240D vs. VW Beetle
 

240D vs. VW Beetle, Which was faster, 240D or say, 1974 VW Beetle? Which is more reliable? We all know the 240D is much more comfortable and classy but the VW may be more reliable and easier to maintain...VW Convertibles sell for more than 240D or 300D's nowadays...

if you can find a car more reliable than a well kept 240D it must be made on another planet.........
William Rogers.........

A Benz or a Bug? Hummm. I have often thought about how it was driving my "64"Bug from Wa to Ca and back years ago. Man was that a LONG trip. I got 33 MPG which is what I get with my 240D 5 spd and thats where the similarity ends. I dont know about which would be faster 0 to 60, thats a good question, I really never thought about that but I,ve often compared them both getting 30+ MPG and how nice it was to be riding in the Benz. :D I still love the Bug as Its been in the family since my wife had it in collage. IMO both car have been very reliable , laying on your back to adjust valves is no big deal and having a cooling system w/o water is good. I will keep both cars for a while.
:D

I have owned both....acceleration and top speed is probably a wash. The bug's aerodynamics were so bad it made highway driving in windy weather impractical. It's heating/defrost system was the pits. I've owned the 240D for 9 years and it is the most reliable car I have ever owned....no spark plugs or points to maintain; change the oil and fuel filters and drive.

Stevo, my first car was a green VW beetle that I bought from a friend in college $200. I rermember laying on my back adjusting valves, then adjusting points, paper gaskets on the oil screen filter, bleeding the brakes, changing the muffler, adjusting the wing nut on the clutch by removing the left rear tire. Used it a year and sold it for $275. It's amazing that your wife still owns it.

I learned to drive in a Bug. I have also spent time behind the wheel of a manny tranny 240.

Considering the Bug was designed when Rudy Ulenhaut was still a young man, I dont think its fair to compare these designs:) but that doesnt matter.

I would say they are about the same speed. The 240 is much more stable at speed for obvious reasons, while the bug might get off the line "faster."

As for longevity, I would say the 240 engine lasts longer, but at this age, its really just a matter of how much effort is put into keeping the car on the road. I mean, ANY car can go forever with enough $$.

I like both.

Mike

:cool:

My first car was a '74 Bug...it was a fun little car to drive around, but not practical, at least for me. It finally blew a piston after 2 months of driving...didn't like Pacheco Pass :confused:

I woudln't mind having another Bug (or better yet, a bus :D), but not as a vehicle that I'd have to depend on as a daily driver. The 300D does that job nicely thus far. :cool:

I can't imagine how this question could have ever even entered someones mind.

I drove a '68 Beetle 54,000 miles in a little less than two years. in late '69 through mid '71. I drove it all over Germany and occasionally into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. Even in the mild temperatures of Germany, it broke a compression ring on what else, number three cylinder. I then brought it back to Texas where it quickly died in the heat.

The maintenance and care required to keep Hitlers Revenge on the road was constant compared to a 240D. In fact, I'll bet that a 240D with no maintenance whatsoever except a 20,000 mile oil change interval would go at least twice as far as a well maintained, air cooled beetle.

A Beetle requires CONSTANT: oil changes, every 1,000 miles (no oil filter, just a screen,) Frequent valve adjustment (yes it's relatively easy, but if you leave them alone an exhaust valve will stretch until it opens and burns,) Ignition tuneup including points, plugs and a good going over about every 10,000 miles, Clutch and throttle cables frequently need attention or replacement, heater boxes rust off of the motor, snow melts off your shoes under the pedals and sticks the clutch pedal after refreezing overnight.

I could go on and on. The one saving grace if you were to want to drive a Beetle today is MOBIL ONE. The oils that we had when the Beetle was popular were not up to the job of handling the high oil temperature of this air cooled engine. If we had MOBIL ONE readily available, the engines would have been much longer lived, but the maintenance above would have still been necessary.

I'm not sure about a 240D, but I know that in a drag race, a Beetle would run off and leave the MB diesels of the late sixties. There were plenty of them in Germany in those days, so I know.

All that said, the Beetle was definitely stingy on fuel and a reasonably good utilitarian car for its day, but comparing a Beetle to an MB diesel is like comparing a Republican Gaurd soldier to a US Marine, no contest whatsoever IMHO.

Have a great day,

I had a 1965 VW Squareback 2000S all through college. European import. Pancake engine. Two carbs. Little rocket ship!

My father ignored the oil light and siezed the engine. Wish I could find another. Have never seen the 2000s anywhere else.

