How We Made our VW Bug Sound Amazing for FREE | Beetle Diaries Ep. 5 

As an old VW guy I have to mention that chirp will change, depending on how far in you install the tailpipes. If you look in the muffler (with the pipes removed) you will see another pipe on one side. (forget which side) You put the new tailpipes in till you hit that other pipe then wiggle it back out about 3/4" or so. Install the other side to the same depth using a tape measure. That internal pipe creates a venturi effect and helps draw exhaust through the heat riser pipe under the intake manifold. Too much or too little back pressure at that point will change the heat riser flow and also change that chirp. Pushing the tailpipe in too far will also restrict the exhaust. If you get it just right you wont hear much chirp at all. (at least till the baffles rust out)

Just love the beetle tweet! It is as iconic as the Ferrari roar. Great work on the car!

I used to have the flared tails pipes on my 74 Sunbug, man, the memories. Keep em coming !

"Sounds like a boxer" xD

For a pair of guys who aren’t “experts”, you guys did great! Thanks for posting

Love your keeping it old school. This is a good series.

Having fun, that's what Beetles have always been about. Good job. I recently retired and now an old Beetle sits next to my Harley. Love wrenching and driving/riding both. Now, just need to move to Florida so it's more of a 12 month deal.

I totally love the sound that the beetle makes its so pleasing to hear . damn wanna have my own dream beetle car

Love your bug! I was little in the 60’s and my mom had an old bug (a ‘60 I think), we called it Herbie (after the movie The Love Bug) and I used to sit in the little back pocket next to the engine...in the days before seat belts and car seats lol. Ah bug memories 💓

Fun video, Guys! Here's a tip for installing the stereo: The metal plate must go on the *interior* side of the dash, not the trunk side, as you did in the video. This metal plate is meant to provide stable support for the radio. This is why the display is flush with the plastic face plate, which is not correct. Instead, the display should protrude through the plastic cosmetic face plate about 1/4 inch or so. Your installation will work adequately if you supported the back end of the unit with metal plumbers tape or other similar material. When you install the AUX connector, I recommend you correct the installation of the metal support place. Errors aside, keep up what you're doing. Fun content, great video capture and editing work! Cheers from an enthusiastic owner of three 1969 Beetles and two VW busses ('69 & '72).

I remember as a teen hating the sound of the exhaust chirp on my 74 Super Beetle...so I just screwed off the chrome tips...and instant power! (The same German Harley sound you got). Only problem was the exhaust stained the paint...but it sounded tough. Later put on a a little header...I remember it was called the “Purple Beetle Booster”...made it sound sporty yet civilized. Thanks for the memories!

Don't let anyone's negative comments about your work bother you. You are working on the car yourselves, that alone makes you car guys!! I personally love that you went back with stock tips, I love that little chirp. You guys are doing great.

VW Bug is my absolute favorite car. Learned to drive my uncle's beautiful 64 when I was 9 years old. Fell in love for life.

nice to watch yet another generation learn about Type 1's! back in the day, we bolted on exhaust "extractors" with glass-pack mufflers and re-jetted the carburetor, it didn't go any faster but the glass pack drowned out the tinny VW sapphire radio

Check the fuel evaporation system for fuel leaks. That is most likely the reason why you have fuel smell when turning to the left.

I get a kick out of how the exhaust sounds like a cricket on a beetle. But I would rather it without those chrome baffles. And just put a couple straight through chrome tips instead to get the aggressive sound. Really liked the retro styled radio!

Nice to see some young guys interested in Beetles. My 63 has half the wires under the hood and they are still a pain in the butt. Nice radio

It sounds sweet with those new pipes on.

I love it. I hope you guys plan on making a lot more videos of aircooled goodness.

Nice video guys good to see young guys learning to work on these old cars a 1973 VW Bug was my first car in high school. :) Mike, ASE Master Technician 1979-2020

Okay, a new subscriber here. Awesome. Keep up the great work. You're learning and having fun. And getting stuff done. Awesome

Even here in Germany a beetle is very very rare on the streets today My sister owned one in the late 70s, I had my first driving atemps on this car.

