1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle 1600: Regular Car Reviews 

Midnight Ryder correct. They were everywhere. Hondas didn’t seem to make any headway until the very late 70s.

Midnight Ryder So true

Not in Eastern Europe, you would see only Ladas and Moskviches back then.

Exactly! Even Ted Bundy had one!

1977TA Haha!! Your right!!

My first was a 73 super as well. Still is, I've learned a lot and had a lot of minor problems as well. I've loved every second of it.

A friend of mine in high school owned a Baja Beetle. He was always fiddling with it at school so that he could drive home. He told me one time, if he had a roll of wire and a flat head screwdriver he could fix anything on it. I always got a kick out of that. Actually, I believe his Baja was the same shade of orange as this one now that I think about it.

So it steered you into a future of blue collar work

@@04dram04 And what is wrong with "blue collar" work?

@@04dram04 if this is as condescending as i think it is buddy you do realize most of the so called "blue collared workers" your talking down to made this country what it is yes even your founding fathers before they became what they were were normal people. Besides i bet you couldnt fix a computer or car without paying someone to do it so dont talk down to someone when you clearly know less.

I am also an A&P. I legitimately want a Rotax 915iS because it has more in common with anything with four wheels than a Continental or Lycoming.

neat

Do Lycomings and Continental also struggle with the overheated cylinder left in front?

@@eltfell no, for airplanes the rearmost cylinder gets the hottest, but for the same reason

I wonder what would happen if you stuck a Lycoming or a Continental into a Beetle?

Yeah, no doubt. VW guys are rabid. That's why the internet has so much information. I'm pretty sure Regular Car Guy was joking...he piles it on pretty thick. ;)

For they will prevail

He is not talking about VW enthusiasts. He is talking about the unsuspecting fool that buys a beetle thinking it would be as easy to maintain as a 1990s Corolla. Those people are only getting a beetle to be "different" or to try to make their opinion matter more.

a beetle is a easy car to work on i know it because i have one and rebult it

Technically I delivered it to him. I didn't want it to break down on him driving it home from my house.

Imagine having your new classic Bug delivered to your door!

Hello!

DeBoss, have you taken it the back seats of a classic Bug and dropped in a 12-valve Cummins diesel yet? Love your channel too!

You’re literally describing me. Just got my ‘72 Super. Let me tell you, it’s not fun having it shit on, but I totally understand haha

If you know how to work on them, they won't strand you as long as you have some tools in the car. They need work incredibly often, but hardly ever fail catastrophically. Hell, one guy can change an engine on the side of the road with hand tools and a bumper jack. I wish I knew how to work on them, I've always wanted a type 3 Squareback.

@The Underground Man idk if this is a joke im not getting but 300 kilometres is 186.4 mi.

@The Underground Man that's why he said 300K .. ( 300,000) not 300..keep of the weed dude..lol

Your dad must have carried around 6 belts.

The USS Johnston the K means thousand...

Yeah, to the surprise of literally no one we're having a Porsche 924 situation again.

...but it's like this with any old car. And fair enough, the bug isn't the nicest to drive, but it does work - and is a great platform to modify. I would not give up my BMW. It's so good, even mr. I-hate-German-cars-Regular likes it. Same era, waaaay better car.

Exactly. I’ve sat inside a mint 1963 Karmann Cabriolet and smelled no vapor, heard no road noise and barely heard the hum of the engine. On the flip side, I’ve sat in plenty of beetles that have been stripped and molested several times in their lifetime and sound like hot garbage. It’s not the cars fault, it’s the people who own them

Best way to fix the vacuum thing is to go with a centrifugal advance ignition. My 66 had that, and I never had to touch the ignition or the carb.

@@Eatinbritches How old are we talking about? The 84 Caprice I had was not anywhere near this bad. The A/C was broken but that was it.

This is actually in the BEST condition of 99% of them out there that have not been restored as show Queens. They were not long-lasting cars if they were not practically rebuilt every couple of years.

@@Jack_Stafford false

Well if I have to drive it every day, I'll stick to my challenger.

Mexican bugs sure are weird.... The suspension is from 68, ball joints front end, and swing axle trans. But the body continued to look like 72 super beetles, oh and no safety glass....

@@Gunny426HemiPlymouth same with brazilian beetles.

