Anyone own a vintage Beetle?

I've always wanted one but now my 8-year-old seems dead set on me buying one. Taking car advice from a child always works out, right?
I have a vision of driving it to work on Fridays and the beach on weekends but will the reality be me drenched in sweat and curse words while the kids ride bikes in the driveway?

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I have a '64 that I did a full body-off resto along with lots of hot-rod stuff, including;
* 2110 W/ dual 40 IDF's
* 4-wheel disk brakes
* 4" narrowed beam

I did the work about 10-years ago, so it doesn't look as nice anymore.



I'm actually going to use a lot of the parts from that Beetle on a dedicated autocross car, based on a '71 Super. I just started this project, and here's where it stands right now.



I have a build thread going here. It has a LOOONG way to go.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=148453

There's nothing wrong with cussing at an old car, while the kids ride bikes in the driveway - this is a good description of my lifestyle. To do it though, you will need to be a project oriented person, and need to enjoy the process of restoring a car. Depending on funds and free time, plan on 18 - 24 months. And any budget you have in mind..triple it.

Oh yah - I almost forgot about my '72 Thing.

I think I'm looking at more of a 'rolling restoration' than a frame-off concours deal. Something I can tinker with a little bit but still enjoy during the process.
I've done most of the maintenance and some light modding on my last two cars but I don't think I'm ready to jump into the resto deep end just yet!

By the way, that Thing looks super gnarly. There's gotta be an easier way to clean the undercarriage, though...

You can find solid VW's out there that don't necessarily need full resto. The most important thing is getting one with a solid body and minimal rust. The first place to look for rust is below the battery tray, under the rear seat. If that area isn't swiss cheese, chances are the rest of the pan is OK. Also, look for original German fenders, hood etc. There's a lot of aftermarket replacements, but the sheet metal is typically thinner and often doesn't fit quite correctly. Also, look for a car that is as original as possible. After many decades, it's hard to find one that hasn't been modified in one form or another by the many previous owners. I actually worry about engine and mechanicals last, since the car is pretty easy to work on, and fixing that stuff is easier than bodywork.

If you haven't found it already, check out thesamba.com. It's pretty much the go-to forum for air cooled VW's.

Avoid the autostick ones.

I put a lot of miles on a Beetle back in high school in the 70s - it belonged to my sister and was great fun to drive in spite of the woeful lack of power. I loved the sound of the engine and exhaust, don't know why because objectively it was pretty sad - kind of a combination of a police whistle full of slobber and a long underwater fart.

It was GREAT fun on the washboard gravel roads in our rural area, I would zip around like a rally driver while we had cool weather and I had it offroad quite a bit too. But when it got hot, without AC it was a pretty miserable ride in the Texas heat on those gravel roads - with the windows down it was caliche dust city. Spent a lot of time baking in that inimitable Beetle aroma which supposedly stemmed from horsehair padding in the seats.

I don't recall really having to do much at all to it mechanically - it was a pretty solid little car. Surprisingly tight and responsive considering its age and the way we drove it. I'd love to have one to play with now.

They used to show that 1973 Woody Allen movie "Sleeper", where they find a Beetle in a cave after about 100 years and it still starts and runs --- having driven a Beetle back then it didn't seem all that far-fetched.

There were also a few kids that drove them in our high school as their primary vehicles, most of them were fixed up like the "Baja" bugs you see (probably because of the "Herbie the Love Bug" craze). I remember there were a couple of them that would show up at the 1/8th mile drag strip and actually won a good few races, back then I was more into V8 power so I don't know what they did to those bugs to make them quick but they really did scoot.

If you get one, I bet you will have a hell of a lot of fun with it.

Drenched in sweat and smelling oil.....still I say go for it.