"It will make a mechanic out of you" My first car was a 1973 Super Beetle. I didn't know jack about cars when I got it, and faced with constant minor issues and no money...I learned to fix it myself. I realized I enjoyed wrenching, and a few years later I enrolled in Auto Tech school.
A friend of mine in high school owned a Baja Beetle. He was always fiddling with it at school so that he could drive home. He told me one time, if he had a roll of wire and a flat head screwdriver he could fix anything on it. I always got a kick out of that. Actually, I believe his Baja was the same shade of orange as this one now that I think about it.
@@04dram04 if this is as condescending as i think it is buddy you do realize most of the so called "blue collared workers" your talking down to made this country what it is yes even your founding fathers before they became what they were were normal people. Besides i bet you couldnt fix a computer or car without paying someone to do it so dont talk down to someone when you clearly know less.
Imagine scouring the internet searching for the perfect classic Bug that fits your budget, buying it, driving it home, getting on the internet just to see your car on RegularCars. And then you go to Harbor Freight. Oh, hello new owner!
I’m an airplane mechanic. I legitimately want a Beetle because their engines have more in common with Lycomings and Continentals than anything else with 4 wheels.
Yeah, no doubt. VW guys are rabid. That's why the internet has so much information. I'm pretty sure Regular Car Guy was joking...he piles it on pretty thick. ;)
He is not talking about VW enthusiasts. He is talking about the unsuspecting fool that buys a beetle thinking it would be as easy to maintain as a 1990s Corolla. Those people are only getting a beetle to be "different" or to try to make their opinion matter more.
My dad's beetle got him thru 300k of Australian desert in the 70's without stranding him once, thing was bulletproof. That hot air did not bother the beetle at all. I think his was a 75, it was mustard colour.
If you know how to work on them, they won't strand you as long as you have some tools in the car. They need work incredibly often, but hardly ever fail catastrophically. Hell, one guy can change an engine on the side of the road with hand tools and a bumper jack. I wish I knew how to work on them, I've always wanted a type 3 Squareback.
Thanks to my Dad, a copy of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by the late great John Muir, and several of my teenage years spent working on them, I can take a Volkswagen engine down to the nuts and reassemble it from memory. The greatest advice anyone ever gave about Beetles was this: If you want to keep one running forever, drive it every day.
Get it, friend. Idk where you live but I’m cali you can buy a beetle in REALLY good condition for 2,000. A beetle that’s entirely fixed up? 4,000. Super Beetles look a little weird though, so I recommend getting one from the 60s. A 68 or 69
@@charles_xcx I saw a limited edition running 74 super with a bad carb for sale for $3k across the way in northern Minnesota a bit ago :p depends on who's selling
@@joshaction1 yeah actually, buy the time I was shopping for mine in 2014 they were all gex block double carb cars that drowned the owners completely. The people that understand that these cars work great stock is dying out and the people that experienced the motor harmonically balanced from the factory are too. They are like sailboats now you are inheriting the quality of someone else's work at this point
I mean when you purposely go out of your way to find a beetle in the shittiest condition you could, I don't exactly know how you could expect it to run well.
This is actually in the BEST condition of 99% of them out there that have not been restored as show Queens. They were not long-lasting cars if they were not practically rebuilt every couple of years.
Just a couple notes. "It smells like exhaust on the inside and gas fumes" and "the engine runs differently based on the weather". So it's not a well kept beetle, with leaking vapor lines (front), rusted heater boxes (rear, leaking exhaust into the fresh air stream), and has vacuum leaks on the intake with what looks like an aftermarket carburetor that probably has steel throttle shaft bushings, which will leak vacuum. So, it's "not a bad car if you don't think it's a car" for a 45 year old economy car that hasn't been taken care of and needs several points of TLC.
...but it's like this with any old car. And fair enough, the bug isn't the nicest to drive, but it does work - and is a great platform to modify. I would not give up my BMW. It's so good, even mr. I-hate-German-cars-Regular likes it. Same era, waaaay better car.
Exactly. I’ve sat inside a mint 1963 Karmann Cabriolet and smelled no vapor, heard no road noise and barely heard the hum of the engine. On the flip side, I’ve sat in plenty of beetles that have been stripped and molested several times in their lifetime and sound like hot garbage. It’s not the cars fault, it’s the people who own them
Mexican bugs sure are weird.... The suspension is from 68, ball joints front end, and swing axle trans. But the body continued to look like 72 super beetles, oh and no safety glass....
I LOVE my 74 Super. Rear engine, rear wheel drive makes these things actually great up hills. I took mine out after a year of not driving it and went up the steepest hill first thing, I was surprised when I had to upshift from second to third and was almost ready for 4th by time I'd hit the top. Granted my Beetle is in a bit better shape than this one and I've taken good care of it, I also live on the west coast and the car was in the desert for 99% of its life. I've done things like disk brakes up front and all that. The heat works AMAZING because it has the original heat exchangers, anything other than those blow ass. On the 74 Super the power WAS produced by an alternator, generators went away in 72 or 73. The Super Beetle also drives better than the standard, the larger size is due to the more modern front suspension that makes the ride and handling WAY better. Gas and exhaust smell can be negated by replacing the fuel lines and the filler connection as well as all the bushings in the exhaust system, mine had almost none after I had that done... Though the gas smell came back a while later 8) I dunno, I love my Beetle. It's easy to work on, cheap for parts and just fun to drive. I also have a Subaru I drive full time, though I did daily drive my Beetle for a year and it worked fine before the carb went outta whack and I replaced half the external engine shit.
Love how Mr Regular finds these classics in the perfect "clapped out but still serviceable" condition. I mean this is exactly what this car would look like in 1980, condition wise, a year or two before the engine threw a rod. Where it would then go to the boneyard. Or maybe a different fate, sit under a tarp for 10 years as the project I'll get to in a few months and become rustier than the Titanic, then sent to the boneyard. Or there are the select few that get the rust bondoed, a crappy paint job, get it running/driving "good enough" to sell onto the next poor sap, who does bodge repair after bodged repair, gets sick of the pos, pawns it off to the next guy. That is what happened to this poor car, now the whole car is a hacked up mess mechanically and more bondo than steel, but yet its still here 45 years later.
Here in brazil we put maverick V8's and Subaru Boxers in the beetles , they ran like hell with an good engine , its scary , you dont want to be at 100mph in the highway with a Beetle
Funny, as a little kid, my favorite car was a Volkswagen Beetle because of Herbie The Love Bug, but my favorite show was The Dukes Of Hazzard because of the General Lee, and now, as an adult, my favorite car is a '69 Charger.
Bugs were literally known for their reliability. There were two in my family when I was growing up and they just ran and ran with extremely rare mechanic visits
Dream car- 1963 VW beetle. Has been as long as I could remember. Daily drove a 72 Super for years. Paid $900 for it and 15 years later it’s still running.
We daily drove a 72 Super in Ohio as well, (~8 years ago) it was surprisingly just fine. Would still have it, but traded up to a 73 Thing. I'd argue that upkeep is easier and cheaper than most classic cars, but I understand that this video was based on anecdotes of someone who bought a bad car, a test drive, and maybe a handful of hours of homework.
Yeah the T1 is pretty horrible but it isn't the sitting on top of the front wheels that's a problem, its the general build of the car. The aerodynamics are horrible, making side winds hell and the weak suspension making cornering dangerous. They perfected the sitting on top of your wheels with the T3 (or vanagon), its the best cornering bus I've ever driven (even compared to new vans) and short turning makes parking super easy. I've just recently taken a roadtrip with my "Bundeswehr" T3 to the Italian and Swiss Alps and I loved every second of it. Fast cornering on small hill roads, offroading in the Alps, driving it trough impossible small Italian towns, all without any fuss. It doesn't have the looks of the T1 but its the perfect classic VW Bus. PS like your car interests as well, love the Morpar/VW combo. I'm a (US) Ford/VW fan, but I like any classic if its old enough. xD
Back when I used to drive my dad's 79 vanagon to school and whatnot, the first thing he told me was, "If you smell burning or if you see the engine's on fire just get out, the van's toast" Not super confidence inspiring...
The wire bail that holds the valve covers on, so you can access the rockers without tools. Thats the mechanical beauty. It's so pure. You can work on it, without wanting to hunt down and beat an engineer.
I’ve owned 53 cars since I started driving in 2000... I wanted my first car to be a beetle. My parents always claimed “all of their friends died in beetles”(spoiler alert they were drunk/stoned) Flash forward to a year ago I finally got a 71 super beetle and I’ve never been more happy with a car
BigWheel I drive with rollerblades on so I can jump out when the brakes go out. If I start smoking marijuana and listening to foghat while driving I’ll be doomed however
My wife-then-girlfriend had one of these in the early 90s. Yes, I had to do many roadside repairs, like replacing the entire ignition system, and yes, I pulled the engine out of it to successfully (!) replace the clutch with her father. The running boards were rusted away, so it had no heat, because the warm air from the exhaust was supposed to ride into the cabin through *structural frame tubes which had also rusted away.* However, it started *every day* in the winter, without trouble. And it was *the best* car to drive in the snow, never got stuck. We took it on road trips and it would cruise the highway at 70MPH for as long as you asked it to.
