What Made the Super Beetle "Super"

"Money Hustard" (moneyhustard)
06/27/2014 at 09:21 • Filed to: None

I never knew what made Super Beetles different than regular ol' Beetles. While they just looked like a Beetle with a slightly swollen nose, the Super Beetle was actually a really great illustration of what happens when you pair modern technology with the design of an iconic classic car.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Find out how a few modernizing tweeks made a 3o+ year old car design !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! It was like a factory restomod!

DISCUSSION (79)

505Turbeaux > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 09:24

god damn McPherson struts and a curved windshield...

Diesel > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 09:29

Kinja'd!!!

I knew it, it is a Porsche.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 09:31

bigger windows, more interior space, more room in the front trunk, better interior ventilation, a bigger engine, and more modern interior.

Of coarse none of that matters now, cuz we want Beetles for their flaws, so a Super Beetle having less flaws is actually a bad thing.

505Turbeaux > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 09:36

I am just talking about the parts I dont like! I had a '50 standard model with mechanical brakes. Would take it back in a heartbeat. over a super

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 09:38

I know me to. I think if that was 1972 we'd be wanting the fresh, new, faster, easier to live with Beetle, but now that we're a bunch of new car hating automotive hipsters we want the older better looking, more flawed car.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 09:39

Perversely, a lot of the makers of Beetle conversions refused to do Super versions, so the attrition of Supers to weird project related causes has been only a fraction that of the standard models. The Meyers Manx only recently has had Super Beetle versions available - which is insane when you think about it.

Money Hustard > Diesel
06/27/2014 at 09:42

Kinja'd!!!

Coty > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 09:47

That's why my standard has the engine from a super. Win.

prz144 > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:00

My very first car. Bought for $400. Stupid "semi-manual" tranny with 1-2 and L-H had to go, so right after an oil change the first thing I bought was a manual slushbox and a three pedal assembly from a donor Beetle. After those mods it was a fun ride. I so miss it.

55_mercury > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:00

It seemed like a number of people I knew who owned super beetles had problems with the things catching on fire and incinerating themselves.

CAR_IS_MI > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:02

So that $1,300 Super Betel on CL is less likely to throw me off a cliff face...

RX > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:04

Thanks for asking!

Kinja'd!!!

andrewlandon71 > 55_mercury
06/27/2014 at 11:05

They probably had shitty fuel hoses with the fuel filter in the engine bay which is a huge fire hazard with things such as a magnesium crankcase and a distributor/coil not too far from the fuel lines.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:06

10 years ago, when I had my 1965, people were having this same argument. For what ever reason the the switch to struts in the front end was incredibly polarizing.

55_mercury > andrewlandon71
06/27/2014 at 11:09

I'd heard that was a problem for that era of Beetle. A ruptured fuel hose is what caused one of my friend's super beetles to burn up. I remember it distinctly because we were in high school and he was so proud of that thing. One day he was driving on the freeway on a hot day in june and suddenly the car stopped running and burst into flames in the rear. He told me he sprayed an entire fire extinguisher on the engine but of course the magnesium was at that point burning so it didn't do a thing. The car was totaled. He was depressed about that for a long time . I'm not sure if this was an issue for other VW's of the era but a friend of our family had a VW bus and it too had the very same issue.

Bunkie21 > prz144
06/27/2014 at 11:10

The A.S.S. (Automatic Stick Shift) was the single dumbest thing ever done to a Beetle. It's a manual three-speed (just what an underpowered car needs, one less gear and they advised starting out in second, mislabled D1!) with a semiautomatic clutch. When my Dad reneged on his promise to take me car-shopping with him and showed up in a '70 A.S.S. Beetle, I immediately thought "they saw you coming". A few years later, the damned thing nearly killed me when I got clipped by a drunk running a red light because I couldn't get out of way fast enough. Then there's the fragile wire that connects the switch in the shift lever. When it goes, no clutch and grinding gears. Miserable thing...

Chairman Kaga > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:12

It's basically the same as comparing an F-18 Hornet to an F-18 E/F Super Hornet.

https://www.google.com/search?q=compa…

Kinja'd!!!

Cé hé sin > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:13

I dunno, it's all Danish to me.

webmonkees > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:15

Kinja'd!!!

Das Porsche-like front lifterluften das watchen der klepklopten liften not.

H4N5 GRU83R > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:17

Kinja'd!!!

