Hi,

My older sons has always loved the old bugs. We bought him one in high school and he drove it till he traded it in. He has alsways wanted to get another and fix up but had not had the money or a place to do it. He is about to buy his first house and will have a place to do the work. I am wanting to buy one to start working on with him. I read the 67 was the best motor, but we will probablydo some type of hopped up motor anyway so I am not sure if I care what was originally the best motor. What about the rest of the car - any particular reasons to stay away from any other year?

I am really looking forward to this project and want to start off with a good base vehicle.

Thanks in advance
Bruce

 

Just about any year up to 1967 was good, 1968 changed a lot
and for the worst. The fast back had a problem with the air vents
for the engine cooling, they were backwards and VW had a modification kit back in those days to reverse them for better flow. The engines would over heat with every day driving and warp the
engine block. The old bus was too heavy for the engine (beetle engine) and was geared down so it would pull it. they used a
governor to stop over speed, it was set at 62 mph. The beetle
had what we called a split case transmission up to 1961 and
wasn't very good, 1962 started the 40 hp engine and modern tranny for the day. The 40 hp held up great but needed more
power. as time passed they had larger engines and a little more
power for the US market. but the larger the engine got the less
it held up. # 3 cyl was furtherest form the fan and the air went
through the oil cooler before it got to #3 so that one cyl, was bad
about droping a valve or sometime the piston would seze. All these
are 6 volt systems untill 1967, that was the first year for 12 volts.
1968 change so much they didn't hold up well at all and were
pricey to repair. they had a bad habbit of popping head studs
because the block was so bad. they continued untill they stopped
sending then to the US, The foreign models were a better car.
The German model in 1968 was the same as the American model
in 1962. They were years behind the US but had much better vehicles. Hope this helps some.

 

Thanks a lot - this helps me make some choices.