I daily one year round in Colorado. Mine's heat works properly, so usually it's not bad - though it's totally useless when stuck in traffic. As for snow, I think it starts to become vaguely aware of something on the ground when the snow is about 4" deep, anything less than that it doesn't really notice. I once put chains on it and drove it through more than a foot of snow, steering was practically nonexistent but it kept going. I have gotten it stuck in hard-packed snow/ice with "potholes" a couple times, but I'd be amazed if any car wouldn't get stuck in that.
Loved my Super Beetle. Drove that thing all over Germany, Holland and some of Belgium. Then I brought it home and drove it until the floor pan rusted out.
These are very well built cars for their time. They were the most common car in the world too at one point. Idk why people act like they’re so delicate, they’re actually great reliable cars. I’ve worked on a few and all these little details bring me back to my time with them. Idk if I’d ever own one but I appreciate the classic beetles.
"until your classic car goes away for the winter" Yeah nah im 22, have no idea how to dial in a carb but common and try me. Its my only car, I always wanted a old benz and I'm gonna go through with this on all seasons
@CaptainKman oh I own it for over half a year now. Basic maintenance aside (one oil change and fresh coolant) I really didn't need anything. It got restored two years ago before that it was all one owner. It's a W201. Number 272 of the assembly line in Bremen. 5 speed But carbureted (when I remember correctly the states only got the injected model). Tho I replaced the drivers seat. Previous owner was an absolute unit and Tore the seat apart getting in and because everything else was spotless I couldn't let it be. Got it for 50€ in mint condition from a scrapyard
The 1974 came with an alternator. He also does not know what actually makes a Beetle a Super Beetle. McPherson struts. From the front seats to the back it’s the same car.
@ vector6977 Tons wrong with a generator. Like he said, it doesn’t produce power at idle... so lights go dim battery discharges at a stop light. That’s because it only has one winding instead of three like an alternator and the regulator is throwing as much juice into the field as it can but still not making anything. ALL of your power has to go through the brushes. Just the field current goes through the alternator brushes. That means generator brushes are more expensive and still burn out over twice as fast. And rather than two screws and one wire to replace the brushes on an alternator vs taking the shroud off and having to mess with brushes and springs plus wires for each brush on a generator. You need a commutator to rectify the current produced by a generator. The same high current going through an uneven and complex surface vs the two simp slip rings of an alternator’s rotor and a solid state diode rectifier. You need a current limiter and reverse current cutout for a generator so it isn’t motored by the battery. Alternators are self limiting and the solid state diode rectifier functions as a reverse current cutout. Because of the complexity of the generator regulator (which often uses physical contacts for voltage regulation, current limiting, and reverse current cutout) it is another extremely failure prone part of a generator setup vs a completely solid-state alternator. The only advantage a generator has it that it is self-exciting. But you can make an alternator self-exciting by using a generator to power the rotor. This also eliminates all of the brushes and thus makes a brushless alternator.
@@DanaTheInsane Yup..the dimensions of the rest of the car were identical to the standard Beetle. I believe the designation for the Super was a 113,vs a 111 for the standard.
Since buying one of my dream cars last month (83 SAAB 900), I've been hit by a dose of reality and started dividing my dream car list into "attainable" and "never meant to own". I realized I'm not willing to realistically daily anything older or weirder than the SAAB. On the plus side, I'm learning the basics of Bosch mechanical fuel injection, so classic Porsches, BMWs, and Mercs of the era all just moved a little closer to the first list.
I’m probably insane as I wanted a Crown Super Coach and thought my dad would want to do it with me father and son but he just gave me a bunch of fucking shit and it will never happen.
The reason the engine bay got hot was the "mechanic" neglected to install the rubber seal between the engine and the body. The engine sucks cool air in from atop, and blows it out the bottom, hot. If the rubber seal is missing, the air rises back into the engine area, and gets when hot air is sucked in to cool the engine, it gets even hotter. You have a heat feedback situation, with the engine bay - and the engine - getting hotter and hotter. *You must not leave out that rubber seal.* Lack of rubber seal may also provide an opportunity for exhaust fumes to get into the passenger compartment.
I have, one with a hell of a misfire on all cylinders and rear transaxle mounts that were soft as silly putty from the oil leaks. Changed the mounts, plug wires, and set the points gap (there was NO GAP). Ran much better but still had a vacuum leak from the rubber boots on the intake, I think.
@@TheViolatorinator Mine kept plugging up the #4 plug. Turns out the exhaust tube that heats the intake manifold can get plugged which makes the manifold not heat up and causes fuel to condense out before it gets to the cylinder. That can cause a lot of the shaking issues.
"why would you buy this and not a Civic or Z car?" - someone who never had to work on any 70s-80s Honda/Datsun. My daily is a Z car that... doesn't like to start, misfires, idles at a buck thirty, and is a nightmare to work on. And seeing as old Japanese cars were biodegradable, the only reason why it's still alive is because it's from the south and never saw snow or salt. Man, just admit you have an irrational hateboner for VWs. Most of the complaints in this video would apply to any 45 year old car that's been neglected, bodged with half-assed repairs, and tossed from one owner to the next.
Old Japanese cars were biodegradable is a great way to put it, as awesome as a 240 is it was never meant to be put through what the bug has been battle tested and proven to go through
The Beetle's design, both in looks and practicality was ahead of it's time, when it was designed in the 1930's. It was also inexpensive and reliable and for all practical purposes in the United States, filled the small economy car niche for 15 years straight. What killed it in the US was, that even though it was reliable by 1960's standards, which weren't very high, and could be easily maintained by owners who were willing to get their hands dirty, by the 1970's, the Japanese had raised the bar so high on reliability as well as fuel economy (Beetles maybe got 30 mpg, but a Datsun B210 got 37-41 mpg, for instance), that Beatles could no longer compete & couldn't get by on "cuteness" alone. VW had by then acquired Audi, which had a vehicle in the works, which either spawned or became the VW Golf/Rabbit, which was enormously popular and likely saved VW as a company.
Had a regular beetle for my first car. You forgot to mention that "Heat" means your left shoe rubber gets melted while the rest of you stays frozen, kinda like hot pockets.
Unless I'm mistaken the super beetle had an alternator and not a generator the one in your video certainly has an alternator or my eyes decieve me and in period were easy to maintain and pretty reliable with a high build quality Ps I was a factory trained VW mechanic long since retired
I usually like RCR but this one just frustrated me to no end. VWs were much more reliable than most every other car out at the time and yes that includes the Honda Civic. What makes them unreliable today was lack of regular maintenance and/or poor maintenance. The heaters worked good and they didn’t smell like fuel. This example is a cobbler together beater. Try driving a nice one. They really were a well made car. I’ve owned several and they are quite good as cars. I would certainly avoid one that is in the condition of this one but that goes without saying. Do they require maintenance? Sure. But all cars of the era did. The beetle was truly a very good car in its day. They were known for lasting a long time, and being dependable. They got better gas mileage than most of its competition even in the 1970s and they were also known for being relaxed on the highway compared to the competition of the time.
It's a super beetle, the suck because those are expensive as fuck. Complicate suspension, larger diff, etc. The normal one is waaay better, easier to fix, doesn't let you down if you take care of it. I have one and it's been on my family for 20 years
Exactly, back when I was in Brasil we had a Beetle as our car. You could literally let that thing sit for a few years, come back to it, push it to the mechanic's shop, restore the thing for less than it cost to buy a used car, and get on your way driving. Say what you want about the war time design, but it runs like a wartime design should.
Jedi Master Joe gotta be kidding. American cars were garbage at the time. They were huge gas guzzling relics that were junkyard bound with 80,000 miles on the clock. I like some of the American cars from that time for sure but good cars they were not.
I really wish I could have shown you my bug. I lived in Emmaus right where you were shooting and just moved this summer but I have a 71 beetle same color same engine and you could not be more wrong. This car was my first car at 14 and yes it taught me mechanical knowledge but it also made me a Volkswagen enthusiast and opened my eyes to a world of great people and awesome cars. I’m pretty biased but I think you were a little too harsh on the car.
Have to disagree with the whole video. I have a 1985 1200cc beatle which has been in possesion of my family for more then 30 years. It has never made any problems beside these you have to expect from a aircooled car and it never broke down even though my father drove it with a 2 liter built engine. YEAH , that engine blew because it was insanity but right now we have a original motor installed which we plan on swapping with a 1600cc just today. I love this car and we never had problems with it throgh all the years of service.
Same, my first car was a 1977 super with the Arizona AC unit crammed in your legs lol, drove it for 15 years and all i ever did was change oil and tires. But in this bugs defense it looks very ill kept...
Years ago we young people had names for our cars: the White Weasel which blasted out a cloud of oily smoke when you depressed the accelerator which was great to discourage tail gaters. Then the Banana Boat a huge thing and the car body sank to the street one night from cause unknown. And then my VW nicknamed "The Fuhrer's Revenge".
Yeah, that's an alternator, even tough it is bigger and less efficient than modern alternators, so they don't quite generate enough electricity on idle.
@@LGaragem idk what you guys are on about. Even the 55amp base model Bosch/Motorola alternators were plenty fine for a Beetle. Even if you add aux lights and a basic sound system.
