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iowegian 
Samba Curmudgeon
Joined: February 16, 2005
Posts: 9829
Location: Somewhere between Dubuque and Keokuk
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 Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 11:49 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| Mike Fisher wrote: |
| I also carry a tow strap in my trunk. |
You don't need a tow strap------just the other day there was some guy telling about tying the Towing car and the Towed car together using a seatbelt.  |
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heimlich
VWNOS.com
Joined: November 20, 2016
Posts: 6622
Location: Houston, Texas
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| Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 7:37 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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Put a tow bar in your spouse's car. Call them when it happens. Call a taxi back to your tow care. Lots of options when you have a tow bar.
_________________
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Not all parts are made the same. NOS OE/OEM parts made mainly in West Germany, Early Germany, and Early Brazil are where VW produced the best quality parts and best fitting products.
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12744
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 5:46 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| Abscate wrote: |
The simplicity of the air cooled VW is mitigated by a maintenance schedule that involves 4x per year service. Modern cars go 2 years between service.
If you want to daily drive an air cooled , you need to be in touch with it. It needed quarterly service when it was new , now it is 50 years old, and needs more. |
Totally depends on how many miles you drive. My street Buggy gets an oil change once a year (3000 km) while my Jetta TDI is due for an oil change again (6000 km) and I just changed it 2 months ago.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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frenchroast
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2019
Posts: 679
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| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:12 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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"Super" nice bug! Get AAA or tow coverage from your insurance provider. If something happens, plan on a few hours wait, get it towed home, and figure it out from there.
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FarmerBill
Samba Member
Joined: July 25, 2017
Posts: 767
Location: New England
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| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 9:41 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| Cusser wrote: |
I've known folks with brand new vehicles that have been stranded away from home in large cities because there were no parts available for over a week for their new vehicles....
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Years ago out in Indiana (about an hour and a half from Chicago) I called several places for a muffler for my 12 year old Passat. The quickest anyone could get one was a week. I was able to cobble the old one together enough to get back to the Northeast, but yeah parts can be hard to come by. The minimum for an acvw, for me, is spare belt, fuel pump, distributor, carb, and a small tool kit. Also some wire, aluminum tape, duct tape, electrical tape, hose clamps, fuel line and plug wires. All this stuff fits in a couple of ammo cans under the rear seat.
Oh yeah, and a fire extinguisher. |
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madmike
Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2005
Posts: 5292
Location: Atlanta,Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 4:44 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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With 11 post P.O is GONE ,,,,Typical,we may as well talk to a wall 
_________________
'Black Ice'Drag Buggy 'Turbo'
Rail Buggy 1915 turbo
76 Drag/Street bug 2180cc 'Turbo' 11:85 @113 mph"If I go any faster I'll burn up the Hamster" ,gets 28 mpg. also 10/09/22 11.90 @115 mph
"If I'm ever on Life Support,UNPLUG Me, Then Plug me back In see if that Works" |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12744
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:28 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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Maybe fear got the upper hand and he sold the car. There are people out there too timid to take a regular new car out past the street lights, a vintage car would scare the absolute Hades out of them!
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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Big Bull Shooter
Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2018
Posts: 460
Location: Canadian Rockies
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 8:51 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| madmike wrote: |
| With 11 post P.O is GONE ,,,,Typical,we may as well talk to a wall |
Probably broke down in the boonies somewhere.
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Where would this hobby be if no one shipped parts.
crukab
Feb. 11, 2021
Smokey says.... only you can prevent Bug fires!
zerotofifty
May 16, 2023 |
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madmike
Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2005
Posts: 5292
Location: Atlanta,Michigan
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 12:52 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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If he keeps the windows up, maybe He won't Hear the 'Banjo Music'
_________________
'Black Ice'Drag Buggy 'Turbo'
Rail Buggy 1915 turbo
76 Drag/Street bug 2180cc 'Turbo' 11:85 @113 mph"If I go any faster I'll burn up the Hamster" ,gets 28 mpg. also 10/09/22 11.90 @115 mph
"If I'm ever on Life Support,UNPLUG Me, Then Plug me back In see if that Works" |
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OldSchoolVW's
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2020
Posts: 701
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 3:16 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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The question asked by the OP was an earnest one and probably something others who have limited troubleshooting and repair skills have thought about. Nice to see helpful replies have been posted by some. Useful to the OP and any others visiting the topic with the same question. More of such input would great ... and what makes these forums so valuable.
