Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi all,
my first post here, so a quick intro:
I'm an aussie in rwanda and, while technically minded, i'm a relative new comer to the mucking-around-with-cars world and a total vw-newbie. My daily driver a '95 samurai stocker tintop with an exceptionally harsh ride and only one side mirror: all the better to squeeze up the goat tracks .

on to the beetle: i was on the look-out for a more 'sensible' 2nd car for the family car when my wife mentioned she'd spotted a beetle in a bush-mechanic's yard. conveniently, she share a soft-spot for the older character cars, and particular the beetle (we rented Classic Motors' red 'dub convertible to hit the wineries last time were in Cape Town) but has a low tolerance for excessive quirkiness... it has to start and go on command.

So this post is a part project part advice.

The car in question is obviously a beater and will never be a shiny-show-car. it is however fairly complete and only $50, leaving a lot of room in the budget for fixing. my ideal result would be a fun and fairly reliable safari-rat with a hint of classic touring beetle (think non-metallic paint, mild all-terrain tires with retro roof-rack and driving lights) for daily use and the occasional East Africa foray.

the mechanic has a stable of nice (some fancy) syncro buses that come to his shop and he appears to be legit... He was in the process of fixing it up bit by bit and claims to be able to get it road worthy, repair the body with metal, and repaint for another 500 bucks ( once again not a show car ). plus a full engine rebuild for another $200 to be able to 'drive to south africa and back'. (no idea how much the 1/4" plate & aramid panel kit to 'drive to Kinshasa and back' would cost )

Beetles are surprisingly rare in Rwanda considering the number of buses here, and i haven't seen any others for sale so far. what id like to hear from the crowd is: is this totally mad or not? and assuming it is only a little bit crazy, what should i be looking out for along the way? I'm reading through the other builds here and taking in as much as i can, but is there any key pointers? i think is is a 1302 m-strut/flat windscreen but who knows?

ps don't worry i've already doubled the budget estimate.

Hi
I doubt that it has struts in front. The photos show a 1970 to 73 beetle with a swing axle rear end. This is good as spares is available world wide as it is essentially the same spec as the last one made. a bonus would be disc brakes in front. I cannot comment on the prices but $50 for a complete shell seems ok
Good luck
Armand

Welcome.....I agree with Armand. The 1 rear light comes from a 70 model but I think this isn't an original african beetle as it has the 4 stud pattern not the usual 5 SA pattern. Is there any reason why the passemger side rear seems to be very high in the air? Also there doesn't seem to be a straight panel.

For a Rat look it's a good start but if you are going to drive regular I would check the following:-

[*]Check all the brake hoses for any signs of having perished...dry and brittle or leaking fluid
[*]Check for the usual rust at the bottom of the door pillars, the floor pan, the heater channels
[*]Give the engine a good check over as they will go forever but should be looked after. Looking at the body, I guess it hasn't

Are you looking to fix up at all or just run like she is? If you need to get parts, might be difficult in Rwanda and not sure how effecient the postal service is from SA or outside. As for price, I can't comment in Rwanda but I have a 1970 beetle for sale at the moment with Roadworthy and papers for R10k.

Good luck and let us know what happens. Might be able to get a few parts together if you need them.

It is definatly going to be a interesting project, good luck...

can someone just help me out here is $50 american???

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

as far as i can tel the high-corner is just from the uneven ground ( i had to use low-range to get back out of this yard ). i'm guessing the camber on the back wheel is how you pegged it as a swing axle Armand?

I shoot the busted side to remind me why its only 50 bucks - it looks straight on the drivers side. My guess is in did a little nose-n-tail side-swipe on the passenger side and has since had the fenders beaten back out a bit.

As far as the desired level of fixing up goes: not too pretty, just a fun and functional all-roader - hence the project's Safari-Rat moniker.

the pan has some rot near the drivers A pillar but the rest looks/sounds solid. besides the hammered fenders there is a crack in the body up under the back fender (weld or dead?) nad a couple of other bubbles in the front skirt.

as for parts - he showed me some factory-fresh panels that he had, and indicated that more new and old parts were available in town. There are a lot of buses here, so for some (engine/tranny) parts i could do swaps?

I understand that this is one of those how-long-is-a-piece-of-string games but i really appreciate the info.

@pushrod - quite right: the start price is 30,000 Francs Rwandan, approx $52 USD.

Hi and welcome

I do not know why but think I might disagree with Swing axle

If the yard is so steep as you mentioned then it is a lot of body roll as to the 4 stud rims hint alot more to IRS in the back than swing axle could be wrong


But I would buy it for the price
Is those rims 15inch if so then get a set of 7Ply landy 15" Tyres and fit them on the rims and see where you need to clearance Tyres and then You will have a Safari Rat that does not need a Spare wheel and will have nice Ground crearance

Just Do It met Eish ja met Eish

Could have been manufactured/assembled at the VW factory in Nigeria?

I'll get a proper look at the suspension next time - the kids were staring to crowd this muzungu by the time i started poking around underneath.

thanks for the encouragement Bugger: puncture resistant landy tires sound like fun! I'll keep that in mind

this is roughly what i'm thinking of: I'll get the guys at work to knock up a replica metal and wood-rail roof-rack - they did a great job on the one i designed for the samurai, and the photos on this site will be a good starting point. and then maybe some extra underside protection. is there any concern with airflow regarding skid-plates for the back?

Skid plates at the back, under the engine is not a problem. However, just make sure that it is ONLY under the engine block and by no means block air flow under the engine. You should be fine. BTW, check this out....

That just looks so cool!

For $50, BUY IT. Finding parts might be a bit tricky if there aren't many of them around though? But we can always help ship from here.

Great tip on the tyres Bugger, if I ever build my badja....!

From what I know the 4 bolt pattern on the wheels indicate IRS and struts and disk brakes up front. Let us know when you get a chance to check it again. The beetle pan is quite flat as you know, some extra protection would be good though.

All air is pulled in from the top, and exit at the bottom, so shouldn't be a problem unless you block the flow of air?
Lets hear what the experts say who have been there !

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

There you go. Look at the snorkel on that Cammo bug, you could almost drive it under water!

karmakoma wrote:There you go. Look at the snorkel on that Cammo bug, you could almost drive it under water!

Almost!

Like I sadi, a skidplate is not a problem, as long as it is NOT under the cylinders, JUST the engine block... Like in the Camo Bug.

Wide 5 bolt pattern on later beetles was an Uitenhage-only. Rest of the world got 4-bolt 130pcd. Think only USA had IRS on basic models. (Actions of a guy called Ralph Nader had something to do with it).

Rest of world had IRS on automatic and 1302S/1303S models. Many 4-bolt beetles has front drum brakes and swingaxles.

West Africa, in particular Nigeria is heaving with ACVWs in various desperate conditions, but spares abound. AFAIK, that Beetle has IRS and McPherson Struts, and discs on the front. Your plan is not outlandish nor impractical. I think you can create a nice little bush-baby out of that project. Since it has IRS, I would suggest adjustable coil over shocks at the back (or Hijackers) and also running a second battery. Try to retain the original air filter or better yet get an oil-bath filter, those paper filters are marginal at best. Don't be charmed into using K&Ns off road, they just don't cut it.

I look forward to hearing of some adventures you've had with the bush baby! What on earth are you doing in Rwanda?! Don't you have enough outback back at?