1969 convertible beetle thinking of selling

[nypater]

Hi everyone,
I've found so much useful information and help on this website that I thought I'd ask for opinions/advice.
I'm living in sunny Florida right now and am moving back to the North East.  I don't know exactly where but I don't know if I'll have a place to store the baby so I'm reluctantly thinking of selling.  It's definitely NOT a show car, more of a daily driver that is no where near original.
New pans, luggage space, running boards, gas tank, engine, top interior, wiring harness, etc, etc.
A bad paint job tops it off!  Anyway, I can't get a grip on the market as it seems to be all over the place.  Does anyone have a thought?

Thanks,
+Papa G.

[68autobug]

Hi
Long time since I spoke to You.
Well, its so Hot here that I don't drive My beetle when the temperature is over 35c degrees and We just had the longest summer EVER......  There have been about 3 weeks of winter, and the shortest day was yesterday here... It is very cold now and it may snow here on the weekend... it snows yearly about 40 klms away up in the mountains, but not often in the actual town itself...  I am also thinking of selling My 68 autobug  , but have no idea what it is worth....  You see some people pay BIG money for daily driver beetles with all the dents etc.... 
At least I can drive it now, as My heaters work great.... I was always going to air condition My beetle but it is a huge job....
Air Con beetles were never sold in Australia.... they didn't even have pop out windows over here... and sunroofs are very rare too...  You just need to find someone who likes what they see....
When you ask people what they think a beetle is worth .... the price varies ..... greatly....

cheers

Lee in Australia

[nypater]

Hello Lee,
Wow!
I've recently relocated to the gulf coast of Florida and am planning to fetch my car this week. A friend has been storing it during the move.
It is also soooo hot here that I almost never put the top down. Boo hoo a convertible I can't open up. It's actually cooler with the top up!  I was a thinking of selling it on to buy an oval window project but have decided to love the one I have as I can't afford what I really want.

Cheers!
Papa G.

[68autobug]

Hi
Yes, Most of Australia is basically too hot for convertibles too..
Very rarely see them with the hood down..
and it is usually NOT in the summer...
so You see people with the top down and a lot of warm clothes on....
Probably why not many are/were sold in Australia... most are USA imports from the late 60s-70's-80s and all LHD
where original ones are Right Hand Drive. LHD cars had to be changed over to Right Hand Drive, unless they were over a certain age... so it's only the past few years where many US imports over 20 years old [or ] are now fairly common.
A convertible Beetle is still ULTRA rare in Australia. probably less than 20 in the country and are LHD.[maybe 10]??
I did see one at a VW show a few years ago RHD, and it had been imported from Japan....
I do enjoy driving My beetle in the winter months, but it is just too hot in the summer here.

cheers

LEE in Australia

[nypater]

Yes,  the heat is a killer. In NY it wasn't a problem but Fl. is bad. It's stll in the high 90's here.
I see the oil light coming on after driving for 45 minutes or so. I'm just using straight 5 W. Maybe I should bump it up.
And I still can't get a consistent idle. Sometimes it's 900, sometimes it's around 1,200 and won't kick down.

[68autobug]

Most air cooled VW owners in Australia use 5w/40 or 10w/50 engine oil. Some even use 20w/60 engine oil, which I believe is just too thick?  I have always used 10w/50 engine oil....  There is a company over here that makes a straight 30 engine oil just for air cooled VWs, as that was the original oil that was used back in the 50's 60's etc before multigrade oils. A local VW trained mechanic who passed away last year told Me that the VW Air cooled engine ran just under the boiling point of oil...  So, 5w oil is too thin after it is heated by the very hot engine... You are losing oil pressure as the oil is too thin... Not Good.
It does make a huge difference to the vw engine when the ambient temperature is over 35C degrees.  I have heard of owners driving at 80 kilometers an hour on highways and freeways instead of 100 or 110 Kilometers per hour due to the engine over heating. I have done the same here, many times, I get behind a slower vehicle so I'm not holding traffic up... which can be hard to find these days as trucks can go just as fast as cars unless it's a large hill... I have an oil temperature gauge which I'm told is NOT a good idea , as it makes You worry too much when the temperature is so close to overheating ALL the time in summer months.  I also had a dipstick oil temp sender which flashes a lamp when the oil is HOT and stays on when it is too HOT.. I think I will put it back in.... .. I live in the country town so I have to travel to go anywhere...    I have pop out rear side windows to put in, but I don't believe they will make any difference in very high temperatures... as if I drive downtown in Hot temps, its cooler in the car with the windows UP.... maybe 30+c and 40+c outside...
It may be time to change to something modern, that runs cool and has air conditioning...
I would have done the same thing about 13 months ago, when We bought a new car, I should have kept the old car which was like new [7 years old and 170,000klms] but didn't think of it at the time.....

cheers

LEE in Australia  --- still cool enough to drive a beetle ---

[itskyle]

To keep it cool, you could add the tennis ball to the engine deck lid to prop it open and increase more air into the engine compartment.

Interesting about the boiling point of oil.  Does synthetic oil have a similar boiling point, or is it higher?

[nypater]

HOLY OVERHEATING, Batman!  I'm DEFINITELY going to bump the weight up. It's consistently in the high 90's to 100 here. And I hear it doesn't cool down till December. Even then it only goes down to the eighties.
When I was in NY the 5W worked. Not down here in Sunny Florida.

[VTghia73]

Advance Auto. Use it here in Vermont (Summer). And yes, by the gallon in my weepy engine....