RR of the Day: 1969 VW Beetle
This is a tale of a man and his first love, which for a young man named Matt, and many of the rest of us, happens to be a car. Matt came to own his 1969 VW Beetle as a hand-me-down that had been bought and sold through a few family members before winding up with him. He's been driving it since he received his license in 2003, and as many of the pictures attest, the little Bug has weathered more than a few Colorado winters and come out the other side.
We applaud Matt for getting his hands dirty in the back of the bug where he and a buddy installed a new motor after the original one began giving him trouble, but have to question the decision to install sub woofers and an enclosed speaker box on such a classic car (love the luggage rack, though!).
Nevertheless, we've chosen Matt's '69 Beetle as today's RR of the Day not just on account of the close relationship he has with ride, but also to pay our respects, for you see recently one of the Bug's control arms failed, sending Matt and his steed into the guard rail on a snowy evening. It's fixable, but chances are this college student won't be able to sacrifice his beer and pizza fund to take on the job. All we can say to ease your pain Matt is that this too shall past. We all remember our first car love, and how hard it was to give her up when that unrepairable problem finally came around to roost.
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as you can. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
chrbri 1:37PM (7/10/2008)
I recently picked up a 1975 VW super beetle convertible and am in the process of doing a complete tear down. I have new floorpans. Can anyone tell me if these are spot welded to the center tunnel or not? The floorpans bolt on at the outside but not sure about the inside?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
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John McDougall 10:57PM (8/24/2008)
Since I restored a 1968 vw beetle by line boring the case and fitting new pistons and barrels and cylinder heads, the engine went like a Rolls Royce but sadly it didn't last long because it seized. I read in an article where it says by a vw expert "A case is not an item that should be reconditioned, when it's worn out, it's worn out. You're better off with a new one. " Okay, what cause the case to warp initially, are they the heat exchangers being too close to the cylinders or is it the vertical oil cooler in the fan housing which subsequently turns it into an oil heater that cause the engine to run too hot except in places like Germany, Canada wherever there's snow? This expert recommends aluminium crankcases are better than the magnesium ones but bear in mind there are aluminium cylinder heads in water cooled cars too which sometimes warped after a big mileage.
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tammyanguiano 1:11AM (2/21/2009)
Hey Matt! My name is Tammy Anguiano and I'm writing to you from San Antonio, Tx. Love your story, thought I might send you a story of my own. I'm not to familiar with bettles but I always thought they were pretty cute. Never thought that my husband and I would be proud owners of one, "Chico". Pretty corny, I know but once you have that bond with it, well I guess you know what I'm talking about. Ha, Ha. Well, we got it about a year ago. It belonged to my uncle Joe. He had it in his backyard for, who knows how long. My husband Jason, he has this thing for older cars. He also owns a '69 camaro and a '75 chevy blazer convertible, so when he heard my uncle Joe had this '69 superbeetle, he wanted to check it out. This beetle was in great shape, no dents. Interior was awesome. We couldn't get over how the radio, lights, horn, and windshield wipers worked. So we convinced him to sell it to us and he agreed.
The funny thing to this story is that we took it out on Halloween night. My husband, kids and I were all dressed as clowns. I couldn't get over how everybody was taking pictures of us on the road. People were geting a kick of seeing clowns in a bettle. And we won 1st place at the Halloween party we went to. To be honest, I dont think it was our costumes that won 1st prize, it was "Chico". Well I'm glad I was able to share this story with you. Take care and god bless.
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Alain 7:12PM (2/21/2007)
A fitting tribute to a first ride.
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chuck goolsbee 7:20PM (2/21/2007)
Hey! It's Matt M's Beetle! Congrats Matt!
I had a '73 1303 (aka "Superbeetle") as a commuter car in the late80s/early 90s. I was the second owner and LOVED that car. It was über-reliable and a joy to drive. I had two inattentive women drivers smack me; one straight on from the rear (as she was putting on lipstick!), and the other ran a red light while looking over her shoulder changing lanes, and tagged my rear fender. The little Bug absorbed both hits with grace and it was cheap to repair... no cheaper parts on the planet than for old air-cooled Vws!
I sold the 1303 as I was being transferred overseas for a job in 1997. I regret that sale almost every day. After I returned to the US I saw my Beetle parked on the street in Seattle... odd how you can recognize an old love years after the fact. It had been abused by subsequent owners, and was now just a battered, rusty old bug. I almost cried.
Find the money to fix her up Matt, you won't be sorry.
--chuck
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Eduardo S 7:24PM (2/21/2007)
- off topic -
Hello Autoblog team !
