Is The Volkswagen BEETLE The SIMPLEST Car To Fix EVER?

Justin bought an old school Volkwagen Beetle for his daughter, but quite a few things need to be fixed before it can hit the road. He brought over a whole bag of parts and we were able to fix everything in less than 45 minutes. The shift linkage and shifter were taken apart cleaned and replaced with new bushings, the door handles, the window cranks, and the seat slides... a huge to-do list on any other car, just minutes on the Bug. Turns out it's pretty fun to work on, and while it's not fast, it is rewarding (and it shoots fire).

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Common Questions:

What motorcycle do I ride? A few. Ducati 1198, Honda Goldwing, Honda Grom, Honda Ruckus

What do I do for a living? Make YouTube videos.

Can you wheelie? No, I suck.

Are you fast? Sort of. I suck mostly though.

Where can I keep up with you off the bike?

Instagram: WatchJRGo

Facebook: WatchJRGo (or JRGo, FB hates my branding)

Do you go to school? College, for 2 classes.

Why do you ride so dangerously? What do mean? I was doing 25.

Do you go to the track? Of course, hopefully there will be videos in the future.

Do you play video games? No, but I might stream N64 Goldeneye at some point. Twitch: WatchJRGo

Are you afraid the police will watch your videos and arrest you? Something something evidence something something warrants and due process of law

#VWBug #Volkwagen #CarRepair

[michaelbaka]

3rd car I ever owned was a '67 Bug. Ran bad and smoked when I got it for CHEEEEP money. First engine I ever rebuilt. I was done in a day! 2 &1/2 hours out, 5 hours in the rebuild, then almost 3 hours to put back in. Started and ran on the first try!!! EASIEST engine I ever worked on! Had to do a few other things on it, but it was just too easy to work on!!! Man, I drove the wheels off it!!! Love me some old Bugs!! PS That car will have NO heat unless he puts the heater tubes back on it. That's providing it still has the heater boxes on the exhaust manifolds. Tell him best 'o luck for me, JR!!!

[ethylhexyphthalate]

Crazy, but, back before global warming, when East Tennessee would get some epic 6-12" snowstorms, my dad would slap some chains on his Beetle and just rock on in to work, passing all the Fords and Buicks in the ditches. It was so light it just drove on top of the snow, I guess.

[steveluken]

You could do a video series where you see how much engine and tech you can squeeze into a super beetle without modding the exterior. That could be a blast.

[oldmovies]

My favorite car. I have owned 6 of them. Glad to see you working on one.

[FatKidontwowheels]

Bought mine a bug also! Seats don't recline... ultimate "daughter" car!

[joevendramin]

I love bugs but JR's one hand on the camera and the other hand fixing the cars is impressive as hell! And funny! I could never do that. Mustie 1 and 5150 just got a new soul mate.

[Cartier_specialist]

My first car was a Beetle and my 3rd was also a canary yellow Beetle. Those are the best cars to learn how to wrench on because they're so simple. Just for the record the car you were working on is a Super Beetle the simplest indicator being the curved windshield. A regular Beetle has a flat windshield.

[alanmoffat]

Just found this now, and loved it. Memories of our 1972 1600 Super bug. @nd hand with 6000 miles and we had it for years then sold it after 175000 miles to get a larger car for our family. Saw it some years later up for sale and when wife and I sat in it, we were so surprised it was so small. Ours was yellow too.

[Dartman]

My buddy always had Baja bugs and bugs because back in the early 80s they tended to be dirt cheap, fun to drive, and reasonable mpg. They also were so simple and easy to work on. I never really liked the way they drove but they always seemed to run, even when they shouldn't. He started buying old Toyota when they started getting reasonably priced and they just tended to be even more reliable and drove better but we had a lot of fun in those bugs and bajas. You really don't see them either way anymore around here.

[schutzhund]

As a proud owner of the same bug for over 40 years, not a car for a daily driver for a kid

[batsonelectronics]

I would have put the window handle up. That is how I oriented all the ones I had when younger. Makes it easier to find when dark to roll down and doesn't get in the way of anything.

[ScottHolderCrossPoint]

I had a gold Super Beetle with a sunroof that I loved. I wish I had kept it. No AC, but it had great ventilation. Like you said, they are so easy to work on.

[terrylessmann]

I learned how to drive a manual in a 63 bug. Trans / clutch is indestructible. Looks like this one started life as orange. Better get a front bumper on it for a new driver. And hope his daughter is ready to roast her ankles in the winter and scrape the windshield from the INSIDE for defrost. And don't forget to adjust the valve lash.

[Tennesseeroadster]

To help with the slop on the shifter he can install a short shifter it's a plate that goes from the hump and in between the shifter.

Parts are cheap for vw

[KylesTechChannel]

I saw this exact beetle listed online awhile back!

[TheBetomann]

It's very easy to change the door handle lock combination and use the original key. Also you can use a lighter to soften the handle seal and install it correctly.

[colonel]

I'm no mechanic, and I could work on the '74 Super Beetle I used to own in the early 2ks.
I replaced the starter, clutch cable, shift linkage, interior, and radio.

Same width my '80 & '82 VANAGON L.
Old school air cooled VWs are the absolute best.

[braxtonnelson]

Wow... this brings back memories! Back in 1978, I traded a 1968 Buick LeSabre (which was given to me and did not have a straight body panel or a back windshield) and $150 for a 1967 Beetle. At the time, I worked at an auto parts store and had zero experience with any type of import (read: "foreign car"). I drove the VW for a week and the engine blew up... it spun a rod bearing! I bought a copy of John Muir's book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step procedures for the Compleat Idiot" and built a new engine (I re-used the old heads and carburetor-- after rebuilding them-- everything else was either new or remanufactured). New clutch, front suspension, brakes, etc... I drove it for a couple of years until I learned a most valuable lesson about driving while intoxicated when I rolled the bug onto its' roof one night. Flipped it back onto its' wheels, changed a tire and added a quart of oil and drove it home holding the driver's door closed with my elbow. Kicked most of the dents out of the roof by removing the seats and lying on my back and kept driving it. I later sold it to a friend for $400, and he drove it all the way to Louisiana without a hitch...

[pablopicaro]

10:10 AIR COOLED engine- avoid overheating by closing off those air blower nozzles used for cabin heat (or put on proper heater air hose). OR you may overheat engine and might 'drop' a valve.

[dudenamedclem]

Can’t compare Jr to Mustie1 until there is a proper “will it run” episode on a Beetle that’s been sitting for years.