Claiming its unreliable is a bit harsh. Probably one of the most reliable cars/drivetrains ever made. Incredibly easy to work on and pretty much always starts. Its not typical for them to overheat or run hot, so probably something wrong with that one - thermostat for example. I can see that the seal between the body and engine is missing too. I remember back when my family used to have one, in the middle of the winter our beetle always started and had no real issues with snow and cold weather. While neighbours cars wouldnt start. Rust ruins these cars, which sadly can be seen in the one you drove aswell.
@@TofranBohk eh its more about the location that is the issue then what you can do. its the salt that kills them since it takes the protective coating off which allows the rust to start and it accelerates the corrosion. Its gonna depend where you live. If they use salt when it snows and roads freeze its bad to daily it. If you are in arizona or texas and this isnt an issue then its fine
If you keep up with valve adjustments and are pre-emptive at preventing fuel leaks, these can get you where you need to go. You might even keep a rebuilt motor in a shed waiting for when the valve adjustment isn't enough.
You have to keep things in historical context. In 1974 Honda was just an oddity for early adopters, unless you lived on the west coast. Everything you say is true, but few people are early adopters. In New England, ONE neighbor in our entire neighborhood had a 1975 CVVC bought new. But many had Bugs. You were more likely to buy a (more expensive) Rabbit than a CVVC, but only because VW was a 'safe' choice with dealers everywhere relatively speaking.
My first car was a full restored 74 beetle (not a super beetle) that my older brother built and passed on to me. We rebuilt the engine and reinstalled it in an afternoon. I then drove it 1700 miles with no issues drove it for years. As long as you changed the oil, fuel filter and adjusted the valves it ran perfect. Someone stole it 20 years ago in Portland, OR....it's still the best car I've ever owned.
Especially when justin dangles a fuel filter off the fuel nipple that's famous for pulling out and lighting a fire on top of the engine which is... magnesium and then... yeahhhh.
20 million+ sold, but they were made to be used every day- not sit in a garage, only to be brought out for car shows! People like beetles because everyone had one. It was THE family car. Then new cars came out, and everyone moved on. But for a lot of Americans, it was their first family car.
Those Japanese cars of the time rusted to shit, especially if your town used road salt. Most cars of the 70s are pretty rust prone, including the Beetle, but those Japanese cars were just eaten alive
I drove a 71 in college from 08 to 09. It was such a fun car. 81mph top speed. Touchy steering at highway speeds. Broken gas gauge. Leaked soo much oil. Lift the floor mat and you could see the ground. Loved it!
If you live in the Upper-Midwest, and you want to daily a classic Beetle "year-round"...and you don't need it to be completely stock. Here is a short list of things to make your life better. *Disk brake kit. *Oil filter mod. (adds a modern oil filter to the engine). *EFI fuel injection mod. (combined with better exhaust can make 70-80hp in a 1600cc. *Better exhaust. (this unfortunately forces removal of factory heating system) *Two 300 watt electric heaters for the windscreen. *Oil heater for your feet. (air cooled engines are supposed to have the engine oil at 230°F so the heat is very hot.) *metal wrapped fuel lines. *metal fuel filters (one by the tank and one by the engine. Yes, two). *tall skinny off-road tread tires. They give better grip on snow and whatnot. Being skinny makes them lighter and they cut through snow and mud and grip below. **if you really wanna have it better use either a 90hp naturally aspirated 1915cc or a turbocharged 1600 with 90hp. Or a turbocharged 1776cc with 115hp.
If you keep the engine mostly stock, even with EFI, you can keep the heater channels in good condition and they should work surprisingly well. Sadly most beetles have badly maintained or even damaged heater systems.
No kidding!!! It was a lazy review on a sub-par condition Super Beetle. (I mean, really.. "the ONLY difference between a Super and a Standard is they stretched everything to be a bit bigger?" Uhm.. NOPE.
@@musichistorynut He really just does not like older German cars. He shat on the W201, the Beetle, the 944, the W123, and such. He barely does any research when talking about these cars and ALL expect the W201 were in driver condition or below. All expect the W201 deserve a new rereview
2:52 not true, everything is the same from the front of the door - back. The major difference between a super and a standard is that the supers have mcpherson front suspension. Later supers had a fat dashboard and a curved windshield.
For all those aspiring aircooled VW mechanics, don't forget the repair manual: "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot". Yes the word Complete is incorrectly spelled on purpose. My first car was a 1970 Beetle and this book was my mechanic's bible. If I didn't have my car fixed or project finished by Sunday night, I'd be riding the bus to school on Monday. This book kept me driving to school...
"do you like being surprised when you make it? " uhhh.... its a beetle, they are almost unkillable if this car was well maintained, it would not have any of the issues mentioned, or atleast far less (no gas smell, no break issues, overall looking way better)
My 72 Super sat for 10 years. New fuel and oil and some fiddling with the carb and it fired right up. Those motors will take the most extreme of abuse.
In Brazil, the Super Beetle never existed, nor did the Mk1 and Mk2 Golfs, so the Beetle was still around by 1986 (there was an attempt of a 'revival' by the early 90's, but that only lasted three years). Because the Beetle is more of a common sight there, some people think: "Oh, I'll get a beetle, it is super simple and easy to work on!", then they either buy a rusty piece of crap or they overpay for a badly restored one. Then they start having problems, the endless repairs, sometimes they start arriving late, because their beetle refused to start, then they either keep the Beetle as a "garage queen", never using it or they sell it to the next unsuspecting fool.
@@spookyscaryskeletons69420 No it is not! It has some of the more "modern" stuff the super beetle has, but Brazilian Fuscas never had the dashboard, the curvy windshield or even the Mcpherson Strut front suspension that all Super Beetles have, so it is not even close to a Super Beetle.
Also because of the obvious plastic fuel filter issue w/ the engine heat I re-positioned mine under the tank in the front (only accessible from under the car like where the master cylinder is)
This video is such a Debbie Downer. I loved my 74 Super! I really never had the problems, early in this video. My '72 Bug is still my daily driver. I LOVE that little car. "Learn", Best words of this whole video. It's worth learning this quirky little car.
Super Beetle vs Regular Beetle: SB has MacPherson Front suspension *NOT* a beam SB has a Curved Windshield and lower front facia SB is good for Street, Regular is good for off road
@@SuperFrankieOSX Problems kept popping up here and there. First it was the brake pads and rotors, and then it was the fuel pump. But anyway, it's all sorted. I actually have a diary video coming out tomorrow where I talk about it for a bit.
This is so funny. I have a 74 Super Beetle. That is the first year they came out with a alternator. That car was horribly neglected, bad transmission mounts, speedo not working, visor missing etc. I bet the guy did nothing to it. I am glad he sold it and someone who appreciates it will fix it right. I haven been working on aircooled VW's since 1992 and still run my own shop. The parts are dirt cheap and easily available. You should do the New Beetles and the Newer VW's after 2005 are a freaking train wreck and practically can only be worked on at the dealer....
I bought a nearly mint 1972 Super Beetle for $6,600 as my first car, the idea being fueled by my dad. I wish I still had it. I drove it 40 miles a day and it never left me anywhere...unexpectedly. The altitude was usually around 5,000 feet, and I drove it up a mountain up to around 11,000 feet and had to engine brake almost all the way back down to keep the damn drum brakes from going. Another time I took it on a 2 or 3 hour drive on the highway with the pedal pinned...believe it or not the thing got to 90 and stayed there, at least if the speedo wasn't lying. I didn't initially love it and wanted to chop it into a baja bug, but luckily I didn't have money to do that. The only thing I did to mod it was throw a short-throw shifter in to keep it from banging my knee everytime I shifted to 2nd. By the time I had to sell it I loved the damn thing and I miss it every day. Oh, and I'll never forget my first oil filter change...I found a god damn noodle strainer when I was looking for an oil filter. That was hilarious.
Not Important To You I used to drive my 66 square back that was 66 hp at 85 mph all day on the highway in Arizona. Once you get them up there, they’re happy
"How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" by John Muir is THE repair guide to these cars. For many USAns these cars are iconic of the "hippie era", and that's a big part of their mystique. They were the car of choice for people from the 1950s-1970s who rejected consumerism. They conjure up nostalgia for Woodstock and Grateful Dead concerts and dudes with long hair and women in long flowy paisley print dresses, especially in people who weren't born yet when all that stuff happened. Younger Boomers and older Gen-Xers will remember having one of these as a first car. If they didn't have one, they almost certainly had a friend who did. Up through the mid '80s clapped out Beetles were common and cheap used cars that could be had for mid-three-figures.
I have a fear for old beetles because my grandma when she was young, my grandma knocked her FIRST SET of front teeth out on the steering wheel when she got T-Boned in her beetle
My '78 Super Beetle requires a lot less baby sitting than any of my friends' classic cars, and when it does, the parts are way cheaper (with the exception of some basic Ford/Chevy/Plymouth models), too. It's a great starter car for VW enthusiasts, or anyone who wants to get into classic cars and is both on a budget and isn't a great mechanic.