Factory restomod is right. Here is taking it a few steps further: http://www.germanlook.net/

Money Hustard > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:18

Kinja'd!!!

This is my first post that's made it to the frontpage! Thanks Travis!

RelentlessSlacker > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:19

Never knew that! Thought the Super Beetle was just an "S" engine. My dad had a '73 Beetle that he's always spoken extremely positively about, now I know it was a "Super" :)

Chairman Kaga > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:22

My very first car was a 1971 Super Beetle. I bought it from the parents of a friend of mine from the track team for $1,000 earned flipping burgers for $3.80 an hour over the two summers before my senior year. It was creamy beige. My friends called it Cum Bubble. I rebuilt the engine three times before I finally traded it to my college housemate for three months rent. I moved up in the world to a 1988 Mazda B2200 that my uncle gave me.

Still didn't have air conditioning.

winters4 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 11:23

I've had a 1302, a -72 and currently own a -65 and I can say thay I experience the 65 a much smoother and more nimble car. The 1302 always seemed heavy and cumbersome, and dreadfully slow. Somehow the 33 hp in my 65 makes it feel like I'm going like a bat out of hell, and the 50 or so in the 72 seemed to actually slow the car down rather than make it speed up. In the end its probably more a case of the 72 being badly tuned and had a shoddy suspension whereas the 65 is tip top!

Daniel MacCabe > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:54

First car was a '71 SB. LOVED IT! ...and 505Turbeaux, for '71 and '72 they still had flat windshields. ;) And they had exactly the same 1600 dual port motor as all bugs of those years. No extra power for the super.

veedub4lyfe > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 11:59

There is a metric shit ton wrong in that article but it gets the general idea down. Super Beetles do have quite a bit different in them than just what that article mentions. The struts are the biggest deal. Engine, was the same as any other beetle until fuel injection. I could go on and on, but i already get paid to talk VW for work. This is a place for fun.

Daniel MacCabe > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 12:00

One sad thing about the super is that they made lousy Baja buggies... I have a bit of Orlove in me... I always wanted a baja but couldn't make mine into one.

Money Hustard > veedub4lyfe
06/27/2014 at 12:02

What did the article get wrong, other than not listing every single thing that was different? I think the article points to the MacPherson struts as the biggest deal in the change.

Sonex > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 12:14

So we want an old flawed car, but only in a ironic hipster way?

Money Hustard > Daniel MacCabe
06/27/2014 at 12:20

Interesting, I guess since all their ads were claiming a "more powerful engine," that's where the confusion comes in.

Kinja'd!!!

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Sonex
06/27/2014 at 12:20

lol yes. I was actually just making fun of myself there. Honestly right now I'm trying to sell my 01 Civic to buy either a: manual, 1985 Volvo 240 wagon, with 280,000 miles , or a Manual, 1989 Merkur Scorpio that doesn't run right now. Old flawed cars are so much more fun.

tobythesandwich > H4N5 GRU83R
06/27/2014 at 12:24

Anything that isn't dog-dish hubcaps on a classic beetle just looks wrong.

Even if those wheels serve a purpose (which I'm sure they do)... The Porsche Twists just don't look right.

NipperDawg > andrewlandon71
06/27/2014 at 12:24

Ah yes those wonderfully cheap white plastic hoses that were just begging to catch fire.

Craig Weems > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 12:28

Optional factory air conditioning was a big difference.

Sonex > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 12:29

Don't feel bad, I'm in the process of building a VW 40hp motor of a 63 bug

Money Hustard > Craig Weems
06/27/2014 at 12:35

Yeah, I never even think about the fact that A/C wasn't a necessary given at this time. As a Floridian, this just seems unpossible.

NipperDawg > Bunkie21
06/27/2014 at 12:35

When you have a torque converter, you can have a higher 1st gear as the torque converter is multiplying torque. If you look at the gear ratios 4th became D2, 3rd was D, and 2nd became Low. They lost the manual 1st gear because withe the torque converter it wasnt needed and they made that park. I dont know why people hate these transmissions, they were simple, easy to drive, tough if you knew how to service them, and just as quick as a manual if you rowed through the gears.

low http://www.thegoldenbug.com/en/vw_technica…

Kinja'd!!!

veedub4lyfe > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 12:39

Struts are a major deal. Its mostly year stuff, I could go on for days on the little details. Super Beetles ran from 71-79 not just 4 years. Standard Beetle production ended in 77, which may lead to the confusion about the convertible being the only model available.