Enjoying the vids. Well done. Keep em coming.

I just found this series and it's everything i've been looking for

Hey guys first time watching you guys. Great stuff. You guys are totally cool. Can’t wait to watch the rest of your vids.

I put the larger diameter stainless tips on mine... gets rid of the pea shooter whistle and gives it a nice rumble with the “boxer” (actually unequal length header) noise. Sounds great in my opinion

Good video guys. Got some good advice when I was younger. Heat works well. Use a propane torch next time.

This is awesome guys! just randomly found your video and I saw Painters Grinding and instantly knew where you where. I'm in the same boat, younger guy with a old bug trying to learn as much as he can on it! Would love to see y'all at some Colorado cruises!

Hermoso video! Gracias por reivindicar este clásico!!!! Saludos desde Argentina.

You guys have got to keep and protect this Bug. It's an antique now, and from the looks of it,it's a real good one. Enjoyable video,..thanks again!

I had to wait for the end for the best line... 'but noooobody died!' made my day!!

You guys are Great !!! You had me ROTFL with the Mini German Harley comment ! Love it !!! Keep up the good work ! I own an all original 1965 bug now but have owned 13 throughout my lifetime. Even owned the one driven in the movie "Chances Are" by Robert Downey Jr and Cybil Sheppard but lost it in a nasty Divorce... LOL but that's a whole other story... Anyway just wanted to comment on you guys and tell you thanks for keeping the Vee Dub alive on your channel !!!

The sound is as iconic as the shape of the car. My Bug chirps like a happy cricket and i love it :-)

I wonder if Ed China would ever colab on this series with you, he is an air-cooled wizard

Great job fellas! Love the Beetle Diaries.

Really like this type of video Great job guys

Great job guys! I got my 74 Super when I was 14 and I’m now 49, that makes it 35 years of ownership. After all those years I finally decided to try to get rid of the infamous gas smell. You will probably figure out that changing the gas cap won’t solve the problem... can’t wait to watch part 2 of your solution ;-). Keep it up, I love the way to do this serie.

Pioneer Premier were actually the higher line radios from Pioneer back in the day, similar to the Elite for home electronics, not Walmart.

Love the series guys keep up the great content

looks like lots of fun. Great entry for somebody interested in wrenching but isn't very experienced yet

Nice work. SUBSCRIBED!

Excellent, boys! I have a 73 mexican beetle, I'm trying to restore it. It's getting awesome!

Good work guys. I've been bitten by the Bug. The only cure is to watch more VW videos 😁

My 2nd car was a 1973 super beetle,loved that car,bought it in 1978.Back in those day"s, a mail order company called J,C. Whitney made every after market piece you could imagine for a type 1 VW.Those cars were everywhere and cheap to buy and own.They sold a set of flared exhaust tips that took that annoying "whistling sound" completely away,back then regular department stores sold everything for those cars.Changing an engine was 4 bolts and 7 wires,1/2 day job.tops.Floor jack under the motor,pull it right out,new one went in just as easy.Windshield washer was powered off the spare tire,when you got lower than 26lbs. the washer stopped working so it didn"t totally de flate the spare,alot of really genious stuff on these vehicles!

the distinctive bark of the horizontally opposed four love it to bits

Sounds so sweet guys! Keep up the great work - Christopher

Music to my ear, but originally there was no chirp. Aftermarket pipes makes that sound. I had a pair of NOS pipes,they purred so sweet. My recent 1500 Bug chirps too:)

Those little tweet generating baffles, actually serve a purpose. The baffles help maintain the correct back pressure on the exhaust. Without this much needed back pressure, your little 4-cylinder friend will suffer from overheating, and possible cylinder burnout. You can run without them, if you use longer pipes, just do the calculations to achieve the same level of back pressure. This is akin to tuning the port on a subwoofer. In my humble opinion, the Beetle should always have the "VW Chirp", but then I'm an old school "Air Head". Nice video guys!

