Super Beetle Buyer's Guide

[Sakajama]

That models exist???? up photos. hellos

[bugoyking]

hi there!

yes this model exists!

check out this links:

http://www.torquecars.co.uk/vw/gt-beetle.htm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_id=117948562&start=20

[EVfun]

Thanks for the buyers guide. There is a lot of good info here. Does anyone have updates to add? These cars are getting older so I wonder if there are any new gotchas to look for or old gotchas to just expect.

I have never owned a Beetle newer than 1964, or a convertible Beetle, but I am looking for a 1973-1979 Super Beetle convertible for my wife. I didn't find a convertible specific buyers guide so I am looking for guidance on what specifically to check on convertibles -- especially those items that would be expensive to fix or parts that would be hard to find.

Thanks for all your help. This site is a great VW resource.

[julrich366]

In addition to the "regular" things you look for, here's a few things regarding a vert:

1. The top itself: If top is worn, has holes, etc, a new top will run you about $700-1000 (parts) and if you don't want to do yourself another $1000-2000 (depending on location) for installation labor.

2. Convertible support rails: Make sure these are in good shape, not rusted (and actually still there!). These are essential for the stability of your car to prevent the "taco effect". Not terribly expensive parts-wise to replace, but VERY labor-intensive to replace.

3. Convertible "rubber": Verts have a lot of rubber pieces that keep the car water-tight along doors, etc.. Make sure these are in place and not rotting away. Look at "Chucks Convertible Parts" website to see a listing of the vert-specific rubber parts.
http://www.chucksconvertibleparts.com/t/categories/bug-convertibles/rubber-parts

4. Convertible top frame: If the top has any leaks, you'll probably have rust on the frame and may need to remedy this prior to installing a new top. Also, will have wooden bows (exact number depends on year of the car) that may have deteriorated and need replaced as well, as well as the rear window support frame.

Most if not all parts are still available. Chuck's is a wealth of information and supplies for the VW verts. Look around his website, lots of good info.
Hope this helps.
_________________
- John
'74 Vert ..lot's to still do.

[Molly1973]

What a good post here! I wish I would have read this sooner! Good info...and I love my super!

[subwayaz]

Very nice informative article.

[Joel]

[Zeitgeist 13]

Is there a decent guide to selling prices for various Supers? I have a client who wants me to prep and sell her "survivor" '73 Super. When I look here and elsewhere, I see lots of molested/modified cars or resto-customs, but not much in between. This car has original paint/body, no accidents and solid pans. I know Supers don't elicit a whole lotta love in the community, but this thing seems kinda special for a nearly fifty year old car. I haven't messed with AC cars in a very very long time, but I'm loving the simplicity and rekindled joy I remember from cutting my teeth with these back in the early '80s.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[DesignBuild]

It appears that the superbeetleonly website is no longer alive.

Regarding the question of reinforcing or replacing the rusted strut support; yes it can be cut out and replaced. I haven't checked but there may be reproduction repair parts available or you may be able to use parts from a Rabbit, Golf, or even a non-VW car with MacPherson struts in the front. I know that my 2010 Hyundai Sonata could donate the strut support for my '72 Super. That is why I suggested other VW models that use a similar front suspension. Some of the early 80s to mid 1990 VW automobiles use the same struts as the later Supers. These are the struts with the two horizontal bolts holding the strut to the spindle upright along with the vertical ball joint stud also held on by a cross bolt to the bottom of the spindle.

Some folks also change the struts in the later Super Beetles to the 71 and 72 struts. Not sure why they do this.

The turning radius is better in the Supers because the wheels can turn to a sharper angle than the standard. The original front joint design was patented by Ferdinand Porsche in 1937 (see US2099312) based upon an earlier patent in 1932 in Germany of the Auto Union racing car suspension. In that car the ball joints were in a horizontal position with the ball end in the backing plate. It was limited in the turning angle too. Beyond a certain angle and the ball would want to come out of the socket in the backing plate. See the attached picture.

[passionre]

The Supers are typically frowned on by bug fans. Personally I've owned both....Supers rock. A much more refined experience.

[DesignBuild]

I too have owned both; a 1960 Standard that I bought from a work colleague in 1971 when I was living in New York State and a '72 Super Beetle that I bought in early 2019; in Texas now.

My Super was built in Germany for the home market and was ordered/purchased by a Volkswagen employee. He drove it for about two years and then he put it in covered storage where it sat, never driven, for 38 years. It is my understanding that his adult son came by and occasionally started the car. So many things that get changed over 50 years are still on this car. I even found a little tag under the mat with the original owner's last name on it. According to guys I know in Germany and in TheSamba, this little tag would have been on the build sheet.

An American serviceman heard about the car and purchased it and his wife at the time took it upon herself to update/replace, etc. I have talked with and emailed the American and he brought it back to the US when he came back from Germany in 2015. The odometer is in kilometers and the date on the speedometer is May 1972. So it is an original. The car serial number and the engine numbers match the original Germany registration from 11 May 1972 when the car was built and first registered. The odometer now reads 53,046 km. That is the equivalent of 32,961 miles. It has about 4,500 additional kilometers on it since it came out of storage in 2012. Almost all of the window weatherseal was replaced and in the process all of the stainless steel trim disappeared. See the picture of the Porsche and the Super Beetle in Germany and notice the size of the trim on the weatherstrip. It almost covers the black rubber. One of the things that he told me when he first saw it is that the wheels were body color. He was told that the wheels should be silver so he got some silver paint and painted the wheels with a brush.

