11,000 miles in a 30 yr old VW Beetle?

bretm........ the old VW is probably one of the most "undestructable" vehicles ever out there...... accept for rusting in the tail fender sections....

Dont think you can blow up and engine......and if you did......30mins max and its out of the car with 4bolts and some linkage...etc. There are plenty of vendors out there with full restoration parts (or just engine if you want).

I do recall though that the VW Bus had some kind of electrical issues (not sure what years). And I mean the ones that start fires where you see smoke bellowing out of the rear vents. I'd recommend you stay clear of that if you want a turn-key vehicle.

 

Ditto on the indestructible engine. During college, my roommate had a bug and one summer he decided to drive cross-country & back (California to New England, round-trip at least 7K miles) with his brother. He was a pretty sloppy sort to begin with and his intentions to do an oil change and service before the trip never happened. Three weeks later, he putt-putts back into the driveway and that weekend he finally decides to do the oil change. He undid the drain plug and nothing but about half a quart of SLUDGE came out! I saw this with my own eyes, not a second hand story.

 

That's a long trip in a poorly handling, uncomfortable car.

 

Apart from being bulletproof, the classic Bug is one fun car to drive!

I can't think of a more appropriate car for the All American Road Trip than a classic Bug. Have fun!

 

Jerry Seinfeld did something like this. Get the DVD, "Jerry Seinfeld, Comedian". I don't remember if it was in the actual film, or an extra on the DVD, but there was a short documentary of his road trip in the Beetle.

 

i crashed one! don't do this as anything over 25mph is almost certain death

 

My wife and daughter plan to do a 60 day tour around the US next year and wanted to do it in a vintage car, not pulling a trailer, and with the ability to camp when and where they liked instead of having to rely on hotel availability. So I've done a lot of the same research that you have.

The two differences are I wasn't looking for something cheap (because I assume I can resell the vehicle afterwards with little to no depreciation) and you aren't necessarily looking for something vintage.

The Type 2 VW bus has several thing going against it. One is that 65mph is top speed and economy at that speed is no higher than the mid-teens. Second is the tendancy of these engines to drop valve seats. The next is weak brakes up until 1971. I ended up buying a Type 2 Westy (that a buddy of mine bought new) with an understressed Corvair drivetrain. Top end is over 90mph (though more than a little unnerving) and 65mph cruising yields close to 20mpg. Have the drivetrain out right now resealing the transmission, etc.

http://fnader.com/images/VW_Westy/

(All of the "yellow" is now gone...)

A MUCH better alternative for you might be a later Vanagon (which my wife didn't "like the looks of"). They are cheaper than the earlier vans and much more reliable. You don't need the full Westy package, so the vehicle can be even cheaper and lighter.

Bill

 

I've owned 3 beetles over the past year. 1963 w/racing engine, 1967, and a 74 superbeetle. I agree with the above comments in regards to engine indestructiblity. Another plus about the beetle, is the very very cheap, and easy to do maintenence costs. I've once dropped the motor within a matter of 15 minutes. Racing exhausts cost about $60, tune up is about $40, fan belt/timing belt is about $5-10. The car is such a blast to drive, even with a 60hp motor. You get that feeling of nostalgia and race car rawness with weber or dellorto carbs. In your situation, I would recommend getting a 71-73 superbeetle. The interior is much more comfortable than an earlier model beetle and irs suspension and mcpherson stuts allows it to handle like a go kart and adds driving comfort not provided by the earlier swing axle cars. To Maximize your miles per gallon, get yourself a mildly built 1776 or 1914 with dual carburators. Good Luck and enjoy

 

I agree with Wally - '71-'73 put the Super In Super Beetle -

Many moons ago, I had a '71 Convertible (poon attractant) and a '67 hardtop - both considered excellent model years for the Bug for a variety of reasons, although the '67 died an ignonimous death on The Grapevine and the '71 was victim of a '65 Ford Galaxie.

If you don't know already -
Bugs aren't water cooled; some are air & oilcooled, others, just aircooled, depending on what previous owners have done with oilcooler/intake.

Bugs don't have Oil Filters - they have screens, so when you do change your oil regularly, clean the screen.

While you're at it, tend to the valves.

Keep a few fuel filters on hand - in case you get a bad tankful, it'll run awful & if you have a look, you'll see the transluscent fuel filter will be swollen.

 

Speaking of too cold... keep in mind the Bugs aren't known for their heat. If everything is in good shape the heater works ok. Problem is, if there's much rust, the heater probably doesn't work at all. The heater channels are in the rockers and that's one of the first places to go. You can add a gas heater - some will advise strongly against that though. With all the doom and gloom about gas heaters starting car fires, I'd still be more worried about a plastic fuel filter in the engine compartment than a properly set up gas heater.

Not sure what a previous poster meant by saying only some of them had oil coolers. They all had oil coolers from the factory - it's under the tin, on top of the case, just like a Porsche 356 engine. I'm assuming he meant an aftermarket cooler, which shouldn't be needed anyway, not in a $2000 car that's most likely running a stock engine.

A 1776 or larger engine might be nice to have, but if you're on a budget it's not the best use of money. I haven't priced one lately, but I'd be surprised if you could do a decent rebuild for much under $2k, let alone buy the car also. A $1500 engine in a $500 car isn't my idea of a good time... your mileage may vary. I'd be happy with a stock, single port 1600 given the criteria you've stated.