I had flared tips on my 73 super beetle and 73 regular beetle. They had baffles in them like stock ones but sounded much better

I was told that on the old 36 hp engines, removing the muffler caused the engine to run too lean, which damaged the valves. I wonder if those tail pipe tips were to create back pressure or perhaps prevent a too lean condition?

Nice stereo for the VW. Never thought that the motor sound was made that way. My dad had three of those VW 's.

Why do people think that WD-40 is a good penetrating oil? It's good for removing bugs 'n tar, it's a good fire starter, and it"s OK for a squeaky door. Smells OK, too. That's about it.

Awesome car, love these things, nice video guys!

I like the Jbugs stero, it matches pretty well. Glad you guys are keeping Felix as close to factory original as possible..:)

I gotta say.. your mechanic skills are slim,, but you've already admitted to that.. But the video quality and production is amazing.. Great work guys.. I just subscribed..

Brings back memories. I wish I still had my 72

Man, you guys scored. What a great Beetle.

Love the beetle, your one is in great condition, keep it factory!, wish I had one

Next you need to add some additional speakers since the new stereo supports it. Also get rid of the resonators and old muffler and add some headers. I remember adding a "Purple Beetle Booster" to my 1964 beetle in 1973 it had a great sound! Enjoy 😀

You are so lucky to even get the tips out, when you install them, use some never seize so removal is easier next time. also check the fuel filler hose that goes to the tank for leaks as this is the usual source of the fuel smell.

I'm in Love 💞💞💞 with your beetle! She sounds amazing!

Well this is pretty damn cool! That's one beautiful Super Bug!

Good job boys for keeping your beetle stock.

Original tips had a ceramic liner, none or less chirp. We used to replace them with lengths of SS pipe so they didn't look shit again after a few months, in fact the SS ones moved from muffler to muffler.

I put a vw tip on a allis Chalmers exhaust pipe. Made it real quiet. My brother put a megaphone exhaust system on his vw with a 1300 engine with 1500 jugs and pistons along with a 3/4 cam,two barrel holly carb,bobbed fenders and hood bonnet. That was one fast car. Sounded like a big angry bumble bee. He also installed a fastback engine in another bug. Had to ease on the gas especially when shifting gears as the front end would come off the ground and scrape the exhaust tips on the pavement. :O

Great video, I love beetles. I have to say though watching you go through all that work for the new stereo and hook it up to one speaker is hard to watch lol.

Greetings again from South Africa. I've also noticed that some Karman Ghia models also make this iconic beetle churp n sound

I have a 74 super bug and I got new chrome tail pipes 2 years ago and they are already rusty! I even live in dry Colorado like these Boulder guys! Invest in the stainless steel, it's worth it

That radio will look good in big green

First thing I did was replace that dreadful "chirpy" exhaust and replace it with a decent extractor system that improves efficiency AND makes my bug sound like it has some balls! Each to their own though. Great video guys, good job.

+1. .. The good folks at Painters Grinding Co, Denver is a knowledgeable bunch!!. .. Painter's looked after the Frau's '79 Super Beetle Convertible back in the day. .. We continue to own the Super Beetle although stored for several decades. .. V'dub's rule! If only we were closer to Denver?

These beetle vids are ace

Great video, guys. I have changed the exhausting pipes of my type 1 (worthy and cheap parts but bring awesome sound for the engine). Super Beetle has lots of nice upgrades compared to the models we have in Brazil. Best regards!

The chirping sound is the crimped internal baffles working loose from the outer shell. Wolfsburg West has tig-welded German made STAINLESS pipes that look & sound great for YEARS! You get what you pay for! Back in the day I just gutted my tailpipes.

In my 1963 Beetle I took the standard end tubes out and replaced them with flared tips, so called TT Pipes, from 2 to 3 inches in diameter. The looked very sporty and the sound was much more aggressive. (The horse power remained the same....alas!)

