Ryan Weaver’s 1973 VW Super Beetle

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I checked and “The Lounge” is for “off topic discussions not directly pertaining to Supercars/Musclecars”

This is about as off topic as possible.

April 30th 1973 Gunter Templin bought an Orange 1973 Super Beetle. His Neighbor Leonardo Santamaria bought the Beetle from Gunter Nov 18, 1988, and later Leo sold it to his daughter Lucia June 14,2014, Fast forward to Aug 20, 2021 and I became the fourth owner of this happy car.

The condition is very good for a car that has lived in a Windsor and Cambridge Ontario it’s whole life.

I have lots of little TLC items to improve but overall she’s a nice driver and I intend to do just that!!!

I have felt for a long time I want to try driving a vintage car every day….. Let’s see how this goes….

My kids are both in University this year so get the 2006 Matrix I bought to keep them away from Amy’s new CX-30 SUV. The Matrix will be my winter car and if the Beetle is not wanting to start.

At first I thought the colour was too flashy for me…. But as soon as I saw it up close I fell in love. (Gunter painted it blue at one point and both families forced him to have it sanded to bare metal and painted orange again:-)

Options: none

Extras: Spare trans, 3 boxes of items, plus a 75 HP 1600 rebuilt engine complete and its on a run stand :-)

I took the Cutlass for a rip today, picked up my father in law and took him for a cruise. I need to make sure she doesn’t get jealous

[XXXGoldL34M20]

Congrats Ryan on the new Toy ENJOY !!

[Postsedan]

Beetles are Ultra Fun!

Enjoy :)

Dan

[Lynn]

I drove a 66 Bug briefly. Sold it to my school teacher cousin. She drove it for years.

I don't know how much, if any, the heater was improved between 66 and 73.

Seeing that you will be driving in Canadian winters, you better hope there is a lot of improvement in that 7 years!!
Driving it to MCACN?

[BJCHEV396]

Beetles are cool Ryan! Congrats and enjoy your new ride!

[Postsedan]

I drove a 66 Bug briefly. Sold it to my school teacher cousin. She drove it for years.

I don't know how much, if any, the heater was improved between 66 and 73.

Seeing that you will be driving in Canadian winters, you better hope there is a lot of improvement in that 7 years!!
Driving it to MCACN?

Ryan has vowed to not allow this Beetle, to see moisture, rain, water, dew, snow or any Canadian winters.....but I bet his Beetle is currently sitting outside right now, while a heavy rain storm is heading his way in the morning.
There is a reason why 78% of Beetles live in California and 1.5% live in Canada.

Keep this Beetle Happy :)

Dan

[L78M22Rag]

He shoots, he scores… an empty net goal! ;-)

I’ll bet you’ll make a lot of fun memories in that beetle. Congrats and enjoy!

[olredalert]

----Good for you, Ryan! Looks like you found a good one. Now you can start going to Beetle events.....Bill S

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Ryan has vowed to not allow this Beetle, to see moisture, rain, water, dew, snow or any Canadian winters.....but I bet his Beetle is currently sitting outside right now, while a heavy rain storm is heading his way in the morning.
There is a reason why 78% of Beetles live in California and 1.5% live in Canada.

Keep this Beetle Happy :)

Dan

No snow or salt roads for sure.

I can’t promise no dew :-)

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

----Good for you, Ryan! Looks like you found a good one. Now you can start going to Beetle events.....Bill S

I sure am interested to go to a few VW events!! So far each person I met while looking for or at bugs has been super nice!!

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Some more detailed photos

Ryan W31

[Postsedan]

This is where you need to hang out....The Samba is Best VW Website.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

Do not sign up as: Ryan1969Chevelle.....instead do: Ryan1973SuperBeetle :)

Have fun!

Dan

[Postsedan]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2477408

You need one of these?

Dan

[Bill Pritchard]

Congrats Ryan! My brother bought a brand new 72 Beetle the same color. One morning when I was leaving to go to work I was coasting backwards down our driveway (it had a slight incline down to the street) in my 70 Z28 and ran right into the front of his Beetle which was parked in the driveway near the street. Guess I was still half asleep!

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

This is where you need to hang out....The Samba is Best VW Website.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

Do not sign up as: Ryan1969Chevelle.....instead do: Ryan1973SuperBeetle :)

Have fun!