@@Gunny426HemiPlymouth super beetle? Mexici never had a Super. They were standards with link pin up front

lol I think they made Beetles in Mexico until like 2009

@@angelgjr1999 until 2003

joshaction1 Yes indeed

Well kept beetles are good

Then you had em a long time ago when people were alive that's understood what they were

@@coreygolphenee9633 2006? Lol

@@joshaction1 yeah actually, buy the time I was shopping for mine in 2014 they were all gex block double carb cars that drowned the owners completely. The people that understand that these cars work great stock is dying out and the people that experienced the motor harmonically balanced from the factory are too. They are like sailboats now you are inheriting the quality of someone else's work at this point

Get it, friend. Idk where you live but I’m cali you can buy a beetle in REALLY good condition for 2,000. A beetle that’s entirely fixed up? 4,000. Super Beetles look a little weird though, so I recommend getting one from the 60s. A 68 or 69

WPOS model...

Same

Here in the Midwest they’re sparse. Good ones go for high 5000s for a Super. In the past 5 years, I’ve seen a total of 2 driving around where I live

@@benjaminbaumgart3935 I saw a limited edition running 74 super with a bad carb for sale for $3k across the way in northern Minnesota a bit ago :p depends on who's selling

Also a fitting line for being near an air-cooled VW. Usually the smell is gas though.

You said Louisiana, you said enough.

Im from Louisiana. What smelled?

Breaking new ground as well as breaking wind ... Pffffffttttt .......

Crappy fuel lines can do that, especially in the fuel injected models.

Well, some cloned the Volkswagen van a "bread box" so "toast" analogy is fitting ...

Did she survive?

yeah and when Katrina hit i yelled "WIIIIIPE OOOUUT" while me and Bush were having a couple of beers

Funny, as a little kid, my favorite car was a Volkswagen Beetle because of Herbie The Love Bug, but my favorite show was The Dukes Of Hazzard because of the General Lee, and now, as an adult, my favorite car is a '69 Charger.

@@thecatthatgotaway r/nothingeverhappens

business nice cars..big fuel bill 😯

U S A

Here in brazil we put maverick V8's and Subaru Boxers in the beetles , they ran like hell with an good engine , its scary , you dont want to be at 100mph in the highway with a Beetle

@@Gorecatto ah yes the good ol ｄｅａｔｈ　ｒａｔｔｌｅ

Why not?

Oh yeah didn't MCM do an engine swap?

Just like Ladas and Moskviches in the Soviet countries :-)))

Just like in a Zaporożec :-)

Correction: hates the MEN in his family.

I'm on my cherokee's 3rd radiator. I'm pretty sold on an air-cooled grocery getter

We daily drove a 72 Super in Ohio as well, (~8 years ago) it was surprisingly just fine. Would still have it, but traded up to a 73 Thing. I'd argue that upkeep is easier and cheaper than most classic cars, but I understand that this video was based on anecdotes of someone who bought a bad car, a test drive, and maybe a handful of hours of homework.

I paid 1200 for my 1973 beetle in 1997 still driving it love that car

Why a 63 over an earlier cat?

@@coreygolphenee9633 was the year of the first beetle I fell for. I do like the older ones but not the biggest fan of the oval or split windows.

I had one, went through snow ❄️ like a 4 wheel drive. Loved that car

Thank you, I felt like I was taking crazy pills with that generator talk when he was showing an alternator

Easy, he's got a Citroen !

Exactly! The beetle gets it done, and has for years in Europe.

He drives a Samurai.

He drives a Toyota Pickup Truck. :)

That was a brilliant ad but mimicked an earlier Plymouth version showing how the mailman in Vermont delivered mail in snow.

I daily one year round in Colorado. Mine's heat works properly, so usually it's not bad - though it's totally useless when stuck in traffic. As for snow, I think it starts to become vaguely aware of something on the ground when the snow is about 4" deep, anything less than that it doesn't really notice. I once put chains on it and drove it through more than a foot of snow, steering was practically nonexistent but it kept going. I have gotten it stuck in hard-packed snow/ice with "potholes" a couple times, but I'd be amazed if any car wouldn't get stuck in that.

Op has since died in a fatal crash since making this post.

BigWheel I drive with rollerblades on so I can jump out when the brakes go out. If I start smoking marijuana and listening to foghat while driving I’ll be doomed however

@@flyingonblades [distorted blaring through blown speakers] SloW RyDe!!!!!!! TaKe It EeEazZy

dad: *loads shotgun* "Now son, I told you all the people who owned beetles died..."

BigWheel nah, it wasn’t a vw bus

Not to mention the shifter and steering wheel having more play than a teenager's browser history.

