VW Super Beetle

I would suspect the left bank plug wires are reversed. First, adjust the valves and run a compression test. If the valves haven't been adjusted in a while you MAY have burned an exhaust valve. What' you're describing is a classic indicator of a valve that's either burned or not seated.

Next, check the points and timing, then make sure the distributor cap is in good condition. If you see any carbon traces inside, don't mess with it, just replace the cap.

I wouldn't drive it until you've solved the problem.

Good luck. Before you do any of this, do me a favor and look at the cast iron thing on the muffler the left-side tailpipe is sticking out of. Is there a hole--a THREADED hole that was obviously put there on purpose--in that casting? If so, someone installed a muffler from a 1974 Beetle on your car. In 1974, VW started using exhaust gas recirculation on its cars, and pulling the exhaust from the left side muffler. The fix is to buy a new muffler.

Depending if you have HID lamps or not. But to remove the head lamp assembly to be able to change it open the hood, and look towards the headlamp, you'll see a plastic hook shaped handle. Just above the hook there is a push clip, pull down on the handle just a little bit and push the clip in and then lift on the handle. This action turns a retainer cam that locks the head lamp housing in place. It can stick sometimes, assist by wiggling the head lamp while lifting of the handle. Pull out the head lamp assembly, unplug the electrical connector and look at the rear of the assembly.

Its not as hard as it sounds, but you have to take off the door panel first. Then you loosen the bolts for the window regulator. Then its just working the winow and out. On my 73 super beetle, I fond it easier to remove the small vent window also.

on the front lower left side of the engine

The scrappers are attached to the chrome trim as a single unit. You'll need to remove the door panel, detach the window itself so it can sit low in the door and out of the way, remove the vent window and at least pull loose a portion of the felt trim at the top. Under the section of felt trim at the top, next to the vent assembly, is a screw for the vent window unit. Another bolt under the door panel is removed and you can take the whole vent assembly out. If you're going to replace the vent window rubber you'll have to drill out the rivet at the top hinge, no way around it.

That's the short / nice readers digest version. That chrome piece with the attached scrappers is very easy to damage and you have to employ a bit o' artistry getting it in correctly. Search on the net for the procedure. It's a huge pita and if you're going to do the scrappers then might as well go ahead and replace the felt / rubber too. Be sure to get new fasteners for all the trim / felt as the old ones will most likely be too rusted to use. Sorry but you're in for some work.

Check at rob and daves air cooled volkswagon pages. May not be specific to 69 but should cover basic procedure.There is a forum as well I believe.

If the car is properly functioning as it did when new, it should pass however there were very few 79 Super Bug Convertibles built, and quite a few appear to have had their fuel injection system engines replaced with earlier carburated ones. If the engine and catalytic converter are not as they were originally installed, you may not. I live in Texas, the state of Texas does not require emissions testing on cars built prior to 1980, so the 1979 bug might be fine here. I worked at a VW dealer when that car was new, the fuel injection system had a few wear items and quirks of use, the dual relay tended to go out (that is the relay behind the back seat that turned on the fuel pump when starting the car, and then kept it on once the car started. If the car would start and then die immediately that was usually the problem. The fuel injectors lasted ~ 25,000 to 35,000 miles then needed to be replaced, there were other similar issues with the engine. The fuel system was not terribly sophisticated by today's standards, but did require some special equipment to diagnose problems, and so many people have replaced those engines with 1974 and earlier carburated ones, this would not pass the '79 standards. Might have this looked at by a VW specialist in California. LL

toplineparts.com sells all the parts needed to lower a Super.

thesamba.com has lots of forums that can also answer and questions you may have. Use the search function first as most questions have already been answered.

Yes. Look at the first three digits:

114: Standard Beetle

134: Super Beetle

There are five other ways to tell.

a. Windshield.

Flat windshield: Standard Beetle

Curved windshield: Super Beetle

b. Dashboard.

Dashboard made of steel, flat and straight up-and-down below the windshield: Standard Beetle

Padded dashboard that looks a little like one from a modern car: Super Beetle

c. Front shocks.

