74 NovaMan's 65 Convertible VW Beetle

[Huskinhano]

Nice score. Transplants are overrated...........these flat-fours respond REALLY well to some simple hop-up parts. Or do the reasonable thing and leave it stock and just cruise it. Can't lose!

Oh yeah! I had a 70 VW. The engine was a 1640, mild Erson 110 cam,dual port heads, 010 dist, Zenith 32 DNIX carb. That car was a blast to drive. I had a lot of fun taking on small V8's!

Put that thing on a 68 & up floor pan. That gets you ball joint front end, discs if you get a Karman front axle, fully independent rear suspension along with 12 volts. You just need to shorten the rear body mount on the floor pan. Other then that it's a pure bolt on.

[STINEY]

Dan, your experience with dropped valves might have been her putt-putt driving.

These are air-cooled and that cooling is directly relative to engine speed, the original owners manuals specifically mentioned NOT to lug the engines by short-shifting, the heat build-up is too much.

I bet the cooler was the non-doghouse style. That early style had the undesirable effect of pre-heating the cooling air to #3 cylinder - which I bet was the one you lost every time.

VW came out with a doghouse style cooler later, which offset the cooler OUT of the cylinder cooling air path, and also gave it its own cooling air supply completely separate. The fan was widened to comply with the added demand.



NovaMan, if your bug currently has single-port intake/heads - - I'm sorry to say that 75mph is not real likely unless you draft a semi at about 10'. I used to commute my '69 2 hours to school, all went well with dual-port stocker until it lost the spark-plug threads 1/2 way home one weekend. I swapped motors quick with a single-port I had on hand, that was the beginning of the need for drafting to manage 65mph.

Did increase mileage though. Once tucked in behind a big rig I could let way off the throttle.....just barely cracked open. Once back out in the wall of air had to floorboard it again.

Pertronics is a great addition, highly recommend it. Stay far away from the chinese versions of drop-in electronic ignition, they just don't hold up very long.

And please, please, please do not remove the factory oil-cooler for an aftermarket cooler. If you absolutely must have an aftermarket cooler, drill and tap the engine case for a full-flow set-up (add an oil filter in the process) and put an aftermarket cooler IN ADDITION TO the factory cooler, not replacing the factory cooler.

Honestly though, there is no real need for anything more in the cooling department than a good factory doghouse cooler setup, and regular oil-changes.

And replace that nasty-smelling transaxle fluid with some modern synthetic 90weight. Doesn't have to be anything special, NAPA brand synthetic works as well as Amsoil to our experience, but it will make the transaxle shift complete different, in a good way. Transmission case stays cool too, where it will really heat up with the old stuff in it.

I'll be glad to babble as long as you can stand me on VWs. Any questions feel free to ask away.

[74NovaMan]

I'll be glad to babble as long as you can stand me on VWs. Any questions feel free to ask away.

Babble away! Please! I am woefully ignorant when it comes to the ways of the Beetle. I'm learning all sorts of good stuff.

If the car is stock (no upgrades) I should have a 1200cc motor with a 6V system. Car did not come with an oil filter? No ball joints?

I have a newer (I think) motor and transaxle that came with the car (and bunch of extra non-convert parts I don't need). The extra parts also included a set of 4 bolt wheels & tires. Any Idea when they started using those? The 65 has the odd (to me) bolt pattern.

Any clues on how to ID the voltage of the current elec system?

How about IDing the engines? I'm most interested in figuring out the displacement and particulars on the spare as it sounds that the stock motor will not be sufficient (although I need to check that as well.)

[cstmwgn]

Any clues on how to ID the voltage of the current elec system?

Count the cells on the battery.

[Beagle]

Right! All 3 caps? I think VW went 12 volt in '67.

[DanStokes]

Yep, it was #3, of course. I didn't think there were any other valves that failed. I used to have a collection of 'em with the corners burned off. No need for a compression test as you just had to listen to the exhaust.