The curved windshield was a big deal. Beyond creating more space, it also allowed them to install a padded dash, instead of the skull cracking steel panel that was before it. Which as that article leads to they were looking to add some safety to the vehicle. I think towards the end of the sales in the USA they even went to a seatbelt ignition interlock.

I enjoyed the little read, it touches the main points that should be known to those who are looking to buy one. For me like i said i do this for a living and talk VW 40-50hrs a week, so I know those little details since not knowing them can be a costly mistake.

Soused > Chairman Kaga
06/27/2014 at 12:40

My very first car was a '71 Super Beetle (in Adriatic Blue) as well. I got it off of my mom. The only drawback was the semiautomatic gearbox, which was slow, even for a Beetle.

Tony Dickson > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 12:41

More powerful than "The Beetle of old"... it was a new engine but the Standard got it too.

Soused > Bunkie21
06/27/2014 at 12:41

Ha! I had the wire break on mine as well.

veedub4lyfe > veedub4lyfe
06/27/2014 at 12:41

Side note, i hate air cooled VWs. Water Cooled is where the fun stuff starts.

abgwin > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 12:49

Yes, the Supers were "better" in most senses, but their timing was too little too late. Had they debuted 5 years earlier, they would have been a resounding success, but they were quickly hobbled by crash and emissions standards. Plus, those McPhersons you're so proud of aren't nearly as durable as the torsion bars. Once a Super has the "death wobble" at highway speeds, it's pretty much doomed.

abgwin > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 12:50

Actually, 1302s still had a flat windshield... but I agree about the struts.

klurejr > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 12:53

My first car was a "super" beetle.... nothing super about it. I hated the pile of junk. Left me stranded on the side of the road way too many times.

Money Hustard > veedub4lyfe
06/27/2014 at 13:00

The article says the Super Beetle Sedan only ran for 4 years, which it did, only the convertible remained in the line up from 76 on. I think the article is accurate on this point.

Maxaxle > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:01

Kinja'd!!!

A 1.5L engine instead of an 0.5L engine?

[/bad jokes about Beetles]

ertman123 > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 13:01

I loved both of my 1971 Super Beetles. It was only in 1973 that the curved windshield came in. And the giant taillights. And a bigger rear window. And all of that other pesky safety stuff.

Kevin Barrett > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:03

...different than...

Different than?!

H4N5 GRU83R > tobythesandwich
06/27/2014 at 13:05

Looks wrong?

Kinja'd!!!

Spanish Flea > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 13:05

I run in this vw group, owning a '52 split bug, '64 21 window bus, '56 bug ratrod. This "later" bug we call a fat chick. And it take s special love to love a fat chick. Maybe in another 50+ years these will be wanted years, but for now it's just a Fat Chick.

Spanish Flea > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/27/2014 at 13:05

vintagethunder > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 13:05

Flat windshield its first year.

Money Hustard > Kevin Barrett
06/27/2014 at 13:11

Some people criticize different than as incorrect but there's no real justification for this view. There's little difference in sense between the three expressions, and all of them are used by respected writers.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/diffe…

veedub4lyfe > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:17

Ahhh, that would be my confusion there.

radio.one > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:38

My Dad had a '71 SB in that tangelo color. Awesome car...

9brghtn4 > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:53

An article that just sends me somewhere else. Awesome.

GreenN_Gold > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 13:54

There are also subtleties that come into effect, at least in American English.

If a car looks different than my mom, that means the car does not look like my mom.

If a car looks different to my mom, that means she perceives the car differently than other people.

If a car looks different from my mom, that just sounds weird and stupid. A car might look different from here, but it doesn't look different from my mom, unless I'm standing next to her I guess.

Money Hustard > GreenN_Gold
06/27/2014 at 13:56

I feel even more right when you lay it out like that, thank you!

LodestarRunner > Chairman Kaga
06/27/2014 at 14:34

I had an '89 B2200 without A/C called Curtis.

GotWake > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 14:55

What made it 'Super' - the fact that you could put 4 guys with surfboards and wetsuits and drive 'Over the Hill' on Highway 17 from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz - for about $2 worth of gas.

Money Hustard > GotWake
06/27/2014 at 15:01

That's an utterly awesome thought.

