A complete Newbie needs help

Spyware/viruses have eaten up my web server to the point that it's popping up obscene ads on the screen so I'm in the process right now of fdisk/format/reinstall so that link below won't work for a little while. :-)

my

Get your self a MUIR book and the parts for about $50 Max all in.

Do it yourself, we are here to help ! You'll feel good and save a bunch of bucks !

Maybe I can get NY to

The year is taken from the chassis, not the body ! Nothing wrong with

Rich

you didn't get "hosed" at all....you are happy with the car, and the differences between a 70 and a 73 are not that great...heck you wouldn't even know(yet) if RAMVA didn't speak up...LOL....if the car is in the shape you say it is, then 4k is a great buy(especially here in the east) reguardless of the "real" year....i also would advise *against* going to the NY DMV and trying to get the paperwork changed...you may open up a can of worms you don't want, then you may end up really feeling "hosed"....

if the plan is to do it yourself, pass on the Muir and get a *real* manual....

And another thing: having your car legally registered with the "older" date will certainly allow you to be exempt from the stricter smog laws that apply to newer year vehicles. Those smog laws may include provisions that force you to keep the original smog equipment with the car. But, if you are exempt, then you are free to drop in that type-4, 2.5 liter,

Of course, I am only conjecturing here. I don't know the smog regulations that apply to New York registered vehicles.

Anyways, you sounded quite happy with your Beetle. I see no reason why you should not be.

Geoffe Elias '74 Super Beetle

stay away from windows!!!!

Welcome!

Also look to invest in instructional DVDs by bugmevideo.com -- for a complete newbie, volume 1 is a must as it tells you how to change oil and check valve adjustment (something very frequently needed on bugs). Still read the books and manuals, but these videos leave no doubt as to how to do it.

You never know, you might like it so much that you ditch PCs for a hobby and start slinging wrenches :)

Remco

Get Muir, AND the Bentley book. Trust Bentley when it comes to hard data and procedures, then translate to laymans terms with Muir. Muir also has some neat DIY tricks that might save you some money/time/trouble. Be sceptic about the Muir, but don't dismiss it totally. Double check stuff from the Bentley book.

Jan

its just real damn hard for me to suggest someone buy a Muir "manual" while in the same breath telling them to be sceptical about the information it contains...

The Muir, when it agrees with the Bentley, is ok and it's much easier to understand for a non-technical reader. It explains things better. Plus it's entertaining with the funny illustrations etc.

Jan

I found the Muir book a good read for the sake of reading. For a complete newbie or not, you can learn alot and take a big step towards knowing your VW, and have a laugh at the same time !

I have never felt the same about a haynes manual for intance - I wouldnt sit down and read one of them cover to cover !

I guess Jan has a point - Read the muir book, then you know the basics and more. Then if you want you can better understand any other tech manual if you need to .

Rich

Joey Tribiani wrote:

hope not...get yourself a novel or a comic book...

the Muir was a marketing genius .... hell read the name of the manual.... the manual usually ends up in the hands of the *intended* people...the others get a real manual and actually fix shit on their car instead of looking for entertainment...

Damn, Christina. Lighten up! :-) If it weren't for Muir then I would seriously not even be on RAMVA. I read that book and like "tricky" said, it was fun to read and I did learn some stuff while reading it. It made me feel much more comfortable when it came to working on my vehicle. I'll be the first (ok, the second...or third...etc, etc) to admit that the work I do on my VWs is "less than professional" but doing that work is entertaining to me, even if it might not sound like it sometimes if you listen to what comes out of my mouth as I'm splitting the knuckle on the middle finger of my right hand for the seventh time in a row during the same hour. I guess I'm an "intended people." :-D I realize there are better, more accurate manuals out there (and I own a few of them) than the Muir book, but I won't condem it because it's not the best. Try to find the chapter on how to have sex in your VW in any of the other manuals. ;-)

i came from a family of mechanics and bodymen.....i got to "see" alot, but didn't get to help till i knew what i was doing...what that meant was tearing down "blown engines" and making them work again, usually with parts from the junkpile...then we put em in the racecars and run em till they blew....the rest i learned on my own....alot of staring and logical troubleshooting....my first several engine rebuilds i would get the torque and clearance specs from local mechanics and go at it....but i wasn't in need of some pseudo manual to give me confidence, i went at it with a positive attitude and all was well....i had several vw engines under my belt before i ever purchased a manual....and Muir wasn't the one....all i have ever used the manual for is torque specs....heck i bought a Bently manual from John W and have yet to do more than flip through it briefly...but it looks nice over there ....------>......go for it with the engine shag, you got very little to lose really, but alot to gain.....

................Would that be with another person? If not, it would explain why the bus was invented.

timmy

Some VW owners are better endowed than others?

Repair manuals are like any other advice you get to a tech question.

GET A SECOND OPINION.

Having multiple manuals is just that.

Jan

I'd like a second opinion on that. ;-)

Well....i think......no f*ck it....buy every book you can that may give you the answer...then if you have any money left maybe you can buy a sparkplug....