Who drove their bug today?

[jinx758]

Pics or it didn't happen
LOL

Glad you enjoyed the drive ... stay safe

jinx
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" It's not valuable unless you learn something from an experience. " Henry Ford

It's not unlike the same difference ...

My Craigslist rescued 100 footer :
1971 Standard Bug
1776cc dual port
034 distributor
38mm EGAS Carburetor

[volky1970]

At the car wash...

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1970 Beetle Turbo 2109cc MS II EFI, W/M Injection, Intercooler, FORD Wasted Spark Coilpack, 48lb. Injectors.

[alex857]

A flowery drive today with my 1984 Velvet Red Beetle ("Samtroter Sonderkäfer")

[Chinaclipper]

We went to Grand Island this weekend.
I needed a good "road trip" to shake down the 1971 beetle for a potential "California or bust" trip this summer.
We went Lincoln to GI and back, had a great lunch at Tommys diner, and then back to Lincoln. The bug ran great, no issues, no worries. We got lots of thumbs -up and waves on the way and back. Fun.

I had the middle grandkid (13-on my left here) as my co-pilot, my oldest (17) had the truck with my youngest. (13)

What I noticed and/or was reminded:
1)VW beetles are NOT built for comfort.
2) VW beetles have good gas mileage, but not great (We got 24.5 MPG on non-ethanol fuel.
3) VW beetles at speed (70MPH) aren't exactly quiet. Mine was 78 dBs in the cabin. Is that what everyone else gets?
4) Handheld "walkie talkies" aren't easy to understand in a VW, or while driving for that matter.
5) You can REALLY feel that big "PUSH" when the big trucks pass you on the left.

All and all, good times, and it was great to have lunch and chat with the kids.
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China Clippers Official 1971 Super Beetle Project!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728089&highlight=

[Chinaclipper]

[VW_Typ15]

Instagram: VW_Typ15

[Cusser]

Drove the 1971 Convertible to my daughter's for dinner with family.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Chinaclipper]

Saturday was another shakedown cruise, this time without a support vehicle.
I drove west again, this time to Kearney. It's about 2 hours west of Lincoln, 130 miles.

I gotta say, the drive to Kearney was great. Uneventful. Average speed was 68 mph. I used 4.2 gallons of gas. About 30 MPG. Not bad.

However, when I stopped to refuel, I got back in, adjusted my seat, and started her up. RED LIGHT!!! I freaked out. I was thinking oil pressure. Why I didn't immediate see it was GEN (which it of course was) I don't know. Panic? I stopped right away, and re-assessed the situation. I checked the oil pressure sensor wire (intact), I checked the oil level (good), and called the wife (support vehicle driver)

Then, I came to my senses, realizing it was GEN light, NOT OIL and I calmed down. I tapped the gen brushes, made sure the connections were good on the GEN and also the VR. (I have the old school "push on" connectors on my generator. Yeah, original)

After I re-started, she was good. I cancelled the support vehicle (that would have been a real drive for her..wow) GEN light off. So I continued on, watching and hoping that was the end of that. I will say it's been acting up a bit- the GEN light flickers at idle sometimes when I come down after a long drive

Well, about 90 miles later, doing great, BTW, I pulled into the rest stop to re-adjust my seat. Sure enough, the red light came on again, this time it didn't go out. So, I pulled into the next exit stop, and turned into a gas station in Waco, about 45 miles west of Lincoln. Tried all the tricks, nothing, no change. I am wondering now, if the VR is going. This time, I figured it would be a good time to test the new Super Beetle tow bar I got. Not wanting to be stranded on the I 80 interstate, I figured it would be a good move. So, called the wife to come out with the truck. I had put everything in the truck before, so I was hopeful I remembered everything.
She came out, we hooked her up, (the car not the wife) no worries, no hurries, checked and double checked, and towed her home.

IN RETROSPECT:
-Thank God for a loving and supportive wife
-VW's were NOT build for comfort. My ortho seat cushion helps?
-Thank God it wasn't in Kearney when I needed the tow home.
-I COULD have probably made it back just with the battery, I since found out (Thanks John Muir and "The Complete Idiots Guide..") but if I got stranded on I80...
-I will re-check the generator as before, also check the VR, and then go from there. I am hoping I just need a new VR....
-That support vehicle idea really has a calming effect.. I had it when I went to Grand Island last week.
_________________
China Clippers Official 1971 Super Beetle Project!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728089&highlight=

[baldessariclan]

Just got home last night from an 1,100 mile round trip in the bug.

