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Fri May 16, 2008 11:57 am

19super73 wrote: To the general public, a Beetle is a Beetle. Most can't tell the difference and usually unless you are a Beetle owner, you don't really have a preference. That said, buy what you like, screw what others tell you.

X2

As a 68 owner, I always assumed anything non-swingaxle was a fat chick :wink: .

Fri May 16, 2008 1:53 pm

We have a 71 super.

I love the trunk space the most of all. Looks are secondary, its still a cool car.

Fri May 16, 2008 2:18 pm

Supers can be sweet
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Fri May 16, 2008 2:19 pm

My first car was a 71 Super. My grandmother finally let me take over her mint 73 super (she bought it brand new). I have just finish restoring a 70 std. I prefer the looks of the standard but without a doubt, the super rides much better.
I think I like the look of the std, over the super, because I really want a an early model. As a kid readin Hot VW, and VW Trends, it seemed that early models and dune buggies were all that were ever featured (NEVER a Super).
Still, I agree......like what you like.....love your bug and it will love you back. :lol:
And to those who are too closed minded to appreciate any thing other than what they are used to...... :fist:

Fri May 16, 2008 6:35 pm

to me a beetle is a beetle. IDK if its a super or standard. I have a 74 super, a 71 std, and a 60 baja. I love them all. I must admit, though, i like the beam suspenion, more then the struts, though. The main reason being is that its easier to work on, and cheaper. For example, i have the bottom arm thing (the arm that cinnects the bottom of the frame head, to the bottom of the strut, and the thing that the sway bar connects to) with a busted weld and it has caused it to bend the hell out of shape over time, versus with a beam all i have to do is either simply replace the part, or replace the whole beam, which is much easier in my opinion.

Another thing is why do people hate the bumper shocks so much? I love them. I wish i could use them on my baja. I am actually going to put a 60's bumper (the kind with the overrider bar over the blade bumper) and mount it to my super, with the bumper shocks. All i need to do is bend a piece of metal to the shape of the curve in the bumper, and connect the shocks on one side, and the bumper on the other, sweeeeeeet.

Also i do hate the padded dash, how many of yall have an origional padded dash??? Those fuggers start cracking after only about 10 years, versus a metal dash, all you might have to do is repaint. Other then that, supers are awsome.

Fri May 16, 2008 11:32 pm

I've owned two '74 standard Beetles (one I bought new in high school). Had a traffic accident where the other car hit my Beetle just on the driver side of the front bumper...a glancing blow. The bumper absorbed most of the impact and we couldn't find any damage to my Beetle. Her car had a fairly large-sized dent though :)

Sat May 17, 2008 8:57 am

Okay, here's what I think the reason for Super-bashing is: fear of the unknown.
When I started driving in the 80's, Supers were still relatively abundant and standard sedans were all the rage. This is before anybody had even said "German-Look" around these parts. We all knew how to fix a standard, but the strut front suspensions were another story altogether. It actuallly took a shop to service them properly. None of us high schoolers had the money for shop expenses, and we didn't have a wonderful source of information known as the internet. We had a few manuals and the VW magazines from California, oh and the advice of old guys (who usually had no use for a Super Beetle).
Back then I built a Cal-Look sedan, my friend had a '73 Super, either the Baja or Marathon Commemorative edition. My car was faster in a striaght line, but that '73 Super would corner on rails. It had the sports seats and sport steering wheel and they were really effective and functional. It was much more of a driver's car than my 'Looker. When I installed a lowered front beam in my car, however, he had to settle for stock ride height. We just didn't know how to lower a strut front Bug at the time.

Sat May 17, 2008 10:14 am

Mauserdude67 wrote: Okay, here's what I think the reason for Super-bashing is: fear of the unknown.
.

it's more because vw people of the time were like alot of folks, allergic to change.... the type 1 sedan went through many changes but still looked very similar to the begining car. this is also why there were so many 66(US spec) cars sold... the car was going to be "all new"... the super was very different looking in the front and some folks didn't like it...same goes for when they put the curved windscreen in, it was very different than the original type 1 sedan...