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Tom
"Following distance is proportional to IQ."
'63 Beetle Sedan
'69 Beetle Sunroof
'70 Beetle Sedan
'73 Type 3 Fastback |
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cbeck
Samba Member
Joined: January 14, 2014
Posts: 2495
Location: high ridge, mo
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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Shifting gears while holding a bailing wire for a throttle cable ain't as easy as it sounds.
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779 |
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PatJr
Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2010
Posts: 207
Location: earth
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:22 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| cbeck wrote: |
| Shifting gears while holding a bailing wire for a throttle cable ain't as easy as it sounds. |
no it's not ... but ... yes, it can be done
been there, done that
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1970 Transporter a orange one
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mark tucker
Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2009
Posts: 23937
Location: SHALIMAR ,FLORIDA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 3:41 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| I dont build disposabel stuff, so mine dont breakdown in the boonies...or any where else...of coarse there was that time the break light switch exploded.... a block from where my wife works so i drove there and got a good one from auto zone instead of the china shit the vw stores/venders sell. do it right do it one time and forget about it and have fun. |
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VW_Jimbo
Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2016
Posts: 9969
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 7:44 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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| PatJr wrote: |
| cbeck wrote: |
| Shifting gears while holding a bailing wire for a throttle cable ain't as easy as it sounds. |
no it's not ... but ... yes, it can be done
been there, done that |
I had to use shoelaces one time! Took 4 of them! My 2 and my buddies. It keep breaking where it rubbed against the body at the decklid. Made for a long 60 miles, but we made it back. First stop was a VW parts store that was called All Foreign. Started it back up and drove it home, with the shoelaces still, and had the new throttle cable in it within an hour of being back home! Love these little cars!
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Jimbo
There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!
| TDCTDI wrote: |
| Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look. |
| 67rustavenger wrote: |
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!  |
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modok
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2009
Posts: 26790
Location: Colorado Springs
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 12:42 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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I used to tow bugs and buggies with my VW bus.
What if the bus breaks down?
That's one of the reasons why I sold the bus.
ironically, haven't broken down since.
Even a little toyota can tow a bug, i bet a subaru could tow a bug |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12744
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:55 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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I ran out of gas a 1/4 mile from home in the sand rail (no gas gauge) so I walked home, got the tow bar and street Buggy and towed it back.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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goober
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2003
Posts: 1183
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:22 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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If I couldn't fix my Bug myself and I still wanted to travel an hour or more I'd buy a tow-bar and magnetic lights and have another vehicle set up to tow it. I'd learn how to hook it all up.
If I broke down I'd call home and have someone come out to get me and my Bug and drag it back home. An hour or so is not too long of a wait. |
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oprn
Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016
Posts: 12744
Location: Western Canada
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:20 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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When I go more that an hour from home in or street Buggy there is no one at home to call! We are both in the Buggy. I do though have both options if I can get a ride home, tow bars for both Buggies and an enclosed car trailer.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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Cusser
Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006
Posts: 31382
Location: Hot Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:46 am Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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About 15 years ago we took my 1971 VW Convertible about 15 miles away for dinner. Turns out that Mrs. Cusser had forgotten her cell phone, but that didn't bother me, all was fine.
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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 |
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hobthebob
Samba Member
Joined: December 08, 2021
Posts: 375
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 8:02 pm Post subject: Re: What do you do if your Beetle breaks down in the boonies? |
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I figure I'll just stick out my thumb and hope for the best. If I was driving down that road, chances are someone else will, too!
I've seen a lot of cars being dragged by a rope of some sort lately... Anyway, I have 16 ft. of thick rope wrapped around my beetle's rear bumper just in case! Just in case my 200 mile flat-tow AAA membership doesn't work! |
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