Yeah the T1 is pretty horrible but it isn't the sitting on top of the front wheels that's a problem, its the general build of the car. The aerodynamics are horrible, making side winds hell and the weak suspension making cornering dangerous. They perfected the sitting on top of your wheels with the T3 (or vanagon), its the best cornering bus I've ever driven (even compared to new vans) and short turning makes parking super easy. I've just recently taken a roadtrip with my "Bundeswehr" T3 to the Italian and Swiss Alps and I loved every second of it. Fast cornering on small hill roads, offroading in the Alps, driving it trough impossible small Italian towns, all without any fuss. It doesn't have the looks of the T1 but its the perfect classic VW Bus. PS like your car interests as well, love the Morpar/VW combo. I'm a (US) Ford/VW fan, but I like any classic if its old enough. xD

Bruno Marques good line.

I love the over the wheel seating. With the windshield on the front and inches from your nose you have a panoramic view. It's the imax of automobiles.

Volkswagen T1, an overpriced overrated box on wheels. Unless those ridonculous prices I have seen at BJ are just the 23 window ones.

@Carl Klinkenborg Weird. It sure smelled like horse.

Old Japanese cars were biodegradable is a great way to put it, as awesome as a 240 is it was never meant to be put through what the bug has been battle tested and proven to go through

Talk about bottoming out ... Could have driven it like a Flintstone mobile ... yaba daba dooooooo ...

You'll be fine in an old Benz. I've lived that life.

@CaptainKman oh I own it for over half a year now. Basic maintenance aside (one oil change and fresh coolant) I really didn't need anything. It got restored two years ago before that it was all one owner. It's a W201. Number 272 of the assembly line in Bremen. 5 speed But carbureted (when I remember correctly the states only got the injected model). Tho I replaced the drivers seat. Previous owner was an absolute unit and Tore the seat apart getting in and because everything else was spotless I couldn't let it be. Got it for 50€ in mint condition from a scrapyard

It also has self-adjusting brakes. No idea WTF this guy is talking about. Sounds like he bought the wrong brake shoes, for one thing.

So do earlier ones, the 12v electrics we're introduced in 67

The Beetle's design, both in looks and practicality was ahead of it's time, when it was designed in the 1930's. It was also inexpensive and reliable and for all practical purposes in the United States, filled the small economy car niche for 15 years straight. What killed it in the US was, that even though it was reliable by 1960's standards, which weren't very high, and could be easily maintained by owners who were willing to get their hands dirty, by the 1970's, the Japanese had raised the bar so high on reliability as well as fuel economy (Beetles maybe got 30 mpg, but a Datsun B210 got 37-41 mpg, for instance), that Beatles could no longer compete & couldn't get by on "cuteness" alone. VW had by then acquired Audi, which had a vehicle in the works, which either spawned or became the VW Golf/Rabbit, which was enormously popular and likely saved VW as a company.

@jdslyman Everyone knows that. We're tired of people bringing it up.

@@sparky6086 farfignewgun!

21 million sold! Must have been half decent

@jdslyman Absolutely!

Lotus evora 400r? Niice

400R R33 Skyline?

Since buying one of my dream cars last month (83 SAAB 900), I've been hit by a dose of reality and started dividing my dream car list into "attainable" and "never meant to own". I realized I'm not willing to realistically daily anything older or weirder than the SAAB. On the plus side, I'm learning the basics of Bosch mechanical fuel injection, so classic Porsches, BMWs, and Mercs of the era all just moved a little closer to the first list.

My dream car was a mini cooper. Not an old one, one of the newer ones. It was a painful learning expirence. Definitley on a never meant to own list

I’m probably insane as I wanted a Crown Super Coach and thought my dad would want to do it with me father and son but he just gave me a bunch of fucking shit and it will never happen.

I have, one with a hell of a misfire on all cylinders and rear transaxle mounts that were soft as silly putty from the oil leaks. Changed the mounts, plug wires, and set the points gap (there was NO GAP). Ran much better but still had a vacuum leak from the rubber boots on the intake, I think.

i have, when the timing is wrong

Tranny mounts are probably bad

@@TheViolatorinator Mine kept plugging up the #4 plug. Turns out the exhaust tube that heats the intake manifold can get plugged which makes the manifold not heat up and causes fuel to condense out before it gets to the cylinder. That can cause a lot of the shaking issues.

Dorsk84 Oh yeah!!!

This x1000

I fucking hope so, been waiting a long time for a review of one. Dream car right there.

510, please and thank you.

240z > 510

@@TylerTheBassCreator Ford Mustang > Ford Ka

Nothing wrong with a generator.

@@vector6977 nothing wrong (and so much right) with an alternator swap either

The 1974 came with an alternator. He also does not know what actually makes a Beetle a Super Beetle. McPherson struts. From the front seats to the back it’s the same car.

