All, I own a 74 Ghia that was an autostick and is now a manual. Coming from restoring classic Mustang's, where original is king, I have a question. Do I want to make it an Autostick again? The car does not have the original engine, but it is the right type, and it's not like VW has the numbers anyway. I've heard bad stuff about Autosticks, but I've also seen Autostick fanatics. If maintained, do they really suck that bad?
Thanks for your time, C Hastings
74 Ghia Vert "MaryEllen"
the vw "enthusiasts" are alot different than the Mustang enthusiasts...most vw people loathe the autostick. some have owned them, but most just hear that they are bad or they "suck" and that is what they accept as truth. In reality, they are not that bad, and they *do* a great job..i hear parts are getting harder to find, but then i hear they are still out there....i owned an autostick super beetle(a "double whammy" in some people's book) years ago and i absolutely loved it. having said that i would also say that *I*(read: my opinion) feel it would not be worth the trouble to convert back to autostick unless you were doing it because you want to. It will most likely make the "market value" less and possibly make it harder to sell later on. It will most likely be "better" to leave it as is....
------------------- Chris Perdue
*All opinions are those of the author of this post* "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"Hiya C&A,
As an AutoStick owner, I would have to agree with Chris. The overall value of the car will not be improved (at least, at this point in time) by switching back to an AS tranny. And, as Chris points out, the reverse is certainly possible. However, do know this.........."hard parts" for an AS transmission are really not that difficult to obtain. I have built up a stockpile of AS related parts and none of them were difficult to find. Prices were pretty good besides. However, that is not to say there are no difficulties in servicing an AS. Seals for an AS rebuild are quite difficult to locate. And the knowledge along with the old technicians is simply dieing out.
Mike
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