TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:48 am

Hey all, Im new here, and very new to the vw world, but I wanted to introduce myself real quick..My names Patrick and I am 17,from CT,and have recently bought a 71 super beetle that is in need of some work..I dont have the car here yet, only one of the engines that came with it, and it needs to be finished. I will have lots of questions about this I am sure..I have been browsing the site for a few days it seems like a good resource and a great forum..by the way the beetle i bought is an autostick, and I really dont know the deal with that..Can anyone explain that to me??

Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:17 am

Autostick has clutches in the transmission that sense movement in the shifter.

Theres a low gear and a cruising gear if I recal correctly. You drive in the low gear and if you need to go faster, as soon as you touch the shifter it 'puts in' the clutch and you shift to high gear.

As far as I know they suck and everyone swaps them out for a manual. :P

Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:30 am

i have a 74 sb with an autostick and love it i can get the car to 80 mph with no problems at all . you have to get used to it then it will work just fine
have fun :)

Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:50 am

i had a 74 autostick that worked pretty good. every now and then it wouldn't go in gear and i didnt know squat about them (still don't). welcome to thesamba! i do know parts for a/s's are kinda hard to find. i know someone with a working tranny that he is wanting to sell. he isnt a close friend or anything, so you can rule out me trying to help a buddy. it would be nice to have a spare since they are hard to come by. if you want, i can give you his number. not sure about shipping charges from tn to ct. again, welcome!

Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:29 am

Congratulations! If you need some inspiration, come down to Raceway Park's, Spring VW Classic Show-N-Go, in Englishtown, NJ. It's Sunday April 22nd. Last spring the turnout was huge, over 750 cars. Although most were water-cooled, there was nice turnout of air-cooled cars. Check out http://www.cjvws.com/events.html for more details.

Properly set-up and maintained, autosticks can work very well. There are a few advocates here on the Samba. Do a search on autostick and you'll find everything you need to know.

-jeffrey

Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:43 pm

thanks for the welcome.. Other than the trannies, will the same motor parts for the SB be the same? From what I have heard about my beetle so far, one engine has been rebuilt ground up, dont know what the specs are, but im guessing it is a 1600 dual port engine, from what I have right now it needs valve covers, all the fan shrouds, everything thats run with the belt ( dont know much about what is run off the belt) and it needs a distributor..I will know for sure what I need when I get the car and the rest of the parts here. Also, the autostick is pretty much like a little kids dirtbike then, once the shifter is touched it sends it into a "neutral" position until it is put into another gear,is that pretty much correct?? also what kind of tourque do these have? Im not looking for high speeds here, but some drifts would be fun if its mechanically safe for the car...

Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:43 am

not sure about the torque numbers, but my 74 would hit 70 with no problem pulling a small 14 ft. boat and trailer.

Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:37 am

well from what ive read about it the acceleration is a little slower with a A-S compared to a manual trans, but its okay ill see how I like it and when it goes ill do a manual swap, right now im more focused on getting the engine in and the car moving under its own power...

Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:43 am

just dont get all relaxed going down the highway and let your knee wander over and bump your shifter...that nice little drone your engine is making will turn into a WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! :D

Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:07 am

well what i have found to be a helpful resource, other than the samba, is John Muirs book "how the keep your volkswagen alive,step by step procedures for the comleat idiot". it has tons of helpful info,and it is very easy to understand. as far as engines, all type 1 engines from 67 on up are basically the same. just piston/jug size. and single or dual port heads.and the "doghouse" oil cooler. if it has just one pipe going into the top of the head, then it is a single port. if it splits into two pipes near the head, then its dual port. :)

Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:35 am

The VW Automatic Stick Shift is not bad if you take it for what it is. If properly maintained they are durable and will last a long time, althought the contacts at the bottom of the gearshifter do wear out. Some of the VW dealers and import shops that have been around a long time still have or can get some parts, and some stuff is shared with the 4 speed. The transaxle uses the top 3 gears from the std 4 speed and the clutch disc is a 180mm just like you'd find on a 66/earlier car. YOu are limited on engine mods and therefore performance. If you decide to go to a 4 speed and your clutch cable tube is not there, consider a hydralic clutch which you can find at a number of VW parts houses. Acceleration is not THAT far off of a 4 speed, especially given the relative inefficiencly of any automatic box compared to a manual of the time (todays automatics are often more efficient than a manual in the same car).

I used to work at a shop that did general auto service back in the very early 1990s. I had a 69 bug at the time, and the other guys in the shop were very confused the first time they drove it. The owner knew all about them but the other guys were all around my age (18 or so at the time) and they saw the standard looking gearshift-but no clutch pedal. Pretty funny to see the look on their face when they sat in it to drive it at first. One guy mashed the brake all the way to the floor at 30mph forgetting it was not a clutch when he went to shift.

Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:11 pm

yeah it will be maintained well and not driven hard,and if in a later date i feel i dont want it i will switch to a manual tranny.. also, where the intake is, there are 2 ports on each head, 1 valve per port, making 4 intake ports in total, does that make it a dual port? Im not sure what the difference is here so sorry for the newb questions...

Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:47 am

also I am confused on the whole carb. setup, I dont want to run 2 carbs if I dont have to, as I dont have that kind of money right now, but I cant seem to figure out how the whole intake manifold and such comes together, the single carb manifolds seem to have single pipes coming out of each side, and i dont know how to hook it up to the engine that way..any diagrams on how its supposed to look? sorry again for the newb questions..

Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:25 am

Broke96 wrote: yeah it will be maintained well and not driven hard,and if in a later date i feel i dont want it i will switch to a manual tranny.. also, where the intake is, there are 2 ports on each head, 1 valve per port, making 4 intake ports in total, does that make it a dual port? Im not sure what the difference is here so sorry for the newb questions...

Yup that's a dual port.

Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:25 am

Broke96 wrote: yeah it will be maintained well and not driven hard,and if in a later date i feel i dont want it i will switch to a manual tranny.. also, where the intake is, there are 2 ports on each head, 1 valve per port, making 4 intake ports in total, does that make it a dual port? Im not sure what the difference is here so sorry for the newb questions...

Yup that's a dual port.

Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:18 pm

okay thanks...what intake manifold,and things would I need to get to use a single carb on it if i can, and what kind of carb works well?? Im trying not to have to use 2 carbs if i dont have to,i really dont have the money for it right now...thanks in advanced for the help...