Thread
Volksbugen
My dad bought this for me this afternoon:
'75 Classic Beetle (VW Bug)
Unfortunately, i won't be able to drive it until later this summer. I was too sick to be able to go out to look at it, but my dad and my business-partner (which rebuilds Beetles) went to look at it and check it out, and my dad put $1500 down on it, with $3300 as the total price. Needs to be fixed up a bit, like the engine needs to be taken apart and cleaned. It needs a new engine mount, and a bit of rust taken care of.
We will be taking out the fuel injection and put in a carborator and take out the computer (first year bug with computer) because if the computer goes out, they cost $500 to replace them.
The interior is brand new and has been fixed up really nice (saw pics on that page and through phone) and it's a beauty from what I see.
Just wanted to let you know of this acquisition.
BTW: This is my first car. I always told people that my first car would be a bug, but it's now a reality
.
I feel bad that I was unable to go out and test drive it, but from what I hear, it's a bit rough as the engine has been sitting between 3-4 years with only a few turn overs every 4-5 months.
EDIT: in case that link goes down, i have a copy of this article (as well as pics here)
'75 Classic Beetle (VW Bug)
Unfortunately, i won't be able to drive it until later this summer. I was too sick to be able to go out to look at it, but my dad and my business-partner (which rebuilds Beetles) went to look at it and check it out, and my dad put $1500 down on it, with $3300 as the total price. Needs to be fixed up a bit, like the engine needs to be taken apart and cleaned. It needs a new engine mount, and a bit of rust taken care of.
We will be taking out the fuel injection and put in a carborator and take out the computer (first year bug with computer) because if the computer goes out, they cost $500 to replace them.
The interior is brand new and has been fixed up really nice (saw pics on that page and through phone) and it's a beauty from what I see.
Just wanted to let you know of this acquisition.
BTW: This is my first car. I always told people that my first car would be a bug, but it's now a reality
.I feel bad that I was unable to go out and test drive it, but from what I hear, it's a bit rough as the engine has been sitting between 3-4 years with only a few turn overs every 4-5 months.
EDIT: in case that link goes down, i have a copy of this article (as well as pics here)
If the engine hasn't been turned over for a while it should need an oil and coolant dump as those will probably be quite old. I've never heard of an engine needing rebuilding from lack of use though. To be fair this is a 4-cylinder opposed engine and i'm only really familiar with 4-cylinder inlines and transverses, so I can't speak for their operation.
It looks absolutely pristine, the paintwork and interior trims are in perfect condition and just looks fantastic. Not a hint of rust and to top it all off, it has silver alloys rather than black steel rims.
Pulling the EFI will result in a loss of power around the range of 10-15kW, but i'm guessing you're not too concerned about that. Plus it's an upside for reliability to do away with it, with the price of engine management systems these days. ($500 is a decent factory part figure, but it's around $1200 for an aftermarket) I've had to replace my onboard computers twice now and i'll tell ya, it's not cheap. Offered a nice performance boost though.
Very nice, give that engine a good cleanup and it should be a great little bug. Welcome to the world of motoring and automotive.
It looks absolutely pristine, the paintwork and interior trims are in perfect condition and just looks fantastic. Not a hint of rust and to top it all off, it has silver alloys rather than black steel rims.
Pulling the EFI will result in a loss of power around the range of 10-15kW, but i'm guessing you're not too concerned about that. Plus it's an upside for reliability to do away with it, with the price of engine management systems these days. ($500 is a decent factory part figure, but it's around $1200 for an aftermarket) I've had to replace my onboard computers twice now and i'll tell ya, it's not cheap. Offered a nice performance boost though.
Very nice, give that engine a good cleanup and it should be a great little bug. Welcome to the world of motoring and automotive.
Great, I love those machines. I kept one for 200 kMiles. This is a classic car that deserves some respect and good care. Mind the service interval recommendation and take a careful look at the engine every 3000 to 5000 miles. Have a service manual and take some time to get advice from your Beetle friendly buisiness-partner. Check the oil consumption everytime you are at the gas station. Have lots of fun and drive carefully. You might become addicted to the sound and loveliness of this bestseller 
P.S.: you might consider to keep the fuel injection in combination with a new engine controller. A well adjusted injection system provides more power as well as more miles per gallon, compared to any carburetor system in the age of that car. A new carburetor is not cheap and a worn out one is not recommendable.
P.S.: you might consider to keep the fuel injection in combination with a new engine controller. A well adjusted injection system provides more power as well as more miles per gallon, compared to any carburetor system in the age of that car. A new carburetor is not cheap and a worn out one is not recommendable.