I'm sending this message to inform you that Volkswagen of Brazil is "launching" the "new" Golf for our local market, it is a Golf 4.5, basically a fourth generation model with styling cues from the actual VW line (V shaped front grille, circles in the tailights, and so on)
Here's the link (http://autodiario.blogspot.com/2007/02/hes-comming.html) from Auto Diario (the blog where the news were posted, and which I'm member of the team)
Thanks in advance,
Eduardo S
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Nick 7:56PM (2/21/2007)
Eduardo, are you going to post that in every thread? Or just every thread today?
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Eduardo S 8:16PM (2/21/2007)
@ Nick
In fact I've posted only in these two threads, which seems enough for them (the blog team) to see it
And I reposted it cos I commited some erors on the previous post
Don't bother, ok ?
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Typesbad 8:10PM (2/21/2007)
My first car was a '69 Beetle, so this brings back memories. I had mine in Chicago so I can relate to the winter pics. The heater was a joke and the front traction non-existant when breakin on snow, but at least the flat windshield and small windows took no time to scrape. I cut that back end off of mine and turned it into a flat-bed pickup, so I guess I can't really harp on Matt's sub-woofer mod. Than again, mine was only 8 years old at the time, and had a long way befor it would wind up on anyone's classic car list.
At least Matt's Bug got him to college. Mine died after a rather spectacular encounter with a '68 Plymouth Fury befor my freshman year.
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Donny 9:09PM (2/21/2007)
Ha! I was going to submit my 1972 Super Beetle (convertible) for an RR, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Hopefully this doesn't ruin my chances in the future. ;-)
Good luck in the voting Matt!
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Rene Curry 11:02PM (2/21/2007)
I had a VW repair shop in the late 70s. Here are some observations...
* It is the only car that needed an ice scraper for the inside!
* Everyone said "It gets great traction in snow" but I say just don't try to turn!
* The engines were prone to design problems. Oil leaks, burnt valves, dropped valves, etc. Usually a VW engine required major work around 60,000 miles. But people still loved them. Typical customer response after just paying big bucks for a rebuild... "I love this little car and hate my American car". Then I would ask, did you need to rebuild your American car engine? They would say no, then they would shrug and say they never thought of it that way ???
* Because it had no oil filter you had to change the oil every 1500 miles. You get to know your customers well.
* I built the most dependable bug engines ever for special customers. They were single port 1967 engines with the super beetle oil cooler & shroud along with an oil filter/oil pump kit. 67s had good blocks & heads. This set-up would last. I can't believe VW couldn't design something that easily.
* Gotta love the heater cables. They always froze up. To save money most people just had me wire the heat exchangers on or off. Then the heat exchangers rusted away and the floorboards.
* I sold a lot of fenders. In the winter the snow would build up in the wheel wells. In the evening the snow would freeze. Then in the morning they would hit a bump and the tire would hit the frozen snow and bust off the fenders.
* No self adjusting brakes. We offered a free brake adjustment after 500 miles of any brake service. If you didn't do the free adjustment they had hardly no brakes after the wore in unless they pumped them up.
* You could sure roll over a swing axle version easy! I bought many roll overs for parts. Why did they only pick on the Corvair?
Bottom line, a fun cheap car but poorly designed.
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Jake 9:23PM (6/05/2007)
You sound like someone who really wanted a Bug but just never gto one. I think these are the longest lasting cars ever built. I dont see people having corvair conventions. Plus I dont think this is a mountain car I think it was made for the european streets. Not -40 Denver Colorado with 12-24" snow. So please check your self at the door.
robz4 12:15AM (2/22/2007)
Rene @ 8
Thanks for that inside info on the service and repairs of the Beetles. I think it goes to show you that when people love their car they tend to overlook any problems and design faults. European cars were ( and some still are ) classic examples of that. But we love then for their unique driving experience.
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Tina 8:34AM (2/22/2007)
I too had a old bug for my first car. The funniest thing was whenever I drove in a puddle whoever was sitting next to me had to put there feet up to avoid getting wet. The most nerve wracking thing was looking in my rear view mirror and seeing flames shooting up from the engine. Cute to look at but what a pain in the a$$. The new bugs seem to have their own little quirks too.
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Paul 9:39AM (2/22/2007)
I had a '75 Super Beetle all through college, in Erie, PA. Temps were cold, snow was plentiful.
-Yes, the heat sucked, until I FIXED it, when properly working it was sufficient, not great but better.
-It did get great traction in the snow, the trick was keeping full tank of gas over the front tires, and not putting after market wider wheels and tires on it, the narrow ones slice through snow much better.
-My engine has gone over 100K miles without a rebuild. It does have a drip of oil from the oil drain plug, but that was because I was to cheap to replace the crush washer every time. No dropped valves, no burnt valves, no etc.
-Yep, change oil often, but it only took 2.5 qts. Didn't have to dump a gallon and a half in it every time.
- Yep, later engines had better cooling and better design. Vw actually tried to improve vehicles year to year back then.
