VW Super Beetle

I can think of three "oil systems" you might want to put in a Classic Beetle: full-flow oiling, a high-capacity oil sump, and an external oil cooler. In order from least to most desirable: The only reason you MIGHT want an external oil cooler on a VW engine is if you're a desert racer. SCORE Class I cars and SCCA Formula Vee cars all have coolers, but those coolers are extremely expensive. Don't put one on a street car. If your street engine's overheating, there are a few things it could be: tin not on right, improper carb jetting, flaps and thermostat not installed, and the big one: TIMING!!! I've seen LOTS of overheating VW engines and almost all of them had the timing set wrong. Full-flow oiling is a mixed bag. There's a way to do it right, and it involves tearing the engine apart and having the main oil gallery tapped for the return line, with the return port on the oil pump plugged and a special pump cover installed. There's also a way to do it wrong, and that's to install a "filter pump." Those do two bad things--overheat the oil (they're very close to the muffler) and reduce oil pressure. Now for the oil sump: So long as you use a good sump, like a Berg (the only connection I have with them is a lot of my money is in their bank account), this is a very good thing to do to your car. Stock VWs hold 2.5 liters of oil, which isn't enough. The smallest sump on the market will increase this to 4 quarts, and they're finned for extra heat dissipation. Plus, they just bolt on so anyone can install one.

A few of the cars had a mid year model change so it's best to get the "Bentley" Service Manual (the orange one) for about $15.00 US. It's got the diagrams and everything else. It has just about every thing you will ever need to know. It's the official one.

Things you should find out is what MONTH was your car made. Is it an early or late year '71, '72, '73, etc.

Check bulbs Check hi-low switch

A Super is a Super, but most guys would say either a 1972 (last year of flat windshields, which makes the car look more like a "classic" Bug) or a 1973 (first year of curved windshield, last year of small taillights).

The jack goes under the quarter window (back side). There should be a metal sleeve under the running board to slide jack into. My recomendation is to buy a small bottle jack or other hydraulic type.

Dear sir I also have a 74 VW auto shift and I had the same problem here last year and there is a diaphragm that went bad on mne I can't remembe what it is called but it is rubber diapram that creates the vacuam which allows you to shift gears. You can get the Diaphram at the Bugcity website out of Berlin CT Good luck with your Bug

Matt

Google "Chuck's Convertible Parts". He sells a booklet that tells you how to do it. Even with the book, its a lot of work and can be very frustrating. You can certainly do it but it might be worth it to have a professional do it, especially if you are restoring the car and want a "show car" look.

early beetles until 1968 had 5 x 205 mm

from '68 on, it was 4 x 130 mm

Yes it should do

From 25 to 30 mpg. It all depends on how you drive it, city or hi-way driving, fast or slow. The bugs are really reliant on keeping the valves adjusted for better running and mileage.

1600cc, means 1,600 "Cubic Centimeters".

If I remember fight, it's the measurement of a motors total piston cylinder volume. The space in each cylinder. In a four cylinder 1600cc motor, each piston area has a volume of 400cc. 4x400cc=1600cc.

Or 1600cc=1.6L, (Liters).

Or 1600cc=98ci, (Cubic Inches).

Call a locksmith he can make you one on the spot.

The rear windows on a 1979 Super Beetle convertible are replaced by prying away the rubber molding holding the glass in place. The glass can then be slowly lifted away before new sealant and glass is installed.

That both bulbs are good That the headlight earths are good Fuses are good Dip beam relay is good If all the above are OK it is a possible fault in the lighting switch

The problem is between the steering wheel and front seat backrest...

As long as it is out of gear and the brakes are off.

The Super Beetle has McPherson struts in the front and and the Standard Beetle has a torsion-bar front suspension - the latter is recognizable by the two transverse tubes comprising the front "beam" assembly. The Super has a larger trunk with the spare tire laying flat in the bottom while the Standard's spare stands nearly upright at the front. Most Supers also have slots in the front body apron, but that's not a reliable indicator because non-louvered Supers do exist. The Super's wheelbase is 0.8" longer, and its front fenders and trunk lid are not interchangeable with the Standard's.

Otherwise the two cars are essentially identical from the windshield back, although in most years (`72 included) the Super has a few more "luxury" features such as a fresh air ventilation fan. Engines and transmissions are identical, year for year, but the Super is a couple hundred pounds heavier so it doesn't accelerate quite as well.

.016 inches or 50 degrees dwell plus or minus 2 degrees.

The synchronizers in the transmission are bad. If the gears grind when trying to get it into 1st or 2nd then it's probably the synchro's. If you just can't get it into gear then the 'shift rod bushing' or the "shift couplers" are worn. They are under the gear shift inside the shift tunnel. If you don't know if they have been replaced or not they probably haven't been. Buy the Bentley manual and it will walk you thru it.

1432 on ALL Bugs.

easiest way to tell is to open the trunk, or the front of the car and see if your spare tire is laying flat or snugged up right against the hood.
If it lays flat in the belly of the truck its a super. if its sticking up and kinda leaning back towards the windshield, its a standard.

Looking at the center of the underside of your engine, you'll see a round cap approximately four inches in diameter, and usually painted black (the "sump"). Normally, there's a large plug in its center, 17mm if my memory serves me. That's your drain plug. Pull this while the engine is hot to drain the oil.

If it doesn't have the center plug, you'll have to pull the entire sump loose by removing the six 10mm nuts. Make sure you keep track of the copper washers under the nuts. As the sump is removed, you should be able to separate the screen that's sandwiched between two gaskets. Carefully remove all the parts from the six studs hanging from the center cases.

A lot of people will recommend pulling the entire sump at every oil change to clean the screen even if it has the center drain plug, but it's really not necessary. Since it's a pretty course mesh, your engine would probably grenade by the time anything large enough to be caught would show up here.

The best thing you can do for your hair dryer is to install a full-flow spin-on oil filter kit. This has the triple-bonus of keeping your oil much cleaner, adding another quart of oil to the system, and increasing the oil's ability to reject more heat. 'Very important on an air-cooled engine.

Be careful of those "full flow spin on oil filter kits." They work great at cleaning crud out of your oil, especially if you buy the "OEM" one Volkswagen used on Mexican beetles, but if you've got the stock exhaust system on your car they put the oil filter a half-inch from the muffler so your oil gets nice and hot. This can be solved by changing the stock exhaust to something else. You can pick up an "extractor style Volkswagen exhaust system" for around $80 that will do it, or a "megadual" exhaust, "hide-away" exhaust...lots of different exhausts that don't stick the muffler right behind the engine are available.

If you want to get serious about full-flow oil filtering, you should wait until your next rebuild and have your case tapped for full-flow oiling. This will give you a port on the case for oil to come out, and you'll use a replacement oil pump cover to bring it back in. The oil filter will screw into a plate that's bolted to one of your car's frame rails. This is more secure, and you don't have extra weight hanging off your oil pump mounting bolts like you do with the full-flow kits, just sitting there waiting to cause another oil leak.

I have some charts showing the meaning of the number and letter sequence in old VW vin numbers. All depends on how old the owner is as to whether i can help with decoding for you. If you want to let me have the vin I'll see if i can help.Dave.