SAE 30. When the weather gets cold go to a 10W30.
A 1974 Volkswagen Beetle takes 2. 5 liters of oil. The weight of the oil should be 15W30. When the oil is changed, the oil filter should also be changed.
Shell Rotella T 10W30.
It's got to be a synthetic diesel engine oil. The easiest oil to get in the US is Shell Rotella T6, viscosity 5W40.
SAE 30 oil.
The best oil for a VW Beetle is Shell Rotella T 30-weight. This is oil designed for diesel engines. You probably can't get this in Walmart because they only have multigrade Rotella 15W40 (which you can use as a second option) but Autozone and O'Reilly both have it. And before you ask, you almost certainly can't get this at a truck stop--they have 15W40 Rotella, Chevron Delo, Castrol Tection, and Truck Stop Private Label because all the new truck engines use that oil. The reason for the 30-weight Rotella is it's made to be used in engines that run very hot in normal operation, like the Detroit Diesel 2-stroke engine series. Volkswagen Bug engines also run very hot in normal operation, so this oil is perfect for them.
NO
Stock motors used 30w.
2.5 litres
My favorite VW oil is 30-weight Shell Rotella T, which is made for old-fashioned hot-running diesels. Our cars are also old-fashioned and hot-running, so it works well. If you can't get that, just about any quality 10W30 works great.
We used 30 weight Shell Rotella T oil.
Most people tend to say Shell Rotella T.... I'm partial to Mobil Delvac, personally... 15W-40 is the recommended weight, and it MUST be API CJ4 oil (which Rotella T and Delvac 1000 will both be).
15w-40. either Mobil Delvac, Rotella T, or even Chevron.