Ray - the model year for VW ran from July of one year to the June of the next. So to have a May of 73 tag would make it a 72 model year. It's a weird one for sure and I'll take a photo of it next time I'm out where I keep it. The 71 and 72 Supers have a beefier suspension up front and as far as the lowerability goes, I think the 71 and 72's are the best years for that if you're going to lower them. I'm going to check the VIN numbers and make sure they match next time I go out there. It's a shame it got t-boned. It hit so hard, the cross brace under the back seat shoved the opposite side of the body out and off the pan. Surprisingly, the pan appears okay. The impact was so great, it knocked the driver's side rear quarter out of the frame. (It got hit on this side.) Despite it all, it towed beautifully.
It's a great parts donor - great shape glass, good engine, 4 decent tires, etc. I like my Supers. :) NQ ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 8:27 PM Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Weird Super Beetle > Hey NQ > > > Another great story. Also I am more impressed with your wife each story I > read! > > > Don't know much about supers but sounds like it could be a 73 model? That > would account for the date, the curved windshield and the regular bumper > brackets which were still used on 73s. > > > Ray > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: No Quarter <[email protected]> > To: Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List <[email protected]> > Sent: Sat, Jul 21, 2012 7:54 pm > Subject: [vintagvw] Weird Super Beetle > > > Hey gang. Been a long time since I've posted, but I had to share this > story. > My wife and I found a $200 5/73 Super Beetle. It looked pretty decent > except it > was hit really hard in the side. It has just over 86,000 original miles > and was > a running driver at the time it was hit. It was parked in a shed and then > a > tornado came and lifted the house, machine shed, and trees and threw them > 2 > miles away. The beetle just stayed behind as if nothing had happened. > There is > typical Nebraska rust, but for $200, I figured the engine (it's a runner) > is > worth at least that! :) > > Now my wife suggested we flat tow it back home and I'm not a big advocate > of > that, but you gotta do what you gotta do. We flat-towed a beetle from > Kansas > City back home last October so I figured this 40+ mile run was nothing > compared > to the 200 miler we did. We towed with a 1999 Ford Contour with a 4 > cylinder > engine. As long as you turn the overdrive off, it goes quite well. We > drove to > Hartington, NE to attend the Firehouse rock concert yesterday and so today > on > the way back, in 100 degree heat, we drove to the farm that held the > beetle. > One tire was off the bead, but my wife helped me put a strap around the > tire > after I removed it and we hit it with air from the air bubble and we > beheld a > minor miracle as the tire took air with little effort! It took almost all > 35 > psi to get it to snap into place on the rim, but it held. We did have to > drive > 10 miles one way to buy longer bolts so I could get the adapter plate > bolted up > underneath to hook the towbar to, but hey - 90! > minutes later, we managed to get it 45 miles back home via gravel and > black-top road in the heat. > > Now here is the weird thing about the beetle. I was underneath the front, > mounting the adapter plate, and I thought - gee this is 71/72 Super Beetle > suspension under here. I know because it's a solid cast lower arm and not > the > little double I-beam of stamped metal like my 74 has. The bumpers have > the > solid brackets like the 71 and 72 Super Beetles have (not the > energy-absorbing > ones). What makes this weird though is that even though everything > underneath > is 71/72 Super Beetle, it has the curved windshield and larger dash. Now > that > is weird for sure. Since the date code on the door jamb is 5/73, that > would > mean they put a new body on an old pan. The only thing I didn't check is > if > someone took a later model super and mounted it on an earlier pan. The > car has > been repainted orange, but it was orange over orange but the story goes > that it > was a 1-owner car before the kid had it for 2 weeks and got t-boned. > Anyway, I > believe the seats are 71/72 style as well. So it's m! > y guess, that maybe the factory ran out of 71/72 bodies, but still had > existing > rolling pans to use up before the changeover so they just bolted it on and > kept > rolling them. Technically, this would have a been a 1972 Model year > beetle, but > with the curved windshield, it really is a bastard Super Beetle. > > Has anyone ever run across anything like this before? > > NQ > _______________________________________________ > vintagvw site list > [email protected] > http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw > > > _______________________________________________ > vintagvw site list > [email protected] > http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
