Aircooled VW South Africa

...or are nice aircooled VWs getting harder to find?

I've been looking at the ads closely the past couple of days, even unmolested late-model Beetles are getting harder to find, not to mention that the prices are slowly but surely going up too...

Sure, there are plenty of Beetle Buddies "restorations" as well as the usual hackjob cars, as well as cars with no papers, but the decent cars are few and far between...

Wonder how much longer this aircooled thing will last for in this country...

It is just you. (Joking).

We must not forget that a 1971 beetle is now 40 years old. How many other 40 year old cars from other makes are still being used as hard-working daily transport? Most other older cars have disappeared from our roads loong ago, nowadays only seen at car shows .

Think it is a good thing that the "cheapie badly neglected and abused" "student's car" type of beetles are getting less on our roads.
Think parents should refrain from giving their children any car in unsafe neglected condition, (and then expect them to start using it immediately in that condition). This will only cause them to hate that car.

An old aircooled VW can still be an excellent, reliable, daily driver. On condition that you do respect it's age, and do'nt go cheap on maintenance/repairs.

A guy was quoted R10 000 for one single replacement diesel injector for his new "kombi". An it uses 5 of those.
In comparison to that, aircooled parts, although more expensive than before, are still reasonable compared to new car parts prices.
People should understand clearly that those cheap reconditioned engines are only "fixed up" reusing many old parts (like even the exhaust valves) to last until it's short guarantee expires. There are properly done reconditioned engines by Impi, Jurgen and others, using new parts.

Some people do'nt seem to mind paying R7000 or more for a new car's major service at the agents. That's on a new car, where it's parts are supposed to be still new?

Personally i prefer to drive my aircooleds daily, and have always done so. Never owned a watercooled job or had the desire to own one.
Various new company- owned cars i have driven for work purposes, during working hours, and those rental cars at airports. And recently drove a friend's new Merc 350 SLK. (Played a bit with the button to make the roof go up and down). But, like other new watercooled cars,i still find it a boring unpractical car without character. More like a domestic appliance.

So while less abundant, good aircooled vehicles are still out there, but the well looked after ones are getting more valuable by the day.

Blitz, what are you looking for as a next project, or are you going to complete the Fasty,
Or RAT it ????

I'm looking for something fairly original and unhacked, then my fasty can go all radical.

If all else fails I'm buying a Golf

For a moment, i thought you were planning a "German looker", as you mentioned once before.

Nah was just throwing ideas in the other thread, but have since made a decision, whatever I get next is going to remain stock, so it has to be stock as possible when I buy it. The fastback can be a toy.

Dawie, tell me more about using your aircooled daily?

I would like to start driving my fastback daily to get a feel of the car, I do around 50 km's a day, I have a choice of several routes i.e highway or driving through suburbs, bearing in mind that this is an aircooled vw, what would you advise?

Did you finish your ducting where the type 4 engine's cooling fan seal meets the bodywork-ducting to the louvres on the side?
If not, read through Eben's conversion details again. Another option may be to cut part of the rear ducting from a 411 variant and carefully weld/mate that to part of the rear of the fastback's body. (Seeing that yours was cut out by the previous owner when he did the watercooled conversion). Remember that even a small leak there will cause overheating and permanent damage.

From experience, i know that a Deutz aircooled genset (in silent enclosure) wil trip on cht overtemp if the intake ducting came loose, allowing some used hot air to recirculate. Even on a cold 10deg day at low loads. That same genset will run happily for days at full load in 50deg heatwave conditions if that ducting is in place. Similarly, my experiene is that a standard aircooled vw engine cannot overheat even at max speed, as long as all the factory sealing tinware and seals are in place. (Which is seldom the case).

If the previous owner of a car was a fiddler, it may take some time to identify and fix the car untill you feel comfortable driving long distances. First do the trips closer to home, until you have sorted the "teething issuses". Eventually the car will become like a "comfortable worn in shoe" that you can trust.

Of course valve clearances must be set at least every 10 000 kilos, better to check them every 5000 kilos, or anytime you have a suspicion that something is not right. Regularly check that your ignition timing is to spec. Always listen at the engine carefully, and if you hear the slightest pinging at full load, drive slower and investigate/ check timing. Obviously engine and transmission oil must be kept at the full mark, and front suspension greased regularly. Inspect all fuel hoses regularly as well.

The way i grew up, aircooled vw's were driven "not sparing the horses", and i still do that today. Recently got a speedfine in the oval on the highway at 131km/h. Usually i aim to do 129 km/h, (indicating 135 on speedo), but either my "speedo correction factor" or the speed trap was incorrect...

Think i am getting a bit "off topic", will continue later on that other topic "using your acvw as daily driver".

The type 3 car, even in squareback form, has a better aerodynamic coefficient than a beetle, so it needs less power to keep it moving at a constant high speed than a beetle. (Confirmed by tests on the Samba and Car magazine). But it is slightly heavier, so it needs more power in city stop/go traffic. Personally i prefer highway driving, even if the distance is longer.