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Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:14 am

My buddy and I are doing The Great Race in a 1971 standard Beetle. This year it follows Route 66 from St. Louis to Santa Monica. (Hot desert driving for a lot of it.) We have a good local indy mechanic who will help prep the car. Here's my questions:

What are good spare parts to take along? We will have the capability to take some things.

Anything special for the desert and altitude?
I have read 40W oil might be a good idea. Should we think about tuning the carb as we go from a medium to high to low altitude.

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:42 am

First- do not limit this question in the late beetle forums- I'd get it over to the general, because input from folks in other cars is valuable. I'd bet many more people are going distance rallying in early cars.

Check out the Treffen cruise. Many folks have run all of Hy. 101 together- and know what to take (that's about a 1500 mile commitment). Check out the Shasta bus run (close to 1000 miles for many).

The basic rule: If you take it, you won't need it. The one time I lacked a fuel pump is the time a friend really needed one. Likewise, the distributor cap I swore would need replacing is still working- because I carry a spare.

Wed Feb 25, 2015 12:01 pm

Some more details about your '71 beetle would be helpful.

1) '71 beetle - Super or Standard beetle?
2) Is it completely stock? What, if anything, have you modified?
3) Have you been using aftermarket parts to keep it running, genuine german or??
4) Do you have a list of work that's been done to the car, when it's been done and how many miles since?
5) You mention that you will be using a local mechanic to "help prep the car". Would you mind giving us an idea on your mechanical abilities? Some people use a mechanic due to lack of knowledge or ability, while others simply don't have the time.
6) Can you post some photos of your vehicle, to give an idea of its overall condition?

I run classic car rallies for my business, and after seven years I have a pretty good idea of the things that tend to go wrong, and why. I'm also quite familiar with blowing up my own car on these types of events, so from a VW perspective I can give you a detailed list of the things that go wrong.

-Dave

Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:52 am

Anything can break down, but not every defective part will stop your car. Choose wisely and take the usual suspects along with you for the ride.
And this is a no-brainer, but I'll throw it out anyways: make sure that your car is in superb technical condition before you drive off into the sunset.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:37 am

I kept up with the mexi coast to coast 4 36 powered bugs until recently, still running? Lots of 5 second 'happenings' especially when u have 6 bumper to bumper having to draft , full bore in order to run a little faster. Thst would one to try if the druggies left u alone. It's open to all makes also, can't add any fluids during race either, minor repairs between each segment, supervised.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:29 am

Lat year I went to the Texas classic. Brought fuel pump, distributor complete, old plug wires, old plugs, small jack and tools, oil, belt, cables.
Did not use any of it. Why cause i know the vehicle. Now with that said just last week around town the condensor went bad. So I just swapped out the whole distributor.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:01 am

you might look at this

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=298971

Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:17 am

1) '71 beetle - Super or Standard beetle? Standard
2) Is it completely stock? What, if anything, have you modified? Stock as far as I can tell. It still has the oil bath air cleaner. I just bought it last fall and haven't gotten into it very far.

3) Have you been using aftermarket parts to keep it running, genuine german or?? German, as far as I know

4) Do you have a list of work that's been done to the car, when it's been done and how many miles since? The car came from California. It is rust free and very solid.

5) You mention that you will be using a local mechanic to "help prep the car". Would you mind giving us an idea on your mechanical abilities? Some people use a mechanic due to lack of knowledge or ability, while others simply don't have the time. He is the toast of the local VW club. He got certified by VW in ~ 1973. So, it is knowledge mostly.

6) Can you post some photos of your vehicle, to give an idea of its overall condition?

Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:52 am

That's a goreous Bug. :)

Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:03 am

Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:04 am

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I look forward to more information.
:D

Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:07 am

xBigDx408x wrote: That's a goreous Bug.

... and in Shantung Yellow
=D>
\:D/
:bug_yellow:
8)

Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:18 am

:-k Don't know where you found the car, but YOU SCORED! \:D/

Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:29 am

Just give it a full service and off u go. Without stripping it down you won't really know, so just be positive and assume it'll all be fine.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:08 am

Nice work on actually answering the questions I left you! (That seems to be a rarity on the Samba). Basically the answers and the photos help to confirm that the car is in good shape, and well cared for. Also, you know enough about what you're looking at to assess that.