@ vector6977 Tons wrong with a generator. Like he said, it doesn’t produce power at idle... so lights go dim battery discharges at a stop light. That’s because it only has one winding instead of three like an alternator and the regulator is throwing as much juice into the field as it can but still not making anything. ALL of your power has to go through the brushes. Just the field current goes through the alternator brushes. That means generator brushes are more expensive and still burn out over twice as fast. And rather than two screws and one wire to replace the brushes on an alternator vs taking the shroud off and having to mess with brushes and springs plus wires for each brush on a generator. You need a commutator to rectify the current produced by a generator. The same high current going through an uneven and complex surface vs the two simp slip rings of an alternator’s rotor and a solid state diode rectifier. You need a current limiter and reverse current cutout for a generator so it isn’t motored by the battery. Alternators are self limiting and the solid state diode rectifier functions as a reverse current cutout. Because of the complexity of the generator regulator (which often uses physical contacts for voltage regulation, current limiting, and reverse current cutout) it is another extremely failure prone part of a generator setup vs a completely solid-state alternator. The only advantage a generator has it that it is self-exciting. But you can make an alternator self-exciting by using a generator to power the rotor. This also eliminates all of the brushes and thus makes a brushless alternator.

@@DanaTheInsane Yup..the dimensions of the rest of the car were identical to the standard Beetle. I believe the designation for the Super was a 113,vs a 111 for the standard.

If you drive one of those now, you're just a chump.

As seen in the classic movie "Up in Smoke".

@@Oddman1980 I forgot all about that!

You can also get a body kit to make it look like a 959.

Say what you want about the pimpmobile Bugs, but I would drive the fuck out of one purely BECAUSE it's so ridiculous.

Hence, the 911=Beetle joke

Yet...The Ghia is probably one of the best cars ever designed...

Trivia: all vw cars are the same thing.

@@antonioederlopezlopez7341 *ahem* EA827 1.9 TDI Limbach series Cb-40 My good lad, read a book...

Hardly surprising when this descends almost directly from the motherfucking kubelwagen of all things

It's a super beetle, the suck because those are expensive as fuck. Complicate suspension, larger diff, etc. The normal one is waaay better, easier to fix, doesn't let you down if you take care of it. I have one and it's been on my family for 20 years

Exactly, back when I was in Brasil we had a Beetle as our car. You could literally let that thing sit for a few years, come back to it, push it to the mechanic's shop, restore the thing for less than it cost to buy a used car, and get on your way driving. Say what you want about the war time design, but it runs like a wartime design should.

OmegaReilly I would not say McPherson struts are complicated. I also prefer the standard but also understand why vw came up with this version.

Nope Chevy was more reliable

Jedi Master Joe gotta be kidding. American cars were garbage at the time. They were huge gas guzzling relics that were junkyard bound with 80,000 miles on the clock. I like some of the American cars from that time for sure but good cars they were not.

Also because of the obvious plastic fuel filter issue w/ the engine heat I re-positioned mine under the tank in the front (only accessible from under the car like where the master cylinder is)

You know it & I do but they don't!

Do the Mexican beetles have alternators?

@@GeneralZapta213 73 and newer all had alternators and its not hard to convert an older car to run one either.

@@1mangostick 67 and newer had a 12v system afaik

Can anything be done to prevent that (rust) if you use it as a daily driver in Massachusetts? I wouldn't mind getting an old Beetle someday.

@@TofranBohk in Germany we have companys that electroplate cars , maybe something like this exists near you.

@@TofranBohk eh its more about the location that is the issue then what you can do. its the salt that kills them since it takes the protective coating off which allows the rust to start and it accelerates the corrosion. Its gonna depend where you live. If they use salt when it snows and roads freeze its bad to daily it. If you are in arizona or texas and this isnt an issue then its fine

If you keep up with valve adjustments and are pre-emptive at preventing fuel leaks, these can get you where you need to go. You might even keep a rebuilt motor in a shed waiting for when the valve adjustment isn't enough.

It's because the further these get from factory assembly and the more people experience them as second hand projects the more that reputation sticks

I'm a proud patron of the "same" club

it was literally the best selling car in the world for a while

The beetles were loved and the Datsuns, Hondas, and Toyotas were scrapped once they'd served their time

20 million+ sold, but they were made to be used every day- not sit in a garage, only to be brought out for car shows! People like beetles because everyone had one. It was THE family car. Then new cars came out, and everyone moved on. But for a lot of Americans, it was their first family car.

