Anyone still driving their VW daily?

[67rustavenger]

[AlteWagen]

Final update for the originator of this thread, the ol 60 has been put out to pasture...literally. The bug is now full time at the ranch in WA and has finally got a roof over its head. Cruising the back roads of Rainer and trips to town are the only miles we will be putting on for the foreseeable future. The 1915 has 72K miles on it now and needs a refresh and probably an upgrade to 2276. Got some disk brakes for the front and debating putting on an old school select a drop beam. Gotta fix the wipers as on our first trip in the rain the motor quit on us. No big deal when in SoCal but in WA rainex wont cut it. Down to 1000 miles a year or less but not forgotten.

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[Ben53777]

I am a Junior in High School and drive my '66 Bug to school and sports practices every day! (Unless mechanical problems happen)!

[67rustavenger]

Since I have installed the new engine. I have been daily driving my 67 to and from work, weekdays. On weekends I drive to my son in laws ranch on
Saturday's for some hard work and great meals as pay.

I have been trying for the last three years to get these pics. The blossoms always get washed off the trees by the rain.
Not today!

Have a great rest of the week.
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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!

[supercub]

I've put about 1500 miles on the '66 since getting it out of storage in late March including a 300 mile round trip to Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. Today while out driving around enjoying the warm, sunny spring afternoon, I had the second breakdown in over 7 years of driving the VW. I was accelerating away from a stop sign, hit a pothole, and the engine shuts off. Fortunately I was on a lightly travelled county road so I coasted onto the shoulder, got out and opened the hood. With how quick and suddenly the engine died I was pretty sure it had to be electrical. All the wiring was still connected and the connections were all tight. I tried cranking it again. Nothing. I got my test light out of my tool bag, tuned the ignition on and tested for power at the voltage regulator and coil positive and negative terminals. All had power. I kept the light on the negative terminal on the coil and rotated the engine. The light stayed on solid instead of going off and on with the opening and closing of the points. Bingo. Something is shorted out in the distributor. I took off the cap and removed the distributor from the engine to see it better. Turns out the black plastic plug that holds the condenser wire in the distributor body had popped loose and the connector for the points wire was touching the advance plate shorting it out. I pushed the black plug back in and put the distributor back in the engine. I turned the key and it cranked over but the engine still wouldn't start. I look back at the distributor and notice it is sticking up out of the case more than it should. ARGHH! I forgot to align the drive in my haste to get going again. I pulled it out, aligned the drive and reinstalled it again. I double checked the timing with my test light. This time it started right up and away I went. It is very satisfying to be able to diagnose and fix a breakdown in less than 20 minutes. Just one more reason I love driving my VW.

[Sharp64]

[mukluk]

[supercub]

[supercub]

Here are a couple pictures of the '66 from this morning. Still getting 30mpg with the '65 40hp and still a 10 on the satisfaction scale. The pictures are from the Scuppernong River Habitat Area in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Wisconsin. It is a several thousand acre wet prairie with lots of marshy areas and spring fed streams rimmed by low wooded hills on 3 sides. Nearly all of it, as well as the surrounding hills, is public land open to exploring, though the bugs get horrific through most of the summer.

[mukluk]

@supercub
Looking good. Is that a new graphic I see on the hood?
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[KTPhil]

[supercub]

[supercub]

I had a bit of long weekend off from work this past week so I did a little road tripping around Wisconsin. In two days I drove the '66 over 500 trouble-free miles to Wildcat Mountain State Park in the hilly, unglaciated Driftless area and to Kohler-Andrea State Park on Lake Michigan. I recently replaced my broken pop out window hinges and latches with used goods from fellow Samba members. They work great now. Yesterday evening I re-fixed a previous fix to the driver's seat bottom pad so no more sore right butt cheek on long trips! I am driving out to California in mid September and am contemplating taking the Bug to relive the adventure of my 2013 trip, although I'll be starting from Wisconsin instead of Texas. Still racking up the miles on the daily commute as well.

[thechief86]

I've been daily driving my 62 for the past 6 months, after almost a year of being out of air cooled VW's. I sold my 73, and about a year later got this 62 running.
I have an '04 TDI Jetta, an '88 Suzuki Samurai, and a 2017 Toyota Tacoma, all of which sit for weeks on end, while I commute 40 miles each way alternating between my motorcycle and the bug.
The bug has a 1600 single port, original transmission, stock height, 195/60/15 radial tires, and recovered seats. I have installed a seatbelt in the back for my kid's car seat.
I end up driving about 500 miles a week, getting about 27 mpg, and rarely get over 65 mph. The bug helps me get home from a stressful job each day with a better mood when I hit the driveway.

I'd like to get the transaxle rebuilt and regeared to 3.88 for a higher cruising speed, and maybe put my 1904 in it.
From there I'll just continue fixing it up, and one day I'll strip it down to the metal and have it painted the original green.
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"A poor workman always blames his parts... Ya gotta have skillz to hang junk." -johnnypan

[TDCTDI]

The Ghiapet.

1970 Karmann Ghia.
Lifted 5”, General Grabber 205/75/15 tires, stock single port 1,600.
I try to make improvements to it daily, but at least twice a week & try to beat the hell out of it at least once a week.

Link


21,000 miles in a year, not all of it on paved roads.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[smeag]

Picked up my Bug about a month ago. Been working off some issues that have accumulated in the past 54 yrs. See it's an OG with only 15K miles. So some stuff need attention. I've got 100 miles on her since making her mine. I'm planning on driving her daily. I'm retired so she's my go around town girl.

[FL-Frank]

[Wolfe2221]

I'm 25, daily drive my 1974 beetle. I got it last December (2018) and drove it about 1,200 miles before the motor gave out. I got a 1641 long block from Portland off Craigslist and put about 6,000 miles on it before I put the original motor back in. I had it rebuilt with a 74mm crank and 90.5mm pistons for a 1904, Engle 110 camshaft, new heads with 40mm intake and 35.5mm, and dual IDF44s. I have about 4,000 miles on that motor now and it's been pretty fun. [/img]

[smeag]

[PetiteIvory]

Sure do, 65 with a 40hp