I hated that little b@$t@rd. As a Michigan car I was constantly cutting my hands up on the cooling sheetmetal, messing with the points (until we got the Unilite), and never getting sufficient heat to defrost the windshield (yes, the heat exchangers and duct work were all intact). I didn't think it was "cute" to drive in the winter with one hand on the wheel and a scraper in the other. Once I got #2 out of that car and into a decent ride (we got a super nice '76 Volare) where everything did what it was supposed to, she never looked back. I remember her saying that she didn't know that a car could be so enjoyable.

But the little convert should be fun, depending on what you expect from it. They are quirky and many enjoy that.

Dan

[STINEY]

The heat system often looks intact, but the tubes INSIDE the heater channels are condensation magnets (warm metal in a cold humid environment) and they developed holes early on in life. The hot air never had a chance to get where it was needed.

No beetles ever came with oil filters. There is a screen behind the sump plate that is supposed to be cleaned/replaced on a regular interval (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THOSE LITTLE NUTS!! They need inch-pounds and new copper seals which are included in the oil change kit. You will pull the threads out of the engine case if you overtighten, and that is a PIA to repair, requires engine rebuild)

4-bolt rims came out in '68 1968 was the only year for a 4-bolt swingaxle transaxle, it and '67 were the only year for the longer axles as well.

The wide-five bolt pattern is iconic and pretty desirable, many folks work hard to swap to wide-5 wheels. Personally I love them, and there are plenty of wheel options available. I'm partial to old-school BRM's myself.

ID on the engines is done visually (picture will go a long ways here) and by the engine code (which is stamped into the case below the alternator/generator stand) Look where the parting line is, wipe the goo away and there should be a 2 letter code like AE followed by several numbers. The letter code tells what year the engine is, however I wouldn't depend on it to show what the engine is internally. Most of these are on their 3rd or 4th rebuild and often are increased in size at that time. Some original survivors are out there though.

Get a picture of the flywheel side of the spare engine as awell as the pulley side. Helps a bunch with IDing what it has for parts. Snap a picture behind the cooling fan shroud on the installed engine if you can manage to wiggle your camera back there.

I'm excited to see what you have to work with!

[STINEY]

6-volt vs 12-volt........check the battery like mentioned. If missing or suspected incorrect, check a few bulbs like headlight and tailight. If they work they will tell you what you have.....if they burn out right away on 12 volt you have an original unconverted 6-volt system. Pretty rare as most were converted in the 80's. If converted the windshield wiper will likely have a large resister in line with it, but not always as some swapped motors instead. Resister on the factory radio is also a sign, but most factory radios went bye-bye as well...

[Deaf Bob]

Had a 58 bus, slow as molasses! Drive 7 miles real slow to town then stop for a pop, that was long enough to de-ice the carb then I could get to work on time! I later bought a motorless bug and put that motor in it, still slow but was late to work less.. To help it hit corners better, I added a rear swaybar.. Made all the difference! Could leave the throttle floored!

[mrocketscience]

Back in the early 90's, my (now ex) wife wanted a VW convertible. So, we bought a nice looking 70, white with black top. Hands down the worst POS I've ever had the misfortune of being associated with. Over a period of about 3 years I had to replace:

Engine.. Apparently it ran out of oil while she was driving it one day.
Clutch cable... Just snapped one day. What a miserable experience replacing that was.
Steering shaft.. twice. Just snapped in two while driving. Lucky she never ran into anybody.
Vapor locked on a regular basis.
Heads on the replacement engine had to be redone. Burnt valves.
I finally took it to San Pedro, put it in neutral and let it roll off the cliff into the ocean. Not really, but I daydreamed about that.

[74NovaMan]

Thanks for the responses. I have a suspicion that the battery is a 12v and that the system may not be, but I'll have to check. The motor turns over with the starter but seems to be spinning pretty fast. The car has a radio block off plate. I'll try to get some good shots of the motors tonight. Here are some more pics I had on my phone.



Drivers floor under rear seat:




Light switch & wiper switch seem to be missing.



I know the steering wheel is far from stock, but I like it.

[Deaf Bob]

I'll let Stiney chime in, the fan looks to be missing tubes?

