You can drop the engine in under 5 minutes if you're good. 15 if you're not (me) And it's my first car! Learned how to drive stick on it a few months ago
The clutch on a lot of old beetles is sort of optional at times. Once you learn the gear ratios, you notice there is a small window between each gear where you can shift without touching the clutch. Believe me, it's fun ! Oh, and by the way, the back seats easily accommodate 2 adults.
My first one was a 1966 Beetle I remove the 1300cc and rebuilt a 1600cc with an 88mm bore kit After that it would pop wheelies and pull any hill LOL. Its actually 4 Nuts and studs. The fastest engine removal I did was 3.5 minutes. Quite a few VW repair videos on my page.
This was my favorite video yet David! Sure it's nice seeing crazy fast modern day cars with ridiculous mods and motor swaps, but seeing a bright little Beetle on the channel was awesome. I still get excited every time I see an old timer just like this one! Like you said, I have The Beetle to thank, otherwise the Volkswagen Rabbit/Golf/GTI never would've been!
I had to laugh when you said you were afraid this car wouldn't make it uphill. This car will continue driving up a hill where many other cars won't, put it in first gear and this car will climb a mountain
Oh man please tell me that’s the case! I have a 75 degree hill around my house that I need to eventually drive up with my bug and I’m hoping it can take it lol
@@alexmiranda2652 75 degrees? Do you mean 15 degrees (from horizontal)? Because that's almost straight up (unless you have a different system in the US),
@@TheOriginalCoda yea we say the largest number from horizontal here haha, but yes it’s pretty much almost straight up… do you think a 1200cc beetle could climb that in 1st or 2nd gear?
@@alexmiranda2652 Beetles and even the much heavier campervan (which I drive) can go up any hill due to the short first gear. You'll be slow but you'll do it. Many of us have tackled the hills around Wales and Scotland with impunity. Keep the revs high to provide the best cooling and don't lug the engine, they don't like that.
Nice looking Bug! Beetles are tons of fun, easy to drive, easy to work on, and inexpensive to own. They are great cars for someone who is looking for a fun classic car that won’t break the bank.
This car is awesome I have a Beetle and I love it and my dad recently bought one and he loves it as well he even has plans for modding it. Cool cars indeed
ThatDudeinBlue I remember when growing up in central Florida, me and my family used to ride those things everywhere! They are so much fun☺✊ These videos are fun to watch David👍 It shows that your enthusiasm for cars in general, and not just speed, is awesome bro!
The Bug has a place in everyone’s heart here in Mexico. They were used as taxis, everyone was taught how to drive in one, and it was so easy to repair and maintain basically everyone had one. My dad actually drove 7 hours all the way to Acapulco with 4 friends in his VW from Mexico City, they were going flat out with the car maxed out at 140kmh (85mph) so yeah it was a very popular car here in Mexico. You don’t see them running around anymore though.
Although it wasn’t my first car, one of the first cars I drove was one of these turned into a buggy, and I love these things so much. They are so simple, nice to drive, and comfortable. Truly the perfect simple little car.
Wish there were more channels that worked around older cars. They’re honestly so fun to build, customize, and just drive. Love your review of the Aircooled Volkswagens. Love my ghia and bug :)
Omg yes! The bug is so darn awesome! Have one myself and gotta say that since here (and in other various parts of México) are a ton of odd streets, they're the first choice of various dirvers over jeep's, SUV's or pick-up trucks beacuse they're easy on steep slopes (specially when it rains) because they're somehow better at it, and plus, they consume like no petrol at all. They're loved by the masses for both being cheap (specially to repair over modern cars) and an iconic car. If that bug has trouble running up, it might just be that there's something wrong either with the clutch, or with its transmission (assuming that that double carburator setup is well done in spite of altitude variations). To give you an idea of how good they are at it, on the suburbs one can go @ either 10 or 30 miles and no problem when shifting from first to second on a steep street. Cheers mate! :) Loved the video, the shooting, the pasing, and the photography! Keep that awsm quality up!
Great vid. I had a 1970 for about 6 years. It ran a total of 3 months off and on. I never want to own another one for as long as I live. But they will always hold a special place for me.
My step mom bought one of these last year. We drove it around with her driving, my dad in the passenger seat, my sister, and myself in the back (6'1") it had the acceleration of a turtle. It was the most fun I've ever had though, they're slow but it impossible not to smile while driving it.
