• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Have you ever owned a VW Beetle?

Did you ever own a VW Beetle?

  • Yep, sure did.

    Votes: 199 73.7%
  • Nope

    Votes: 44 16.3%
  • I've got a New Beetle does that count?

    Votes: 7 2.6%
  • I had some other kind of aircooled boxer motor like a Porsche or a Bus

    Votes: 20 7.4%

  • Total voters
    270
BUMP

Since another thread got VW-ized earlier, thought I would find this one.



Saw this today as well...a perfect bus for some of y'all with the fluffy stuff to deal with:whistle
 

Attachments

  • VW SNOWCAT.jpg
    VW SNOWCAT.jpg
    71.3 KB · Views: 107
Two bugs in our past.

A '61, that died an unpleasant death after being T-boned by a Jeep Wagoneer.

And a '65 that I saw recently putting around West Seattle....

The last time I rebuilt and installed that motor in the '65 was in '78 in Reno. Never forget that night, 6 inches of snow on the ground, working in a carport. Brrr!:)

:kiss
 
Never owned a Beetle...but did have a bus for a few years. wish i had it now !

BTW...OT but why is it that when I reply all i get is a field 2"X 2" ? I apologize for asking here..but I cannot ask as a "new thread" because this little box has no title field ?....

Any help appreciated !
 
First Car

was a 66 Beetle that I bought used for $900 in 1969. It got me where I needed to go most of the time. I remember disconnecting the gas line, taking off the breather cover, sticking the line in the carb, cranking the motor to get some gas in there, reconnecting everything, and it was good to go. Pushed it down a hill many times to start it. My first car repair was to patch a hole in the tank with JB Weld. I was in Dallas - no A/C, AM radio and was living the life. Someone put daisy stickers on the car and after I peeled them off, you could see daisy "shadows" in the paint. Sold it to an old girlfriend of mine years later for $600 and bought a Pinto. :scratch That was probably 24 cars and 18 motorcycles ago. My first motorcycle was a 1964 Suzuki 80 Billy Goat (I think that was what the model was called?)
 
Seems to be a lot of confusion about Beetles and Bugs.
My sister bought a brand new and I think first of its kind, Karmann Ghia in 1955 or 1956. This was a volkswagen with an Italian made sporty body which vaguely resembled a "Beetle". From the dealer it was $2500 and used ones were selling in Chicago for $3500 to $5000 in Los Angeles. Dealers were bound by Germany to sell at their price but demand was so high you could sell one for nearly twice what you paid for it.
The standard Volkswagen was called a Bug.
I never heard of a "Super Beetle". Unless they are talking about the new ones being made now.
Those Beetles/Bugs were great little cars. My sister's Ghia had a manifold heater and air passing over the manifold was directed into the car. Didn't work worth a darn in our Michigan winters.
When it snowed hard the snow would come right into the car through the defrosters and you would have a small blizzard inside the car while driving down the road.
My sister's Ghia got about forty five miles per gallon and you could drive it 70 MPH all day long and be comfortable.
Both models were great in the snow. Definitely the "People's Car".

The Super Beetle was a distinct model introduced in '72 or '73, ran through the end of '79. It was lightly longer, had a curved windshield, curved styled dash, upgraded interior materials, & an outside gas filler door. The regular beetle became a stripper model. I had a new dark blue '73 Super, my first car with radial tires!
 
I think the only reason the Beetle was considered a good car was because its competition at the time was so much worse. The Renault Dauphine, Simca, Fiat and similar cars made everything that would run seem good. My Dad had a 61 but he bought with 20,000 miles on it and we watched it die at 60,000. No heater to speak of, wouldn't start when it was cold, The book said it had a top speed of 72 but that was apparently downhill with a tail wind. They claimed that they would get 40 MPH but his got 25-28 on a good day. When the interstate come through, you could ride on it and see many Bugs broken down sitting beside the road waiting on a tow truck. They could no take running wide open on the interstate.
 
I think the only reason the Beetle was considered a good car was because its competition at the time was so much worse.

Not just the other Euro brands that you mentioned but American cars as well. The Vega/Astra, Pinto and many others of that time were pure junk.
 
The Super Beetle was a distinct model introduced in '72 or '73, ran through the end of '79. It was lightly longer, had a curved windshield, curved styled dash, upgraded interior materials, & an outside gas filler door. The regular beetle became a stripper model. I had a new dark blue '73 Super, my first car with radial tires!

I think the curved front window started with the '73 model year, 71 and 72 had flat windshields. After 75 or 76, they got fuel injection.

My 74 SuperBeetle took me to college every day, excluding one fuel pump failure, and lasted until I saved enough money to buy a car with a heater and AC.......
 
I think the curved front window started with the '73 model year, 71 and 72 had flat windshields. After 75 or 76, they got fuel injection.

I believe you are right on the 1973 model year. My mom had a 1974 Sun Bug (metallic gold, velour seat inserts, MacPherson struts, curved windshield, etc). I worked at a VW dealer at the time. Also the big round tail lights.


My 74 SuperBeetle took me to college every day, excluding one fuel pump failure, and lasted until I saved enough money to buy a car with a heater and AC.......

The extra gas heater just ahead of the heat exchanger on the passenger side (not the one in the luggage compartment) worked extremely well.
 
I believe you are right on the 1973 model year. My mom had a 1974 Sun Bug (metallic gold, velour seat inserts, MacPherson struts, curved windshield, etc). I worked at a VW dealer at the time. Also the big round tail lights.




The extra gas heater just ahead of the heat exchanger on the passenger side (not the one in the luggage compartment) worked extremely well.

I had the accessory one in the front, under the hood. It never worked and my closest VW dealer charged Mercedes prices for service and parts, so I never got it fixed. After graduation, I moved south so, I didn't need it.
 
Last edited:
I had the accessory one in the front, under hood. It never worked and my closest VW dealer charged Mercedes prices for service and parts, so I never got it fixed. After graduation, I moved south so, I didn't need it.

Well at least the exhaust pipes were cheap. They exited by the right front wheel well and rusted out fast. We sold lots of them.

The things you remember.
 
'63 Bug
'66 Stationwagon
'70 Westphalia
'73 Westphalia

I had it bad. Here in Canada you definitely needed the gas heater. In the vans, it was in the rear left beside the engine. The plug would die and then the innards would rot out. Pure masochism.

Woodgrain
 
Back
Top