VW things to ponder in 2025

[Cusser]

[NJ John]

I miss my drag buggy for the easy R&R.
And maybe he said 15 or 20 minutes. He was still clueless.
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1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage

[67rustavenger]

Way back in the early 80's. There used to be engine pull contests at the Bug-In's at OCIR.
The quickest time I ever saw for an engine pull and reinstall was, 3 minutes 5 seconds.
That was remove, roll the engine back behind the car 20' and reinstall the engine. Start the car and drive it forward 20'.
The engine had to meet all the torque specs to win the event.
It was really impressive to watch.

Here's a video of the Guinness World record engine pull and install. 1.04 overall time.

Link
[/vimeo]
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I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!
2003 Astrovan? GFYS again, Xevin!
Don't let your bad ideas remain, ideas!

[chrisflstf]

I saw 2 guys do it at a Bug In at OCIR in just over 2 minutes. They did have a few short cuts

Ive did it before by myself in about 10 minutes in a bug. (just remove)

[zerotofifty]

I had a noisy fan in my 63 Bus, fan only rubbed when engine running, not when turning by hand. I pulled engine, adjust the tin, reinstalled, tested, still noisy, repeat, I did that I think three times. I had it from running to out and on the floor in about five minutes, back in and running in a tad bit longer. The bus has a removable rear apron, so that speeds it up verse the Bug. In the Bus the engine pull straight back and out. That was in me misspent youth 45 years ago. I am sure I am a bit slower now, aches and pains of life have caught up with me. Just getting out of bed now takes longer than back then. hahahahaha
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Sorry About That Chief.

Give Peace a Chance.

Words to live by.

[oprn]

It's true, back in those years Hot VWs and Dune Buggies covered the Bug ins and the times for that event was indeed just over 2 minutes. Two guys, axle stands, floor jack and hand tools. This is why at times people would go into a store for groceries and come back out to a Bug with no engine.

Today with cordless power tools it would be faster.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[calvinater]

One sawzall= one catalytic converter.
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"Albatross"!

[hobthebob]

It's funny to think there was a time when Beetles were all over the place, and there were competitions like that. My earliest memory of a bug was my neighbor's beetle, dead in his driveway. As a little boy, I was amazed that he could keep his stash of mags in the front, with the engine in the back!

I only had toy beetles since then, and never saw one in-person until I was in my twenties. My dad told me that in the 60's, people would stuff as many people as they could in a beetle, and that he had one in NYC that had heavy chains tied to it to slow the car down since the brakes were bad...

[NJ John]

As far as pulling the engine quickly. One stubborn heater cable and your screwed.
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1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage

[oprn]

[oprn]

[otherbeach]

In 2021 I found

Only around 122 (approximately) non-Brazil, USA-based Split buses of all models for sale as of 07May21.

If I count right for today 07Apr25, the same non-Brazil, USA split count is 176.

I am out of the VW scene, but that seems like significantly more. From what I discern from reading the forums, this is consistent with the increase in availability of all vintage vehicles
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Coming to you from God’s Own Time Zone: Central Time…up near the Illinois/Minnesota border. ** Note I am currently (mostly) INACTIVE in the bus community due to life changes. My price tracking from 2016 to 2021 is now over and data stored offline. Unfortunately I am unable to query this archived data now. **
"Cows at the border of the Dairy State and the Land of Lincoln are remarkably honest."

[VWAdam]

My personal best time was in my '67 Bus when I was 19 or 20 years old. I had no rear bumper and it was stock height. That combined with me being a beanpole, I didn't have to put the Bus on jackstands to pull the engine. My personal best was engine out in 11 minutes, back in and running in 15.
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All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road.

'59 Euro Beetle ragtop
'63 Standard Microbus

Come to my show! www.volksjam.com

Looking for badge/sticker/frame from Western Motors in Great Falls, Montana

[Bobs67vwagen]

In the late 70s living in San Diego, I bought a 66 westfalia bus that had a blown engine. My friend Jeff and I loaded a bug motor into his 66 bug where the passenger seat had been removed. The bus was in a community that was at the top of a hill. We rolled the bus to a empty lot at the bottom of the hill. I unhooked and unbolted everything, put a milk crate under the motor and rolled the bus forward to access the blown motor which we then swapped with the good motor onto the milk crate and installed into the rolled back bus. Al of this took about 1 hours as I recall. We then drove the bug and bus home. I am 73 now and I am presently building a 74 bug pan to put my 67 body on while I restore it's pan. I am happy I am still able to do this stuff at this age and I enjoy all the technical information I am able to get here on the samba. In 2025 it is really wonderful to still have a resource like the samba. Thank you to all members and to everett for all of this.