1300 vs. 1500

=C3=9Cber cool!

J.

Somebody commented they like pre 66 bugs better. What happened to bugs in

A dramatic change in body style. The headlights were following the curve of the fender until 67 (68 in Europe) and then they were mounted upright. (Uglier, to many). Also they changed the electrical system to 12V.

Not to be picky, but there are exceptions to the 12V changeover date. I do not have the exact info, but know for sure there where sold ' Standard's in Germany with a 6V system after 67. My aunt and uncle had one here in Norway, think it was a -68, a bitch to get parts for, special starter, dynamo and flywheel/clutch ??

J.

They got much better from around then in my opinion.

With 12V electrics, you could at last see at night. And the cross-drilled crankshafts were a big improvement for operation in the tropics especially.

John

And I forgot to mention the use of ball joints on later models instead of the king and link pins which needed frequent replacement.

Perhaps they mean the use of coil springs instead of torsion bars on the front of the superbug models? In which case, I agree.

John

Not very dramatic imho but noticeable: Earlier models had much smaller windows and bulky pillars. I like those more. :)

On the other hand you got 12V electrics on newer ones and I see that as lights and (modern) radio, for everything else it doesn't matter so much.

I wouldn't see 12V conversion in a hobby car (older than 68) as a major crime, though, it can be done with very few visible changes. It's also quite easy to convert back if you want to do a restoration to period correct car.

My smaller Ghia (typ14) has been nothing more than a rolling chassis at some point (and it's using parts from several cars), so it has been easy to convert it to 12V electrics then. It hopefully will run a 1915cc engine with middle dual Dellorto in next summer.

Installation was planned for summer 2010 but I didn't have time nor transportation: Engine is in my living room (!) and rest of the car is in winter storage 150 miles away. Trailer needs a towing car and that was under repairs whole summer. :(

In autumn I had my hands full with T34 so everything else was stalled.

Schedule for next spring is still open, I think I first put t14 together and running and then t34, it needs a lot of work until it's in condition it can be used as a daily driver. :)

Time to repost an old fave: