Air cooled Volkswagen appreciation thread
- Thread starter leesonic
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I forget. But was that "trigger handle" on the shift lever a reverse lock-out?
Thanks!
Local club at the parade of lights.
After 10 years of looking for a nice 21/23 window Samba I’m settling for a ‘69 Bay window. If things go as I hope this will be mine Thursday. ‘69 bone stock DIY restoration. 200 miles on clock. Original cases which should be OK fine for my 7 mile commute to the beach and maybe a cruise night now and then.
I’m going to put wheels and tires on it, maybe discs and lower the front a touch for easier access for this ol’ bag of bones. Any other caveats?
I forgot to mention it lived in the desert, almost zero rust. It’s perfect, but as they say “the wheels make the car.” Empi, Fuchs or chrome stock w/ Super 90 hub caps? Big and littles? Decisions, decisions. Holy Luftgekuhlt Batman it’s been a minute! I sold my B Coupe in ‘88.
I’m going to put wheels and tires on it, maybe discs and lower the front a touch for easier access for this ol’ bag of bones. Any other caveats?
I forgot to mention it lived in the desert, almost zero rust. It’s perfect, but as they say “the wheels make the car.” Empi, Fuchs or chrome stock w/ Super 90 hub caps? Big and littles? Decisions, decisions. Holy Luftgekuhlt Batman it’s been a minute! I sold my B Coupe in ‘88.
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Replying to my own thread here. By the miracle of modern technology AKA Google Lens, I managed to identify these wheels, they are BBS RK.
What's wrong with the wheels that are on it? I like those.
I like the old Fuchs 5-spokes on Bugs.
a couple of observations
people don't understand how well these 68^ busses handle! Get Konis and good tires and find out!
AND
68/69 crankcases are horrible, very prone to blowby/(loose heads), cracking at the head studs, loose main case nuts/center main separation (not repairable with line bore), etc.
The 70^ cases were magnesium alloy and much better. The late dual-port blocks (73 1/2^) were even better. If you ever rebuild this engine, I would never re-use the 68/69 "H" case! If you anticipate taking it apart, anticipate and acquire a good later crankcase first.
And I'm jealous. I'm now a T12 paraplegic and I miss my twin-cab 64!
people don't understand how well these 68^ busses handle! Get Konis and good tires and find out!
AND
68/69 crankcases are horrible, very prone to blowby/(loose heads), cracking at the head studs, loose main case nuts/center main separation (not repairable with line bore), etc.
The 70^ cases were magnesium alloy and much better. The late dual-port blocks (73 1/2^) were even better. If you ever rebuild this engine, I would never re-use the 68/69 "H" case! If you anticipate taking it apart, anticipate and acquire a good later crankcase first.
And I'm jealous. I'm now a T12 paraplegic and I miss my twin-cab 64!
Nothing, I do too but I love nice wheels and 5.5” fit and bigger H rated tires are better. I checked Tire Rack and they only have 3 choices that fit.
I’m well aware of soft cases as is the owner. It’s just easier and more prudent for engine builders to start with new one if you warrantee your motors or are going fast. I built and blew up my share in the 70’s with help from hanging around Dutch’s in Bellflower. Tomorrow I get to see receipts, see if I can drive it safely w/ my right drop foot and will giddily buy it for full price while is right in the sweet spot here in THE hottest bus market on earth.
I went to 15-inch wheels on my VW and early BMWs. More tire selections.
A friend bought a used 550 replica. Those are really fun. Slow, but fun.
A neighbor of mine had a great looking Type 2, early '60s. He moved and I can't snap a pic but he had a set of Empi 914-style knockoffs, they looked right without being to resto-moddy. Mobelwagen brand... a lot cheaper than the real deal.
Of course there many cool options, like the ones mentioned.
I really like those wheels!A neighbor of mine had a great looking Type 2, early '60s. He moved and I can't snap a pic but he had a set of Empi 914-style knockoffs, they looked right without being to resto-moddy. Mobelwagen brand... a lot cheaper than the real deal.
Of course there many cool options, like the ones mentioned.
I'm with ya.I really like those wheels!
This evening, my daughter asked if I wanted a race on Gran Turismo 7, and so we raced against each other for a while. I kept complaining that there weren't many cars to choose from in these dual player races (although she does have the 1965 Mini Cooper and a 2015 Mustang, so I taught her right), so she set me up for a single player "quick race".
I picked a yellow Beetle, and as I blew past a slew of Renaults and Fiats at a whopping 50mph, up in the distance I could see a blue Beetle. "I'll have him" I said to myself. On the fourth and last lap, we were neck and neck down the home straight, but he just held me off to take second place. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could take pictures of these" I said to my daughter as we watched the replay. She said "that will be easy, I can take pictures in the replay, save them to the PlayStation app, and then text them to you from my phone". She managed to get some pictures of the two Beetles crossing the line together, and here they are :
I picked a yellow Beetle, and as I blew past a slew of Renaults and Fiats at a whopping 50mph, up in the distance I could see a blue Beetle. "I'll have him" I said to myself. On the fourth and last lap, we were neck and neck down the home straight, but he just held me off to take second place. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could take pictures of these" I said to my daughter as we watched the replay. She said "that will be easy, I can take pictures in the replay, save them to the PlayStation app, and then text them to you from my phone". She managed to get some pictures of the two Beetles crossing the line together, and here they are :
Gran Turismo alone sells PlayStations to me. The ultimate video game for car lovers, historians, and competitors.
^ Those do look better
I went to 15-inch wheels on my VW and early BMWs. More tire selections.
A friend bought a used 550 replica. Those are really fun. Slow, but fun.
One of those with a Subie WRX/STi engine could be a serious fun/fright machine.
Regards,
Gordon.
His 550 had built a 356A Super engine. Pretty peppy considering the overall weight of the kit, well under a ton.
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