For the most part, you don't want to go swapping out lots of parts on a well running vehicle. The new replacement parts might not be good, we sometimes make mistakes in the install, and a big road trip isn't the place to test things if we can avoid it! Doing a run like you're doing you need to remember that the rotating parts of your car are going to get a much harder workout then they might normally. 8 Hours of driving is going to keep heat in rotating assemblies whereas a two hour drive and a cool down, followed by another two hour drive will not. So, my recommendations are as follows:

Before you go:

1) Remove the fuel filter from the engine bay. Replace with a metal-cased filter above the transmission, you can ziptie the filter body to the clutch bowden tube so the weight of the filter won't cause you any problems. I simply take a piece of fuel line tubing down to the auto parts store, and open boxes till I find one that fits. Then I write the filter number down so I can buy new ones down the road.

2) On each corner of the car check the following: Brakes, Bearings, Boots.

- You'll need to pop the drums off, and confirm that you have enough shoe and drum to last you the whole trip. Ensure the cyinders aren't weeping at all. Replace as necessary.
- Check the wheel bearings on all four corners and confirm the grease is still clean. If not, flush and repack. Ensure you drive for a minimum of 250 miles on the new or repacked bearings before your departure. Re-check the front adjustment before you go.
- Check the CV boots for cracks, even small surface ones should be considered an issue, as they may open up on the road trip. Check the ball joint boots up front.

3) If it was my car, and I didn't know how old the fluid was, I would swap out the Transmission fluid. I only use Motul Gear 300. I'm not going to get into a fluid debate, but you're most likely fine to leave what's in there (and working) alone.

Packing List:
I do roughly 45,000 miles a year, many of those in 3-5 day road trips of 700-2000 miles per trip. I used to pack everything and the kitchen sink, and have since learned that it's just added weight causing me poor handling and fuel mileage. My packing suggestions for you will fit in one or two Home Depot Husky tool bags, worth about $12/ea (CDN) or you can find similar at harbour freight.

Tools
Jack (I prefer a scissor jack, leave the factory jack at home for this trip)
Confirm you have the factory tool, or bring a bar & 19mm socket to remove wheels
Wrench Set - 7mm to 21mm
Phillips #2 screwdriver
Slot Screwdriver
Stubby Slot Screwdriver
12" Crescent Wrench
Test Light (for electrical)
Needle Nose Pliers
Feeler Gauge
Headlamp
Roll of blue shop towels
Roll of electrical tape
Ziplock baggie of nitrile shop gloves
Funnel, for adding oil without dripping
This axle nut tool: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Up%2BMgZopL._SX355_.jpg
A good heavy hammer. I use a 24 or 36oz Ball Peen.

Spare Parts
Clutch Cable
Accelerator Cable
Points & Condensor
Fan Belt
Spare Fuel Pump
2 packs of fuses
1 set valve cover gaskets
1 full gasket set
2 feet spare fuel line
1 10mmx1.0 bolt (25mm long)

Some people might look at my list and think it's a little 'light', but I would argue it's not at all. When you're on a really long road trip your biggest issue is being stranded. If the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage, your goal is to get the car safely moved to a place where you can either a) do repairs, or b) call for help. Beetle parts are plentiful, and at worst overnight-shipping away, so my list focuses on the bare minimum needed to get you to a small town where an auto parts store has what you need. Plus a few items which you are likely to need on route, but might not find easily.

The fuel line can be used to bypass a clogged fuel filter, again limping you into town where you'll be able to find a random filter on the shelf (you did write down the number of the one you used, right?) and replace it. A full gasket set, just in case, and a spare set of valve cover gaskets as I anticipate you'll want to adjust the valves at least one morning along your route. Fuses because you can't buy our old fuses at gas stations anymore, and the cables because they're light and store easy. If you have them, chances of needing them are slim to nil. If you don't, you'll end up needing one.

You might be wondering about the 10mm bolt. If I have a brake failure, due to blown cylinder or a burst flex line, the 10mm bolt is used to block the master port OR T-fitting port for that one wheel. This allows me to limp into town where I can hopefully find a brake line on the shelf that will work. I've only ever used it once, when I tore off a line ice-racing, but it's that zombie-apocolypse-middle-of-nowhere item that just might save your butt. Plus, its small and light.

-Dave

Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:00 pm

Get that breather outlet (near the oil filler cap) connected to the air cleaner; if not, you'll get dirt/dust inside the engine, and maybe oil coming out.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:57 pm

I might replace the distributor with the original and use the 009 as a back-up.

-jeffrey