Dan



I signed up as Ryan1969Chevelle :-)


Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2477408

You need one of these?

Dan


I have to go through the boxes of parts, and glove box first. TBD.


I do need an Assembly Manual/Maintenance Manual for sure.


Ryan W31.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

RamblerDealer will pick up the Beetle on Monday and take it to a trusted local mechanic (I worked with him when I was 13 :-) ) for a safety check.


If it only needs a few items he will do them and get it on the road right away, if it needs a laundry list I'll take it home and work away at them myself.


I learned that the extra engine is an AH code ERG 1973/1974 1600 cc for US market engine.


I'm looking for 5 stock 15' X 4.5" 4 X 140 rims and hub caps. If the tires need replaced I want to put the new ones on rims that look better. I don't like the sport rims at all YUK!! Also if new tires are needed I will try very hard to get white walls!!!!


Ryan W31.


Picture is of an example Super beetle with the rims, hub caps, and white walls I want.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Terry brought my Beetle home.

There is a list of items to do to get it safetied

I had a good look over the car, took off a few doo dads and cleaned it up a bit.

Item number one is brakes, then the drivers seat kind of falls out of the car if you look at it wrong :-)

I have a team coming from Germany to my work soon, I might recruit them to help in the evenings :-)

Ryan W31/VW.

[southernfriedcj]

Love that Bug!

I was with my father when he bought a orange on black Beetle off the showroom floor in Louisville, KY in 1970 or '71.

I always thought it was cool that I could listen to the radio in the driveway with no key in the ignition.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Love that Bug!

I was with my father when he bought a orange on black Beetle off the showroom floor in Louisville, KY in 1970 or '71.

I always thought it was cool that I could listen to the radio in the driveway with no key in the ignition.

I’ll have to try that….

Ryan W31

[mssl72]

Very cool! My first car was a '63 Beetle. I might have a picture of it somewhere. Fun cars. I parted with it a long time ago. I wonder where it is now???:hmmm:

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Very cool! My first car was a '63 Beetle. I might have a picture of it somewhere. Fun cars. I parted with it a long time ago. I wonder where it is now???:hmmm:

The older the bug the more cool they are… also the more valuable. (That’s why I went for a seventies Super Beetle)

Ryan W31

[x33rs]

I think you'll find that to be a fun little car Ryan. My son has a 65 with sunroof he drove back and forth to college. I find myself driving it when I can. We built a stout little 1835 with ported heads and dual webers and it suddenly became much more fun to drive, almost go cart like. They make hilarious sleepers.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I think you'll find that to be a fun little car Ryan. My son has a 65 with sunroof he drove back and forth to college. I find myself driving it when I can. We built a stout little 1835 with ported heads and dual webers and it suddenly became much more fun to drive, almost go cart like. They make hilarious sleepers.

I was very tempted to buy a 72 Super with a 2200 rat rod bug, but passed and went for a driver.

[Xplantdad]

I think you'll find that to be a fun little car Ryan. My son has a 65 with sunroof he drove back and forth to college. I find myself driving it when I can. We built a stout little 1835 with ported heads and dual webers and it suddenly became much more fun to drive, almost go cart like. They make hilarious sleepers.


Mine was baby blue...and had an 1835 that was breathed on by Gene and Gary Berg. Definitely fun to drive....

[olredalert]

----My Volkswagoning was limited to a V-Dub Thing back about 1975-6. Have to admit it was a good summer cruiser on Cape Cod, sans doors, with the windshield folded down. Lots of fun!.....Bill S

[njsteve]

My wife always tells us the tale of her family's jellybean-green, early 1970's Beetle they had in Rochester NY area. In the winter, standard operating procedure was for the driver and passengers to lift and hold their feet off the floor when the car was in motion. If not, their sneakers would freeze to the floor boards due to the lack of interior heat.

Good times!

[mssl72]

Yeah, bugs were known for not being warm in the winter. I grew up in Rochester and remember using an ice scraper on the inside of the car on the windshield!

[69M22Z]

Yeah, bugs were known for not being warm in the winter. I grew up in Rochester and remember using an ice scraper on the inside of the car on the windshield!

Lol. Very funny now. Not so funny back then.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I plan to disconnect the gas connection from the heater.

Ryan W31

[Lynn]

Now see, that shows how little I know about Bugs after 1968 model year.