That sir is an alternator.....they started with generators and switched to alternators. If you learn the ropes, fix them up, improve the parts and update some things, no car on earth will take you farther and last longer for cheaper. The problem is buying severely neglected ones and having to learn on the side of the road. The vast majority of all parts are under $100 and the whole thing is put together with a handful of tools. The charm is having something go wrong AND NOT NEEDING A MECHANIC, NOT HEARING IT WILL COST THOUSANDS TO FIX AND ALL PARTS ARE STILL IN PRODUCTION. The first car to win the baja 1000 and the platform has the most wins of any in the race. Also the first regular car in antarctica, which one is still there today. The longest and most produced single car in the history of the world. Its all about learning before you get into one expecting it to be something it isnt. I nearly got in a wreck selling one of mine because the man test driving it said he had driven a stock one before and he didnt know you cant be a wimp. He swore I had to come down because something was wrong with the brakes & power steering. I was like no deal bro, you have never driven any older car lmao your leg muscles are the brake booster and your arm muscles are your power steering. I eventually found a guy who knew the car like a champ and i was sad to see it go. Anyway enough of this, i have a bug to go work on lol
In 1983 I had the choice between a 72 Super Beetle an a 72 Olds Cutlass 4 door. Both were for sale for $350. I bought the Cutlass, but I've always wondered how my automotive history might have been different if I'd bought the Super Beetle.
The reason they get so much attention in my view is because everybody has a story with one. It's so ubiquitous that everybody relates to it. They had one, or rode in one, or had a friend who had an uncle to had one, and went on an adventure or misadventure with one.
There are a lot of statements in this review, as usual for RCR, that are SPOT ON. And as someone who bought his 70' standard beetle three years ago next month there are SOME truths about me as a person in here. Especially the musing about how someone will buy a bug with NO mechanical know-how. I am very happy to be one of those that bought the tools to learn to do my own work, but in the beginning, it was rather discouraging. However, the triumph of figuring things out and fixing this and that is a high I continue to chase. "It's fun... but it takes constant care to be fun." is probably the best line for an expectant bug owner in this review. I recall daydreaming about road tripping my bug to PA so that it could be the subject of the RCR treatment, even knowing that it could most likely be scathing. Well done, RCR. Very happy that the bug review is finally here!
"It will make a mechanic out of you"
My first car was a 1973 Super Beetle. I didn't know jack about cars when I got it, and faced with constant minor issues and no money...I learned to fix it myself. I realized I enjoyed wrenching, and a few years later I enrolled in Auto Tech school.
My first was a 73 super as well. Still is, I've learned a lot and had a lot of minor problems as well. I've loved every second of it.
A friend of mine in high school owned a Baja Beetle. He was always fiddling with it at school so that he could drive home. He told me one time, if he had a roll of wire and a flat head screwdriver he could fix anything on it. I always got a kick out of that. Actually, I believe his Baja was the same shade of orange as this one now that I think about it.
So it steered you into a future of blue collar work
@@04dram04 And what is wrong with "blue collar" work?
@@04dram04 if this is as condescending as i think it is buddy you do realize most of the so called "blue collared workers" your talking down to made this country what it is yes even your founding fathers before they became what they were were normal people. Besides i bet you couldnt fix a computer or car without paying someone to do it so dont talk down to someone when you clearly know less.
In 1974 you didn’t see civics. You saw 1000s upon 1000s of beetles
Midnight Ryder correct. They were everywhere. Hondas didn’t seem to make any headway until the very late 70s.
Midnight Ryder So true
Not in Eastern Europe, you would see only Ladas and Moskviches back then.
Exactly! Even Ted Bundy had one!
1977TA Haha!! Your right!!
Imagine scouring the internet searching for the perfect classic Bug that fits your budget, buying it, driving it home, getting on the internet just to see your car on RegularCars. And then you go to Harbor Freight.
Oh, hello new owner!
Technically I delivered it to him. I didn't want it to break down on him driving it home from my house.
Imagine having your new classic Bug delivered to your door!
Hello!
DeBoss, have you taken it the back seats of a classic Bug and dropped in a 12-valve Cummins diesel yet? Love your channel too!
You’re literally describing me. Just got my ‘72 Super. Let me tell you, it’s not fun having it shit on, but I totally understand haha
I’m an airplane mechanic. I legitimately want a Beetle because their engines have more in common with Lycomings and Continentals than anything else with 4 wheels.
I am also an A&P. I legitimately want a Rotax 915iS because it has more in common with anything with four wheels than a Continental or Lycoming.
neat
Do Lycomings and Continental also struggle with the overheated cylinder left in front?
@@eltfell no, for airplanes the rearmost cylinder gets the hottest, but for the same reason
I wonder what would happen if you stuck a Lycoming or a Continental into a Beetle?
"almost no mechanical knowledge." Man, I love ya Mr. Regular, but don't underestimate the aircooled VW community..
Yeah, no doubt. VW guys are rabid. That's why the internet has so much information. I'm pretty sure Regular Car Guy was joking...he piles it on pretty thick. ;)
For they will prevail
He is not talking about VW enthusiasts. He is talking about the unsuspecting fool that buys a beetle thinking it would be as easy to maintain as a 1990s Corolla. Those people are only getting a beetle to be "different" or to try to make their opinion matter more.
a beetle is a easy car to work on i know it because i have one and rebult it
i think it was sarcasm
this car made a mechanic out of me
My dad's beetle got him thru 300k of Australian desert in the 70's without stranding him once, thing was bulletproof. That hot air did not bother the beetle at all. I think his was a 75, it was mustard colour.
If you know how to work on them, they won't strand you as long as you have some tools in the car. They need work incredibly often, but hardly ever fail catastrophically. Hell, one guy can change an engine on the side of the road with hand tools and a bumper jack. I wish I knew how to work on them, I've always wanted a type 3 Squareback.
@The Underground Man idk if this is a joke im not getting but 300 kilometres is 186.4 mi.
@The Underground Man that's why he said 300K .. ( 300,000) not 300..keep of the weed dude..lol
Your dad must have carried around 6 belts.
The USS Johnston the K means thousand...
Thanks to my Dad, a copy of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by the late great John Muir, and several of my teenage years spent working on them, I can take a Volkswagen engine down to the nuts and reassemble it from memory.
The greatest advice anyone ever gave about Beetles was this: If you want to keep one running forever, drive it every day.
Well if I have to drive it every day, I'll stick to my challenger.
Thinking...
Thinking...
Yeah. I still want one.
Get it, friend. Idk where you live but I’m cali you can buy a beetle in REALLY good condition for 2,000. A beetle that’s entirely fixed up? 4,000.
Super Beetles look a little weird though, so I recommend getting one from the 60s. A 68 or 69
WPOS model...
Same
Here in the Midwest they’re sparse. Good ones go for high 5000s for a Super. In the past 5 years, I’ve seen a total of 2 driving around where I live
@@charles_xcx I saw a limited edition running 74 super with a bad carb for sale for $3k across the way in northern Minnesota a bit ago :p depends on who's selling
I've had 3, never smelt of gas, never were 'nightmares'. Straight forward engineering and practically.
joshaction1 Yes indeed
Well kept beetles are good
Then you had em a long time ago when people were alive that's understood what they were
@@coreygolphenee9633 2006? Lol
@@joshaction1 yeah actually, buy the time I was shopping for mine in 2014 they were all gex block double carb cars that drowned the owners completely. The people that understand that these cars work great stock is dying out and the people that experienced the motor harmonically balanced from the factory are too. They are like sailboats now you are inheriting the quality of someone else's work at this point
I mean when you purposely go out of your way to find a beetle in the shittiest condition you could, I don't exactly know how you could expect it to run well.
This is actually in the BEST condition of 99% of them out there that have not been restored as show Queens. They were not long-lasting cars if they were not practically rebuilt every couple of years.
@@Jack_Stafford false
Just a couple notes. "It smells like exhaust on the inside and gas fumes" and "the engine runs differently based on the weather". So it's not a well kept beetle, with leaking vapor lines (front), rusted heater boxes (rear, leaking exhaust into the fresh air stream), and has vacuum leaks on the intake with what looks like an aftermarket carburetor that probably has steel throttle shaft bushings, which will leak vacuum.
So, it's "not a bad car if you don't think it's a car" for a 45 year old economy car that hasn't been taken care of and needs several points of TLC.
Yeah, to the surprise of literally no one we're having a Porsche 924 situation again.
...but it's like this with any old car. And fair enough, the bug isn't the nicest to drive, but it does work - and is a great platform to modify.
I would not give up my BMW. It's so good, even mr. I-hate-German-cars-Regular likes it. Same era, waaaay better car.
Exactly. I’ve sat inside a mint 1963 Karmann Cabriolet and smelled no vapor, heard no road noise and barely heard the hum of the engine. On the flip side, I’ve sat in plenty of beetles that have been stripped and molested several times in their lifetime and sound like hot garbage. It’s not the cars fault, it’s the people who own them
Best way to fix the vacuum thing is to go with a centrifugal advance ignition. My 66 had that, and I never had to touch the ignition or the carb.
@@Eatinbritches How old are we talking about? The 84 Caprice I had was not anywhere near this bad. The A/C was broken but that was it.
Mexicans be like
"Se vende 2003 VW Beetle Vocho 1.6i, nunca taxi"
Mexican bugs sure are weird.... The suspension is from 68, ball joints front end, and swing axle trans. But the body continued to look like 72 super beetles, oh and no safety glass....
@@Gunny426HemiPlymouth same with brazilian beetles.
@@Gunny426HemiPlymouth super beetle? Mexici never had a Super. They were standards with link pin up front
lol I think they made Beetles in Mexico until like 2009
@@angelgjr1999 until 2003
*Sniff* "Oh that's a new smell." I swear I've heard this in the same context at a family reunion I went to in Louisiana.