Because it was essentially a golf with a fat body kit. Consumers found out and got bored of the novelty, so sales nosedived. If VW made a modernised version of their iconic flat four and kept it rear engined, they may have sold way more units. They may come back in a few years (electric)
Excellent video commentary bro! You were spot on perfect. I had a 1974 Super Beetle and drove the hell out of it. We did all kinds of super cools mods and custom interior work. I wish I hadn't sold it but hey at least I got to drive it for about 2 years and was my most favorite fun car to drive of all time.
I totally get it when you were talking about now that you've driven one, you like them a lot more.. And when you said about getting thumbs up and waves.... You made me miss my old 66 bug so bad, because of those waves and thumbs up, I felt like I had joined some exclusive club I had never known about til I got behind the wheel of one. Such a regret I sold it. Really a great video you did here to capture the personality, even if it's a 70's one *puts on her snob face*
I had my first car 1980 brazalian beetle with 1300cc engine and it was amazing ..i had 90 km/h on the 3rd shift no problem with great accelerating speed but on the 4th gear the acceleration goes down and i reach 140 km/h after a long period of time...so stable on the road and very economic...my second one was a super beetle1303 1973 with a replaced engine 1600cc...i literally win drag races with way much modern cars in short races but cannot compete on a long race distances Drifting and has a real powerful kickdown ...great car had to change it only cuz i needed more space and power I got my first beamer 1979 coupe with a e30 1800cc injection Engine.. it was fun on drifting and drag racing took a 750 km journey no issues what so ever
I have always love the VW bug mainly because I watched Herbie a lot as a kid, but I distinctly remember arriving at a VW drag race meet when I worked in GA to test and tune a car we just finished. It was a cool day but not really cold (track was cold) and we had just arrived and as I'm shutting the door on the truck we hear the sound of a Beetle on its lid sliding down the last 1/4 of the track. That car only had about 150hp and the most powerful car there was a tricked out Beetle with about 250hp and these cars are having issues with the track and here we are unloading a top sportsman car with about 2,000hp........first run solo started right lane ended an 1/8 mile down the track in the left lane wall. It was driver error though, he forgot to reset the power limiter so the car didn't step up the power right and he didn't get full power until he was off the prepped section of track which spun the tires sending him into the wall.
my pop had at least 6 beetles from 1975 until 1980, all bought for around $50 USD he would buy em, fix em, daily em then turn around and sell them, did this all throughout the mid 70's with loads of cars but vdubs were among the easiest and that made them his favorite *btw he lived in Ohio so they were quiet the winter beater*
I love these, especially the ones from the early 60's. I wish you had included a drive-by clip. That engine sound is so unique when it's factory stock!
When I was 12 years old (1971) and skinny I road in the back seat of one of these to school with my neighbor and our teacher. I thought it had plenty of leg room for my size, and it was fun to be in it.
+ThatDudeinBlue awesome job as always, but I thought I must let you know that this video didn't appear on my subscription list though I am subscribed an have notifications turned on. Keep up the great work. Love your channel and waiting for your drift project.
This car needs a tune up and valve adjustment! Mine ('74) ran great, climbed hills no problems, got 32 MPG all day long, and never got stuck in the mud. All the weight of the engine is on top of the rear (drive ) wheels. I drove it 10 years, then traded it for a Golf. Wish I had it back!
I owned two beetles and a Karmann Ghia during the '70's into the early '80's. They were beater cars; you could get them dirt cheap then. I live in Colorado. They would pull any hill on I-70 in the Colorado mountains at 50-55 mph, full throttle, third gear. Probably the worst feature was the heater. You'd get plenty of heat pulling an uphill full throttle in third gear, but otherwise, not enough. In a snowstorm, I would drive them with the heat turned off and the wing vents open, because the defroster would make just enough heat to ice up the windshield if you tried to run with the heat on.
Hoping up a beetle to 150hp its a monster that will smack production cars like a current gti get it up to 200hp and its gonna smack some impressive cars
Yup, I know a guy that upgraded the 1600cc beetle to 1800cc and the power-weight ratio was really similar to the 2005-2006 GTI because the bug is really light.