My 67-68 (long story) had no gas fired heater. It just used a series of shrouds around the engine designed to draw air into the cabin.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Now see, that shows how little I know about Bugs after 1968 model year.

My 67-68 (long story) had no gas fired heater. It just used a series of shrouds around the engine designed to draw air into the cabin.

I am totally new to VW. This car has the heat ducts from the engine but it also has the heater box under the “frunk” so it may or may not have a gas burner…… ?

If it does I will disconnect it. (Sold new in Ontario Canada and built in Germany)

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I spent the day disassembling and inspecting the brakes.

I plan to do a full brake job while I have it apart.

Flex lines, wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware kits, and turn the drums (as long as they have material left… they look very good)

What a fun day going all over the Beetle, I still can’t find any serious corrosion!!

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

PS: Wheel spacers and coil overs are on the chopping block

Ryan W-31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

It took me a while but I finally found what In-line Tube/Fusick are to Oldsmobile for VW.

California Import Parts 1 CIP1 free shipping over $100.00 and they have a business in British Columbia so in Canadian Dollars!!!!

My final parts have now arrived.

I ordered new backing plates as the original rears were a little beyond sandblast and paint. (The area on one around the wheel cylinder was slightly soft)

Now I can assemble the brakes, and replace any brake lines needed.

I need to step on it to get the car on the road before snow!!!

Ryan W31

PS: The milk truck is calling my name!!!

[wheelhop]

My dad drove a beetle when we were kids. We used to meet him at the entrance to our neighborhood and he'd give us a ride home standing on the side "steps / rockers" (not sure what they are called?) Nowadays they would probably take us into custody if you did something like that!

[Lynn]

Running Boards.

[mssl72]

My dad drove a beetle when we were kids. We used to meet him at the entrance to our neighborhood and he'd give us a ride home standing on the side "steps / rockers" (not sure what they are called?) Nowadays they would probably take us into custody if you did something like that!

Kids yes, adults no. The running boards weren't that strong, especially if you lived in the rust belt.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I got a bit of time working on the Beetle today.

Replaced park brake cables and assembled the rear brakes on one side.

Getting closer and closer.

I hope to have it ready for a drive or two before winter so it’s ready to go in the spring.

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Amy gave me a stainless steel roof rack for my Super Beetle :-)

Can’t wait to install this contraption!!!

My Mom works/volunteers at a local “new to you” store,
She will keep an eye out for vintage leather suit cases or a Coke cooler or similar items to lash to my new rack :-)

Ryan W31

[olredalert]

----Ryan,,,Jan found a wicker picnic kit at some antique store and it looks great on the small rack on her Fiat 500 Jolly. Keep on the lookout on E-bay, maybe as it's cool!.....Bill S

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

----Ryan,,,Jan found a wicker picnic kit at some antique store and it looks great on the small rack on her Fiat 500 Jolly. Keep on the lookout on E-bay, maybe as it's cool!.....Bill S

That Jolly is over the top cute!!

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

My VW is headed for certification tomorrow.


Should be all ready for spring.


Ryan W31.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Registered, plated, stickered, insured, waiting for the snow to end.


Just as I was ready to test drive it I found a huge gas leak so I replaced the tank, some lines, filter, etc. etc. to make the fuel system safe.


I also got wheels and hub caps (the caps were a mess so I used Evaporust on them and then Chrome polish... they came out quite well. I still need to restore the wheels.


Ryan W31.

[Woj]

Get ready to have fun this spring and summer. Enjoy.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Here is a summary of the journey I have been on to try to make my Super beetle run "Superly".


I am frustrated yes but this has been I real learning experience. I had very limited knowledge of anything related to run issues, and tuning. and this has dragged me through the various systems needed to make an engine run multiple times.


Below is my introduction to the Samba :-)


Ryan W31




1973 Super Beetle RunIssues

Full disclose…… I am a Chevy guy who has turned into anOldsmobile guy, and now I am also a VW guy.

I researched and found that for me the best value, bestsuspension, least complexity would be an early Super Beetle.
I did a lot of work in the fall to make it reliable and roadworthy so I could drive it daily this summer…… tomorrow is June 1st andI am still not driving it…..

I started to try to make it run properly…… oh S#$%. Nojoy!


