Topic: Thinking of trading my 550 for a VW Bug?

[Short Round]

I have been thinking lately of trying to trade my 74 550 for an old VW Bug to restore.  Anyone know anyone who has one in the South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina area that wants to trade?

[StevieMac]

Trade a bike for a car    I whole heartedly disapprove of this transaction or the mention thereof.

[Short Round]

the 650 needs about $700 of crap done to it just to get it back on the road right now.  I got it for free from a friend and I am going to give it to another friend who owns a shop and he is going to fix it up and play with it.  I just really want to get back into the old Bugs.  I used to have a 71 Super Beetle that would knock you back in your seat.  Really I am timid on two wheels but obsessed with air cooled engines.  Sooooo the bikes are going.  

[cmorgan47]

Trade the 650 for a Karmann Ghia.

yeah, those are sweet. 
dig the ghia way more than the bug.

[Dennis]

......... obsessed with air cooled engines.  Sooooo the bikes are going. 

Hey! Your bikes have air cooled engines!!!

[nickjtc]

Having been down the VW road ('69 Squareback station wagon, '69 Beetle, '83 Rabbit Convert, 92 Golf) I can see why you hear the call.

Be prepared for as much emotional rollercoasting as you have had with the Honda. And be prepared to spend a lot more money!!

Send pics.

[Ratfink]

Thats funny, cause I just sold my 63 bug project to buy a 750.....

[cb650]

Traitor .     Whatever turns your aircooled crank .





                            Terry

[putnaja1]

I have a love/hate relationship with VWs..  I absolutely love the styling.  I started out with a 1973 Superbeetle, which was my parents, and it was stock.  Great car!!  Then owned a few different bugs, from 1969 to 1972, and suped them up to various different degrees.  My dad still has a VW kitcar of an MGTD that he made with a beetle frame and engine, the engine has been upgraded thoroughly with dual carbs, hydraulic lifters, oil filter, etc.

I then moved on to a Gulf which I liked a lot and drove the crap out of it, and had some mechanical adventures with while replacing the water pump, timing belt, brake master cylinder, rear wheel bearings, etc.  I also had to do LOTS of bodywork, as this car came from northeast and had terrible rust problems.  Next I owned an A3 Jetta, which was a nice car to drive and looked cool.  Slow as dogcrap though (wasn't the VR6) and the darn door trim would never stop falling off.

A girlfriend of mine bought a VR6 GTI in like 2002, and that car rocked, but had mechanical gremlins.  Also, a neighbor of mine bought a VW Toureg, but after bringing it home, it had to go to the shop continuously, until VW bought it back under the lemon law. 

I love VWs, but I don't think I'll buy another one any time soon..

[STL Hawkeye]

I can understand the liking for the early beetles also.  I had a '69 beetle that was great, and then a '70 after tahhauntil the transaxle went out in the early 80's.  Later in life I bought a new '97 Passat.  Last model of the old styling.  Loved the European look.  But lots of problems.

It's a shame a car with the simplicity and reliability of the old beetle isn't available any more...thanks Nader.

[Klark Kent]

so if i find a project beetle y ou will trade me for your daily runner 550?

ill do my best.  ill pay for shipping on the bike if you pay for shipping on the car 

more biking will make you less timid, not less biking
-KK

[Klark Kent]

It's a shame a car with the simplicity and reliability of the old beetle isn't available any more...thanks Nader.

i didnt think nader was responsible for liquid cooling and on board computers controling everything.  i think that was the japanese- whos double edge sword created or bikes and then kept on "inovating"  at least they still appreciate our bikes enough to still make parts.  gotta respect MF'n dedication to quality there.  what gets my goat is the built in obsolescence of american inovation.  why not make that money buy building machines that need replacement parts because they rn forever?  short term western though will be then end of our heyday.  but we will have the last laugh when we cause the nuclear apocolypse and everyone left has to learn how to work on simple air cooled engines than run on gas you and your band of primitive road warriors have stolen from weaker people.  gas prices, where we're going we don't need gas prices.

-KK

[Short Round]

Having been down the VW road ('69 Squareback station wagon, '69 Beetle, '83 Rabbit Convert, 92 Golf) I can see why you hear the call.

Be prepared for as much emotional rollercoasting as you have had with the Honda. And be prepared to spend a lot more money!!

Send pics.

Yeah I know the motor inside and out.  I had a 71 Super Beetle that was stock with 52k original miles on it.  A friend of mine and I pulled the motor and put as many bells and whistles on it as we could at the time (as I could afford, I was in ninth- tenth grade).  By the time I finished it.......85.5mm 1600cc Piston Kit, extra heavy duty oil pump, counterweighted crank, high flow fuel pump w/ return, high performance rocker shafts, racing lifters, cam gear valve lifters, ect. the list goes on and on... so I know about the emotional rollercoaster and really cant wait another min.  Now I am 24 and pretty much know the ins and outs of the motor and body repair(which body repair I had no clue about then) I am ready to get another one while I am taking a year off before Grad School.  
Oh and the 71 Super ended up locking the brakes up when i was going through a turn one rainy night doing about 35-40 and I wrapped it around a dog wood-fing totaled the front end of her.  Insurance was only going to give me $1300 and I told then to kiss it.  Tore her down to the frame in a couple weekends and sold her for parts.  Wish I never had now but what can you do.  Hind sight is 20/20.  So now its time to get another.  Oh and on a good note I think I found an old Honda enthusiast that is going to buy the bike from me so it not going to someone that doesn't appreciate it.  Got to go people- Chris

[ChrisR]

