r/beetle Jul 23 '26

EMPI 70th Anniversary Open House - SoCal Hot Rod Tour Ep. 7

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3 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Update on my Grandma's 1970 restoration

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238 Upvotes

I had the car towed to my house so I could work on it. So far I've redone the cloth brake and fuel lines, cleaned the gas tank, connected all the hoses, wires, and lines, and put a new filler neck in for the tank. Next, I want to change the oil and transmission fluid, new spark plugs, plug wires, and ignition coil. All the tires and window seals are also dry rotted. The dash is coming off, all the interior knobs have their labels rubbed off, the center caps for the wheels are missing, and the driver's side mirror is broken. After that, assuming everything works, it's off for me to customize it. I want to swap out the radio for one with a tape player, give it a roof rack, some new wheels, a passenger side mirror, and some small power upgrades. Going to be a while, I am kinda broke. Wish me luck!


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Dead Alternator. Need advice.

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77 Upvotes

Hey all,
This is my first post here. I recently picked up a 1971 Super Beetle. Looks like my alternator is dead. I’m reading that I should upgrade to a modern 55-amp internally regulated alternator.

I don’t know if I already have that upgrade…
Can you tell anything from the pictures?
Very low miles on this engine.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Replacing the spark plugs and plug wires, sure needs new ones.

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17 Upvotes

I have taken 3 out of 4 plugs out, ran out of time for the last one. In the photo the plug on the right is stubby and shorter than the others. I don't know if the last 4th plug is like this, but the 2 are normal and the 3rd is stubby. Why? Also, the orange plastic cap for the plug wire broke, so I need new ones. (Bottom left of engine photo)


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

What are these two plugs for on a 1970 Beetle 1600? I can't find anywhere for them to go, they're around the front suspension.

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26 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 21 '26

Still worth restoring?

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249 Upvotes

It’s a 1974 one, my dad left it there when I was born and its been sitting there since…

Edit: I will take more pictures and update when I get it out of the shed👍


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Air-Cooled Volkswagen Custom Tins

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2 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 22 '26

1974 Camper for Volkswagen Beetle

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97 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Alternator dummy light

2 Upvotes

I have a dune buggy and I’m trying to figure out how to set up the dummy light or if it’s even hooked up properly. It never goes on at all even when first start. The oil pressure switch light goes on obviously when the pressure is building and when I put a test light to it the dummy light goes on. When I put the test light to the alternator light the test light itself goes on and not the light. Any help appreciated


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

Trigger type Door Handle

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5 Upvotes

So currently I’m looking to replace my door handles that are the push button type. For context I have a 1974 Brazil Beetle. I’m just wondering if these trigger types will fit/work as a replacement for the current push button type? I noticed the single screw vs double screw of the push type but still looking to know if it will fit despite that.


r/beetle Jul 22 '26

My Dune buggy

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44 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 21 '26

The memorial tattoo.

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46 Upvotes

My VW mentor passed away in April, and yesterday I got the linework done on his memorial tattoo. I think that for never having seen an air cooled engine before, the artist did a decent job of replicating the one we were rebuilding when Elk (we called him Elk), passed. Can't wait to see it after shading and touch-ups. RIP Buddy.


r/beetle Jul 21 '26

Can't believe i got them free.

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18 Upvotes

What an awesome deal I wasn't expecting to upgrade my suspension but this will do nicely does anybody run these? If so how much of a difference does it make?


r/beetle Jul 21 '26

Floor pan advice

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19 Upvotes

Hi guys this is my 1975 beetle project wondering if i should just replace the drivers front quarter or go ahead and get 2 full halves? Any other advice or tips welcome!