GeneralZapta213 like 70s Honda’s Toyota’s and datsuns? If so then yeah, but not today

Those Japanese cars of the time rusted to shit, especially if your town used road salt. Most cars of the 70s are pretty rust prone, including the Beetle, but those Japanese cars were just eaten alive

Mexican beetle? It would come with a 1600cc stock

Same, my first car was a 1977 super with the Arizona AC unit crammed in your legs lol, drove it for 15 years and all i ever did was change oil and tires. But in this bugs defense it looks very ill kept...

@The Underground Man yea pretty close it would make abt 90 hp im pretty sure

@The USS Johnston the insane part is the aircooling not the HP. Air is shit at removing heat.

It didn't have a beetle engine so it doesn't count

My 80s Peugeot had fried it's alternator and didn't charge well at all, my dad kept making fun of it saying "I didn't know you bought a Beetle."

Yeah, that's an alternator, even tough it is bigger and less efficient than modern alternators, so they don't quite generate enough electricity on idle.

@@LGaragem idk what you guys are on about. Even the 55amp base model Bosch/Motorola alternators were plenty fine for a Beetle. Even if you add aux lights and a basic sound system.

Scout F. The red one in your picture looks very nice.

official clown business thank you!

The set that the point of this channel? For the most part, it’s a slam fest.

Aaron Decker I agree!!!

Scout F. Nice Beetle in your photo

Especially when justin dangles a fuel filter off the fuel nipple that's famous for pulling out and lighting a fire on top of the engine which is... magnesium and then... yeahhhh.

magnesium in my engine? it's more likely than you think

Eyy if you have a later one, you get aluminum, still won't prevent your oil from BOILING HOTTER THAN SATAN'S ASSHOLE

They all had one from the factory anyway.

Everyone wants a engine block that can catch on fire!

they're nice and fun to drive man highly recommend

It's challenging until you know what your doing, then you can do anything on it in an hour and I mean anything

No kidding!!! It was a lazy review on a sub-par condition Super Beetle. (I mean, really.. "the ONLY difference between a Super and a Standard is they stretched everything to be a bit bigger?" Uhm.. NOPE.

@@musichistorynut He really just does not like older German cars. He shat on the W201, the Beetle, the 944, the W123, and such. He barely does any research when talking about these cars and ALL expect the W201 were in driver condition or below. All expect the W201 deserve a new rereview

@@akishot6735 Does he like any car?

@@sharksport01 Toyotas and old Fords

@@akishot6735 He loved the Karmann Ghia, he just has his own opinions.

true

That's an opinion I've only saw from people that never owned one. Seriously.

This comment proves the point he makes in the video

@@AugustoRallo I know a lot of people who drive and maintain beetles, its a very popular classic car in Alsace 🤷

My 72 Super sat for 10 years. New fuel and oil and some fiddling with the carb and it fired right up. Those motors will take the most extreme of abuse.

Can confirm-

Gaining a lot of experience in short time no doubt lol.

Early "Super" was a 1302 which had macpherson suspension and a flat windshield. 1303 had a curved windshield

Super Beetles had the flat windshield up to mid-‘72.

Windhund Garage yea whoops

@@RegularCars It's no biggy! I really enjoyed the video and you made a lot of very good and accurate points there :D

On a roll ... Assault with a battery ... Pain in the glass ... On a more serious note, no serious injuries, other than maybe pride ...

don't you mean younger boomers and older gen xers?

@@666cemetaryslut Yes. Thank you. Edited.

Yep, us older boomers didn't see these until the secretaries at work started getting them.

And rear IRS.

What

That looked a lot like an alternator as well (which would have been found on a 74) too much bias in his beetle videos :)

100% correct,these guy"s need a smart car,couple of jokers

The first 2 years had a flat windshield but the front end had louvers under the bumper

And the MK1 GOL with FWD front mounted beetle engine. Replace rapidly with the "Golf" engine. EA827.

That's not true, we got the "Fuscão" which is a super beetle

@@spookyscaryskeletons69420 No it is not! It has some of the more "modern" stuff the super beetle has, but Brazilian Fuscas never had the dashboard, the curvy windshield or even the Mcpherson Strut front suspension that all Super Beetles have, so it is not even close to a Super Beetle.

Had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

Wait what happened to it?

@@SuperFrankieOSX Problems kept popping up here and there. First it was the brake pads and rotors, and then it was the fuel pump. But anyway, it's all sorted. I actually have a diary video coming out tomorrow where I talk about it for a bit.

@@LimitedTimeRoman oh wow cool, sorry I was a bit behind on all the info, it's great to hear everything is solved!

Rum ham

steamed ham

This ham gum is all bones!