Ladies and gentlemen.. good evening.. or day.. whenever you're reading this.

Anyways I'd like to introduce myself before I start asking a myriad of questions. I'm a car nut. I've been active Army for the past 10 years. I'm an American V8 guy who's challenged with helping out with my girlfriend's shiny "new" 72 Beetle. It appears to be in decent shape but needs a few things like chrome exterior handles, a new convertible top, and a serious tuneup (I'm used to working on an LS1 Camaro) but probably need a little guidance as far as specifics go. I've never worked on an air-cooled motor other than an old 2-stroke Polaris snowmobile. The thing runs a little rough at times.. especially when it's cold. I told her that it's the case with carbed engines.. am I right? I imagine that it needs a carb rebuild and found a kit on JC Whitney; are they a reliable source for VW parts or should I look somewhere else? I'm also planning on replacing the black exterior handles with chrome items as well as the top (also found them on JC Whitney) and was wondering if there's a specific place I should be looking that specializes in these cars. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

jc isnt a bad place for that stuff
very easy to tune up
set timing to 9 deg advanced fore a safe but still good performance range
just ask if you need any thing more