Sat May 17, 2008 1:20 pm

Non-VW people love my Super, it's only theSamba crowd that bash it.

Sat May 17, 2008 5:18 pm

heh, who cares,

the standard is probably a bit more idiot proof and lacks the super shimmy, but seriously, i love my super, and when i picked it up, i could not tell you the difference between the two, i just thought the 'super' part was more of a badge item, kinda like a civic lx vs civic si, i just figured it was a motor thing.

now i know the difference and could pick a standard from a super a mile away. that said, i still dont care, as far as i am concerned they all kick ass.

Sat May 17, 2008 5:36 pm

bugninva wrote: neil68 wrote:

Also, from Glossary of VW Terminology:

Definition: "Fat Chick or Fat Girl: Descriptive name-Type 1 SuperBeetle sedans and cabrios-refers to 'overweight' appearance of trunk lid" :wink:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/dic/f.php

Samba dictionary wrote: Fatchick Slang term for most air-cooled VWs that use 4-bolt wheels, such as 68 and newer Standard Beetles, Super Beetles, Bay Window Buses, 1970 and later Ghias, 1970 and later Type 3s, etc.

many folks define the term differently, but if you were around when it was applied to vw's, you'd know... you can read for hours about the debates on what is, and isn't, a fatchick... one thing's for sure, it's not reserved for only the superbeetles...and wasn't applied to them initially.
:wink:

Some '67 Beetles had 4-bolts and early bays had 5-bolts, so that later definition needs revising :wink:

Sat May 17, 2008 6:37 pm

My brothers 68 Bay has 14 inch wheels with wide 5 lugs...

Sat May 17, 2008 6:55 pm

I've had both, and generally just never cared for the appearance of the later superbeetle curved windshield and the revised dash even though both are actually improvements over the flat windscreen models. The 71 and 72 were just about perfect imho. The more classic lines of the flat windshield with the vastly superior strut suspension. It's hard to argue how much better the ride and handling is with a properly maintained strut front end. After all, what you are basically driving is the precursur to the 924/944.

Sat May 17, 2008 7:17 pm

Personally i hate the super padded dash. I guess its that square boxy speedo part that i hate the most. But when you ripp off all of the padding, the metal part underneith looks so awsome. It matches the curve of a beetle (which has no straight lines :lol: ).

Sat May 17, 2008 7:59 pm

i personally have never owned a super...however i do love the look of a good german look. that being said, i do have a 73 A.S. that i am doing a resto/custom to...i never bash on the supers, and to those who do...if you dont like them, kep your comments to yourself unless you have something nice to say :roll:

Sat May 17, 2008 8:20 pm

BugMan114 wrote: Personally i hate the super padded dash. I guess its that square boxy speedo part that i hate the most. But when you ripp off all of the padding, the metal part underneith looks so awsome. It matches the curve of a beetle (which has no straight lines :lol: ).

Anyone have a pic of what a 74 or later dash looks like without the padded dash? I've seen earlier year standards,

Sat May 17, 2008 8:26 pm

Add in some carbon fiber and you get a really cool super

Sat May 17, 2008 8:56 pm

birddog1,

Here's a link to a pic of the dash in my '74 Super (padding removed and the dash welded and smoothed). http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=396026

Sat May 17, 2008 9:07 pm

neil68 wrote: Some '67 Beetles had 4-bolts and early bays had 5-bolts, so that later definition needs revising :wink:

all US spec 67's were wide five and to the best of my knowledge(granted not the best with type 2's) buses were always 5 lug..(wide early, smaller pattern later)

Sat May 17, 2008 9:08 pm

I enjoy my Beetles, but I really miss my 1971 Super. I doubt if I'll ever find a completely stock, 1971 Super with sunroof for $500.00 again as I did in 1990.