I'd find the most stock, most solid car you can. Leave the go-fast mods for another day as most of them aren't what they're cracked up to be anyway. Stock equipment set up correctly is the way to go for a long trip. No loud exhaust to drone away hour after hour. No fat tires to screw up how the thing steers. No dual carb/big bore engines for that 65mph cruise.

We've had VWs in my family my whole life - my current VW is a 1960 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet that my dad rebuilt about 25 years ago. It's set up with Porsche brakes up front right now, with a 356 1600 Normal engine awaiting rebuild as we speak.

 

This sounds like a fun idea...but aren't those cars a bit rough on the nerves after a while. I mean, they are not known for comfort.

 

DesmoDog gave excellent advice (follow it!) & was correct in assumption about my comment about cooler/intakes.

 

1100 miles might be a fun adventure.

11,000 miles will be a suicide and/or homicide-inducing experience.

And any old car (but especially an old VW) is a total deathtrap in an accident. You are literally 1000 times safer in a new POS Hyundai.

(Hey, I had a '61 bug and a '62 bus, and loved them 30+ years ago when I was a dumb teenager, so don't flame me too bad).

I'd stretch the budget to something boring like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Very-Original-and-Clean-Accord-LXi-5-Speed-A-C_W0QQitemZ4583177418QQcategoryZ6254QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

P.S. The Seinfeld thing was a short promo film for Amex card, and it was with a 356. See it here (click on "Hindsight"):
http://www.wddg.com/projects/superman%5Fseinfeld/
.

 

Oh Wow. Man, da stories I could tell. My 1964 6-volt Mo Fo ended up dying in the middle of Utah right in front of a VW grave yard. The year was 1974. I haven't got the time to say more right now. But, if you really want to know, there are all kinds of places on an old bug to stash, uh, stuff.

Can somebody bump this in a few days. Gotta go.

Dale

 

Find an old Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant (1960-1965) with slant 6 and 3 on the tree.
They are stone simple, run forever and gas mileage is pretty good. You will cruise and 65 all day and NOT have your foot on the floor like in a bug.

These cars are COOL in a Waynes World sort of way

Erich
I loathe Bugs wouldn't want to drive to the store in one, let alone cross country

 

I had one of these too. I kept a 5-gallon bucket of oil in the truck and filled up the the oil everytime I added gas.

What was really cool, besides the push buttons on the dash, was that I didn't have to worry about anybody stealing it. In fact, back in the day, I didn't have to worry about anybody stealing anything that I had. Freedom is jus another word for nuthin left to lose.

Dale

 

Back in High school a friend's family had two.

His car was a 61 valiant coupe with 3 on the tree.
The other was a 63 valiant wagon with the push button automatic trans.

We would take that wagon to the drive-in on Friday nites.
The ACE drive-in was $2 a car load.
Lawn chairs strapped to the roof and kids stacked in the back like cord wood.
When we stopped it looked like a circus car unloading.
Ah good times.

Erich

 

Because this is a car board, I'm gonna skip the stories. I'm not really sure what the statute of limitations are for certain, uh, things. Let's just say that back in the early 70s, even before I got to pee each morning, I had already committed enough felonies to send me to the big house for a long time. One thing that a lot of us old farts tend to forget about our early days was that the paranoia was real.

The trip I'm thinking about started, I believe, in May 1974, and ended in September 1974. (In many ways, it never ended, but I'm digressing.) I drove a 1964 Bug from Tallahassee, Florida to San Francisco, to Seattle, back to SF, and was headed back to North Carolina when the car died somewhere near Delta, Utah right in front of a junk yard full of, you guessed it, VWs.

The first tip I have to give you is to not buy anything older than a 65 bug. Up through 1964, VWs ran on 6 volts, which means that you cannot jump start the car. This created a minor problem on that trip, because the starter stopped working despite all efforts at encouraging it to work. (More on this in a minute.) No big deal, right? Just park the car each night so that you can push start it in the morning. Only problem is that my girl friend (who along with her dog went with me on the trip) didn't know how to work a clutch. S-o-o-o, she got to push that muther all the way across the good old USA!

When we got to California, the first independent VW shop I went into immediately knew what the problem was and for $1.95 had a fix. It turns out that on those old Bugs that the wire from the key to the solenoid would go bad. By adding a booster wire, everything worked fine!

My next tip for you is to head to California to look for your Bug. They really do know all the tricks and traps.

As far as the driving goes, well... it is real simple. Just floor it and hang on. And don't try to pass anyone, particularly on mountain roads. I still remember hearing Clapton sing "I shot the Sheriff" for the first time while making a pass on the downhill run of some road in Northern California. I ducked inside the truck coming the other way close enough to buff the paint on the front fender.

Also, the early Bugs never had A/C. On the cross country part, we started driving at night just to stay alive.

The only entertainment was an AM radio. That was the Summer that "Radar Love" came out. I'm positive that my last thoughts in the life will be to hear that damn song one more time.

Would I do it again in a Bug?

Hell no. I'd buy a 70-esh Caddy droptop. Paint that sucker red. Charge up the A/C. Top the oil. Wear a New York brim. Put on my gold tooth: I'm bad, bad, bad. We're nationwide.

Dale

 

Don't forget the beautician at the wheel and three mo' in the back.

Erich
That beats a Samoan lawyer ridin' shotgun on a trunk full of hallucinogens.

 

Don't forget the beautician at the wheel and three mo' in the back.

Erich
That beats a Samoan lawyer ridin' shotgun on a trunk full of hallucinogens.