The Super has severalrun issues:


Poor low end acceleration


Hesitation IfI push the gas pedal even 25% down


Surging IfI drive a constant speed there is an underlying surge that happens


Stalling Notfrequent but sometimes depending on the tune


Backfire (exhaust) These are small but semi-frequent


It seems to run ok at higher rpm, but after I shift intosecond or third, or fourth it has barely enough power to keep going and notenough to go up a small grade.


I understand this car weighs 2000lbs and had 60 HP brand newso my expectations are in line with what it should run like…. I am notexpecting it to feel like my 1969 Cutlass S Sports Coupe W31 4 speed J


Full disclosure: I am not experienced with tuning cars, thisis new to me and something I very much want to learn. I did a ton of work to myCutlass but the tuning was done by an expert on a dyno.


I have done a lot of research, read 3 manuals that I nowown, reading articles in a VW magazine I now get, watching YouTube videos,calling car buddies to commiserate, and I have been posting every frustratingdetail on Facebook.


I shared the journey of my Cutlass restoration on Yenko.netso I am not new to forums but I have hesitated joining the Samba as my Superwas supposed to be a driver not a restoration/project…….. Well I feel I have anew project in the family, and I need some help.


Here are someobservations:


Noises: I don’t hear any “bad sounds” no rod knock, no valvetrain ticks, (normal mechanical lifter sounds) no bad vibrations, with thebreather off you can hear the air sucking sound typical of a carbureted engine.In general I don’t hear anything that draws my attention other than all the runproblems that are audible.


Smells: The car is slightly open to the outside world as Iremoved the gas heater in the “frunk” and have yet to seal up those holes. Thecar smells like it runs rich, smells like gas all the time. After a night ofworking on the car I need shower as I stink of exhaust and gas smell. (nottotally abnormal but excessive)


Leaks: It drips a little bit of engine oil but not much. Ihave to check the trans gear lube level (I now have a 17mm socket driver)


Here is a list ofmain items I have done.


Engine:


Oil change: I used the good stuff, Brad Penn Muscle Car oil10W40 and some snake oyl Sea Foam (I am getting desperate if I use BS likethis) I got new gasket set and flattened out the pan cover (now it doesn’t leakat that spot any more)


Compression test: I bought a compression checker and testedall four cylinders. The manual spec is each cylinder needs to be over 100 psiand the difference should be less than 20 or so between cylinders.


Cylinder #1 = 115, #2 = 125, #3 = 120, #4 = 115


I take this to mean the cylinders, pistons, and valves arefunctional.


I checked clearance at TDC of each rocker arm, all are inspec 0.006”


Ignition:


I read many articles and watched many videos that said theSolex 34 PICT 34-3 and the 009 distributor is a bad match and make a dead spotoff idle so I went all in and ordered an entire new ignition system. New plugsChampion LC-68?


New wires Napa (the ones that match spark plugs with thesmall cap unthreaded/removed.


New Flame Thrower Pertronix Ignition from CIP1 PER-D186504 -PERTRONIX VACUUM ADVANCE (SVDA) DISTRIBUTOR - COMPLETE WITH IGNITOR IGNITIONMODULE INSTALLED - ALL BEETLE STYLE ENGINES


New Flame Thrower Coil ACC-C10-5842-BK - PERTRONIX 40511FLAME THROWER-1 BLACK COIL - 40,000 VOLT / 3.0 OHM


Measured battery voltage at 12.4 VDC, measured coil voltageat 11 VDC….. This bothers me… is this an issue? Is there a resister in thecircuit? I checked the wiring diagram in the manual and see no resister but whyis the voltage lower at the coil?


Pertronix provides a chart of the timing curve I need to verify this actuallyoccurs.


I have done exhaustive reading on how to set timing on theseengines, mostly as I did/do not know what I am doing. I made a pointer andtaped it to the pulley and have much to learn on this subject. I have used anonline calculator to calculate the distance on the circumference of the pulleyto each critical timing mark.


I took a spark plug out and verified TDC on #1 cylinder oncompression stroke. I am 99% sure the notch on the pulley is TDC. (In themanual it shows various years are marked differently, some have three notches,some have 2 some have 1, I am also sure the manual is stating that some years the notch is 7.5 BTDC but we will see)


I bought a spark plug tester to go inline and verify eachspark plug is actually firing but it matches normal spark plugs with the tipthreaded on them. I may modify it to suit… TBD. It would suck to find out afterall this that my four cylinder is running on 2 or 3 cylinders…..