[STINEY]

Thanks for the responses. I have a suspicion that the battery is a 12v and that the system may not be, but I'll have to check. The motor turns over with the starter but seems to be spinning pretty fast. The car has a radio block off plate. I'll try to get some good shots of the motors tonight. Here are some more pics I had on my phone.

Very good.....you already have a later dual port engine that it looks like someone has perhaps been into before.

4 things right off the bat.

1. Lose that air filter. Those carbs need a certain amount of "stand-off" space above them for the fuel spray to work within. Its weird but trust me on this, you do not want to run that filter base, it screws up the fuel fog.

2. Measure the diameter of that crankshaft pulley. From here it looks like a "power-pulley" if I remember rightly they were around 6", and were sold with the idea of freeing up extra power by spinning the cooling fan slower. Problem is, that means less cooling air. BAD idea.....

Fortunately stock diameter pulleys are cheap and available, and they are degreed and cool looking.

3. The crankcase vent is all screwed up. There are several ways of doing this, but that one looks to be a combination of PCV with no valve and a road draft tube that exits in the engine compartment. I'd like to see some baffling in there and vent it to the atmosphere, but there are several ways of doing it.

4. That looks like a 009 distributor with a 34 PICT carb. The numbers are on the distributor body (long series that ends with "009") and the 34PICT should appear on the drivers side of the float bowl on the carb.

Problem is that they do not play nice with each other. HUGE flat spot off idle is guaranteed, it can be minimized but will always be there to some extent. Best bet is to swap distributors for one with a vacuum advance..... your mileage will measureably improve as a side benefit.

This looks like it has a few California-level emmissions leftovers on it as well. The intake is going to have some "extra" ports that need to be sealed, another clue is the weird angle that the driver side air tube kicks out at an angle. By the way, don't worry about plugging those air tubes on the fan shroud just yet, they will blow a fair amount of air but its not critical. Some studies prove that it will cool the engine better with them open.

Car looks to be in fantastic condition. I'm jealous. Good score!

[DanStokes]

Stiney, can you tell from the pic if that has the old style or new style oil cooler? I can't remember what Georgiann's shroud looked like so I have no clue what a new-style would look like. Hope they have the new type.

Dan

[74NovaMan]

Very good.....you already have a later dual port engine that it looks like someone has perhaps been into before.

4 things right off the bat.

1. Lose that air filter. Those carbs need a certain amount of "stand-off" space above them for the fuel spray to work within. Its weird but trust me on this, you do not want to run that filter base, it screws up the fuel fog.

2. Measure the diameter of that crankshaft pulley. From here it looks like a "power-pulley" if I remember rightly they were around 6", and were sold with the idea of freeing up extra power by spinning the cooling fan slower. Problem is, that means less cooling air. BAD idea.....

Fortunately stock diameter pulleys are cheap and available, and they are degreed and cool looking.

3. The crankcase vent is all screwed up. There are several ways of doing this, but that one looks to be a combination of PCV with no valve and a road draft tube that exits in the engine compartment. I'd like to see some baffling in there and vent it to the atmosphere, but there are several ways of doing it.

4. That looks like a 009 distributor with a 34 PICT carb. The numbers are on the distributor body (long series that ends with "009") and the 34PICT should appear on the drivers side of the float bowl on the carb.

Problem is that they do not play nice with each other. HUGE flat spot off idle is guaranteed, it can be minimized but will always be there to some extent. Best bet is to swap distributors for one with a vacuum advance..... your mileage will measureably improve as a side benefit.

This looks like it has a few California-level emmissions leftovers on it as well. The intake is going to have some "extra" ports that need to be sealed, another clue is the weird angle that the driver side air tube kicks out at an angle. By the way, don't worry about plugging those air tubes on the fan shroud just yet, they will blow a fair amount of air but its not critical. Some studies prove that it will cool the engine better with them open.

Car looks to be in fantastic condition. I'm jealous. Good score!

Great info! Thanks. What kind of air filter do you recommend? The crank pulley on it is degreed and cool looking. I’ll measure it and the spare though. I wondered about all the hoses. There are a few loose wires as well.

The condition coupled with the asking price is why I could not pass it up. Living in the heart of the rust belt, we just don't see stuff this solid unless we are looking on AZ craigslist.