Official Mexican / Brazilian Beetles - All years

[GArBa]

@hopkin: I'm probably looking at the same schematics... S12 is on a 15 (black) circuit, so it's a switched power source. The colour and number of circuit doesn't appear to change with the new speedo (post '98 ). Yesterday I tried to trace the actual wire from the speedo on my bug but got lost when it entered the cables' bundle... and I didn't have my multimeter with me .

@gerrelt: that was my thinking, too. i.e. the needle on the gauge reaches its position when is powered up then "remembers" it even when not powered. I don't think it's just "floating" since in that case I'd suppose it wouldn't stay e.g. in "full" position, or it would move when shaking the car (tried that too...).
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cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
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moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[SpeedoJosh]

This might of been answered before, but I looked around some of the pages on this thread and didn't see it. What's the reliability of the Mexican bugs when compared to an older US market bug? I'm really wanting to get a bug and feel the Mexi-Bug would be great since it's newer with newer technology, yet still has the great outer look. But, not everything newer is better, so wondering if the mexican bugs have huge issues that would warrant avoiding them. Engine issues, electronic issues, etc..

I realize that the newer body and engine would already give it a head start as far as rust and age of components, but do the Mexican Bugs suffer from problems that would make getting a nice condition older bug a better choice? Also, I like the plus of them having AC.
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87 Westfalia 2wd
Bostig Conversion
Build thread >> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=529709&highlight=

[GArBa]

Simple yet complicated question.

You'll find lots of info on the 1600i.de site. generally speaking the engine can be considered quite reliable. some of the electronics (ECU relay, ignition transformer) can go wrong but are easily repaired as they are common with water-cooled VW.

rust-wise, rustproofing was not great from the factory and if not treated when new (e.g. with wax or undercoating) and kept in dry places they can rust pretty fast in a wet climate.

Aircon was an aftermarket option but many of the exported bugs where equipped with it; it makes basic engine maintenance (e.g. changing spark plugs) more difficult though.

Also, since you are located in the US a 1600i would be likely rebuilt on an older bug chassis and reliability depends on how well that work was performed. It also would likely demand a price premium due to its rarity in the states.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[hopkin]

I found this picture of an 'old style' (pre '98 ) gas gauge for the Mexican Beetle, I thought I would post it to compare with the newer style. Not much help on the floating gauge question.

Pre '98:

Post '98:

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1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (current)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[GArBa]

interesting. it appears that on the older style the windings are not mounted on the needle shaft as in the newer one.

edit: from a quick search, it seems the older style is a electrodynamic voltmeter (confirmed by non-linearity of the scale). it appears that on such a meter, if a return spring is not provided, the needle will stay in position after the voltage is removed provided some sort of damping or balancing on the shaft to avoid it to "fall" due to gravity (floating). I'll have to dig deeper.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[Sotobaggins]

Well I love my Mexi-Beetle even with some of the teething problems, once you are free of the Immobilizer things are great, like most cars there are problems and thats were Parts VW(the samba.com) Amazon and ebay come handy when hunting down parts. and last choice is mercadolibre mex
Good Luck with your pick
Sam
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2001 Ultima Clasico Edicion Mexibeetle
2003 Black GTI 1.8T

[erdonline]

[Sotobaggins]

Have I bought from Mercadolibre ??? not yet but I have checked with several sellers to see if they ship and take US cards some don't but some will its 50/50, I have asked Antonio Trejo to see if he can broker but he does not like the website....I have seen quite a lot of stuff that would be good if I had the cash, like front trunk liner new computers and interiors... best advice try something small before doing the expensive charge...also try some VWBeetle fan pages on FB as they might broker for you
Good luck
Sam
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2001 Ultima Clasico Edicion Mexibeetle
2003 Black GTI 1.8T

[nx6h]

The thing with Mexican beetles ( in UK) is that it's easy to find one owner, low mileage pampered cars for sale for very little money . A typical german built beetle has usually been restored several times ( often badly) and most are by now a mish mash of Mexican ,Brazilian and Chinese parts . One owner low mileage german cars do exist but are VERY expensive.
I bought my mex new because the german built cars I looked at were bodged up shitters .