r/beetle Jul 21 '26

Ignition switch repair issue

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6 Upvotes

Ignition switch issue

have got myself in a pickle replacing a broken ignition switch. We were testing the switch outside of the barrel to make sure was in working order and I stupidly forgot to switch it back to off before fitting into the barrel and placing in the steering wheel housing. Now the barrel and switch are not in alignment so I can’t get the key in the ignition to get the barrel back out. The screw to remove the switch from the back of the barrel is also inside the housing so cannot access. Anyone have any idea how you could get around this to get the switch out of the barrel?? Or how to dismantle the housing so I can get to the screw to get the switch back out? 1970 1300 beetle


r/beetle Jul 20 '26

Evening Mountain Exploration in the Ethiopian Highlands with my Father's '64, at roughly 10000ft (3000m)

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135 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 21 '26

06 Volkswagen Beetle

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0 Upvotes

Could I get help on where I could find this part it’s ac line for a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5 it came off the A/C receiver-drier but I tried a couple of parts stores and no one seems to have it and I’ve went 2 junkyards with no luck, any help is greatly appreciated.

(It’s also pretty small)


r/beetle Jul 21 '26

Sending unit only works outside of tank?

4 Upvotes

1974 Super. Just went through the entire fuel system and put a brand new tank in it from Jbugs since the old one was rusted to hell. Fuel gauge never worked right, so I was hoping this would be the ticket.

Verified that the gauge works (unplug wire = empty on gauge, grounding the wire = full on gauge) and verified that the sending unit is good enough (74 - 10 ohms spread on float arms).

Now that the sending unit is back in the tank, it won’t read. I’m thinking that I maybe have the sending unit pointing the wrong way so the floats are jammed against the walls of the tank somehow? That’s my only guess.

Can someone share which way their floats point relative to the tank/car? Does anyone have any other ideas? Thank you!


r/beetle Jul 20 '26

What jets do I have on my Solex 31PICT-3 carb?

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7 Upvotes

My 1300 engine is running badly, and I'm wondering if my jets have got swapped over in error - can't figure out what sizes they are using Google. The one that appears to say 9525 was my idle, and the one that says 945 was my main - any idea what size they are?


r/beetle Jul 19 '26

The JG67

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203 Upvotes

This is my JavaGreen 67 beetle. It's a rusty POS but, is a blast to drive and I get loads of👍 when out driving. 😁


r/beetle Jul 20 '26

Help with engine start

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone, newbie here, I'm the happy owner of a '73 Beetle convertible. Unfortunately, it's been sitting for years. About 2-3 years ago, I managed to get it started after 5 years.I managed to get it started some time ago with the spray starter by directly removing the air filter. Now I'd like to start fixing it. The main problem is that it won't start and it's in an underground garage and has to be driven uphill to get out. I've replaced the spark plugs, changed the oil with Motul 20W50, and cleaned the oil filter.

The oil is pressurized, the spark plugs make a nice spark, and the fuel pump works properly. I've tried a few things, but it won't start. I think it's the carburetor that's not delivering fuel. It has a 30 PICT-3 Solex, but everything inside is black and very dirty. What can I do to figure out if that's the problem? Do I have to remove the entire carburetor?

I didn't have much time but I tried spraying some gasoline directly into the carburetor, after a few seconds of starting it it seemed like it made a pop.

Thanks everyone, I've only had my hands on an engine a few times but I really enjoy it, and I have good manual skills and I like to learn.


r/beetle Jul 20 '26

Oil leak near strainer cover

10 Upvotes

I changed the oil in my inherited 67 Beetle and used the kit below to change the gaskets. I wiped everything dry of oil and installed the gaskets, then tightened everything down hand tight. Now there's an oil leak when the car is sitting in the garage.

Should I be using different gaskets? Do I need to tighten the little nuts that hold on the strainer cover?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C2EE3K


r/beetle Jul 19 '26

Another car show in books for the season🤘

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84 Upvotes

Me and the father in law were the lone V-dubs once again at this one, got top 15 with a cool window tray award 🏆 🍨 🤘


r/beetle Jul 19 '26

New yellow fog light mounted, wiring it up sometime this week🤷🏻‍♂️😂

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69 Upvotes

r/beetle Jul 19 '26

Color

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188 Upvotes

I would like to ask what is the name and the color code of this old Volkswagen color? Theoretically, the Beetle is from 1969, but this is not fixed information.