, but I really want to get the padded dash to a metal dash. Think that would definitely make it a head turner.

tip - do the clutch when the mouse wheel is out of the beetle

Check out Joel's build thread as a sweet example of what can be done to L Bug Dash's, IMO it's one of the better example out there.

When you put in the 1915cc check your box and clutch combo, this should sort this shuddering.

Also, get that rust in check asap Especially coming up to winter.

Quote:

Originally posted by OMClarke Check out Joel's build thread as a sweet example of what can be done to L Bug Dash's, IMO it's one of the better example out there. When you put in the 1915cc check your box and clutch combo, this should sort this shuddering. Also, get that rust in check asap Especially coming up to winter.

Quote:

Originally posted by h tip - do the clutch when the mouse wheel is out of the beetle

Im interested to see how you go with this. I can recommend GHR, another one to use was Debiasi, but he has retired so your left with GHR now. Ive used them numerous times and they are always helpful even when walking in off the street to find small parts.

I've just finished running in my 1916cc engine, any particular reason you dont want to build your own motor instead of buying a running one? It was an awesome experience building the engine and learning a lot as I went. I'll be building another one late this year, early next year to take a supercharger for some entertainment.

Hi mate, welcome! You seem pretty keen, it's always nice to see someone excited about their VW.

With regards to the fumes, make sure that you're not leaking fuel. VWs love to destroy their fuel lines and it can become quite dangerous. You should definitely check all of your rubber fuel lines from front to back, including the breather system in the front. If you see any signs of cracking or perishing, replace all of the fuel hoses. It's cheap to do and is good insurance against a fire.

I noticed that you seem to want your car to look like an older bug. You mentioned a steel dash, W decklid and so on. If you try to do all of this to an L bug, in my opinion it will just look wrong. You would probably be better off enjoying the L bug for what it is and saving your money for a real older bug.

Enjoy yourself and hang around here, you'll pick up lots of advice!

As soon as the weather in Adelaide actually gets to a decent temperature/without rain for at least a week, I'll be giving Zelda I nice little bath.

Definitely in need of some beauty shots of her, while she's sparkling clean and such.
The passenger side door doesn't seem to close properly, may need to replace the seals, think they're too think...

Well, for those that didn't see I put a new thread up in regards to an issue with the exhaust over here!

I'll post pictures of the old exhaust that fell off and the new one that will be on it. She's still at GHR Motors, but getting her back tomorrow.

The woes of buying an old car? I think not.
More like the fun of buying an old car :D