surviving drivin a '70 beetle

my girl just came into a beetle from 1970 - not a van, just a small little car. she knows little about it - she's just now learning to drive stick - and realizes that she'll have to learn some general mechanics.

does anyone have any advice about surviving the wilds (life, in general) drivin an old clunker? anyone have volkswagon experiences?

 

well i have a beautiful 68 beetle, not much to say, replace the oil every 3000 miles, give it a tuneup often, get an Idiot book! go get one from a bookstore or order one online, hold on... lemme get the full title. forget it, it's too long, just do a search for "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" on Amazon or whatever, if you are new to volkswagen buy the book any true hippy will appreciate it, its a necessary thing, vdubs are so wierd, the common repair manual wont help you. well what else is there to say, before you get one, stomp on the floor pans, stand of the running boards, poke around for bondo, yada yada yada, treat it with love and respect, keep it up and it'll stick by you for years to come, greatest car ever made! cutest as well...

 

Hiya, Hippies!


It's true, all of it. Even if you do have problems, fixing them will be cheaper than about any other car.

One of those Idiot books and a JC Whitney catalog.

Good luck!

 

yeah you need "how to keep your vw alive forever" for the compleat idiot
mostly hand drawn pictures
you will have problems with the beetle (i had a 70 model)
mainly if you need to get underneath under it to inspect stuff. beware the changing of the spark plugs-some characters probably screwed up the screw thread, it mentions this in the book. if the battery isn't new you can assume its old on its last legs. your beetle is going to teach you to how to fix your own vehicle, they break down constantly. you need to learn how to fix the clutch cable, they snap constantly. beware the fuel line replace the silly little clip that connects it to the carb etc with a proper jubilee clip otherwise the engine compartment will more than likely catch on fire, a friend of mine lost her vw beetle that way, it happens all the time. oh yeah dont go driving anywhere strange without giving it a thorough service and a spare clutch cable.

 

all sound advise.

 

Adding a bike rack and bicycle will really extend the life of any car. The stop and go traffic and circling around for parking spaces of city driving are the hardest miles on a car. And then when you finally breakdown, you'll at least have a bike to go for help.

 

go visit www.fullmoonbusclub.com

Lots of tech support and folks that can put you in touch with reputable Volks Folks. 70 is a great year and the thing should run forever if you care for it.

 

not tried with a beetle but i have with my own citroen 2cv from 82..
be sure to have your tools with ya, so you can fix it if anythings happens, if not at least temponary, i gonna go camping in my car this summer so i can tell ya after that..

 

DONT BABY IT.... cars are made to be driven take proper care but dont just let it sat around...

 

keep a lighter for defrosting the windsheilds in the winter keep oil on hand dont wreck!

 

Survivin' Drivin'. Sounds like it would make a good song.

I'm just driiiiiiiivinnnnn', and surviiiiiiiiiiivinnnnnn'

OK. So it doesn't have the same impact typing it out, but if you heard me singing right now you would totally be bobbing your head.

 

just to add further. i think that if you reside in places like england that throw salt down on the road in winter, the body will suffer severely from rust you should go investigating the body work inside out. you can buy products that spray fish oil into all the nooks and crooks to inhibit rusting.

 

ah yes one of the most dreaded enemy of the vintage volkswagen... rust...

 

By a set of metric wrenches and sockets etc and keep them in the car.

 

keep some blu-tack and pvc (electricians) tape handy

pliers, long nose pliers, multi grips.
socket set for changing wheel over
screwdrivers

 

I don't know what year beetle my mom had, but one year when she was a teenager she went off the road in a snow storm and was stuck there overnight... She got frost bite on her legs and says that she almost froze to death because the heater didn't run unless the car was moving. I don't know if that last tidbit is true or not, but it's something to consider.

 

Okay... here's some things I've learned while working on vw's for the last 10 years...

#1. JC Whitney is CRAP! They are cheap but the saying "you get what you pay for" applies here. Stick with good used parts, OEM (original Equipment Manufacturer), Genuine VW, or quality aftermarket parts. pay the price or do it twice.

#2. Volkswagens like to be tinkered with. They will never, ever be as reliable as a brand new honda. If you don't know how to work on it, learn. If you still don't get it, find someone in the area with a lot of vw's and ask them where to take yours.

#3. Volkswagens were designed to run forever, and cruise all day long at 55-60mph. If you drive it hard, it WILL cook the engine.

#4. Dont listen to people who tell you "you don't need that, throw that away. The germans spent alot of money and time making that car work correctly. For your car to function like it should, everything needs to be original and in place.

#5. If you have questions, ask. There are a ton of people and places with vw knowlege. Check out www.thesamba.com for the internet's largest vw enthusiast site. There's forums, chat, galleries, technical info and classifieds. The "idiot manual" is a good book for someone who is just starting out, but as your knowledge progresses, it becomes rather vauge. Look for a "bently manual" They are the factory authorized repair manual, and they are a bit more expensive than the haynes or chilton manual, but once again, you get what you pay for...

#6. If you ask a question, Listen to the answer. This is the most annoying thing for me as a mechanic. People ask me questions, hoping to get the answer they want to hear and ignore the correct answer. No matter how hard you try, you can't fix stupid. Know enough to know that you can't ever know enough.

anything else you need to know, pm me and I'll try to help out.
later
Mike

 

If the heating system is completely hooked up and in 100% condition, it still leaves something to be desired. That being said, most people don't maintain their heating systems correctly, and thus have little to no heat. The fact that your mom had this problem tells me that her heater wasn't up to par, nor were her winter survival skills. In winter, I always carry snowboots, a spare pair of wool socks, blankets, and a collapsable army shovel. I've lived in mountain climates in Colorado and had to dig myself out of many a sticky situation. Its also a good idea to carry some food, in addition to a can of wet dog food. You'll have to be pretty damn hungry to eat the dog food, but it will sustain you for quite some time, and could possibly save your life. I have no problems driving my vw's year round, coast to coast, and with proper preperation and understanding, you can do the same.