I can understand your enthusiam for the bugs as well. They are great machines. Dripping with character. I have a 71 flat screen super beetle as well now, as it happens, and it's my a daily driver. We got it while we were living in Sweden a couple of years ago (seem to be a lot of well cared for bugs to be found in Sweden - they call them 'Bubblas' there) and I love the fact that you can buy everything for it really cheap and fix it yourself. People love the car and it always brings a smile to your face when you drive it - our young son calls it our 'adventure car' because nice and interesting things always seem to happen to us when we got out in it. There is a good crowd of people who are into them as well - a bit like the old Hondas.
Can't you keep the Honda and get the beetle as well? You know you'll regret getting rid of the bike about five minutes after it disappears down the road
Have you seen John Muir's old book 'How to keep you Vw alive for ever' (or something like that)? That's the way to write a repair manual - totally eccentric! Lots of line drawings and precedures interspersed with thoughts on life and how to approach mechanical things in general. Its a great read.
 Good luck with the bug hunt.

[Short Round]

I would love to keep the Hond and get the Bug in the process, but a friend of mine foe about 5 years now past a week ago in a motorcycle acident, and it really has turned me off of riding on two wheels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I love these bikes but really cannot continue riding myself knowing how my friend died. 
      To me being on two wheels is great, I compete in road cycling, and mountain biking an on a monthly basis.  I ride my Fuji Roubaix atleast 100 miles a week, but motorcycles I think I am done with.  I feel better on 4 wheels and dont want to become a statistic riding one.   4 wheels seems to fit me more with my DRAG backgroung.  Hope yall understand, but its not for me.  I have been riding for 6 years now, but I think its time to stop, even if its in memory of my good friend..........hope all of you the best and I will keep contributing with tech posts, but as for riding I think i am finished.  4 wheels seems best for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[loonymoon]

Whatever floats your boat, shame you can't have both though! I've never been that keen on the beetles myself.. the styling is cool but in a practical sense there's notthat  much more space inside the cabin than there is in a traditional mini despite being a much bigger car. I had a mini once and it was a great fun car... I always had an ear to ear grin when driving it and I wish I still had it so I can definately see the appeal of an older style car. Car's these days are so soulless..

[DarkRider]

but we will have the last laugh when we cause the nuclear apocolypse and everyone left has to learn how to work on simple air cooled engines than run on gas you and your band of primitive road warriors have stolen from weaker people. gas prices, where we're going we don't need gas prices.

-KK

RoadWarror Fan much? lol But yea i can defenitly understand the appeal in the old bugs..my roomate has an old 68 Baja Bug that never sees any use...i think that thing has sat in one spot for the past 3 years at least. He has all these plans for it but never does anything with it...Myself and one other roomate want the car but he refuses to sell it..oh well i will just keep wrenching on my 1st Gen Cavalier Z24 then lol

[Klark Kent]

hey outlaw, that was taken out of context.  i sounded way crazier in my entirety.  on a more serious and hopefully constructive note.  I know people who have died in car accidents, and i see motorcycling as a way for me to hone my traffic skills so that i do not become a statistic on either my bike or  my car.  if a drunk guy is driving a truck and crosses the double yellow, i am dead no matter how many wheels i am on, and i think my bike is a great training tool for all the other situations i may be able to get myself out of.  maybe it's just me, no drag background, but i was starting to feel complacent behind the wheel when i started biking, and now i feel the same sense of focus and awareness even when i drive my car.  the good news is it is within your capabilities to keep biking and not be "a statistic" but the bad news is that you will die of something some day, and from the quality of your posts, i doubt it will be your fault.  good luck and long rides whatever you decide, in/on whatever vehicle is making you happy.
-KK

[STL Hawkeye]

It's a shame a car with the simplicity and reliability of the old beetle isn't available any more...thanks Nader.

i didnt think nader was responsible for liquid cooling and on board computers controling everything.  i think that was the japanese-
-KK

You're right - Nader wasn't responsible for liquid cooling and on-board computers.  However, his auto-safety crusade in the U.S. during the 60's and 70's, helped to create tougher emissions and safety policies, making it impossible to import the old Beetle to the U.S.  At the same time,  it was still on the market throughout the rest of the world for quite some time.  I believe if the original simplistic air-cooled rear engine beetle were reintroduced to the U.S. market today, many of the SUV loving soccer moms and dads would have one in their garage.  I think people are nostaligic for the intelligent simplistic design of the car.  That's why everyone is looking for the old ones to restore.

[Troy R]

Ok why I'm I the only one thinking Trike!!! Look three wheels the bast of both worlds. Front forks back into rear bug.Either way it's going to be expensive, But at lest you'll be ridin, and safe-comfortable; You know.

[BruceA cb550]

I saw a ghia with a mid engine small block chevy back in the early 90s.  That car would smoke just about anything on the road and looked awesome.

[nickjtc]

Ok why I'm I the only one thinking Trike!!! Look three wheels the bast of both worlds. Front forks back into rear bug.Either way it's going to be expensive, But at lest you'll be ridin, and safe-comfortable; You know.

That used to be 'the' thing to do in the early '70s. VW rear end with two huge tyres, attached to a long raked out front end with a skinny tyre. Cooool!!

[Klark Kent]

Ok why I'm I the only one thinking Trike!!! Look three wheels the bast of both worlds. Front forks back into rear bug.Either way it's going to be expensive, But at lest you'll be ridin, and safe-comfortable; You know.

That used to be 'the' thing to do in the early '70s. VW rear end with two huge tyres, attached to a long raked out front end with a skinny tyre. Cooool!!

pics!?
-KK