74/72 Standard Beetles

[Travis'74]

Hello all, I'm fairly new to the air-cooled world but not new to automotives. Sorry for the long-winded first post.
In September of 2012, my grandfather finally got a relative to come down on the price of two beetles that were parked on his property. We regularly shot trap on his land so we'd checked both of them out on several occasions. My grandfather was a retired railroader/journeyman and knows the great art of patience. After several years of back and forths he bought the pair for $2000. We went to go pick them up one at a time with a trailer and were astonished to find out that the red '74(with a shot of starting fluid and some fresh gas) fired right up after years of sitting and we drove it onto the trailer. We came back to grab the orange '72 and didn't have the same luck. Both of the front drums were locked so we drug it onto the trailer with an ATV. Not the greatest solution but it did the job. We spent the next six months cleaning up the red '74 while the '72 sat on the trailer and got robbed for misc. parts and trim that would fit. After a brake overhaul(kept the drums, just went through and replaced all the lines), a carb adjustment, new fuel lines and some TLC he finally got it road ready and daily drove it for a few weeks. Heres where the story gets tough. My grandfather fell ill suddenly in May and was hospitalized, after a little over a month of fighting an unexplained illness he passed away in early June at 66 years old. I didn't touch either beetle for six months while my family sorted things out. I was the only one(child or grandchild) with any interest in these old cars so they both wound up under my care. I started going through both of them the beginning of this year and got the red '74 running strong again and I am constantly fixing things here and there while driving it on the weekends. We finally drug the orange '72 off the trailer last week and it turned over after a battery charge but we aren't getting spark. I guess I'll start from the beginning like the other one and replace all of the vitals and give it a new distributor then go from there. Him and I were extremely close and he was a far more experienced mechanic than I'll ever be, so I'm thankful I stumbled upon this forum to hopefully help guide me through the rest of this without him.

Here are two pictures of them the day we brought them home
'72

'74

and here is a photo of his completely original 1953 Chevy 210(33,451 original miles)

I've seen how great some of your eyes and ears are here, so tonight or tomorrow I will post a few more photos of the engines in both of them and a video of one running.

[Glenn]

I sure wouldn't rely on the bumpers to hold a car on a trailer.
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[Travis'74]

The trailer was built to haul the '53 so it has tow straps that are wrapped around the axles under the car. I'm not sure why he put straps on the bumper as well. When we picked up the orange one he didn't.

[Rob711]

Sorry gramps isn't around to play with u anymore. Its cool that you could prob swap out parts to rule out what's good, coil, dist. Etc. Have fun and enjoy the fact that grandpa would approve. I too am new to vws this is is great resource, look for a local club to give you some advice.
Rob

[gt1953]

You are very lucky man...sorry to here grandpa passed.
Do enjoy the VW's and keep them both as long as possible.
When making repairs do it right.
Is the 53 yours also??
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Travis'74]

Thank you all, I took some photos and a video yesterday evening and I will upload them to this thread as soon as I get home. I would like to eventually get them both running solid and keep them around as long as possible. My wife loves to drive the '74 so I'm thinking about a his and hers type of thing.

I wish I could say the '53 was mine as well, but it was his wishes that we sell the car to help my grandmother. She parks in the same garage that it was stored in and it was terribly difficult for her to see it everyday. I wish that I could've bought it but as you can imagine an all original '53 Chevy carries a hefty price tag(especially one that spent the better part of 30 years in a climate controlled showroom). I am fortunate that I was able to drive it a lot and that I am comfortable driving an old 3 on the tree, not many 22 year olds can say that anymore.

[Travis'74]

Here is a video and pics of the '74 let me know if you all hear or see anything out of place.
Thanks!


Link

[Travis'74]

Am I missing anything on the engine? Or is anything out of place?

[75smith]

remove fuel filter from engine bay OR safety wire hose to carb, the fitting sometimes come loose causing fires

I would replace the two heater hoses, they are cheap

and find out why the breather for the oil is like that...if it is atached to an elbow, your are pressurizing the crankcase, and that will force oil out someplace eventually

the other thing is to attach a 2-3 inch long extension under the air filter, promotes better fuel standoff and better running-
_________________
My 1975 Beetle Build Updated 8-21-12

My engine build

[Travis'74]

Thanks for the reply! I moved the fuel filter under the car by the transmission over the weekend and replaced both of the heater hoses. Where should that breather for the oil go? Also does anyone know why that old ignition is mounted back there? Thanks

[mouser98]

[Travis'74]

Thank you for the help, I have everything straightened out now and just did the recommended tune-up. She's running great. Now it's time to start on that orange lady.

[AlienJohn]

In the video you are idiling way too fast.
_________________
All Hail Snorkelstang !

72 Standard Beetle
74 Karmann Ghia Coupe
76 Fender Telecaster

[SBD]

The ignition box on the left wall of the engine compartment looks like an old aftermarket Capacitive Discharge ignition. My only experience with them is that there was one on a car I bought in 1974. I had to remove it in 1975 because it was making the car nearly impossible to start. Don't know why but the car would crank & crank but barely fire. Took it off & the problem disappeared.

[Travis'74]

Here she is now with about 500 more miles on her. Running great, waiting on drop spindles to lower the front a little.