VWAR Old forum !

Hi everyone. I am going this weekend to pick up a '69 beetle auto-stick. It does not run (yet) I was wondering if I can flat tow this car with my tow bar or do I need to remove the axles? I don't want to burn the transmission up on the tow home. It needs to go about 300km to get it back to my place.

Hiya Buggin,

You should be fine just towing the AutoStick as it is (no half shaft removal is needed) AS LONG AS you make sure the transmission is in nuetral.  To tell the truth the AutoStick is really just a manual transmission with the addition of a torque coverter.  As long as the torque converter is not functioning (as in nuetral) you're fine.

Mike

1970 AS Bug

Thanks Mike. That was just the kind of info I was looking for. One of the members on a club forum in Alberta posted that I could only tow 30miles at roughly 30miles per hour with an auto-stick. That doesn't seem right to me. I think that was what the spec was for the Type 3 fully automatic. Could only tow short distances before it overheated. Does that sound right?

Greg

Frim what I have read, the type 3 automatic transmission is completely different from the Type 1 as found in the Karmann Ghia.

2 1/2 years I towed my '73 from northern Pennsylvania 1300 miles to central Florida, mostly on interatate highways at 70mph.  I also towed it 2 miles one day with the car in gear and the ignition key on.   The motor was running when I got home. :oops:  Still runs.