NQ, The body is in generally good shape, but the JC Whitney body gaskets throughout have dried out and many of them need replacing. The biggest issues are with suspension and getting the engine running. It had this massive Weber carb on it that kept freezing the manifold, so I downgraded to something a little more manageable I found in a junk yard, and never could keep it running right thereafter. Specifically, it would sputter and stall at idle with the new carburetor, and none of the shade tree mechanic things I was used to adjusting would help. I removed it, more thoroughly cleaned. it and tried opening the jets a bit at local shop's recommendation, but it had zero effect. Now it's just sat for so long I cannot even get it started to play with it. Probably basic things to someone who knows what they are doing.
Thing is, even with the freeze-inducing Weber kludged on there, I put 80K miles on that motor back when the Bug was my only means of transportation. Nothing but timing and lots of oil changes over the years - all things I could handle with my trusty Muir manual. And who knows how many miles it had when I received it. You gotta really appreciate the engineering of these machines. We spent a lot of good hours together when it ran better. And I ran a lot better back then as well. :-) The rear also sags (um, the Bug's not mine so much yet). I know the front normally rides high, but this is a very noticeable drop in the back - to the point where I can feel in turns, but a couple local shops were no help. A shop on your land sounds heavenly, NQ. May your plans come to fruition, maybe with a picture of your grandpa on the wall! Eric > On Nov 3, 2021, at 4:56 PM, Lazlo <[email protected]> wrote: > > Oooooh a ragtop! What problems does it have? Are you needing help to get > the engine going or is it bodywork or both? I haven't driven my bug for > probably close to 10 years now and I need to get out Li'l Red and get him > going. My wife and I are planning to get a shop built on our acreage so that > at long last I can actually work on stuff. I want to get a 2 or 4 post lift > installed too so I can stand up. My grandpa was about 60 years old when he > finally got his shop built so I could potentially beat him by 10 years. He > got to enjoy his for about 30 years so maybe I've got 40 left? I dunno but I > can tell you it doesn't get any easier as you get older. :) > > NQ -- Visit the VintagVW archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vintagvw/216911B3-E53F-44FC-AAC3-3229E4CE7B8E%40uner.com.
