Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

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bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#11 Post by bnicho » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:31 pm

My original plan was to keep it mostly stock, but drop the nose a little (it's running with a nose-up attitude at the moment) and fit a set of chromed and slightly widened stock rims rather than alloys. However, chromed stockies are all but impossible to find in Aus now.

I've already added an aftermarket console which gives me somewhere to put my phone and a can of drink.

But the worst aspect of the car is the front seats. I find them highly uncomfortable, they are real back-killers on a long journey and you can slide right off them in roundabouts. The tilt mechanism for access to the rear only work when it feels like it. I picked up a pair of recaro-style seats from an 80's Corolla Levin to fit. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with though, I'd rather some more period buckets in black vynil so I'm still scanning eBay.

Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

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TriumphDriver
Posts: 182
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:48 pm

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#12 Post by TriumphDriver » Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:09 pm

Agreed with Luxo! Modded was interesting when it was rare, now it's a majority and a lot of owners do it because they believe it's expected of them. Keep it original, at least on the outside!
My posts are for debate and discussion, I'm not The Oracle!

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#13 Post by bnicho » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:30 pm

It seems Olive has found a couple of friends. Two shots from when I have returned after work recently:

Image

Image

I haven't seen another air-cooled VW in that carpark for about five years, then I see two in a month. The white Beetle has appeared again twice since. Have I started a trend? :D

Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

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Mrotwoman
Posts: 646
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:36 am
Location: We're gonna have a breakdance party,breakdance all night long.

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#14 Post by Mrotwoman » Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:08 am

It's a V-dub courting ritual,leave them to it and they'll have baby Karmann Ghias ;)
Have you forgotten that once we were brought here we were robbed of our names,robbed of our language,we lost our religion,our culture,our God? And many of us by the way we act,we even lost our minds.

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#15 Post by bnicho » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:07 am

Mrotwoman wrote:It's a V-dub courting ritual,leave them to it and they'll have baby Karmann Ghias ;)
That would be good, I could sell the "puppies" and be rich! :D
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

User avatar
Mrotwoman
Posts: 646
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:36 am
Location: We're gonna have a breakdance party,breakdance all night long.

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#16 Post by Mrotwoman » Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:24 pm

You might be stuck with the runt of the litter though.
Who said type 4 ? :lol:
Have you forgotten that once we were brought here we were robbed of our names,robbed of our language,we lost our religion,our culture,our God? And many of us by the way we act,we even lost our minds.

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#17 Post by bnicho » Tue May 24, 2011 1:50 am

Olive's choke has been acting up lately. If I manually put it on it will work perfectly, switching itself off automatically, but it won't come on again. This is odd, as these chokes usually fail in the "on" position rather than the off. I've had it all apart, cleaned it and greased and adjusted. But it's still not working right. It seems the spring in the element has lost tension.

On top of that, the clutch started slipping slightly last week. Yesterday on the way home from work it started slipping a lot. To the point where I could not use more than half throttle without slip. There is a bit of oil underneath so I'm suspecting the main seal has gone.

Oh well, the MR2 is coming off the sub bench. I haven't driven it in 8 months, poor thing!
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

hillminx
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 8:35 pm

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#18 Post by hillminx » Tue May 24, 2011 4:20 pm

nice beetle mate.

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#19 Post by bnicho » Sun May 29, 2011 5:40 am

hillminx wrote:nice beetle mate.
Thanks. It looks tidier in the pics than it actually is. It's living outside, so the rust is starting to spread and will need attention soon. If the Corona would sell I could put it inside!
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

bnicho
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:35 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Bnicho's 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle

#20 Post by bnicho » Sun May 29, 2011 9:21 am

Strange as it may seem, I find the performance quite adequate, when completely stock. The engine is original but it must have been rebuilt at some time, it will cruise at 110kph effortlessly and accelerate to 125 for overtaking.

It's only the handling and seating comfort factors that bother me.

I've got some 1" lowered front springs and koni shocks to go in. Hopefully that will sort the handling out. :)

I picked up some repadded and retrimmed front seats on eBay too. The only problem is they are grey cloth, so the seat covers will need to go over them again.

Cheers,
Brett Nicholson
1965 Morris Mini Traveller - Trixie
1966 Austin Mini Super-Deluxe - Audrey
1969 Morris Mini Van - Desert Assault Van
1971 Morris Moke - Mopoke
1974 VW Super Beetle - Olive
2009 Nissan Pathfinder

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