I started to map out the advance curve.


2200 RPM 20 Degrees BTDC


Carburetion:


Disassembled the carb and rebuilt with a kit. I didn’t takethe butterfly out and left the cross shaft in place. C13-2500 - (111-198-569-U111198569U) - EMPI BRAND - CARBURETOR REBUILD KIT FOR SOLEX 28-34 PICTCARBURETORS ALL BEETLE / GHIA 61-74 BUS 61-71


The car came with a spare Solex 34 PICT 3 it seems like itwas new but old. (Issues stayed the same and some new ones arose so I swappedback)


I bought a low pressure gauge and teed into the fuel lineafter the fuel pump and saw 4 psi, very steady, I reved the engine up and itremained steady. This may be one psi higher than spec? Is this an issue?


I checked the choke function and set it so it leaves theupper butterfly open approx. ¼ inch.


I checked the accelerator pump function, it sprays nicelyand centered in the carb.


I pushed the float under water for 30 minutes and it didn’ttake on any water.


After rebuild I checked the needle and seat by blowing on itand pushing the pin back and forth, it works well. I used the proper thicknessspacer under the needle and seat using the chart in the rebuild kit.


I’ve adjusted the air and mixture screws on the carb manytimes, they don’t seem to do what they are supposed to, and I am very suspectof these. I have been told to make small adjustments and let it smooth out andthen make another ¼ turn….. I still don’t feel like these screws do anything…other than near the end of the thread the engine dies.


I have watched videos that say I should change the jets inthe carb to match todays fuel. 127.5 main jet, 60 idle jet on the side, and a 70 jet in the top underthe hat.???


Vacuum:


I checked for vacuum leaks as best I could. I sprayedflammable carb cleaner onto intake manifold gaskets, carb shafts, intakegaskets at the cylinder heads, etc.


The intake gaskets were the one item that were leaking so Ireplaced them.


I bought a vacuum gauge to use for troubleshooting, I seebetween 11 and 16 inches of mercury. I think 18-20 is proper?


One car friend says to use manifold vacuum, another says tuse the port on side of the carb. The manuals and videos show it on the side ofthe carb.


Testing:


I checked the engine rotates CW looking from behind. This iscritical when trying to find out where timing setting are with no marks.


I verified the firing order and each plug wire.


I found an old tach and dwell gauge in my Dad’s old tool boxand used it to measure rpm. I understand normal idle is 900 rpm





New notes:


I used a piston stop to find actual TDC it was close to thedent on the pulley closest to the rear bumper, and the notch on the sideclosest to the front bumper seems to be 5 ATDC


I marked out 0,7,20,28,30,32 on a tape on the pulley and willmap out the timing tonight.


I hooked up a tach (mine has a 4 cylinder scale) (ASHMAN40 Iread every single word of your replyJ)


I hooked up a vacuum gauge teed into manifold vacuum andalso ported vacuum from the port on the driver’s side of the carb,


I hooked up a timing light.


I warmed up the car so it came off the fast idle cam.


I removed the vacuum advance hose from the carb and pluggedthe vacuum port on the driver’s side in the middle of the carb.


I checked initial timing and it was set at 7-8 degrees BTDC.


I then used a basic timing light (not a modern unit withfeatures, just one with a trigger for on or off) to check the timing at 500 rpmincrements.


We were intending to map out the advance curve to see if itmatches the literature that comes with the distributor. IT DOES NOT!!


The timing stayed at 7-8 BTDC all the way up to 2500 rpm andthen started to advance a little bit. Between 2500 rpm and 3000 rpm the timingadvanced to 20 degrees BTDC, by 3000 rpm it was backfiring and begging formercy so bad I had to let up.


We then tested vacuum advance and as per the curve thevacuum advance provided 9 degrees of advance.


This testing to me says the centrifugal/mechanical advancedoes not work, and the vacuum advance does work.


I am working with Pertronix to send it for warrantyreplacement or repair TBD.

[RPOLS3]

Ugh - I feel your pain. Hang in there and keep digging.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Ugh - I feel your pain. Hang in there and keep digging.

If the Super Beetle had run nice right off the bat I wouldn’t know a lot of importance information!!!

Thanks.

Awaiting the warranty distributor…..

Ryan W31