However, the ride in my Mercedes is no comparison.

Joe.

Edge
Sounds like this thread has stirred lots of memories. What a great "first car" for a kid to have and learn how to take care of.

My wife was coming home from school in the VW and coming off the freeway a little too fast, rolled over in the ice plant. :( a guy came along and helped her roll it back upright and away she went. :D A few years ago we had the top straightened out and the car repainted. Our daughter learned to drive in that car.
I gota admit I was a little disappointed when I first read the owners manual for the Benz as I expected it to be a little more informative. Maybe in the "60s" they were. The VW manual had all the maintenance jobs like valve adjustment, tune up , brake & clutch adjustment complete with good pics. Anyway its fun to hear all the VW stories.

Have one of each...
 

and what I like best about the 240D is that it is at the opposite end of the SAME continuum that starts with the VW (real) beetle.

Simple, durable, engineering design good to start with and refined over decades. Economical, great value for money. Parts available, and also a wealth of technical info exists on either car (because they "persist in the environment). If you can keep the mechanicals AND the cosmetics from going up at the same time, either can be a "perpetual" car.

Bought my '73 super beetle convertible new just out of college...have it still...have had 240D for 150,000 miles now.

Thinking about using an original Beetle as a "Perpetual Car" makes nicks and cuts appear all over my hands.

I'm not at all ready to go back to a car that requires such CONSTANT preventive maintenance in order to keep it on the road.

If that's your thing though, go for it.

Have a great day,

My Father had a 1962 VW Beetle. The kids in the neighborhood would lift up the car and place it sideways in the driveway so he couldn't get out. That really got him teed off. He would wait up at night to try to catch those responsible but he never did. We drove that car until 1975. countless miles since the odometer stopped around 200,000 in 1969.

Joe

Mine's never needed "constant" maintenance...
 

in fact, the air cooled VW and 240D diesel have 3,000 mile oil changes in common. I would suggest that a lot of the "constant" maintenance problems were worked out by '71 when the "super" beetle arrived.

JIm B+ said it right, they are at different ends of the same continium. I bet alot of 240D owners had VW's in their early years. The '74 Sun Bug was the last one I had. 'Bought it new for $2900. I loved the corduroy seats with brown tex on the side that felt like leather. I took it cross country twice, the odometer stopped working at 83,000. I never had to do anything except change the oil, points and plugs. In 1980 when I went to grad school in Phila, someone stole it and stripped it. The cops found it in the worse of Philadelphia neighborhoods and told be I had to move it! I remember going there at sundown on a rainy night with my wife. Scarry as hell, it looked like it was raped and my lady couldn't understand why I was taking time to close the sunroof. I loved that car, must have had 200,000 miles on it and I was going to keep it forever. I ending up selling it to $75 to a junkyard. Then I graduated to a 1965 911 Porsche which in the 911's first year alot of the parts when interchangable.

There's lots of ways to measure reliability. Which one can more reliably protect your life? Which would you choose to run head on into a brick wall at 50mph?

Both beetle and 240 pioneered "crumple zones"...
 

Had what would have been a fatal accident in my '73 beetle convertible when it was almost new...no engine block under the "hood" to transmit energy, so metal just crumpled and absorbed the impact.

There was a post with pix a week or so back of a guy whose daughter had totalled a 240 and walked away. You'll see this design referred to in the Mercedes sales and tech literature of the time.

They outlawed the Beetle in the US because of the windshield being so close to the driver.

There can be MUCH more preventive maintenance for a car than oil changes. If you ran a Beetle 3,000 miles between oil changes given the oil that we had in those days, you would have gotten lots of practice in such things as how to tuck the rings into the jugs and how to put pushrod tubes in place so that they don't leak and how to get those little rubber gaskets under the stupid oil cooler.

Additional preventive maintenance necessary on a beetle beyond that of a 240D would be: 3,000 mile valve adjustments (if you don't, an exhaust valve will often close up and burn, the exhaust valve heat STRETCHED the exhaust valves. That's why you had to adjust them so often so you could detect stretch. If you let it go too long, the head will break off,) plugs and points (when was the last time you replaced plugs and points on a 240D?) In the heat you best be changing the oil every 1,000 miles!!!!!!! Adjustment and replacement of clutch and throttle cables.