Awesome vid guys!!

Great job you guys!!

Heart felt Sound.

Nice job fellas! The more you wrench, the more you learn.

Love that I H hat. Because I'm an International Harvester person. LOL basically 7.3 diesel in Fords. Love the old VW. So much fun to drive. And so easy to work on. But my wife has an 04 convertible new Beetle and I haven't 05 convertible. Bought them cheap and use it as a commuter car. I have a 5-speed hers is an automatic. Love that 5-speed. I wonder if I could make the new Beetle sound like the old ones. LOL you never know. You guys do a good job on the videos. I love that you actually make a video and you get along and help each other. So many RU-vidrs want to cut down each other and make a big stink all the time. Using a bunch of profanity. I don't see a need for that. Thanks again, God bless

Sooooo which part was free? The tips that were $12 each, the $180 radio, or the $20 in tools and fluids to take the tips off?

Love watching you two

They already sound mega amazing from the factory. Truly a unique car! The only car nicknamed after a bug beetle (animal) that actually looks like one. We grew up with em. Love the sound. Love the vehicle. Wish they'd make all the models from beginning to end again even with a hybrid and all electric version but with a button on the electric version to put on and off that famous beetle tweeting sound. Los geht's Deutschland. Auf Wiedersehen, PROST

One thing you need is a channel lockvpliers ser and vise grips set to put in your box alobg with good screw drivers set. PB Blaster is much better at penetrating than wd40. Add one good speaker mounted in rhe rear rhis way you two can take full advantage of that great stereo you purchased. I'll be following you two You have a great first project car rhats totally awesome 👍👋👋👋

I bought the entire kit, including that radio. Did you have any problem getting it past the wiper motor? I had to take the face off the radio and reinstall it through the radio slot in the dash. I have a 72 standard Type 1.

I replaced the muffler from a bus one to the correct stock on my Super Beetle. One day, a tip fell off, so I bought two new ones. The one that fell was easy. The one that fell out. The other one-not so much! I had to spend about a week and a bottle of PB Blaster chiseling it out. It welded itself in. I removed the entire muffler and had to put it in a vice. I hop to not have to do that again!

You can pull the inserts out. I did it on mine and sounds good.

Would love to see you guys put together my 74 VW 412, had all the body work done and painted it back to its original colour of chromium yellow, but now it has been siting and waiting for me to assemble it, but life got away and the years flew by and health reasons I am unable to assemble it so now it sits in my sisters barn like a new car just unassembled. It truly is the ugly duckling of the rare VW's.

I like the deep sound

Please could you tell me the name of that radio? It seems perfect for my 1302 super beetle cabrio, it has the cutted dashboard like yours.

I know this video is two years old, but you can get a similar sound to without the tips by punching out the baffles in the tips, which will keep the stock look and provide a similar aggressive sound.

Close your eyes 9:29 to 9:54

that radio is actually a very very high end unit from pioneer, but if it didnt work then it didnt work lol. Good video

Just wait till you feel the power and the roar of dual webers! It will change your life! keep them videos comin' kids!;)

That was actually a pretty good radio you pulled out. Guessing it was either broken or not wired correctly. Personally I would go with the retro radio like you did, but hide some better sounding component speakers. Too bad they already cut out the factory radio hole, the old factory metal opening definitely looks better.

My Baja bug had the radio pulled out when I bought it and I used it as a safety back up. If I accidentally left the keys in the ignition and locked the doors I was able to open the hood and pull the keys through the radio slot

They also make plane tubes that are flared ( no baffles) that put a roar into the bug. In Indiana we can do that but some sissy states it's frowned upon.

My mum had three of these models in the 80s. Red, electric metalic blue and pine metalic green.

With out the tips sound so much better.

Wall-mart just called in, said they are canceling all advertising on TFLnow. Said they only sell mighty fine radios.