A beloved member of our extended family had passed away few days back, and I wanted to attend the funeral services in NW Iowa. Additionally, I had to pick up my brother from airport in Omaha on the way up, and drop him back off a couple days later.

Unfortunately, my other (more modern) car had broken down a couple days earlier, and hadn’t completed repairs yet when news came in about the funeral. And so turned to the bug as our last-minute “backup” option for transportation.

Travel conditions and weather were fairly good on initial leg of trip, driving north from Wichita. Bit warm and windy, plus some construction slowdowns and detours, but manageable. I mainly stuck to state highways, although did travel on I-80 between Lincoln and Omaha.

Day of the funeral (last Thursday) was extremely windy up there, and same on the following day (Friday) when I had to get my brother back to Omaha to catch his flight out — basically a direct cross-wind out of the west at 35 - 40 mph, and regularly gusting to 50+ mph - ugh!! Wasn’t much fun to drive in (especially in an old bug!), but made it to Omaha, and from there down to Kansas City, to attend the HS graduation party of another extended family member’s daughter.

Overnighted in KC, and then headed back to Wichita following morning (yesterday) via more “back road” state highways. WX much more pleasant - cool temps and a nice tailwind out of the east. Car did pretty well, all things considered — managed about 30 - 32+ mpg on the various legs of the trip, even w/ the crazy wind conditions on Friday. Lots of friendly waves and honks from folks out on the road and at pit stops along the way, as always — these cars do seem to make a lot of folks happy!
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1971 Standard Beetle — fairly stock / driver

baldessariclan -- often in error, never in doubt...

[vamram]

[Chinaclipper]

[Chinaclipper]

I have some concerns when I travel longer distances with my '71 Super Beetle-once bitten twice shy I guess. First and foremost is the "what if I break down?" concern. I have already gone thru that in a smaller way when the GEN light came on while driving to Kearney from Lincoln, NE. (Hehehe see above) How do others deal with it? Just call AAA and hope for the best? Where would I keep the car if I'm in need of a fix and I'm 1000 miles away from home? Do they know how to tow a beetle? I am thinking I will travel with a support vehicle capable of towing-but who does that? You get my drift..
Another concern of mine is the issue of tampering or theft of the bug. Will some idiot smash a window and try to take the car, or just maybe pull a mirror off or a fender or whatever off the thing at night while I am resting in the hotel or motel?

I guess it's just maybe me, but again, what do others do on these trips?
_________________
China Clippers Official 1971 Super Beetle Project!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728089&highlight=

[vamram]

CC, I've done plenty of long trips. For both of my cars, I've taken them on long local trips - 100+ miles - to see how they performed before going further. I have AAA Premium and 100 is well w/in their tow service in case I have an issue. If everything is working w/your build, you'll have no problems. But carry spares of the usual suspects - fuel pump, ready-to-swap-in-timed distributor, v-belt, clutch & accelerator cables (and a couple of cable extenders), fuses, and the tools to replace any of these items.

I've had belt shred 1x, accelerator cable pop (at the carb, luckily - see cable extenders!) on 2 separate cars, a brake MC switch go bad, an oil pressure switch fail, and a couple of flats. Full disclosure, my Nov. '24 trip DC to Miami ended up a disaster due to the coating of the fuel tank flaking off and clogging up my filters, fuel pump and carb. Ended up having to ship the car back to NoVA from Miami since I was not where I could fix the tank issue. But my other 8+ trips in my '73 Super have been flawless. I've also driven over 150 miles one-way to shows on the east coast and over 300 one-way to upstate NY, for *years* w/out a breakdown. But always w/the spares, tools and AAA card ready, just in case.
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"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition
to put moral chains upon their own appetites. -Edmund Burke
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...languishing since 2022.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[OldSchoolVW's]

[vamram]

[baldessariclan]

[Brycepj]

Yep I drove my 71' superbug about 80 miles.
Lucky we have a great freeway system sat on 55-65 mph she cruised so well.
Only just had the front end lowered and now holds the road so much better the old boat look is gone.