I think that it is quite normal for people to remember the GOOD things about the "Good ol' Days." These cars were NOT long term reliable cars. Anyone who was able to get 200,000 miles out of a Beetle engine was: CONSTANTLY adjusting valves, changing oil, doing ignition tuneups (points and plugs) and they were very dilligent at it. Additionally it would be MANDATORY to be in a mild climate, preferrably not in a hilly area and drive with a light foot if you were to reach such a Mammoth goal.

There was a section of Interstate built in the early seventies with a long hill that was on my daily path. Since Texas is relatively flat, long hills are unusual. I remember a number of times seeing vehicles that gave up while trying to climb that hill at seventy MPH. There were lots of VW Beetles beside the road near the top of that hill. That hill was just the final gallant effort for that valiant little air cooled lawn mower motor.

Have a great day,

The beetle was killed off in the US because of
 

the proliferation of low priced Japanese imports, increased emissions control equalling decreased performance, and a very bad rate of exchange between the DM and the $ that made keeping the model alive unprofitable. Starting in '71 the "super beetle" windshields were bowed out perhaps to increase the distance between the driver and the windshield...first time I've heard that argument, btw.

I bought my convertible new in '73, and had it pretty much restored two years ago. Had one engine rebuild at around 100,000 miles, but on a beetle even that is a pretty easy task.

I don't mean to suggest the beetle is anywhere near the equal of my 240D in many areas, especially durability (the MB was a more expensive car by something like a factor of 12). But both were "mature" designs that gave immense value for their price.

It's also a shame that these two designs had to die. One point on which I'm sure we'd agree is that the Rabbit and the 190 were no real replacements for the beetle and the 240D.

As for acceleration, etc....you needed to work with the limitations and the "quirks" of both the 240 and the VW to stay out of trouble. Similar skill set to learning to make a sailboat do what you want it to vs what nature wants it to.

I'm enjoying this discussion. Like comparing/contrasting the attributes of the early Fords vs. 1920s Packards and Lincolns.

Wow, Jim B+, I find it amazing that you kept your convertible all these years. I recall in 1979 when I was living in Phila, the local VW dealer was advertising a white on white convertible in it's last production year. Tempted, but I couldn't afford it at the time. Always wanted a white on white convertible, never bought one.

Mine's "Bahia Red," with a black top
 

.

EPA killed the bug
 

Actually, my understanding is the EPA was to blame for ending the bug's life cylce in the US. They had too much hydrocarbon emissions because of it being an air-cooled engine. '79 marked the last year of the bug in the US and that matches up with newly instituted EPA emission requirements and testing timeframe. I had my first bug as a student in college. I've no idea how many miles I put on her before trading it in on a car with AC but, I do know that for $1000, I could overhaul the engine, transmission, brakes, new seats and repaint the car. I've only gotten started with repairs to my MB and I'm half way there. I must admit, though, I would hate to give up my MB as a daily driver though.

Tim

Tim, that's alot miles on your SD, how many have you put on and what repairs/update have you done?

Well, Edge,

I've only put about 10K miles on it myself. I bought it at the beginning of this year. I've spent about $300 in fluid leaks alone. Oil cooling lines, tranmission modulator valve, front wheel bearings, vacuum pump, Turbo return line leaks, vacuum lines out the whaazoo, breather assembly mounts, motor mounts, ACC vacuum elements. I'm still chasing leaks but have got them down to a managable level. When I bought her, she leaked everything except brake fluid and windshield washer fluid. Now I've got it peared down to an oil leak from the oil filter housing and front main seal on the transmission.

Outstanding things that need yet to be done are, replace gasket on above mentioned oil filter housing to block, replace EGR valve, front seal on transmission, flex plates on drive-line, timing chain and tensioner, fix cruise control, ACC controls (mostly defrost air regardless of setting, however heat cylces like it should), brake job, valve adjustment with VC gasket, rubber hose coupling between water pump and thermostat housing, rebuild seats, repair window regulators on both back windows, muffler. That's all that comes to mind immediately. It's enough, though.

Cheers,
Tim

The five cylinder versions of the 123 are NOT the economy cars. There are just too many gadgets and stuff to break on them. Most all these gadgets are EXPENSIVE to repair.

The manual transmission 240D version, on the other hand, is simple, easy to work on, fuel efficient and if well cared for can be run to the half million mile mark.

Even though both of these cars LOOK the same, they are about as different as the 240D and the beetle.

Yes, the parts for Beetles were and ARE cheap. They made MANY more of them than most any MB ever made. There is economy in numbers. It's a good thing that parts are cheap for the Beetle since they are needed so often.