It's got a tiny bit of rust on the engine fan guard and right behind the driver's side back window. The wheels are too small and the speedometer doesn't register right (it could say it's going 70MPH and it's only going 45-50)
We can fix all of it though pretty easily. We will be putting a GPS in the car too
As far as the fuel injection and carburetor, we will be using a new carburetor, and can get new parts for just about any new thing on the bug. I am well aware of the performance decrease, but I don't feel like shelling out $500 for a new computer on the thing. We will probably wait till the computer goes out though until we replace it with the carburetor.
We also gotta do the 12v mod for the electrical*, and we are going to replace the ignition with electronic ignition. So that will be nice.
*EDIT: sorry, it's got the 12v mod already. I forgot. It's got a new alternator. My bad...
This was actually the first year that VW had computers on their bugs. That's why my dad was having second thoughts, but my business partner had said this was the best deal we were going to get. On top of that, we got the car down to $3300USD compared to other people around here that had rust-buckets that wanted close to between $4500-5500 for their junk. We got really lucky
You had better check the emissions regs for your state before you make any engine modifications. That electronic module may be there for a reason. Switching to a carb might make you non-compliant for an emissions inspection and get you a ticket. They may even impound the car.
Not everywhere. Don't spread misinformation. Cars still have to comply with all standards applicable for the year of manufacture whether annual inspection is required or not. A police officer can still conduct a spot inspection even on exempt vehicles and if you fail you are ticketed and towed.
I would think a properly fitted carburetor would comply with emissions regulations. During the manufacturer changeover from carby to EFI here in Australia, carburetted engines used specific emissions control hardware primarily mounted on the exhaust manifold to keep it on par with the emissions regulations and motor vehicle standards act.
EFI just used a standard manifold.
The way I see it, if you can have that engine converted to carby and meet the standards of the factory system which was in place the year before, you shouldn't have any problems. Vehicle inspection from a certified mechanic would probably be the next best thing.
I'm guessing it also doesn't have a catalytic converter, you should be fine there but it could be worth having one fitted at a later date just to keep on Mr. Plod's good side. (high flow cat, to avoid excessive exhaust back pressure from a low power engine but is also cheaper than factory systems)
EFI just used a standard manifold.
The way I see it, if you can have that engine converted to carby and meet the standards of the factory system which was in place the year before, you shouldn't have any problems. Vehicle inspection from a certified mechanic would probably be the next best thing.
I'm guessing it also doesn't have a catalytic converter, you should be fine there but it could be worth having one fitted at a later date just to keep on Mr. Plod's good side. (high flow cat, to avoid excessive exhaust back pressure from a low power engine but is also cheaper than factory systems)
Also keep in mind, the Bosch L-Jetronic system that was used then was analog. In the event it breaks down, it will NOT be $500 to repair it, as it is made entirely out of off the shelf electronics. IIRC, there are little or no chips in it.
Edit: some quick research shows that all you need to diagnose/repair L-Jetronic systems in Beetles is the Bentley manual, and a multimeter. I'd FAR rather have that than a carb.
Edit: some quick research shows that all you need to diagnose/repair L-Jetronic systems in Beetles is the Bentley manual, and a multimeter. I'd FAR rather have that than a carb.
Fuel injection and carburetor manifolds are different. Fuel injection manifolds are dry manifolds. They only flow air as the fuel is drawn directly from the tank to the injectors. Carburetor cars use wet manifolds that flow both fuel and air so you can't just plop a carburetor on top of a fuel injection manifold.
That's what I generally mean by the carburettor and associated hardware. That includes the fuel pump, possibly the fuel lines, carburettor, exhaust manifold and a whole lot of in-between that varies between make and model of vehicle.
Personally I take EFI because it takes out the complexity of a carburettor, delivers extra power to the engine and doesn't have problems associated with cold starts or carburettor icing. On the downside if any key electrical components go it can be a real frustration, i've had my ECU, TCU and Mass Air Flow sensor all blow and replaced at around the cost of $500. (This was in an Australian built Mitsubishi though, not a VW)
Personally I take EFI because it takes out the complexity of a carburettor, delivers extra power to the engine and doesn't have problems associated with cold starts or carburettor icing. On the downside if any key electrical components go it can be a real frustration, i've had my ECU, TCU and Mass Air Flow sensor all blow and replaced at around the cost of $500. (This was in an Australian built Mitsubishi though, not a VW)
I found out, there are zero emmision control standards here in Nebraska. As long as I don't register it in California, I should be fine. 
Also, the only reason to do this, is *if* the computer goes out, we will do this in order to make it easier on the pocket-book instead of replacing the computer. That's why a lot of beetles have the carburator on it instead of the computers anymore. It's because no one wants to replace the computer. Also, thesamba.com is a great source of parts too. people are selling all sorts of beetle stuff, and that's how I got my beetle anyways.
