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Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:38 am

All,

I recently got my 1963 Bug back on the road after a long period of hibernation. It's been about 12 years or so since I was in the VW hobby, and I am sure the prevailing wisdom about which parts are worth a damn has changed much over the years.

Car in question has a 1600CC single port engine, Bosch 009 (I know, not the preferred distributor), Bosch blue coil, and all stock otherwise. I don't remember which carb is on it, but it is an original German Solex carb (I will look at the car this evening and provide more info).

If I remember correctly, I ran Bosch W8AC plugs in the engine way back when - are these still the "preferred" plugs? Points/Condenser - Bosch stuff I assume is the best, but perhaps someone has built a better mousetrap in the past few years. Oils, both engine and transaxle, what are the preferred weight/brand? Something with lots of ZDDP additive for the engine I assume? I run Joe Gibbs Racing oil in my race car, which I imagine would be wonderful in the Bug, but for the price I would rather not use it.

I tried searching without much success. My search-fu is not too great apparently.

Here's a picture of the engine, just because I like looking at it:

Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:14 am

You don't mention whether your car has been converted to twelve volts or not; but if it is still six volts, be advised that almost all six-volt batteries available today are absolute garbage. Even when new they don't live up to their ratings, require constant hard charging from a stand-alone charger, and they only last a few months or a year in most applications.

The only one I've found that I like is the six-volt Optima. Pricey, but worth it.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:17 am

Hammarlund wrote: You don't mention whether your car has been converted to twelve volts or not; but if it is still six volts, be advised that almost all six-volt batteries available today are absolute garbage. Even when new they don't live up to their ratings, require constant hard charging from a stand-alone charger, and they only last a few months or a year in most applications.

The only one I've found that I like is the six-volt Optima. Pricey, but worth it.

Sorry, should have mentioned that. Car has been converted to 12 volt.

Agreed on the Optima batteries though, they are great, and pricey.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:13 am

Yes, times have changed. NGK makes better and cheaper plugs, in my opinion. It was hard for me to switch over years ago, because I was a firm believer in Bosch for years. I love them! The NGK has been ran in my last 4 aircooled motors. The plugs outlast the Bosch and rarely need replacing. They seem to not fail as quick when your carbs and timing are off. I used to replace Bosch constantly every time I did tuning or performance mods. I think on a stock head, they are like a B5HS.

The high tech oil is not a must for you in that engine. I run good quality oils but use STP Zinc additive in the mix. Synthetic oil in a gearbox is a totally different matter= the box does benefit and perform better in colder months than standard gear oils. I run Amsoil or Redline.

Also, the points and condenser are a thing of the past. I have used the Pertronix and Compufire modules since 2004 with NO problem whatsoever. Keep spare points in the car just in case.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:46 pm

Smitty, I am a Bosch plug fan but only because they have seemed to work. Which NGK plug are you using? Im all about trying something different.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:07 pm

I see the fresh air outlets have been plugged, hopefully you have j-tubes in place of heater boxes?

Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:05 pm

I am with Smitty on the NGK plugs as well. I use the B5HS plug and it works for me. There is also the B6HS plug which I believe is a cooler plug and some use that. My driving is shorter trips. Rock Auto sells them for $1.59 each.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:15 pm

Thanks for the suggestions on the spark plugs. Heater boxes have been removed and replaced with j-tubes years ago.