Have a great day,

No the 240D and VW Beetle did NOT pioneer the crumple zones.

The Fintails were the First Production cars ever to have the front and rear crumple zones.
Bela Berenyi (Sp?) was the engineer that conceived it for Mercedes in 1955.
Finbacks were probably The safest cars to have in the early 60's.

Also I seem to remember as a young child riding in the back of moms, (now Mine) 76 300D on the freeways of Los Angeles, seeing VW beetles (not to mention buses) pulled off to the side with the hoods, or side panels or whatever open, white smoke wafting out with sweaty grease covered owners peering inside in disgust.

Larry
 

I have to agree!

Thank god you swayed me in the direction of the 240D with a 4 spd manual! I learned to drive a manual trans. car, and it saves me and my pop a lot of grief when we have to repair the car. Extremely easy to repair! So easy, I've been replacing random interior parts, power window buttons etc with stuff from scrap cars. Its like getting a new car everytime! Put a little Zymol on thw white paint job, and she shines beautiful. Only about three moderately bad" rust spots on the car, but those will be fixed in the summer.

240D for ever!

Next on list:
Rust repair
Oil Pressure Gauge
Thermostat+ coolant flush.
Oil change this sunday
Interior wood trim replacement
Engine bay repainting: touch up

VW Beetle Convertible
 

I saw the new Beetle Convertible in the showroom the other day. The build quality of the body looks excellent. Is that Karmann Coachworks? I'd like to get one used in a few years. Does anyone on this board have one?

YALL SURE GOT LARRY EXCITED !!!!!!!!!!!
 

:D "I can't imagine how this question could have ever even entered someones mind" ---Larry Bible
THis was my first thought also....

Having been a VW/KarmanGhia driver for about 15 years I know that what Larry said about Constant maintenance was true.. maybe even an understatement ..... :D

I still own a 1952 MGTD replica ( Fiberfab migi ll ) on a VW chassis...Which I built in 1980....

I don't know about the people up north... but what killed the VW down here was the quality of the Japanese water cooled cars which would run an air conditioner without overheating the engine....

The VW had some major problems when compared to them.....
1. too loud without water around the jugs to quiet them
2. not enough power to run an air conditioner
3. average 6 to 10k on a set of jugs
4. no dependable electronic ignition
5. 200 ft lb single nut holding the flywheel on
5. carb which would start leaking at the throttle valve stem
6. terrible heating system in the winter
7. no screw on oil filter
8. valve covers held on with weakening spring holders (leak)
9. oil pump which had to be pulled from case to replace
10. No oil lubrication on the cam lobes at idle....(Don't Idle !)

Now, the question is how to fix ALL those things.... GET A SUBARU 1800 pushrod engine... The president of VW was hired by Fuji Motor Co ... that is who developed the sube engine....

Now, a VW with a Sube 1800 pushrod ( 81 horsepower ) transplanted into it ... no question it would be fast and much more dependable...

Can you guess what is going into my MGTD replica ? I have three on the property.... and the one with the Weber carb is amazingling fast......

You both are so right, but I never had any trouble on my '74 VW. The new convert is sweet, 'tho.

maintenance
 

I've owned a 61 VW bus for 10 years now. I have to agree that maintenance is a constant thing on old VW's. But at least it is easily done. I am currently in the process of putting a rebuilt engine in my VW and also putting a good used engine in my 79 TD. The VW engine was out in 35 minutes working alone. The 5 Cyl diesel.... not that easy. At least the Mercedes engine almost never needs to come out, compared to the VW, which comes out every other year on average.

Bottom line is that I love both cars, and would not get rid of either one.

Denis

:confused:

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

That answers a question that has been in the back of my mind for 25 years: Why does a Subaru look like a front engined watercooled VW?

VeeDub VS EmBee
 

How to keep your Volkswagen alive for the complete idiot and a $19.00 tool set from Grand Auto were all I needed to extend the life of my '59 VW back in the late 60's. I remember commuting from Chico State to Reno and I'd pat the little guy on the "dashboard" when we'd make it over Donner Summit -7200 feet, 'cause it was all downhill from there to town.

No gas gauge but I had the coolest 8 track. Could drop the 36 horse engine on my belly in about 45 minutes with two (trusty) roomates lifting the back end up and over. Numerous burnt valves, broken fan belts, worn clutches, sheared pulleys plus dozens of valve adjustments and oil changes. Maybe it was the 36 horse engine but it was the simplest thing I've ever worked on.