The car has blue cloth (10 wale corduroy) upholstery and bluish needle punched carpet like material on the heater boxes and over the front panels and part of the tunnel.The border of the carpet is finished with a herringbone woven binding. It too is blue. The car came with the heater/blower in the frunk as well as functioning heater boxes in the rear. The heater hoses in the rear, between the heater boxes and the body, are flexible metal covered with a stitched black insulation layer. All of this is still intact and not rusted. There are also red rubber sleeves or boots between the heater box outlets and the flexible metal hose, probably to better seal the joint.

How many Super Beetles still have the metal crash box at the front of the chassis and under the front apron? Mine has this (in red primer). Took it out when I had the wheels sand blasted in preparation for paint. I primed this box and painted it black.

I plan to paint the front of the wheels body color like they were originally and black on the back. Then I will put the new radial tires back on the wheels. When they are balanced the weights will be stuck on the back side.

Some additional things. There are two ash trays or receptacles for the back seat, one on the left side panel and the other on the right side panel. The front ash tray was never used. There are no seat belts in the rear only retractable belts in the front. The headliner is printed except for three roof panels directly over head of the driver-passenger's seats. All of the remainder of the headliner is printed with dots. Rear window glass has heater strips as well as the three vents on either side. My car also has metal windshield weatherstrip retainer strips that are supposed to keep the windshield glass in the car in the event of an accident. Unfortunately none of the replacement weatherstrip accommodates the metal strips and the weatherstrip doesn't fit tight to the body on the inside.

This car also has factory front disc brakes by ATE, just like the 1302 and 1303 Parts microfiche indicates it is supposed to have. The serial number of my car falls between the beginning number and ending number for these ATE 40mm calipers. These are original equipment regardless of what some other people have told me. Except for the rebuilt and repainted calipers the discs are the same as the ones installed when the car was built. I have receipts for work that was done on it after it came out of storage and after it was in the US and the front brakes were supposed to have been rebuilt in Germany but they were never touched. When I took them apart I found brake fluid goo in the piston bores along with crystals. The goo is from water reacting with the glycol brake fluid. I saw this on many other very old cars. If they had actually been rebuilt before coming to America this would not have been in there. The other clue about work not being done but paid for was the flexible brake hoses. When I replaced the front hoses they were stamped FULDA 4/72. Fulda was bought by Bridgestone some 30+ years ago. The stamping was pressed into the surface. The hoses weren't cracked at all and were still very flexible. The spare tire in the frunk is a Fulda; it still has many of the molding whiskers on the surface. The date code for this tire is February 1972. The tires that were on the car were from 2011 and are 560-15. The wheels on my car are 4.5 inches in width the offset is 34mm.

My car doesn't have sealed beams and the parking light is a separate bulb in the reflector located just below the main headlight bulb. I have the single bulb single filament directional lights on the fenders. My rear lights are the '68 sized tombstones with a stainless steel trim ring and a yellow and red lens. There are no reflectors on the outside of the tail light body like the North American cars. I do not have backup lights but I am going to put them on the car.

The car will soon have a Kamei front spoiler that I managed to pickup from another Super owner that didn't like the way it fitted on his car. This one is mounted to the bottom of the front bumper and is significantly more rigid than the ones that mount to the body.

I have included some pictures.

Future Plans:
Install modern fuel injection utilizing the Ford EEC-IV to begin with and maybe upgrading to the EEC-V if it supports solenoid valve actuators. Ford system uses MAF and SEFI. I will have to modify the EEC to match the VW firing order.
Enlarge the displacement from 1285cc to at least 2.1 Liters or transplant a Subie engine and transmission in place of the VW (this would probably be more cost effective. I could also get fuel injection and AC with the Subie transplant). The engine case in my car is magnesium. It is an AB case.

It would have been great to talk to the original owner's son but I haven't been able to find him. He registered the car in his name in 2005. I have the original and the re-registration.

[DesignBuild]

I guess there is a limit on the number of pictures in a post. The original registration information is missing from the previous post.

This picture is of the metal retainer strip that is supposed to fit under the rubber. I have seen this in early Corvairs before the windshield glass was glued into the opening in the body. The metal strip has saw teeth on the inside edge that helps the rubber to remain in the opening and not come off with the glass in a front end collision.

This picture is from 2012-2013. Notice how wide the trim is on the windshield weatherstrip. It looks very similar to the trim on a '72 Karmann Ghia. Other folks on TheSamba but from Germany said they don't remember seeing trim this wide (not on NA cars that is for sure). I have found pictures of European Beetles and Super Beetles with very wide front and rear window trim. Any how all this was lost. My car does have some interesting mirrors that I haven't seen in the repro market. The mirror heads are adjustable on the stems that attach to the body. The right side stem is shaped like a J so the mirror is parallel to the ground.

Year of manufacture Texas license plates

German registration with serial and engine numbers

[DesignBuild]