Also a fitting line for being near an air-cooled VW. Usually the smell is gas though.
You said Louisiana, you said enough.
Im from Louisiana. What smelled?
Breaking new ground as well as breaking wind ... Pffffffttttt .......
I LOVE my 74 Super. Rear engine, rear wheel drive makes these things actually great up hills. I took mine out after a year of not driving it and went up the steepest hill first thing, I was surprised when I had to upshift from second to third and was almost ready for 4th by time I'd hit the top.
Granted my Beetle is in a bit better shape than this one and I've taken good care of it, I also live on the west coast and the car was in the desert for 99% of its life. I've done things like disk brakes up front and all that. The heat works AMAZING because it has the original heat exchangers, anything other than those blow ass.
On the 74 Super the power WAS produced by an alternator, generators went away in 72 or 73. The Super Beetle also drives better than the standard, the larger size is due to the more modern front suspension that makes the ride and handling WAY better. Gas and exhaust smell can be negated by replacing the fuel lines and the filler connection as well as all the bushings in the exhaust system, mine had almost none after I had that done... Though the gas smell came back a while later 8)
I dunno, I love my Beetle. It's easy to work on, cheap for parts and just fun to drive. I also have a Subaru I drive full time, though I did daily drive my Beetle for a year and it worked fine before the carb went outta whack and I replaced half the external engine shit.
Love how Mr Regular finds these classics in the perfect "clapped out but still serviceable" condition. I mean this is exactly what this car would look like in 1980, condition wise, a year or two before the engine threw a rod. Where it would then go to the boneyard. Or maybe a different fate, sit under a tarp for 10 years as the project I'll get to in a few months and become rustier than the Titanic, then sent to the boneyard.
Or there are the select few that get the rust bondoed, a crappy paint job, get it running/driving "good enough" to sell onto the next poor sap, who does bodge repair after bodged repair, gets sick of the pos, pawns it off to the next guy. That is what happened to this poor car, now the whole car is a hacked up mess mechanically and more bondo than steel, but yet its still here 45 years later.
I remember seeing one at a classic car show walked around the back and saw a ｂｉｇ ａｓｓ ｖ８ in it
U S A
Here in brazil we put maverick V8's and Subaru Boxers in the beetles , they ran like hell with an good engine , its scary , you dont want to be at 100mph in the highway with a Beetle
@@Gorecatto ah yes the good ol ｄｅａｔｈ ｒａｔｔｌｅ
Why not?
Oh yeah didn't MCM do an engine swap?
When I was 6 years old. My Mum rolled our family Beetle. My response was to yell 'Dukes of Hazzard. Has Been a classic family story ever since.
Did she survive?
yeah and when Katrina hit i yelled "WIIIIIPE OOOUUT" while me and Bush were having a couple of beers
Funny, as a little kid, my favorite car was a Volkswagen Beetle because of Herbie The Love Bug, but my favorite show was The Dukes Of Hazzard because of the General Lee, and now, as an adult, my favorite car is a '69 Charger.
@@GusBDamme r/nothingeverhappens
business nice cars..big fuel bill 😯
"It'll make a mechanic out of you" Okay I liked that one.
More and more I think Mr. Regular really hates his family.
Correction: hates the MEN in his family.
I love how you open the read hood, looking at an alternator, and say it "has a generator not an alternator." Figure your shit out.
Bugs were literally known for their reliability. There were two in my family when I was growing up and they just ran and ran with extremely rare mechanic visits
Dream car- 1963 VW beetle. Has been as long as I could remember.
Daily drove a 72 Super for years. Paid $900 for it and 15 years later it’s still running.
I'm on my cherokee's 3rd radiator. I'm pretty sold on an air-cooled grocery getter
We daily drove a 72 Super in Ohio as well, (~8 years ago) it was surprisingly just fine. Would still have it, but traded up to a 73 Thing. I'd argue that upkeep is easier and cheaper than most classic cars, but I understand that this video was based on anecdotes of someone who bought a bad car, a test drive, and maybe a handful of hours of homework.
I paid 1200 for my 1973 beetle in 1997 still driving it love that car
Why a 63 over an earlier cat?
@@coreygolphenee9633 was the year of the first beetle I fell for. I do like the older ones but not the biggest fan of the oval or split windows.
“You ever wonder how the guy who drives the plow gets to work?...”
Easy, he's got a Citroen !
Exactly! The beetle gets it done, and has for years in Europe.
He drives a Samurai.
He drives a Toyota Pickup Truck. :)
That was a brilliant ad but mimicked an earlier Plymouth version showing how the mailman in Vermont delivered mail in snow.
If you think these are scary, drive a split window bus. Sitting on top of the front wheels in a turn is a new horror story every time
Not to mention the shifter and steering wheel having more play than a teenager's browser history.
Yeah the T1 is pretty horrible but it isn't the sitting on top of the front wheels that's a problem, its the general build of the car. The aerodynamics are horrible, making side winds hell and the weak suspension making cornering dangerous. They perfected the sitting on top of your wheels with the T3 (or vanagon), its the best cornering bus I've ever driven (even compared to new vans) and short turning makes parking super easy. I've just recently taken a roadtrip with my "Bundeswehr" T3 to the Italian and Swiss Alps and I loved every second of it. Fast cornering on small hill roads, offroading in the Alps, driving it trough impossible small Italian towns, all without any fuss. It doesn't have the looks of the T1 but its the perfect classic VW Bus.
PS like your car interests as well, love the Morpar/VW combo. I'm a (US) Ford/VW fan, but I like any classic if its old enough. xD
Bruno Marques good line.
I love the over the wheel seating. With the windshield on the front and inches from your nose you have a panoramic view. It's the imax of automobiles.
Volkswagen T1, an overpriced overrated box on wheels. Unless those ridonculous prices I have seen at BJ are just the 23 window ones.
Back when I used to drive my dad's 79 vanagon to school and whatnot, the first thing he told me was, "If you smell burning or if you see the engine's on fire just get out, the van's toast"
Not super confidence inspiring...
Crappy fuel lines can do that, especially in the fuel injected models.
Well, some cloned the Volkswagen van a "bread box" so "toast" analogy is fitting ...
The wire bail that holds the valve covers on, so you can access the rockers without tools. Thats the mechanical beauty. It's so pure. You can work on it, without wanting to hunt down and beat an engineer.
I’ve owned 53 cars since I started driving in 2000... I wanted my first car to be a beetle. My parents always claimed “all of their friends died in beetles”(spoiler alert they were drunk/stoned)
Flash forward to a year ago I finally got a 71 super beetle and I’ve never been more happy with a car
Op has since died in a fatal crash since making this post.
BigWheel I drive with rollerblades on so I can jump out when the brakes go out. If I start smoking marijuana and listening to foghat while driving I’ll be doomed however
@@flyingonblades [distorted blaring through blown speakers] SloW RyDe!!!!!!! TaKe It EeEazZy
dad: *loads shotgun*
"Now son, I told you all the people who owned beetles died..."
BigWheel nah, it wasn’t a vw bus
My wife-then-girlfriend had one of these in the early 90s. Yes, I had to do many roadside repairs, like replacing the entire ignition system, and yes, I pulled the engine out of it to successfully (!) replace the clutch with her father. The running boards were rusted away, so it had no heat, because the warm air from the exhaust was supposed to ride into the cabin through *structural frame tubes which had also rusted away.*
However, it started *every day* in the winter, without trouble. And it was *the best* car to drive in the snow, never got stuck. We took it on road trips and it would cruise the highway at 70MPH for as long as you asked it to.
I daily one year round in Colorado. Mine's heat works properly, so usually it's not bad - though it's totally useless when stuck in traffic. As for snow, I think it starts to become vaguely aware of something on the ground when the snow is about 4" deep, anything less than that it doesn't really notice. I once put chains on it and drove it through more than a foot of snow, steering was practically nonexistent but it kept going. I have gotten it stuck in hard-packed snow/ice with "potholes" a couple times, but I'd be amazed if any car wouldn't get stuck in that.
Loved my Super Beetle. Drove that thing all over Germany, Holland and some of Belgium. Then I brought it home and drove it until the floor pan rusted out.
Talk about bottoming out ... Could have driven it like a Flintstone mobile ... yaba daba dooooooo ...
My first car was a 1973 Super Beetle in 1987 and I love it to this day. One of the best cars I ever had. Also that is a alternator you putz! :P
Thank you, I felt like I was taking crazy pills with that generator talk when he was showing an alternator
These are very well built cars for their time. They were the most common car in the world too at one point. Idk why people act like they’re so delicate, they’re actually great reliable cars. I’ve worked on a few and all these little details bring me back to my time with them. Idk if I’d ever own one but I appreciate the classic beetles.
I had one, went through snow ❄️ like a 4 wheel drive. Loved that car
"until your classic car goes away for the winter"
Yeah nah im 22, have no idea how to dial in a carb but common and try me. Its my only car, I always wanted a old benz and I'm gonna go through with this on all seasons
You'll be fine in an old Benz. I've lived that life.
@CaptainKman oh I own it for over half a year now. Basic maintenance aside (one oil change and fresh coolant) I really didn't need anything. It got restored two years ago before that it was all one owner.
