If you keep it long enough.......

[JPB]

I think that the Hillman Imp demonstrates perfectly that front suspension can be by swing axles as crude as can be and it would still be the rear end of a rear engined car that made the difference. My candidate for best handling Beetle would have to be the one that introduced the Beetle to IRS; the 1500 auto. Struts that placed their load on the shell of a car with a separate chassis eliminated at a stroke one of the best things about the original VW front suspension, its refined nature and the feeling that you were driving a much bigger, dearer car thanks to the shell being less stressed, so quieter. That's how it always felt to me and one reason that I never fancied one with struts after that near-ideal 1500.
I liked the "pregnant" bugs just fine and at least the 1303s made sense of the structural mods to the shell by being stiffer than the 1302, but struts always were the production engineers' way and not the designers' way.

Would I jump on a super rare 1302 auto if one came along in the Gazzette classifieds among the usual Cortinas and similar things? Too darned right I would.

[bnicho]

In Aus all local Beetle production was stopped in late 1975. For 1976 only one model was offered. A fully imported "standard" Beetle with flat screen and torsion bar front, combined with the 1303 1600 engine and IRS rear end. So it was basically a 1500 Auto with a manual box and a 1600! Generally Aussie enthusiasts reckon this is the best model. Many of the pans from that model are now wearing an Oval window shell.

You are right, the strut cars are not as stiff as the torsion bar cars, so they are not as tough. I have seen several 1302 and 1303 with strut braces fitted to stiffen the front end. But having driven both my 1303 and a standard 76 on the same day, I did not notice any difference in noise. I guess like most things it's a matter of opinion.

My first car was almost a 76 Torsion/IRS Beetle. My work found more wrong with it than we expected, so we pulled out of the sale and I ended up with a 68 Mini instead. The same 76 Beetle showed up in a car yard near my in-laws place a few years ago. Photos of that 76 taken in 1990 on Polariod film.



Cheers,

[rich.]

never owned a beetle, yet..

[bnicho]

never owned a beetle, yet..

They actually make a good daily Classic. My only gripes are the cold running, which I cannot seem to get set exactly right for winter, and the rust which is slowly working its way through a couple of panels.

Cheers,

[rich.]

thanks!

[Martin Evans]

VW carburation was always a bit iffy. Of the VWs we had, the best fuel systems, were the Bosch K Jetronic types, on the Golf GTI and Scirocco Storms, followed by those on the base model Polos, that my mother had. Both Polos had manual chokes and seemed less problematic than the rest, that had automatic chokes (The 1976 Golf 1600 was the worst).

My father had a Type 2 Devon after the Variant and he recalls going along one Winters day and the thing wasn't going right. In order to keep the engine height lower, the Variant and the Camper had twin carbs. On this occasion, both carbs were shrouded in ice. No doubt the air cooling may have been a factor here.

Despite that, I say again that the build quality and finish, of the air cooled cars, was first rate. All of them were bought new, so we saw the finish first hand (Our cars were German built). They were certainly more rust resistant than other cars of the time. They weren't fast but they would provide maximum performance all day, if you wanted it. The early Golfs weren't as well made, as the air cooled cars but they weren't bad and were very competent cars. By the time the Mk2 Golf came along, quality had improved and I think that the GTI version I had, was in some ways the best overall car I ever owned.

[bnicho]

When mine is cold in winter it has a tendency to cut out at idle and hesitates under acceleration. But once warmed up (or in summer) it's fine.

It does feel very unstressed cruising at 100kph for hours on end and I have no issues keeping up with the traffic. I am very tired of the uncomfortable seats though. An upgrade there might be coming.

I would like to own a late injected Mk1 Golf Carbio someday (the model that was sold after the Mk11 was released. When I worked for the VW specialist I used to drive customers around in a black Mk11 GTi and it was great car.

Cheers,
Brett