[hopkin]

[Vocho78]

If anyone needs a broker from Mexico, I live in Sonora, Mexico and I have some spare time at the moment. Just send a PM if interested. Cheers!

[GArBa]

[Gerrelt]

[hopkin]

A few pages back there was some discussion about the 'Open Air' Mexican Beetles. As this was a mod done after the car left the
Puebla factory (but before the cars were sold new), there is little to no documentation. I have collected a series of photos
of the various components of the roof and thought I would post them here, as a record, for anyone with a similar car.

Most of these pictures have been posted over the past year or so on Deco Haus' (Germany) facebook page showing various
parts as they restore the roofs on some of these cars. A few of the pictures are from my own roof and a handful from
other sources that I can't remember. (I have no affiliation with Deco Haus, but I wanted to be sure to acknowledge
that many of these pictures were originally posted by them. Also note that some of the parts shown are replacement
parts manufactured by them):

I've organized the pictures into groups based on the part of the roof:

Cars
First, for anyone reading that hasn't seen a picture of an 'Open Air' Beetle, here is a few pictures of the cars, starting with one of my favorite pictures of my car:

The car is popular enough that Schuco has made several die cast models, here is a picture of the first two 'Open Air' designs:

Roof
Finally some pictures of the roof in various states of disassembly.
Here is a photo of a car with the roof removed:

And the roof:

And some photos of a new roof (from Deco Haus):

You can see the header in this picture as well:

Frame
There is a black frame mounted along the opening, covering two aluminum 'tracks' that some sliders and a wormgear
use when the roof is operating:

Shell
Underneath that is a 'shell' that covers the area inside the car:

Ribs
The roof itself has a series of ribs for support. Here is a series of pictures of the ribs:

Sliders
There are sliders that ride in the aluminum track:

Wormgear
There is a wormgear, similar to the gear used window regulators that sits in the track. It receeds into the
blue tubing when the roof is open:

Latch
The roof latches above the mirror to hold it closed:

Miscellanous Hardware
There is some hardware; rivets, screws and other hardware; used to assembly the components of the roof:

Motor & Parts
And finally the electrical portion of the roof. If you examine these pictures it's pretty easy
to see how the motor, wormgear, tubes, etc are assembled:

This piece is mounted under the motor and guides the wormgear to the tracks when the roof is open and back into the blue tubes when the roof is closed:

Switch and Schematic
A rocker switch is mounted between the headlight and emergency flasher switch.
Also I've drawn a schematic of the wiring (which I've posted before):

_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (current)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[Gerrelt]

Hi Hopkin,

Many thanks for these pictures, there were quite a few new ones I hadn't seen before. I've saved them for future reference for when I replace my ragtop. I hope to do it this year.

One thing that's still unclear to me. I've never found the reason for removing the plastic (fiberglass?) frame from the roof. Do you know why everybody removes the plastic frame?

Greetings,
Gerrelt.
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homepage
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[hopkin]

I have more pictures from Deco Haus, have a look at their FB page.

It looks like in some cases they leave the frame on. A few of the pictures show them repairing the frame. I think the frame was being repaired in the series I posted.

D'oh, I should have posted a picture of your car also, but I can rectify that:

_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (current)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[Gerrelt]

Thanks for posting that picture!

I am going to try to replace the roof without removing the frame. We'll find out if it's necessary.
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homepage
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[RedBug99]

Awesome reference images, Hopkin. My open-air top moves very slowly (think, sloth). Is this normal? Also, is there any recommended maintenance for these tops? Thanks!

[Gerrelt]

[RedBug99]

Gerrelt, I appreciate your response. Very helpful!


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