It's a W201. Number 272 of the assembly line in Bremen. 5 speed But carbureted (when I remember correctly the states only got the injected model). Tho I replaced the drivers seat. Previous owner was an absolute unit and Tore the seat apart getting in and because everything else was spotless I couldn't let it be. Got it for 50€ in mint condition from a scrapyard
I had a 73, and that is an alternator. It's an upgrade kit the generator is smaller.
Nothing wrong with a generator.
@@vector6977 nothing wrong (and so much right) with an alternator swap either
The 1974 came with an alternator. He also does not know what actually makes a Beetle a Super Beetle. McPherson struts. From the front seats to the back it’s the same car.
@ vector6977
Tons wrong with a generator.
Like he said, it doesn’t produce power at idle... so lights go dim battery discharges at a stop light. That’s because it only has one winding instead of three like an alternator and the regulator is throwing as much juice into the field as it can but still not making anything.
ALL of your power has to go through the brushes. Just the field current goes through the alternator brushes. That means generator brushes are more expensive and still burn out over twice as fast. And rather than two screws and one wire to replace the brushes on an alternator vs taking the shroud off and having to mess with brushes and springs plus wires for each brush on a generator.
You need a commutator to rectify the current produced by a generator. The same high current going through an uneven and complex surface vs the two simp slip rings of an alternator’s rotor and a solid state diode rectifier.
You need a current limiter and reverse current cutout for a generator so it isn’t motored by the battery. Alternators are self limiting and the solid state diode rectifier functions as a reverse current cutout.
Because of the complexity of the generator regulator (which often uses physical contacts for voltage regulation, current limiting, and reverse current cutout) it is another extremely failure prone part of a generator setup vs a completely solid-state alternator.
The only advantage a generator has it that it is self-exciting. But you can make an alternator self-exciting by using a generator to power the rotor. This also eliminates all of the brushes and thus makes a brushless alternator.
@@DanaTheInsane Yup..the dimensions of the rest of the car were identical to the standard Beetle. I believe the designation for the Super was a 113,vs a 111 for the standard.
"A dream car you're never meant to own"
Literally how I feel about my own dream car, a White 400R
Lotus evora 400r? Niice
400R R33 Skyline?
Since buying one of my dream cars last month (83 SAAB 900), I've been hit by a dose of reality and started dividing my dream car list into "attainable" and "never meant to own". I realized I'm not willing to realistically daily anything older or weirder than the SAAB.
On the plus side, I'm learning the basics of Bosch mechanical fuel injection, so classic Porsches, BMWs, and Mercs of the era all just moved a little closer to the first list.
I’m probably insane as I wanted a Crown Super Coach and thought my dad would want to do it with me father and son but he just gave me a bunch of fucking shit and it will never happen.
Red Cadillac CT6
45 years later, I can still remember the smell riding in a Beetle, and the engine vibration & noise jerking through the gears ... and it was fun!!
The reason the engine bay got hot was the "mechanic" neglected to install the rubber seal between the engine and the body. The engine sucks cool air in from atop, and blows it out the bottom, hot. If the rubber seal is missing, the air rises back into the engine area, and gets when hot air is sucked in to cool the engine, it gets even hotter. You have a heat feedback situation, with the engine bay - and the engine - getting hotter and hotter. *You must not leave out that rubber seal.* Lack of rubber seal may also provide an opportunity for exhaust fumes to get into the passenger compartment.
Trivia: this, the ghia, and the early porsches all share the same engine and drivetrain.
Hence, the 911=Beetle joke
Yet...The Ghia is probably one of the best cars ever designed...
Trivia: all vw cars are the same thing.
@@antonioederlopezlopez7341 *ahem*
EA827
1.9 TDI
Limbach series
Cb-40
My good lad, read a book...
Hardly surprising when this descends almost directly from the motherfucking kubelwagen of all things
Ive never seen a VW engine shake that much
I have, one with a hell of a misfire on all cylinders and rear transaxle mounts that were soft as silly putty from the oil leaks. Changed the mounts, plug wires, and set the points gap (there was NO GAP). Ran much better but still had a vacuum leak from the rubber boots on the intake, I think.
i have, when the timing is wrong
Tranny mounts are probably bad
@@TheViolatorinator Mine kept plugging up the #4 plug. Turns out the exhaust tube that heats the intake manifold can get plugged which makes the manifold not heat up and causes fuel to condense out before it gets to the cylinder. That can cause a lot of the shaking issues.
Oh boy oh boy oh boy, Datsun review coming *OH GOD I ALREADY CAME!"*
This x1000
I fucking hope so, been waiting a long time for a review of one. Dream car right there.
510, please and thank you.
240z > 510
@@TylerTheBassCreator Ford Mustang > Ford Ka
"why would you buy this and not a Civic or Z car?" - someone who never had to work on any 70s-80s Honda/Datsun.
My daily is a Z car that... doesn't like to start, misfires, idles at a buck thirty, and is a nightmare to work on. And seeing as old Japanese cars were biodegradable, the only reason why it's still alive is because it's from the south and never saw snow or salt.
Man, just admit you have an irrational hateboner for VWs. Most of the complaints in this video would apply to any 45 year old car that's been neglected, bodged with half-assed repairs, and tossed from one owner to the next.
Old Japanese cars were biodegradable is a great way to put it, as awesome as a 240 is it was never meant to be put through what the bug has been battle tested and proven to go through
Fun fact, these things didn't come with hose clamps from the factory. Put some hose clamps on the lines under the hood as well.
1930's design. its crazy it got popular like 30 years after its introduction
The Beetle's design, both in looks and practicality was ahead of it's time, when it was designed in the 1930's. It was also inexpensive and reliable and for all practical purposes in the United States, filled the small economy car niche for 15 years straight. What killed it in the US was, that even though it was reliable by 1960's standards, which weren't very high, and could be easily maintained by owners who were willing to get their hands dirty, by the 1970's, the Japanese had raised the bar so high on reliability as well as fuel economy (Beetles maybe got 30 mpg, but a Datsun B210 got 37-41 mpg, for instance), that Beatles could no longer compete & couldn't get by on "cuteness" alone. VW had by then acquired Audi, which had a vehicle in the works, which either spawned or became the VW Golf/Rabbit, which was enormously popular and likely saved VW as a company.
@jdslyman Everyone knows that. We're tired of people bringing it up.
@@sparky6086 farfignewgun!
21 million sold! Must have been half decent
@jdslyman Absolutely!
Had a regular beetle for my first car. You forgot to mention that "Heat" means your left shoe rubber gets melted while the rest of you stays frozen, kinda like hot pockets.
Actually that particular beetle has an alternator...
You know it & I do but they don't!
Do the Mexican beetles have alternators?
@@GeneralZapta213 73 and newer all had alternators and its not hard to convert an older car to run one either.
@@1mangostick 67 and newer had a 12v system afaik
That was a heroic amount of ignorance jammed into a relatively short time period. Congratulations.
So true
Unless I'm mistaken the super beetle had an alternator and not a generator the one in your video certainly has an alternator or my eyes decieve me and in period were easy to maintain and pretty reliable with a high build quality Ps I was a factory trained VW mechanic long since retired
I usually like RCR but this one just frustrated me to no end. VWs were much more reliable than most every other car out at the time and yes that includes the Honda Civic. What makes them unreliable today was lack of regular maintenance and/or poor maintenance. The heaters worked good and they didn’t smell like fuel. This example is a cobbler together beater. Try driving a nice one. They really were a well made car. I’ve owned several and they are quite good as cars. I would certainly avoid one that is in the condition of this one but that goes without saying. Do they require maintenance? Sure. But all cars of the era did. The beetle was truly a very good car in its day. They were known for lasting a long time, and being dependable. They got better gas mileage than most of its competition even in the 1970s and they were also known for being relaxed on the highway compared to the competition of the time.
It's a super beetle, the suck because those are expensive as fuck. Complicate suspension, larger diff, etc.
The normal one is waaay better, easier to fix, doesn't let you down if you take care of it.
I have one and it's been on my family for 20 years
Exactly, back when I was in Brasil we had a Beetle as our car. You could literally let that thing sit for a few years, come back to it, push it to the mechanic's shop, restore the thing for less than it cost to buy a used car, and get on your way driving.
Say what you want about the war time design, but it runs like a wartime design should.
OmegaReilly I would not say McPherson struts are complicated. I also prefer the standard but also understand why vw came up with this version.
Nope Chevy was more reliable
Jedi Master Joe gotta be kidding. American cars were garbage at the time. They were huge gas guzzling relics that were junkyard bound with 80,000 miles on the clock. I like some of the American cars from that time for sure but good cars they were not.
I really wish I could have shown you my bug. I lived in Emmaus right where you were shooting and just moved this summer but I have a 71 beetle same color same engine and you could not be more wrong. This car was my first car at 14 and yes it taught me mechanical knowledge but it also made me a Volkswagen enthusiast and opened my eyes to a world of great people and awesome cars. I’m pretty biased but I think you were a little too harsh on the car.
Scout F. The red one in your picture looks very nice.
official clown business thank you!
The set that the point of this channel? For the most part, it’s a slam fest.
Aaron Decker I agree!!!
