My 1st car was a 1966 VW Beetle (last year of 6 volt battery, headlights were birthday candle bright) and my brother and I drove the hell out of it. Had two gauges on dashboard (speedometer and fuel gauge) with pull stems for lights and emergency flasher. No A/C - heater was furnished with center levers that opened vents that would melt your tennis once the car engine was warmed up. Power nothing of course. 1600 cc if I remember correctly - joy to work on, open the hatch and the engine was practically in your face.
Nice. I drove a 72 Standard Beetle through HS and College. I only gave it up because it developed a problem and wouldn't start and Northern VA is too hot/humid from May till October if you're wearing a suit (which I did at the time). I miss it and have considered buying another one now that I have a house with a garage. Unfortunately, drivable examples are $3k+ around here.
That's how I came not to have mine but in my case it was "VW Trends" circa 1987-89.
I got half way through a (gaudy in hindsight) show car conversion. Never finished because of college. Post college I intended to return it to stock but never made the time to work on it.
As a former driver of a VW First Generation Type 2 (aks a split windshield "bus" with a 6 volt electrical system and a 1500cc engine), looking at the curve of the windshield immediately identified it to me as a Super Beetle.
My first car was a '63 Beetle. The back end got crumpled, so it got cut off and turned into a Baja Bug (since the back was cut off, the front had to be cut off as well, of course). Put a big bore kit on it, jumped all the way from 1200 to 1300 ccs. Also put some of those chrome double headers on the engine. Then I put a Judson supercharger on it, along with big wheels and tires. It ran like a stripe assed ape. The engine would last about 500 miles per rebuild. Friends and I rebuilt the engine five times in one year. The blower put so much back pressure on the engine it blew the glass packs out of the headers, so I usually drove it with straight pipes. I never got a speeding ticket in it, but a cop once heard it from a block or two away, and followed the sound across town until he caught up with me, then gave me a ticket for excessive motor noise. I got airborne in that Bug many times. You haven't lived until you've been airborne in a VW. I'd cruise the local hot rod alley, coasting through the Mickey D's and A&W parking lots. I'd rev it up, then take my foot off the gas--the blower would spin up, then blow blue flames ten feet out the back of the headers. Sounded so cool! I finally got rid of it and bought a '68 GTO.
My last one before I left the air-cooled world was a flat windshield Super Bug. It came to me with an Auto Stick. I ditched that like a bad habit and installed a proper 4-speed manual transmission. I think it took all of about 2 hours to do so...
It's nice to see one that hasn't been raped by a V-Dub magazine subscriber.
ReplyDeleteCurved Windshield Super Bug, no less!
ReplyDeleteMy 1st car was a 1966 VW Beetle (last year of 6 volt battery, headlights were birthday candle bright) and my brother and I drove the hell out of it. Had two gauges on dashboard (speedometer and fuel gauge) with pull stems for lights and emergency flasher. No A/C - heater was furnished with center levers that opened vents that would melt your tennis once the car engine was warmed up. Power nothing of course. 1600 cc if I remember correctly - joy to work on, open the hatch and the engine was practically in your face.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories.
Dang. Second post in a week making me miss my 1970.
ReplyDeleteYou got some interesting wheels in your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteNice. I drove a 72 Standard Beetle through HS and College. I only gave it up because it developed a problem and wouldn't start and Northern VA is too hot/humid from May till October if you're wearing a suit (which I did at the time). I miss it and have considered buying another one now that I have a house with a garage. Unfortunately, drivable examples are $3k+ around here.
ReplyDeleteChris
Not a classic Type 111. That's the Type 113 'Super Beetle', another case of 'new and improved' that isn't.
ReplyDeleteMC
"raped by a V-Dub magazine subscriber"
ReplyDeleteThat's how I came not to have mine but in my case it was "VW Trends" circa 1987-89.
I got half way through a (gaudy in hindsight) show car conversion. Never finished because of college. Post college I intended to return it to stock but never made the time to work on it.
Gave up and traded it off in 2011.
mostly cajun,
ReplyDelete"Not a classic Type 111. That's the Type 113 'Super Beetle'"
No duh. :p
(As G98 pointed out above, anybody could look at the windshield and tell you that.)
As a former driver of a VW First Generation Type 2 (aks a split windshield "bus" with a 6 volt electrical system and a 1500cc engine), looking at the curve of the windshield immediately identified it to me as a Super Beetle.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction? "Nice Beetle!"
Be still my beating heart!
ReplyDeleteThose wheels look more like Empi than real Minilites.
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a '63 Beetle. The back end got crumpled, so it got cut off and turned into a Baja Bug (since the back was cut off, the front had to be cut off as well, of course). Put a big bore kit on it, jumped all the way from 1200 to 1300 ccs. Also put some of those chrome double headers on the engine. Then I put a Judson supercharger on it, along with big wheels and tires. It ran like a stripe assed ape. The engine would last about 500 miles per rebuild. Friends and I rebuilt the engine five times in one year. The blower put so much back pressure on the engine it blew the glass packs out of the headers, so I usually drove it with straight pipes. I never got a speeding ticket in it, but a cop once heard it from a block or two away, and followed the sound across town until he caught up with me, then gave me a ticket for excessive motor noise. I got airborne in that Bug many times. You haven't lived until you've been airborne in a VW. I'd cruise the local hot rod alley, coasting through the Mickey D's and A&W parking lots. I'd rev it up, then take my foot off the gas--the blower would spin up, then blow blue flames ten feet out the back of the headers. Sounded so cool! I finally got rid of it and bought a '68 GTO.
ReplyDeleteBeetles always look happy for some reason. Haven;t had one, but they on the bucket list.
ReplyDeleteMy last one before I left the air-cooled world was a flat windshield Super Bug. It came to me with an Auto Stick. I ditched that like a bad habit and installed a proper 4-speed manual transmission. I think it took all of about 2 hours to do so...
ReplyDelete