wrote in
oups.com:

> I once owned a Super Beetle.. now my Super Beetle was an Autostick,
> and rotted.. so the horror stories are much more than usual.. Like the
> front end almost falling out on the way home.. the Wheel falling off
> while then being towed, and causing a wreck.. Taking my girlfriend for
> a ride and the ball joint busting.. dragging down the road.. etc..
>
> So here's what I suggest.
>
> If you drive, and at 40MPH feel shimmy in the steering.. Then you have
> the Super Beetle blues, and will need to look into the Tie Rods, Ends,
> Balljoints, etc.. or.. you may end up like I did. I highly reccomend
> to replace the ball joints just for fun, and maybe new tie rod ends,
> if the tie rods look ok.

Tracks straight and no shimmy up to 70mph. The struts/shocks are solid. But
since I have 4 years to play with it - I'll rebuild the whole thing.

> As for brakes.. Mine was the same.. It is hard to find brake lines at
> a local store. I would reccomend not replacing just the master
> cylinder.. this is an old vehicle. The wheel cylinders are only about
> $20 or less each. A must. I changed the shoes too. You will most
> likely find if you do not also change the wheel clyinders, that the
> bleeder valves will most likely be clogged anyways or snap off. Unless
> it had recent brake work, inwich the master cylinder was simply
> overlooked. However, since your daughter may be driving, you may want
> to do a front disc brake conversion. The brakes are not all that good
> to begin with. I have all around disc brakes on my new bug, and it
> stops on a dime.

The guy had just replaced the master before I got it and when I test drove
it the day before - all was good. I'm thinking leaking line or wheel
cylinder - or he didn't bleed the master. Where is the master cylinder on
this critter? It has a recent brake job. Where do I find info on a disc
brake conversion?

>
>
> Welting color is no major deal for a daily driver. Most amateur paint
> jobs paint right over them. Matching color to vehicle. You may wonder
> why?? Unless you have serious plans on redoing the vehicle to full
> extent, I wouldn't bother. Sometimes the fender bolts rust, and will
> snap off.. etc.. or pieces of the vehicle snap off while trying to
> loosen the fender for changing the welting. May open a can of beans.
> Again, mine was a beast!!! Maybe I am wrong with saying that. My new
> bug has 100% new bolts on every fender, so I know it would be ok to
> loosen them. My welting will be black.. only because it will be
> painted with fenders off. Then the fenders painted seperately. If
> yours are black, consider it a bonus!! That means that the fenders
> were removed without much issue and reinstalled.

Again, 4 years. So off come all the pieces and will be sanded and repainted
factory orange with new welting.

>
> All in all, sounds like you got a great deal. Especially with the A/C
> components. Compressors used are on Thesamba.com for no more than $50.
>>From my personal opinion, it is becoming very hard to find solid Bugs
> these days. Before you dump a ton of money, make sure the heater
> channels are solid. Make sure where the door pillars meet the floor,
> that they are solid to the floor. I would personally pull up the
> carpet edge near the doors to inspect the heater channels. These are
> very important.

All is solid and rust free except for some body surface rust here and there
(nothing serious). It does need a right front fender as the headlight
bucket is pushed in. Heater channels are good and solid. I was discussing
with my Dad since we have the time - if it wouldn't be to our advantage and
yank the frame/pan from the body and have it coated up at someplace like
Line-X? Do it once, never worry about it ever again.

Oh, it's missing the a/c piece that went under the dashboard unfortunately.
I was thinking of going through Hot Rod Air (www.hotrodair.com) and getting
the conversion kit for it - give it an update.
>
>
>
> Regardless of any situation, you will have alot of fun!!! I started in
> the VW's nearly 6 years ago.. from horror stories.. and still at it
> now. No longer a horror story. Every single day, I think about a VW. I
> proposed in my 1960 Bug. When I went to purchase it, the family
> snickered that a wedding was more important. I bought it. Went to
> Kayes Jewellers, and proposed in it on Christmas Eve. Heck, I even
> bought one of those new Beetles for my girlfriend just the other week.
> Going to buy a 70 Bug to restore this weekend too.
>
>
> Now sit back.. relax..
> Go to Youtube.com and search for "Bug Drag Racing" videos.
>
> My 1960 is on their.. not drag racing though.. I wish.. Acting drag
> racing with a stock 1600cc engine.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Barnhart Pinball wrote:
>> Picked the little dude up today. Mechanically tight (new engine,
>> trans mounts, tons of new parts) and runs great. Handles like a
>> go-kart. I got lucky with this one as it has what looks to be the
>> original paint, no rust (well, except for one or 2 small places on
>> the driver door and a couple where it got scratched) and a perfect
>> underpan. It's a color code 21E (looking though the net) "blood
>> orange", and was equipped with factory air conditioning. Someone
>> removed the part under the dash and the compressor is gone. All the
>> lines and condensor/fan are still present. Wheels and hubcaps are
>> striaght and present.
>>
>