69DubRod > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 15:06

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Brian > abgwin
06/27/2014 at 15:35

My dad and brother had....6 different bugs at the same time, a few of them being Supers. I was always amazed how much better it was driving the Super over the standard, but yes the death wobble was bad. My dad came up with a support strut system that worked great.....most of the time.

KennethAOlsonrh > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 15:42

last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My neighbour's sister has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out.

This is what I do,,,,,,,,,,

www.bam80.com

helmet > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 16:27

It's not that bad. They are still super easy to work on. The first super (1302 1971-72) had a flat windshield, curved came in 73. They drive and handle so much better than a standard beetle, it more than makes up for added complexity. There's a reason why all the kafer cup cars were built out of super beetles. When setup properly with a big dual carb or injected T-1, T-4, or smaller turbo'd T-1 motor in the back, they run with older aircooled 911's fairly easily. A 78x90.5mm type-1 with injection and a turbo is a force to be reckoned with in a 1303 with good suspension setup. It's pretty easy to get 200hp out of a 2007cc T-1, let alone with a small fast spooling turbo. Also you don't need to clearance anything for the 78mm crank and the 90.5mm jugs are thick walled so they are physically strong and run cool. 924/944's use the same rear suspension and rabbit coilovers or struts are easy to modify for a super's front end, so there is a lot you can do to them. Drop it a little, give it some more spring rate front and rear, bigger front bar, add a rear one, with good struts/shocks and some good tires and they stick like glue

Here's a fast autox super with a 2.6L naturally aspirated Type-4 in it:

The guy also has a blue hillclimb beetle with a 2l T-1 with custom overhead cam heads. You can read more about these beetles here: http://www.aichlseder.info/d_index.htm

Here's a flat windshield 1302 Kafer Cup bug running a hillclimb.

TeaganGatewood > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 16:55

"What made the Super Beetle "Super?"

Earth's yellow sun! Did I win?

colorfulyawn > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 17:35

I never agreed that the struts handled better. The torsion bar front end always felt better to me.

scottcjordan > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 19:09

The spokesperson for the Super Beetle a couple years in was no less than Jimmy Durante. Re the curved windshield: "More room for the ol' Schnozzola."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > 505Turbeaux
06/27/2014 at 20:22

the curved windshield want really an issue, but I hated the way the front looke higher than the rear of the car. When I bought my first car, a beetle. I made sure it wasn't a super. I just didn't like the way it sat.

tobythesandwich > H4N5 GRU83R
06/27/2014 at 20:45

Stand by my statement. Still looks wrong.

serbingood > Money Hustard
06/27/2014 at 21:43

I had a '73 Yellow Sport Beetle. It had air conditioning as an option, I got it, and it was the coldest damn a/c unit I have ever had the pleasure to use.

Sillydiabetic1 > 505Turbeaux
06/28/2014 at 00:37

Those struts were the absolute worst part of the Super Beetle, without a doubt. Absolutely horrible and expensive to boot.

Money Hustard > serbingood
06/28/2014 at 05:58

Interesting info, I honestly would have assumed the exact opposite.

ranwhenparked > Money Hustard
06/28/2014 at 10:41

My first car was a '71 Super Beetle, I like aircooled VWs just fine, but for some reason, just never really cared for the look. Next time around, it will have to be a standard Beetle.

idontgetburneratkinja > H4N5 GRU83R
06/28/2014 at 10:48

Why are you posting pictures of a 911?

CPT Speedbump > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
06/28/2014 at 12:00

Put a bigger motor in a good Beetle (aka, a Beetle made before 1970) and your set :)

George McNally > Money Hustard
06/29/2014 at 15:59

My first car was a 68 Beetle. I blew the engine up twice and the transaxle once.

I ended up with a 2180 big barrel kit and I spent a ton of money on a bulletproof transaxle. I bought the car in 1976 for 760 bucks and easily spent 3 or 4 times that amount on engine and trans work.

I scared myself shitless on numerous occasions......I learned what extreme lift-off oversteer was in a hurry.

As long as the roads were twisty, by buddies in their Trans-Ams couldn't keep up with me.

I gave the car to my mom to drive when I bought a 73 Maverick with a 302....she drove it for awhile but kinda got tired of not having heat in the winter....out of all the cars I've owned- I want that one back.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Money Hustard
06/30/2014 at 01:48

The only difference is the Super beetles wore their underpants on the outside.