Even if I could find two guys to lift the 300D up and over I don't think I wanna try dropping the 5 cylinder turbo on by belly!. There's no comparison between the VW and a MB 123 but, as someone said, it brings back the memories.

WOW!!!!!!!!! You mean there is a kit to put a Subaru into a Beetle?!?!?!!?!

I tried to search KEP and came up dry. Anyone have any URL's for info on this conversion???????

WOW!!!!!!! This is the necessary ingredient to make a decent bug!

Thanks,

Absolutely Larry, I will find the url for you ... however , it has been posted on the forum.. so a search may find it.. when we were talking about adapter for 5 speed....

"This is the necessary ingredient to make a decent bug!" I have been dreaming about this for 15 years.... :D

Kerry , That is exactly the reason... it is the " corrected" VW engine . The nice thing about using it to transplant into a VW bug (or bus) chassis... is that the motormounts were actually transmission mounts... and were designed for the same direction vibration which the sube engine has ( since they are both flat fours)....
KEP makes the adapters to bolt them in...
and two more things.... it weighs less than the original VW engine... ( due to the cast iron heatexchangers for the heater) and uses less space ( due to not needing metal ductwork to move air to the right places for cooling ).

"New" VW and "new" MBs...
 

the value of say an air-cooled VW and a 240D is that they are MECHANICAL beings that can be maintained, fixed, and kept roadworthy forever, given their simplicity and abundance of cheap parts.

New VWs and MBs are different beasts...deeply computer reliant, lots of parts to wear out that only the dealer can replace...in short...just like all other cars today.

A well-maintained VW air-cooled or MB 240D could well be the last "perpetual cars" made to last forever. A VW or MB today that's just a few years old is just about ready to cut loose with a ton of electronic and maintenance problems that will be expensive to address, no matter how well either car has been taken care of. They're meant to be "disposable."

BTW...replacement parts available for air cooled beetles can be actually many times better than what was there when new.

This sounds like a thread I should be in, but dealing with some work issues right now. I'll be back!

KEP
 

Is this it?

K.E.P.

JimB+, Amen .
Rivermasternc, Ok , we will wait....
Dave, "for the complete idiot " ... a really great book....the 36 hp engine had a better track record down here in the heat than the later 1600's... the best combo was the 1500 with singleport heads for cooling... I had an aunt and uncle that put 200,000 miles on a 1960 VW .. and a whole lot on their bus of close to that year... but SLOW.... LOL.. but traffic was not what it is now...
Dave, "no fuel guage"....LOL... I went 8 years without one in my karmanGhia.. studied that sucker for years.. finally went to designing a substitute from Radio Shack parts..... I still don't understand how a ball in a slick tube can transmit any good information about fuel level... and sure enough,, mine did NOT...LOL
Rick, Yes, thanks... I had emailed Larry direct but should have posted it here for everyone....

Larry, you weren't thinking about a WRX engine in a bug were you ! maybe with a nice 5 speed 912 transaxel, I remember corvair and super 90 engines
neseled back there.
Here's my VW story.In 1967 I bought a 52 split
window $75.00 with a dissasembled 25 HP engine (that's right 25). In my persuit of looking for an engine I found a 53 356 Porsche coupe it had a decent body a great interior giant drum brakes and a white wire spoke steering wheel and a 36 horse VW power plant.
Should I put the 36 in the split window? I sold the split window (for a tidey prophet) to a couple of car builders who were going to build a drag car with it.
The 36 was much to slow for my snazzy 356 and not being able to afford a Porsche engine I went about trying to get more HP out of the 36 I first welded up and overly complex set of equal length headers (no muffler)god was it loud.I then found a Judson supercharger (guess that dates me)I re jeted the carb and instaled a larger oil pan and a transporter distributor witch had mecanical advance. It was no GTO eater but I drove it for years and loved it...........
William Rogers.........

When I was in high school (early sixties) there was a pro football player who owned the local VW dealership. (Leon Hart, Detroit Lions) He used to cruise around town in a VW bug with a Porsche engine, looking for kids with hot cars to race. It didn't take long before everybody got wise to the game, but I'm sure he had fun while it lasted.

LOL! A VW Bug is one of the last cars to be built to last forever? I guess anything would last forever if you're willing to spend all your time working on it.

I like the idea of the Subaru engine in a bug. If you can figure out where to put the radiator and heater core, it should be a fun project.

Thanks to leathermang for the links and info about Kennedy Engineering. I wonder if people would notice a bug that drives by SILENTLY! None of that pulsating whistling noise.

