TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:40 pm

I am looking for some advice on what to do with my bugs. I have recently acquired two bugs and do not know the best direction to take them. I have posted some pictures of them in the gallery.
This is what I have:

æ65 Beetle
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/72385.jpg
This bug is in pretty good shape very little rust only a few dents in the body. The interior is worn cracking and pealing from weather damage. The engine and transmission is very tired, but it runs and drives. It still has the original 6 volt electrical system with very dim lights.

Æ72 Super Beetle
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/72387.jpg
This one on the other hand was a very cool bug until it was rear ended. It has shaved door handles, the antenna was moved down into the fender and the front turn signals were moved to below the front bumper. The interior is all re-done and looks good. The engine has dual carbs and only had ~ 3000 miles since being built up. I got the engine running after the accident but canÆt finish it until the body work is done.

Here we come to my request for your opinions, should I:

Pick one and just start working on it? (I do not know if I will have the room or $$ for this)

Take the engine and 12 volt components from the 72 and move them to the 65? (if they will fit??)

Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:59 pm

Take the engine and stuff out of the 72. Put in the 65, like you say. Sell the 72 for whatever you can get. Get an interior kit for the 65 and enjoy driving it!

Tue Mar 25, 2003 3:45 pm

Pick the one that you want to keep long-term. Either way, keep the '65 stock. You'll get a lot more for your money on the repairs you do on the '65 because it's almost all elbow grease-type repairs and not big cash. Fix the rust. Clean all the years of gunk out of the interior. Clean all electrical contacts. Get it ready to have a new interior put in. THEN decide: will you sell the '65 in good, clean, stock condition to pay for the repairs on the '72, or sell the '72 to pay for upgrades and sparkle on the '65?

Tue Mar 25, 2003 11:08 pm

If they were mine I would put my time and money
into the '65 Beetle because it is a better year than
a '72. By all means keep it stock. Custom Beetles
turn me off. Good luck.

Tue Mar 25, 2003 11:25 pm

take all of the good stuff off of the '72 and put it into the '65 and make a nice Resto-Cal Looker...

Tue Apr 01, 2003 12:57 pm

Thanks for the input! I have decided that I am going to stick with the '65. Any thoughts on if I should take all of the high performance parts from the 72 and replace the tired stuff in the 65. The 72 has dual Kadrons on a tight motor. The transmission is also very tight on the 72. The 65Æs is real sloppy.

Thanks again for the help!

Tue Apr 01, 2003 5:31 pm

Sparky, the 72 trans uses double jointed axles and will not fit in the 65. You are also looking at a voltage change; you can either change the engine to 6v or change the car to 12v.

Suggest you do a little surfing and learn the ins and outs of the voltage conversion. You have several options, each with plusses and minuses. Be sure you understand the flywheel/starter/bellhousing issue that will arise with bolting the late engine and larger flywheel to the swingaxle bellhousing.

A rebuilt swingaxle trans is not expensive. A good used one is even cheaper. You should be able to get enough out of the parts on the 72 to get the problems with the 65 taken care of, expecially since you can attest to how good the trans is on the 72. Someone will want to buy that.

Chris
JHC

Tue Apr 01, 2003 5:37 pm

Sparky,
I also have a 65 Beetle. I once owned a 74 Beetle, and looking back, would NEVER trade my 65 to get a 72, 74, anything like that. The 65 looks better, in my opinion. I would definitely take the tight motor out of the 72, and see if you can trade your 72 tranny for a 67-68 12 volt swingaxle model, which should fit quite nicely. Especially since your 72 engine has Kadrons! That's exactly what I plan on doing with mine, once I sell my daily driver. If at some point you wished to sell the 65, it could very easily be converted back to stock, but I definitely see NO plus-side to rebuilding that stock 40 horse, especially since you have a good engine already. Switch it, sell the 72, and enjoy!