Old VW bugs...how many use them for 'exploring'

[finga]

Gidday all.
I was just thinking about the old beach buggy I used to have and the places it used to go to and the fun we used to have in it.
Does anybody still use the old bugs as a 4WD??
Cheers Scott

[wags on the water]

Scott, I saw a few rounding the bottom end of Moreton the other week. They seemed to be negotiating the soft sand pretty well.

[Kleyny]

i had a VW BAJA for around 3 years and i got to tell you it shamed allot of my mates 4bs on the beach;D

i only sold mine just before xmas.

if you want i can post some pointers what to look for when buying and things you can do to make it unstoppable and reliable.

here are a few piccies of mine

neil

[finga]

Ta mate :)
I used to have a Kalita bodied beach buggy and the beasty went everywhere in the beach and on the beach.
If there was mud 5 foot deep you just got a good speed up and she'd skim across like a stone.
A very sad day when they wouldn't register it in QLD so she had to go. :'(

The cook's daughter just had her bug trashed by some wankers and the insurance company gave it back to her. Apparently not worth the effort to take to the auctions so the cook and I brought it off her.
The bastards peed in the seats and in the petrol tank, slashed the seats, bashed the roof in so she'd hold about 50 litres of water, kicked each side in just behind the doors, ripped out all the wiring and blew the clutch.
So the cook and I have yet another project ::)

Anyways I was thinking of whether to turn her into a Baja or Cal look streeter.
Looks like the Cal look is going to be the go as the chromey's and Porsche hubcaps look pretty good on her.
I'll have to see if I can find a picture of the Kalita.
It was a ground up restore job. I found it in a backyard and the owners used it for a dog house.
I had a gander and the only pictures I had was in a magazine that it was in once. Sorry about quality :-[
Cheers then
Scott :)

[Kleyny]

what year is the beetle?
if you decide to go down the Baja root its allot easier to do if it is a torsion bar front end and not the McPherson (coil) front.

i have some spares left that you maybe of interest to you.
I'll have to look what i have left as i have had a bit of a clean up after i got rid of her. one thing i know for sure i have and thats 2X 7" wide 15" rims 4 stud (rare)
they will be going onto ebay if your not interested.
i also have some hubcaps (i think)

neil

[finga]

'64 matey.....5 stud :)

[Leighton]

A mate of mine in his you beaut Frontera got pulled out of a Bog up at Fraser by a Beetle. Poor bugger..it was 6 years ago and well still give him heaps about it

[Kleyny]

A mate of mine in his you beaut Frontera got pulled out of a Bog up at Fraser by a Beetle. Poor bugger..it was 6 years ago and well still give him heaps about it

a mate and i pushed high tide one day and i had to stop for him at least 4 times:) . the baja just sat on 70k like it was nothing, hitting the humps like i was on air. the funny thing was his wife told me that they were the VW recovery vehicle for the day. wasn't she embarrassed when i had to wait for them all the time.
i think i went through 20lts of fuel on the whole trip when he went through 60:P

finga, what motor is in it? disappointing about the 5 studder

did you know that Ken Brown has one (at least i think he still has it)

more horse power/ torque will set you back roughly $500 in the way of ratio rockers.

one thing i would have to say is a must and that is electronic points. For about $150 you never have to play with points again. (this is where the VW has a bad rep on reliability)

neil

[whichway]

Hi

1976 from memory is the pick (last of the locally released beetles) - Tortion bar front end and 4 joint rear end, but very rare - it's a bit of a pity to take one on the beach unless the body is stuffed.

Whichway

[blaze]

what about the country buggy, looked a bit like a old jeep. We floated one of those about 40meter through a water hole one day that the 4x4's could not get through. That had huge floation tyres on it and was the best thing I seen for beach driving.
cheers
blaze

[finga]

1500 twin port with the twin Kadrons.
What's the ratio rockers Neil??

My old bug was only a standard 1300 and went like the clappers.
The whole car only weighed 610kg with a full tank of fuel.
And handling...well if you just held the throttle flat it'll go or slide around any corner you like :)

Looks like there's a few VW fans here :D.
We've pretty well decided on the Cal. look for the bug (but who know's what'll happen next week??) as we use the Landy if we want to go bush.

[finga]

what about the country buggy, looked a bit like a old jeep. We floated one of those about 40meter through a water hole one day that the 4x4's could not get through. That had huge floation tyres on it and was the best thing I seen for beach driving.
cheers
blaze
Mate I just missed out on one of those years ago.
I went to turn the power off at a farm in the mountains behind Nimbin and the old cow cocky had one.
The new owner of the place didn't want any of the junk(??) laying around so Simsmetal got it. They destroyed the poor thing with the grabs :'(
Maybe Lucky Phil should have one?? ::)

[Kleyny]

ratio rockers in a nutshell replace the original rockers they open the valve earlier and close them later.
this in turn gives you more power, torque and the cam cuts in earlier. (it feels like you have put a bigger cam in it)
all you need to do is replace the rockers and measure and get the right length push rods. you dont even need to take the motor out.

a place to buy most of your VW parts is mick motors in northgate. they are friendly and good prices.

neil

[reidy]

air cooled,flat floor pan,light.The old Tassie poor mans (70s-early80s) fwd.
No coolant to freeze,ride over near anything,if it is stuck two could push or lift them out.
What more could you want.
Cheers
Reidy

[Kleyny]

air cooled,flat floor pan,light.The old Tassie poor mans (70s-early80s) fwd.
No coolant to freeze,ride over near anything,if it is stuck two could push or lift them out.
What more could you want.
Cheers
Reidy
just what i said all the time i had mine.
But unfortunately i ended up needing more. in the way of something to tow my boat.
My bug gave it a gallant effort but not quite good enough for longish trips.

neil

[reidy]

just what i said all the time i had mine.
But unfortunately i ended up needing more. in the way of something to tow my boat.
My bug gave it a gallant effort but not quite good enough for longish trips.

neil
To true Honky,Tassies hills tended to slow mine up a tad but never pulled a boat with her.
Memories dacca dacca dacca;D
Cheers
Reidy

[Little grey men]

Gotta love the bugs, I had a cal look bug. I painted it with cheese wiz orange two pack. Sparkled like mad in the sun. Chromed the standard wheels. Took the bumpers off, sank it right to the ground. Fitted out the interior with black leather and a stereo loud enough to wake the dead.
My mates didn't really understand why I did up a bug, but a lot of girls would come up to it and say....ohhhh, what a cute looking car...and I would answer.....yes....... yes it is.

[Kleyny]

although i only just got rid of mine i regret it as you couldnt beat it for an around town fun car.

neil