Daily Driver?

[RainbowManFan]

I am thinking of buying a 1964 Sunroof Beetle. It currently has a 1600cc engine but the seller has the stock 1200cc engine and transmission. I have always tried to keep the Volkswagens I have had as stock as possible so I would like to restore the 1200cc to factory specs as well as the rest of the car. Does this seem feasible to y'all and how would it be for a daily driver in stock condition? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[KTPhil]

Consider upping the displacement to 1385 with a "big bore" P&C kit. It will still look 100% stock but you will pick up good pull at low rpms that will help in traffic.

[andrewda]

I pretty much daily my 1964 when it works during the summer. It has a stock 1200 of unknown mileage and a stock transmission. And like, its okay for a daily. You learn the limits of the engine very quick and adjust driving accordingly. Coasting slowly to maximize momentum, not doing hard accelerating and braking (because the car is unable to lol)

Its a slow car but it still hits the same speed limit as everyone else, it just takes you longer to get there. But people forget you are in and old car so they will still tailgate you down the highway and cut you off when they miss their turn.

I just drive slow and safe. Not a fast daily but its a fun one

[Zundfolge1432]

Depends on what your idea of feasible is. If you are driving the interstate trying to keep up with modern cars you are at a disadvantage. I daily drove bugs and buses all through the 70s and 80s. The air cooled VWs to me are toys now, occasional weekend drivers but that’s just me. You might find some hard core vw heads here still fighting the good fight.

[Pruneman99]

I semi daily my 65. But it has a 1600. I have to drive about 15 miles on the freeway. I can cruise at 65-70 pretty comfortable. But after that, I'm just pounding out the case. I actually like a little bit of traffic, it slows the other drivers down. But when I leave work at 11pm, that drive kinda scares me. Ppl drive well north of 90 when the traffic is light.

When the hot sets in, the VW doesn't get driven to work much.

But I'm with Zund on this one. What does your daily drive look like? Just across town on surface streets? 40 miles one way on the interstate?

If your not using the freeway I'm sure the stock engine will be just fine for daily driving.

[Max Welton]

The beetle is outgunned in the power department but it pretty much always has been. When the 1964 Beetle was new it shared the road with big american cars with drum brakes and bias-ply tires. Those cars were perfectly capable of highly illegal speeds on freeways and by todays standards couldn't turn or stop worth a damn. I'm talking american cars here.

Today of course there are many more cars on the road driving many more miles. And of course we now have cell-phones so the distracted driver threat is probably greater. In 1964 I don't think cup holders were all that common and a lot of cars didn't even have a radio.

Max