Have a great day,

My facination with this thread is the commonality of the persons. I often thought my progression from my very first car being a 1968 Beetle through VW watercooled diesel and gas and on to MB diesels was unique but made perfect sense to me. Apparently not so unique after all!

Thought I would include my sig from the Motorworks Forum:

-Scott

i also am a lunatic
 

my saga; vwubs, mostly convertabiles. last one a 73 ghia convertable. porsche alloys, koni shocks and extractor exhaust. around 250k miles with one did it myself rebuild on engine. sold last year with ad that claimed the car needed everything.

now on to the diesel saga. presently three. originally got the diesel kick about four years ago. the thought. buy a car for janko junior that was sooo slow that by the time he got it up to speed he would be there; noisey and stinky no one would ride with him. things do not always work as to plan. the bugger wants nothing to do with diesels. his loss.

Wow – what a thread, who would have, thunk it. Different strokes for the very same folks I guess. Something’s going on in the world that I’m just not tuned into – and I’m sure I don’t want to be. How can these cars be selling at the same price? Actually recycled Bugs are much more than well cared for Mercs – It’s what my kid calls the cool factor.
In 1976 I drove home a brand new Honda Civic with air and a radio for (don’t hold me to it) about $2,250. I loved it – actually dumped a 911 Targa – because the Honda just seemed, so right. It was better than a Bug in every way and they (both of them) seemed thicker than ticks back then. Where did those Hondas go – they were certainly reliable – Bugs are still everywhere around here. Of course around here means Bisbee AZ where trading in a Bug means giving into the hi-tech hypocrisy, Republicans aren’t on the ballot, and tie-died shirts and sandals worn by guys with beards and wearing skirts are common also.
Every time I open the hood and look at the back of the dash on my Bug I fall in love all over again, or just slide back that rag top sunroof, thinking about simple design – but damn that exhaust stinks. Then I get in the Merc – door closes like a safe – careful with that ignition switch, heater works – God, sooner or later I’ll have to get under this dash.
Ain’t it grand – maybe people just don’t know how good a deal you can get on one of these – lets keep it a secret because by God, it’s really a modern version of “The Kings New Suit of Clothes” –We gotta keep consumer spending up, or we’re all toast - Does $4,000 of the price of a new “Hummer” really just go to pay for all the advertising?????
Chan
http://www.managemoney.org

I am the present owner of both cars. However, at the moment, my 66 Bug is in the garage being put back together after a full restoration. I have found with Air cooled VWs and reliability, you get out what you put into it. My father's daily driver is a 1969 Bug that he restored a few years ago, and all he has to do is change the oil, adjust the valves and do the occasional tuneup. The car has been getting him to work everyday for almost 5 years. I used to drive a $600 1963 Bug, that I was working on every day, because I was (and still am) a poor high school student. My new bug has had no expense spared and shows it. It will be like a new car when it is finished.
As far as the 240D goes, I originally got it because I wanted a Benz and I wanted to learn about diesels. Well, now I know quite a bit about diesels, and I love the car, especially the heat, because Oregon is by no means warm. I also like the ability to haul people and stuff, and the sunroof is great to.
Bugs are gokarts, and are absolutely excellent for running through intown traffic at high rates of speed, however the Benz is great for trips.

And in a Drag race, the Bug would clobber a 240D in acceleration. I once outran a Nissan 280ZX with my 63.

The old bugs were great cars but I can go just as far on a gallon of fuel in comfort, safety and style in my 240Ds. I rebuilt the engine and restored our "64"VW a few years ago and it sits in the barn but will fire up any time we need it, thats gota be worth something. It was my wifes car when she was in school and she will never sell it. Grooon:)

Stevo...I'm impressed with your stable!
 

Last winter during a Washington DC super cold snap each of my three diesels "failed to proceed"...but my '73 bug convertible (bought new just out of college)...fired right up, even though I hadn't looked at it in MONTHS. DID keep the top up, tho.

Believe that the 240 and beetle are both on the continuum of almost perfect, simple cars. Try Rocky Mountain Motorworks for good VW bug parts.

Jim...."good VW bug parts"

When I did the work on our bug several years ago there were a couple places down in southern Ca where everything and everything could be gotten at a good price. I remember being amazed at how cheap a replacement fuel tank was. I will add Rocky Mountain Motorworks to my parts guys list. Thanks.

Hah ya, I guess my list of rolling stock shows I have a hard time getting rid of "good OLD stuff " ;)