On 12/17/2009 8:37 AM Robatoy spake thus:

On Dec 17, 11:08 am, Swingman wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

The original VW bug was inexpensive to buy, and relatively inexpensive
to repair. That is hardly the same as being reliable.

You obviously never owned one ... the original was one of the most
reliable automobiles ever made and their longevity is ample proof of
that "reliability".

'Reliability' is often confused with 'how-long-can-a-car-run-without-
proper-maintenance.'
If you changed the oil and set the tappets on an old Bug, on a regular
basis, those engines would run forever.

Exactamente.

I had an old bus ('65 w/a Super Beetle engine) that I drove from coast
to coast. It finally died, but nearly everything bad that happened to it
was my fault, even though I otherwise took very good care of it. (Like
the hole corroded through the floor of the engine compartment next to
the battery that allowed mud and wet sand to get sucked into the
generator driving through a rainstorm in New Mexico, killing it. No
mystery there.)

With old VWs, one had to be fairly religious about changing the oil,
adjusting the valves and setting the ignition timing every 3K miles or
so. And while my bus obviously couldn't charge uphill like a Hummer, it
was more than sufficiently powered for most situations. (Keep in mind
that the buses were geared lower than bugs, so one got a little more
oomph out of them at the expense of top-end speed.)

I rebuilt the engine myself, previously knowing nothing at all about
cars, using the "Complete Idiot" book as a guide. I ended up fancying up
the engine a bit; oversize (1650 cc) cylinders, plus an external oil
cooler which was a really good thing for driving through the desert.
(Plus scoops over the rear air intakes and a mechanical oil temperature
gauge.)

I can vouch that the old VWs were, in fact, reliable. (If taken care of.)


--
I am a Canadian who was born and raised in The Netherlands. I live on
Planet Earth on a spot of land called Canada. We have noisy neighbours.

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