Scout F. Nice Beetle in your photo
Have to disagree with the whole video. I have a 1985 1200cc beatle which has been in possesion of my family for more then 30 years. It has never made any problems beside these you have to expect from a aircooled car and it never broke down even though my father drove it with a 2 liter built engine. YEAH , that engine blew because it was insanity but right now we have a original motor installed which we plan on swapping with a 1600cc just today. I love this car and we never had problems with it throgh all the years of service.
Mexican beetle? It would come with a 1600cc stock
Same, my first car was a 1977 super with the Arizona AC unit crammed in your legs lol, drove it for 15 years and all i ever did was change oil and tires. But in this bugs defense it looks very ill kept...
@The Underground Man yea pretty close it would make abt 90 hp im pretty sure
@The USS Johnston the insane part is the aircooling not the HP.
Air is shit at removing heat.
It didn't have a beetle engine so it doesn't count
Years ago we young people had names for our cars: the White Weasel which blasted out a cloud of oily smoke when you depressed the accelerator which was great to discourage tail gaters. Then the Banana Boat a huge thing and the car body sank to the street one night from cause unknown. And then my VW nicknamed "The Fuhrer's Revenge".
There weren’t tv shows in the 70’s about friendly possessed Honda’s and Datsuns. That’s why people bought them. Free advertising
I literally grew up in a 1974 Super Beetle. It was the family car. It's amazing I lived this long. :D
1:29, nooo that's an alternator. It just may not... alternate well.
My 80s Peugeot had fried it's alternator and didn't charge well at all, my dad kept making fun of it saying "I didn't know you bought a Beetle."
Yeah, that's an alternator, even tough it is bigger and less efficient than modern alternators, so they don't quite generate enough electricity on idle.
@@LGaragem idk what you guys are on about. Even the 55amp base model Bosch/Motorola alternators were plenty fine for a Beetle. Even if you add aux lights and a basic sound system.
Claiming its unreliable is a bit harsh. Probably one of the most reliable cars/drivetrains ever made. Incredibly easy to work on and pretty much always starts. Its not typical for them to overheat or run hot, so probably something wrong with that one - thermostat for example. I can see that the seal between the body and engine is missing too.
I remember back when my family used to have one, in the middle of the winter our beetle always started and had no real issues with snow and cold weather. While neighbours cars wouldnt start.
Rust ruins these cars, which sadly can be seen in the one you drove aswell.
Can anything be done to prevent that (rust) if you use it as a daily driver in Massachusetts? I wouldn't mind getting an old Beetle someday.
@@TofranBohk in Germany we have companys that electroplate cars , maybe something like this exists near you.
@@TofranBohk eh its more about the location that is the issue then what you can do. its the salt that kills them since it takes the protective coating off which allows the rust to start and it accelerates the corrosion. Its gonna depend where you live. If they use salt when it snows and roads freeze its bad to daily it. If you are in arizona or texas and this isnt an issue then its fine
If you keep up with valve adjustments and are pre-emptive at preventing fuel leaks, these can get you where you need to go. You might even keep a rebuilt motor in a shed waiting for when the valve adjustment isn't enough.
It's because the further these get from factory assembly and the more people experience them as second hand projects the more that reputation sticks
You have to keep things in historical context. In 1974 Honda was just an oddity for early adopters, unless you lived on the west coast. Everything you say is true, but few people are early adopters. In New England, ONE neighbor in our entire neighborhood had a 1975 CVVC bought new. But many had Bugs. You were more likely to buy a (more expensive) Rabbit than a CVVC, but only because VW was a 'safe' choice with dealers everywhere relatively speaking.
My first car was a full restored 74 beetle (not a super beetle) that my older brother built and passed on to me. We rebuilt the engine and reinstalled it in an afternoon. I then drove it 1700 miles with no issues drove it for years. As long as you changed the oil, fuel filter and adjusted the valves it ran perfect. Someone stole it 20 years ago in Portland, OR....it's still the best car I've ever owned.
I like magnesium in MY engine!
Especially when justin dangles a fuel filter off the fuel nipple that's famous for pulling out and lighting a fire on top of the engine which is... magnesium and then... yeahhhh.
magnesium in my engine? it's more likely than you think
Eyy if you have a later one, you get aluminum, still won't prevent your oil from BOILING HOTTER THAN SATAN'S ASSHOLE
They all had one from the factory anyway.
Everyone wants a engine block that can catch on fire!
But I have seen way more Beetles then any Japanese car from that era?
it was literally the best selling car in the world for a while
The beetles were loved and the Datsuns, Hondas, and Toyotas were scrapped once they'd served their time
20 million+ sold, but they were made to be used every day- not sit in a garage, only to be brought out for car shows!
People like beetles because everyone had one. It was THE family car. Then new cars came out, and everyone moved on. But for a lot of Americans, it was their first family car.
GeneralZapta213 like 70s Honda’s Toyota’s and datsuns? If so then yeah, but not today
Those Japanese cars of the time rusted to shit, especially if your town used road salt. Most cars of the 70s are pretty rust prone, including the Beetle, but those Japanese cars were just eaten alive
I remember you could get a Rolls hood and grill for your Bug back in the 70's to give it that extra 'touch of class'.
If you drive one of those now, you're just a chump.
As seen in the classic movie "Up in Smoke".
@@Oddman1980
I forgot all about that!
You can also get a body kit to make it look like a 959.
Say what you want about the pimpmobile Bugs, but I would drive the fuck out of one purely BECAUSE it's so ridiculous.
I drove a 71 in college from 08 to 09. It was such a fun car. 81mph top speed. Touchy steering at highway speeds. Broken gas gauge. Leaked soo much oil. Lift the floor mat and you could see the ground. Loved it!
If you live in the Upper-Midwest, and you want to daily a classic Beetle "year-round"...and you don't need it to be completely stock. Here is a short list of things to make your life better.
*Disk brake kit.
*Oil filter mod. (adds a modern oil filter to the engine).
*EFI fuel injection mod. (combined with better exhaust can make 70-80hp in a 1600cc.
*Better exhaust. (this unfortunately forces removal of factory heating system)
*Two 300 watt electric heaters for the windscreen.
*Oil heater for your feet. (air cooled engines are supposed to have the engine oil at 230°F so the heat is very hot.)
*metal wrapped fuel lines.
*metal fuel filters (one by the tank and one by the engine. Yes, two).
*tall skinny off-road tread tires. They give better grip on snow and whatnot. Being skinny makes them lighter and they cut through snow and mud and grip below.
**if you really wanna have it better use either a 90hp naturally aspirated 1915cc or a turbocharged 1600 with 90hp. Or a turbocharged 1776cc with 115hp.
If you keep the engine mostly stock, even with EFI, you can keep the heater channels in good condition and they should work surprisingly well. Sadly most beetles have badly maintained or even damaged heater systems.
Please God never give this guy an aircooled 911 to review.
No kidding!!! It was a lazy review on a sub-par condition Super Beetle. (I mean, really.. "the ONLY difference between a Super and a Standard is they stretched everything to be a bit bigger?" Uhm.. NOPE.
@@musichistorynut He really just does not like older German cars. He shat on the W201, the Beetle, the 944, the W123, and such. He barely does any research when talking about these cars and ALL expect the W201 were in driver condition or below. All expect the W201 deserve a new rereview
@@akishot6735
Does he like any car?
@@sharksport01 Toyotas and old Fords
@@akishot6735 He loved the Karmann Ghia, he just has his own opinions.
2:52 not true, everything is the same from the front of the door - back. The major difference between a super and a standard is that the supers have mcpherson front suspension. Later supers had a fat dashboard and a curved windshield.
And rear IRS.
What
That looked a lot like an alternator as well (which would have been found on a 74) too much bias in his beetle videos :)
100% correct,these guy"s need a smart car,couple of jokers
The first 2 years had a flat windshield but the front end had louvers under the bumper
"It sucks!... I love it"
Me
For all those aspiring aircooled VW mechanics, don't forget the repair manual: "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot". Yes the word Complete is incorrectly spelled on purpose.
My first car was a 1970 Beetle and this book was my mechanic's bible. If I didn't have my car fixed or project finished by Sunday night, I'd be riding the bus to school on Monday. This book kept me driving to school...
This beetle has an alternator, later models like these have alternators
It also has self-adjusting brakes. No idea WTF this guy is talking about. Sounds like he bought the wrong brake shoes, for one thing.
So do earlier ones, the 12v electrics we're introduced in 67
"do you like being surprised when you make it? "
uhhh.... its a beetle, they are almost unkillable
if this car was well maintained, it would not have any of the issues mentioned, or atleast far less (no gas smell, no break issues, overall looking way better)
true
That's an opinion I've only saw from people that never owned one. Seriously.
This comment proves the point he makes in the video
@@AugustoRallo I know a lot of people who drive and maintain beetles, its a very popular classic car in Alsace 🤷
My 72 Super sat for 10 years. New fuel and oil and some fiddling with the carb and it fired right up. Those motors will take the most extreme of abuse.
In Brazil, the Super Beetle never existed, nor did the Mk1 and Mk2 Golfs, so the Beetle was still around by 1986 (there was an attempt of a 'revival' by the early 90's, but that only lasted three years).
Because the Beetle is more of a common sight there, some people think: "Oh, I'll get a beetle, it is super simple and easy to work on!", then they either buy a rusty piece of crap or they overpay for a badly restored one.