The carberated engine is preferable to the mechanical fuel injected one. The fuel injected one is great when it works, but when it doesn't, it's hell to fix. You can easily get more ponies out of it without it seeming hot rodded. If ou want to go to the max, they make an engine you can bolt in that has over 200 horses. You could drive hell out of it with that engine, then when it comes time to sell, slap the original back in it. (they're worth WAY more original than not) Original ones are hard to find, you can do so much with the platform, so untouched ones. AS for hill climbing, yeah they might be slow, but well one night we had to go up a snowy, icy hill, so we had to stop and put chains on our station wagon, but a bug just went up and over no problem, albeit slowly, but in that situation you don't want to go fast anyway. Their traction in snowy weather is amazing, and part of why they're built the way they are, Germany does have harsh winters. No another company did not make the beetles, but there was another company that made something like it, a French company I think it was, Fredrick Porche took their ideas and perfected them.
I’ve got a few friends that have bugs (they all have multiple) and they’re really something else. There’s nothing I’ve ever been in that’s quite like them.
If you want stock vw reliability you gotta run with the stock single carb, it is slower than twin carbs but less to go wrong. That's a nice bug, it could do with a freeway flier gearbox upgrade. That's probably the only mod I would do and pop out windows in the back.Keep Buggin.
Former owner of a '66 Bug 1300 import with sunroof, and put on over 250,000miles. Boosted with 200cfm Holly BugSpray carb & extractor, Wide KS tires & wheels & home made flared fenders. Fabulous car, and it did not wimp out on hills or limp away from traffic lights. They should bring it back again as a basic starter car for everyone. No one can drive hyper cars at 300kph to pick up groceries or drop the kids at school, so who needs that stuff? 60-80mph max and reliable starts in any weather. All at a cost that won't settle the debt of small African nations.
Hmmm hills are beetle's enemy? My first car was a 75 1500cc beetle I reckon not, unless you're running an econo beetle that only has a 1200cc engine. But the 1500/1600 ones are not half bad climbing hills for the power it churns. It isn't fast by any means but for a properly maintained bug, climbing hills shouldn't be an issue, stopping downhill however is LOL. :D A friendly advice though, before even thinking about any power upgrades to make your beetle go faster, swap those old bug drum brakes with proper disc ones(at least in front) :)
Just messin' with you. That's a beautiful machine, and a great video. Your buddy has a very nice car and I agree. Perfect unless you want to haul anything.
My Grandparents had a white VW Beetle as a "Sunday-Driving-Car". They had a Lada (which my Grandpa literally fixed a minor crash damage with a pickaxe) as a Daily driver. They didnt have that much money, but they are to this day happy people and they make people like me happy by telling me stories about cars. BTW my Grandpa's first car was a "Puchschammerl". Only Austrians will remember, tho.
i love German cars, drive a autobahn cruiser Audi 80 myself now and man that thing ain't fast but it does eat kilometers while being crazy comfortable!
Fun Fact: the Beetle went out of production in Brazil in 1986 but in 1993, the president at the time liked it so much that he asked Volkswagen of Brazil to start building them again and they did! Until 96 when it was dropped for good. Also, theres a massive Beetle community here in Brazil, from plain restoration to all out drag racing, with bugs doing the 1/4 mile in the eights. So yeah pretty cool car this is.
Methinks your Beetle needs timing, valves adjusted, and a general tune up, since it should not ever be backfiring, and it should go 70 mph quite easily-all day long. When that car was made, 83 mph was the maximum and cruising speed. However, I only go 65 mph on the freeway. Over that, and it just feels a little squidgy.
Hello,I’m from Repub.of Kosova and as you I have Super Beetle wv 1074 and 1200cc and its stillin good conditions I always go to my work every day, but in Kosova pre-war has been many beetle cars and now there are only a few .!!
finally a bug on your channel, i'm from venezuela i drive a 1981 beetle, and men i love it... but the first thing you mod is the engine... mine has a 1641 cc cammed engine with ported heads and its a blast to drive, has arround 70 hp... but with a top speed of 75 mph, you're last all the time
I have an older beetle we swapped the 1600 with the 1900 makes a big difference however and maybe on the later models like the one you drove has good brakes my brakes are crap. mine has 4 wheel drums manual no power brakes and it is really slow to stop so I always give about 20 car lengths when driving at "high" speed. They are iconic I purchased mine as a means of advertising I have signs in the windows and it brings people in to my store. in the newer ones did they get rid of the diagonal shifting for a more traditional H pattern
