VW Beetles (old air cooled)

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Savvy_Sue wrote: »

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However, better than the Hillman Imp ...

I had an Imp, brilliant car- 40 years ago, I wouldn't want one now


Apart from the rust that literally made the front wheels fall off, Hillman pioneered the cooling system failure later used in the Ford Ecoboost

Richard53

Very light at the front (basically empty space), very heavy at the back (engine and transaxle) means handling is unlike a modern car. In the wet, it is ridiculously easy to enter a corner a bit too quickly and find yourself facing the other way. Don't ask.


If you have reasonable skills and don't mind getting your hands dirty (and are prepared for *regular* maintenance) then a Beetle is a reasonable proposition for a daily driver. Certainly more reliable than most from the period.

bertiewhite

I could never see the attraction of beetles - I preferred 2CV's personally.

Soulginge

It all depends on how much money you want to spend on one. I have had 4 Beetles that I used as daily drivers over the years and I loved every minute; that being said, if I had bought one that someone else had thrown the money at in the first place, it wouldn't have cost me so much to run.

Beetles are only slow if you have a stock standard engine, there are plenty of aftermarket parts to build yourself and engine that will chase Porsches all day long, if you are so inclined. Or you can have one built.

If a Beetle has been nicely restored and properly painted and undersealed, rust and welding is no more an issue than for any other car.

Tax exemption is only on cars older than 1972; the older the car, the more it will cost to buy. Especially a restored one.

Classic car "inexpensive" insurance will usually be very limited mileage, because the presumption will be that as a classic, you won't be driving it much.

A nicely restored Bug with a well built engine will be in excess of £5000 - £7000 to buy, bearing in mind that there aren't as many around these days thanks to the scrappage scheme from a few years ago.

[Deleted User]

Top Gear ( the old and best with Clarkson etc ) is 100% correct. VW Beetle is up there as the worst car in the world.There is not one thing good about it apart from the sound of the air cooled engine. Lousy everything , brakes, heating, acceleration and 0 to 60, fuel economy, handling, reliability. Don t buy one , in fact don t buy any classic car, you will burn money and look stupid on the road driving the old heap. I had a Beetle back in the 1970 s and its leaking heat exchangers nearly killed me and gave me asthma. I ve had a few campervans too but I blame it on the stupidity of youth.. Never lost money on them .There was always a sucker willing to pay over the odds for one.
How can an air cooled car sell so well, in countries like Mexico and South America where its red hot meaning their puny fan pushing hot air past all the fins will simply make the engine overheat and die.
No wonder their god awful badly made air cooled engines don`t last too long.
On the 1600 s engines, the 4 bolts which hold each cylinder to the crankcase are just tapped and threaded into the Magnesium block, very weak, held to the block only by the strength of the Magnesium thread . Eventually they will start to pull out of the threads away from the block making the engine leak dangerous fumes into the cabin.. The larger engines, have a sensible nut at the end which stops that little trick ruining the engine and your lungs.
I blame the movie Herbie for its popularity. There can t possibly be any other explanation for such a poor design being so popular.
Morris Minors, who copied the Beetle style were much better all round
The old VW Campers are even worse and the most overpriced camper on the roads

Gloomendoom

facade wrote: »

Apart from the rust that literally made the front wheels fall off, Hillman pioneered the cooling system failure later used in the Ford Ecoboost

What was that?

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Gloomendoom wrote: »

What was that?

A tongue in cheek comment.:D
The imp engine was an all alloy, highly stressed little engine, that was well known for head gasket failure and cooling problems.
(somewhat like the ecoboost )


Unlike the ecoboost, Rootes knew they had a problem, and put a lot of money into a re-designed MKII engine that was a big improvement- mine never needed a head gasket whilst I had it.



It was actually designed as a portable engine for a fire pump, then it was developed into a racing engine.


The imp was the first car I had with this new fangled "synchromesh" on 1st gear :cool:

Richard53

bertiewhite wrote: »

I could never see the attraction of beetles - I preferred 2CV's personally.

Absolument, Monsieur! Moi aussi.

Gloomendoom

facade wrote: »

A tongue in cheek comment.:D
The imp engine was an all alloy, highly stressed little engine, that was well known for head gasket failure and cooling problems.
(somewhat like the ecoboost )


Unlike the ecoboost, Rootes knew they had a problem, and put a lot of money into a re-designed MKII engine that was a big improvement- mine never needed a head gasket whilst I had it.



It was actually designed as a portable engine for a fire pump, then it was developed into a racing engine.


The imp was the first car I had with this new fangled "synchromesh" on 1st gear :cool:

Ta. My grandparents had an Imp and never seemed to have a problem with it. It was a huge improvement over the Minis that they had owned up until then.

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Gloomendoom wrote: »

Ta. My grandparents had an Imp and never seemed to have a problem with it. It was a huge improvement over the Minis that they had owned up until then.

I felt the same, compared to the mini (which didn't have synchromesh on 1st) it seemed to zip along, handled like a little go-kart (in the dry) and parked easier. The ride was better too, likely the larger wheels.
The best bit was the rear widow lifted up and you threw your shopping straight onto the back seat.



I had 4 minis, wish I'd kept the last one, it went for scrap


Back on topic- there are a couple of beetles round here, and I sometimes see an old air-cooled camper on the way to work. All of them absolutely stink of petrol if you get behind them, I doubt if they get more than mid 20s to the gallon. I leave a massive space behind that camper, it always sounds like it is about to cut out at the lights, they must have an automatic choke that stays full on for miles.