Then they start having problems, the endless repairs, sometimes they start arriving late, because their beetle refused to start, then they either keep the Beetle as a "garage queen", never using it or they sell it to the next unsuspecting fool.
And the MK1 GOL with FWD front mounted beetle engine. Replace rapidly with the "Golf" engine. EA827.
That's not true, we got the "Fuscão" which is a super beetle
@@spookyscaryskeletons69420 No it is not! It has some of the more "modern" stuff the super beetle has, but Brazilian Fuscas never had the dashboard, the curvy windshield or even the Mcpherson Strut front suspension that all Super Beetles have, so it is not even close to a Super Beetle.
I almost kinda want one just for the frequent challenge of keeping it in good shape.
they're nice and fun to drive man highly recommend
It's challenging until you know what your doing, then you can do anything on it in an hour and I mean anything
I currently am using my 71 Super Beetle as a daily since my daily broke... that intro was too relatable
Also because of the obvious plastic fuel filter issue w/ the engine heat I re-positioned mine under the tank in the front (only accessible from under the car like where the master cylinder is)
This video is such a Debbie Downer. I loved my 74 Super! I really never had the problems, early in this video. My '72 Bug is still my daily driver. I LOVE that little car. "Learn", Best words of this whole video. It's worth learning this quirky little car.
Super Beetle vs Regular Beetle:
SB has MacPherson Front suspension *NOT* a beam
SB has a Curved Windshield and lower front facia
SB is good for Street, Regular is good for off road
Early "Super" was a 1302 which had macpherson suspension and a flat windshield. 1303 had a curved windshield
Super Beetles had the flat windshield up to mid-‘72.
ROMAN GOT RED BETTY BACK!! THREE CHEERS!! On with a glorious review :DDDDDDDDD
Had me in the first half, not gonna lie.
Wait what happened to it?
@@SuperFrankieOSX Problems kept popping up here and there. First it was the brake pads and rotors, and then it was the fuel pump. But anyway, it's all sorted. I actually have a diary video coming out tomorrow where I talk about it for a bit.
@@LimitedTimeRoman oh wow cool, sorry I was a bit behind on all the info, it's great to hear everything is solved!
Lot mechanics started out working on classic beetles.
Gaining a lot of experience in short time no doubt lol.
This is so funny. I have a 74 Super Beetle. That is the first year they came out with a alternator. That car was horribly neglected, bad transmission mounts, speedo not working, visor missing etc. I bet the guy did nothing to it. I am glad he sold it and someone who appreciates it will fix it right. I haven been working on aircooled VW's since 1992 and still run my own shop. The parts are dirt cheap and easily available. You should do the New Beetles and the Newer VW's after 2005 are a freaking train wreck and practically can only be worked on at the dealer....
BadBrad23 I’ve had many beetles over the years. I never had trouble with any of them besides normal maintenance
im 16 and bought a 73 regular beetle as a first car, what an adventure
The real "Regular Car"
James May reckons that every car enthusiast should experience or drive a Beetle in our lifetime.
WhateverNevermind i learned manual in one. I also learned how to dump a clutch at the same time 😂
I bought a nearly mint 1972 Super Beetle for $6,600 as my first car, the idea being fueled by my dad. I wish I still had it. I drove it 40 miles a day and it never left me anywhere...unexpectedly. The altitude was usually around 5,000 feet, and I drove it up a mountain up to around 11,000 feet and had to engine brake almost all the way back down to keep the damn drum brakes from going. Another time I took it on a 2 or 3 hour drive on the highway with the pedal pinned...believe it or not the thing got to 90 and stayed there, at least if the speedo wasn't lying. I didn't initially love it and wanted to chop it into a baja bug, but luckily I didn't have money to do that. The only thing I did to mod it was throw a short-throw shifter in to keep it from banging my knee everytime I shifted to 2nd. By the time I had to sell it I loved the damn thing and I miss it every day. Oh, and I'll never forget my first oil filter change...I found a god damn noodle strainer when I was looking for an oil filter. That was hilarious.
Not Important To You I used to drive my 66 square back that was 66 hp at 85 mph all day on the highway in Arizona. Once you get them up there, they’re happy
I bought a '74 Super Beetle new in '74. Yellow. Other than a faulty voltage regulator, never had any of the problems you describe. Car ran like a top.
On top of all the other comments - your smashback 74 rust bucket has an alternator not a generator.
9:20
Oh god I want that Z.
paint it blue
"Paint the town brown when we drop the deuce"
"How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" by John Muir is THE repair guide to these cars.
For many USAns these cars are iconic of the "hippie era", and that's a big part of their mystique. They were the car of choice for people from the 1950s-1970s who rejected consumerism. They conjure up nostalgia for Woodstock and Grateful Dead concerts and dudes with long hair and women in long flowy paisley print dresses, especially in people who weren't born yet when all that stuff happened.
Younger Boomers and older Gen-Xers will remember having one of these as a first car. If they didn't have one, they almost certainly had a friend who did. Up through the mid '80s clapped out Beetles were common and cheap used cars that could be had for mid-three-figures.
don't you mean younger boomers and older gen xers?
@@666cemetaryslut Yes. Thank you. Edited.
Yep, us older boomers didn't see these until the secretaries at work started getting them.
I have a fear for old beetles because my grandma when she was young, my grandma knocked her FIRST SET of front teeth out on the steering wheel when she got T-Boned in her beetle
Have a 78 beetle convertible and a 71 Karmann Ghia. They are the easiest cars I own (13) to keep on the road and running right.
You bought the Beetle, just admit it!
My '78 Super Beetle requires a lot less baby sitting than any of my friends' classic cars, and when it does, the parts are way cheaper (with the exception of some basic Ford/Chevy/Plymouth models), too. It's a great starter car for VW enthusiasts, or anyone who wants to get into classic cars and is both on a budget and isn't a great mechanic.
That mean we gonna get a Datsun Z review soon? ,':3c
That’s not a generator on the 74, it’s a alternator.
That sir is an alternator.....they started with generators and switched to alternators. If you learn the ropes, fix them up, improve the parts and update some things, no car on earth will take you farther and last longer for cheaper. The problem is buying severely neglected ones and having to learn on the side of the road. The vast majority of all parts are under $100 and the whole thing is put together with a handful of tools. The charm is having something go wrong AND NOT NEEDING A MECHANIC, NOT HEARING IT WILL COST THOUSANDS TO FIX AND ALL PARTS ARE STILL IN PRODUCTION. The first car to win the baja 1000 and the platform has the most wins of any in the race. Also the first regular car in antarctica, which one is still there today. The longest and most produced single car in the history of the world. Its all about learning before you get into one expecting it to be something it isnt. I nearly got in a wreck selling one of mine because the man test driving it said he had driven a stock one before and he didnt know you cant be a wimp. He swore I had to come down because something was wrong with the brakes & power steering. I was like no deal bro, you have never driven any older car lmao your leg muscles are the brake booster and your arm muscles are your power steering. I eventually found a guy who knew the car like a champ and i was sad to see it go. Anyway enough of this, i have a bug to go work on lol
"the only classic car owned by people with no mechanical knowledge" very true!
No.
There’s plenty of $50k + winga dinga dinga mobiles owned by rich boomers who never gapped a spark plug in their lives.
How many people work on their own Ferraris?
Vw enthusiasts can take their motor out in a few mins
PontiacPOWA ah yes, so repairing a car that’s easy to fix equals being lazy
😅
Before watching this video:
YES! Finally! The icon! The one and only.
All I heard was eleven minutes of complaining.
Same
@@dwarfboy9996 ah, you must be new to RCR.
yeah this guys a hater
Yeah
In 1983 I had the choice between a 72 Super Beetle an a 72 Olds Cutlass 4 door. Both were for sale for $350. I bought the Cutlass, but I've always wondered how my automotive history might have been different if I'd bought the Super Beetle.
As a proud owner of a 1969 Beetle, you hit it right on the head. I also got some good laughs from this. Thank you.
"I'll have the HAM."
Praise the HAM!
Rum ham
steamed ham
This ham gum is all bones!
Always admired the looks of the classic beetle. Liked it even more after I saw MCM drop a turbo Subaru flat four into it.
Unsafe at any speed!
also fun at any speed? 🤷♂️
Small on safety was the book about the beetle but both books killed my amazing 73 thing I'm getting restored
Nah, that's the Corvair apparently
Nothing is gained without taking risks.
The reason they get so much attention in my view is because everybody has a story with one. It's so ubiquitous that everybody relates to it. They had one, or rode in one, or had a friend who had an uncle to had one, and went on an adventure or misadventure with one.
There are a lot of statements in this review, as usual for RCR, that are SPOT ON. And as someone who bought his 70' standard beetle three years ago next month there are SOME truths about me as a person in here. Especially the musing about how someone will buy a bug with NO mechanical know-how. I am very happy to be one of those that bought the tools to learn to do my own work, but in the beginning, it was rather discouraging. However, the triumph of figuring things out and fixing this and that is a high I continue to chase. "It's fun... but it takes constant care to be fun." is probably the best line for an expectant bug owner in this review. I recall daydreaming about road tripping my bug to PA so that it could be the subject of the RCR treatment, even knowing that it could most likely be scathing. Well done, RCR. Very happy that the bug review is finally here!