-My heater cables NEVER froze, not once. Things did rust though, but my car was over twenty years old when I started driving it. I didn't see a whole lot of twenty some thing year old American cars driving around back then without a spot of rust on them either.
-Never heard of the fender thing, I drove around in Erie, PA. Plenty of snow. Parked outside so nothing ever thawed. Never happened to me.
-Yep, Adjusting brakes was a PITA. But really, I could do it in about 15 min in the winter, outside.
-Roll overs, don't know, but then I had a IRS. Once again VW working to improve.
Poor design? I think not, poor designs do not have a continuous 58 year run. From 1945 until 2003 Beetles were being produced somewhere in the world.
Is it perfect? No. But no car is.
To Matt. Keep the car! Stow it somewhere, and when you get out of school put some time into it. You'll be happy you did. I did, and now I can have the joy of giving it the time and money I never could while I was in school.
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Richard Warren 10:47AM (2/22/2007)
Rene,
I worked for VW in the late 60's had an independent repair shop in the 70's. Regarding a couple of your observations.
Never saw a dropped valve, plenty of burnt ones #3 cylinder and loose valve seats, sodium valves solved the problem, staking the valve seats solved the seat drop problem. Work around 60,000, pre 67 yes, after that, higher mileages before problems. As to the costs (major) it really wasn't that bad, you could buy a complete factory rebuilt VW engine package for 350 right from the dealer with a 1 year warranty, including carb, generator, distributor, wires, plugs, really complete.
"Gotta love the heater cables. They always froze up" yep, but an easy fix, replace the rubber boot a couple of times a tear, keep a coat of grease on the cable, they'd last years.
"You could sure roll over a swing axle version easy! I bought many roll overs for parts." Yep, but also an easy fix, Empi camber bar started out at 29.95 topped out around 49.995 if memory serves me.
Fenders, yep again, but a fender was under 30 dollars back then.
Went through a lot of steering stabilizers, but at 9 bucks a pop not bad.
When compared to other economy cars of the day, they were actually pretty tough little bastards. Great fit and finish, fun to drive, hey, where else can you be foot to the floor all the time.
But Rene, you forgot the best! When someone had worked on the car, forgot to replace the cover on the battery under the back seat, the seat sagged, the bar hit the battery. What fun!
Great car Matt.
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thesawzall 11:28AM (2/22/2007)
My dad told me about his Beetle that he had back in the early 70's as a grad student near Chicago. After one snowstorm he noticed he was getting terrible gas mileage, only to discover the gas tank (in the front) had been punctured driving over a plowed-in intersection!
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Rene Curry 1:06AM (2/23/2007)
Hello Richard,
I forgot about the steering dampers...The car's front suspension would violently bounce back & forth when you hit a bump when they were bad. I was always surprised how long people would drive it that way before getting it fixed. Then like you said, it was very cheap to fix. You were a hero mechanic at that point to the customer! The customer was mad at themselves for not fixing it earlier.
Whoa I seen a lot of dropped valves. The result was usually total destruction of the head, piston, rod and sometimes crank & engine case. The reason was as you pointed out was burnt valves, usually #3. The root problem was that the oil cooler and fan system allowed that cylinder to run hotter. Then people would not adjust their valves. When the valve did not fully close it ran hotter. Eventually you get a burnt valve like Matt had. If you kept driving it the end of the valve would break off.
I am with you on the rubber boots & lubricant on the heater cables. However older cars had rusted heater control tubes and broken cables within the tube. My fix was to use modified welding rod with a drill to get the rust out and the old cable. Then fill the tube with grease using an adapter to a grease gun.
We both forgot having to change accelerator cables and clutch cables!
And how about the brake and cltch pedals that would fall to the floor because the floor board rusted or the pedal stop bent.
Or..when the emergency cable was out of adjustment the center push button popped out of the pull arm!
Come on, the same design through the 60s into the 70s and they still had these same problems. You and I could have engineered some easy fixes. Probably most the problems I listed were more a regional problem in the midwest due to salt water corrosion.
Best regards,
Rene
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JimboNC 11:55PM (2/22/2007)
And you thought headlight eyebrows were NEW! What's old is new again.
My first VW was a 1960 followed by a VW squareback (stationwagon), and then a 1968 which had the black bumper stripe like Matt's. The last one was a VW mini-Bus. Each in its own way was a great car: durable, doable. What turned me off about the New Beetle was the sound -- they don't have it. Loved that roar!
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JimboNC 12:10AM (2/23/2007)
What people forget about the VW was it would float. When VW drivers encountered flooding in low areas they went right on through. Drivers following in American cars thinking the water was shallow got stuck. They were that tight, no leaks. Keep the engine running and the wheels turning they would putt putt across. Beetles were made of thicker sheet metal than today's cars, the paint was thicker, and every detail inside was of good materials. Real chome, not the crap they use now made of Reynold's aluminum glued to clear plastic.
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