Just the shock: Standard Beetle

Shock inside huge coil spring: Super Beetle

d. Front apron - the piece of sheet metal below the front lip of the trunk lid

No vent slots: Standard Beetle

Vent slots: Super Beetle

(Having said that, when Supers were still being made, some of the aftermarket body-parts companies made slot-free Super Beetle aprons. Since the slots don't do anything anyway, why not?)

e. Spare tire

Spare tire standing up in the trunk: Standard Beetle

Spare tire lying flat in a tire well: Super Beetle

Simple to remember... 1432 and the distributor rotor rotates clockwise. Just remember to jump the 4 in front of 123.

#1 Cylinder is on the forward right looking into the engine compartment and next to it is #2.

On the left forward is #3 and next to it #4.

Cast into most generator tower bases is 1432.

Most likely it is a bad CV joint, they will make a clicking sound when they are worn out.

If you open the trunk you'll see a piece of sheet metal straight down from the windshield. It's the lid for the back of the dashboard. There are a lot of Phillips screws and some mastic holding it in place, so remove all the screws and pry off the lid. You'll see the glove box, and a metal strap will be around it. There's one screw holding it in place. Remove the screw, and the glove box just slips right out.

You should buy the Bentley manual as the ignition switches have changed over the years.

It better be, or we're all walking. Seriously, I haven't had any problems with it.

check your belt may be to lose ,mine did the same thing

Make sure the front seats are moved all the way forward. There is no locks or any thing for the bottom seat as it just sits in a real tight area. Push up from the front edge of the seat and lift, then you should be able to pull it towards the front and pull it out either side of the car. It takes practice and is a pain to put back in until you do it a few times. There's a lip that the front bottom edge goes in so you have to push it hard backwards to get it over the lip to put back in.

Busbones.com has a partial how to do vw headliner install. Last 2 parts unavailable but lots of info. First you have to buy a good quality headliner. A few common handtools will come in handy. at this point you should also order new rubber seals for the front, rear and both quarter windows. The windows have to be removed in order to replace the headliner. The primary tool used will be a short blade putty knife (I used a bench grinder to dull the blade on mine so it would not cut the headliner fabric) which is used to tuck the fabric into the tabs that hold it in. There are steel rods called bows that fit through sleeves sewn into the headliner, these fit into tracks on the sides of the car's roof. The bows create the domed look of the headliner. You can start from the front or the back using clothes pins to hold the headliner in place so you can get things organized. You will have to pull the headliner tight and even so you do not have wrinckles. I used regular contact cement on my headliner and it worked great but you can use other types of adhesive if you want. After getting the headliner stretched front to rear you start on the sides. It is just about impossible to explain how to attache the sides, the best thing to do is to remove a headliner and pay attention to how it was installed. When you start take your time, getting in a hurry will only cause you to lower your quality standards and you will regret it later.

on my 98 4runner, its right over the silver intake tubing...right on top of the engine.

empty, drop, twist, pull, [rewind]

Did you check to make sure the speedo cable isn't broken. Disconnect both ends and twist the inner cable and look at the other end to see if it moves. It should move easily.

You can take a short cut and just disconnect the speedo end and have someone rotate the left wheel and you should be able to see the inner cable rotate.

The one on the left wheel is attached to the grease/bearing cover with a c-clip. Remove the c-clip then take the cover off (so you can reattach it) and it will just pull out of the hole on the axle side. The grease/bearing cover actually turns the cable as the end of the cable is square to fit in the cover hole that is square. Sometimes the hole will round out and the cable won't rotate with the cover.

There is no drive shaft to speak of in a Beetle. The Axle is part of the Transmission so the engine bolts directly to the transmission/axle. I don't know if you can tow an Automatic. It's ok to tow a manual bug. Just make sure it's out of gear.

It was made between January and July of 1978, it is a 1978 Beetle.

The switch is located on the nosecone of the transaxle, look on the front (the side furthest from the engine) of the transaxle near where the shifter linkage is. You will see electrical wires going to the backup light switch.

The curb weight is 2100lbs.