We are not going to replace the carb right away, but rather when the computer dies. Also, from what my business-partner tells me, there really isn't a lot of performance decrease when you put the carb unit on it.
Also, the only reason to do this, is *if* the computer goes out, we will do this in order to make it easier on the pocket-book instead of replacing the computer. That's why a lot of beetles have the carburator on it instead of the computers anymore. It's because no one wants to replace the computer. Also, thesamba.com is a great source of parts too. people are selling all sorts of beetle stuff, and that's how I got my beetle anyways.
We are not going to replace the carb right away, but rather when the computer dies. Also, from what my business-partner tells me, there really isn't a lot of performance decrease when you put the carb unit on it.
What I meant, though, is it's a lot more work to change a car from FI to a carburetor than you think it is. besides having to find an intake manifold and carb, you'll need to source all the little bits and pieces like fasteners, springs, etc. FI cars also use an electric fuel pump to deliver higher pressures than a mechanical pump can provide and also have a return line to send excess fuel back to the gas tank. There are probably many other parts that will be different between FI and carburetted models as well. You'll probably end up spending enough on the conversion to buy 3 computers.I found out, there are zero emmision control standards here in Nebraska. As long as I don't register it in California, I should be fine.
Also, the only reason to do this, is *if* the computer goes out, we will do this in order to make it easier on the pocket-book instead of replacing the computer. That's why a lot of beetles have the carburator on it instead of the computers anymore. It's because no one wants to replace the computer. Also, thesamba.com is a great source of parts too. people are selling all sorts of beetle stuff, and that's how I got my beetle anyways.
We are not going to replace the carb right away, but rather when the computer dies. Also, from what my business-partner tells me, there really isn't a lot of performance decrease when you put the carb unit on it.
here's a recent classified ad
http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-parts-accessories-1975-VW-Beetle-ECU-Fuel-Injection-parts-W0QQAdIdZ47282401
$50 and probably something for shipping for the ECU and assorted other FI parts. I don't consider that unreasonable compared to the cost of doing a conversion. You've probably spent more on Mac parts on ebay.
We got the beetle home on monday (sorry for waiting so long) and got it in the garage. The car fussed a LOT on the way home dying on the interstate 2x where we had to pull over to restart. It was a nightmare. Oh well... more work (which was why we got it as a project car).
We can't work on it this week since we are still in the middle of a remodel at our house and we are doing other stuff (Also, my aunt broke her leg, so we are taking care of her...)
I will inform you of the progress of the beetle
We can't work on it this week since we are still in the middle of a remodel at our house and we are doing other stuff (Also, my aunt broke her leg, so we are taking care of her...)
I will inform you of the progress of the beetle
I have the vintage radio sitting on my kitchen counter. It will be put into storage in the basement when I get it fixed (has a problem with the tuner) which will be easily fixed when I replace the cloth/elastic cable that tunes the stereo and moves the little bar that shows the frequency. Right now, It's got a Kenwood AM/FM/Tape which is fine, and I will keep it in it. The car also has new stereo speakers.
Fortunately, you may not have to get a whole engine. If the metal dust in the oil is from cylinder wear, then you can simply detach the old cylinders and bolt on new ones. Those old air cooled VW engines were great that way. In a conventional piston engine excessive cylinder bore wear means either overboring and replacing the pistons with larger ones or scrapping the block if it is too far gone. It is rare that a block should need replacing in an old Bug.
Ok, well we took off the mass flow air sensor and TADA! intermittent sensor. We are trying to track down a new one, but it's going to be ~$100USD. We are contacting some people from thesamba.com and going to try to get one. The local parts place carries them, but they are like $250USD and we are NOT going to pay it (in fact, the owner of the shop told us to hit eBay, they just carry them for emergency situations should someone need it now and can't wait). The guy who owned the shop was decent enough to give us his honest opinion, which involved us not having to spend excess $$.
Nice to know we still have decent people around. Anyways, I guess my aunt knows the guy from when she had a corvette. In fact, he just sent my aunt some flowers after she broke her leg (and the reason we aren't on vacation )
This will be an easy fix though. We are actually going to take apart the sensor and see if we can just fix it ourselves.
Nice to know we still have decent people around. Anyways, I guess my aunt knows the guy from when she had a corvette. In fact, he just sent my aunt some flowers after she broke her leg (and the reason we aren't on vacation
)This will be an easy fix though. We are actually going to take apart the sensor and see if we can just fix it ourselves.
btw, the vw beetle is up and driver. I got even NEWER PICS with *NEW* wheels, as well as running boards on the car!
Picasa Album of the vw bug
Picasa Album of the vw bug