1973 Beetle 1303 - 1600cc engine
Discussion
I've always wanted a Beetle, ever since I was around 18 months old, and I saw my first Herbie film!
30 years later, having been pretty much a life long VW fan, I finally have one. I was watching this on eBay last week, and was the highest bidder, but it didn't make reserve. Anyway, after a bit of negotiation, I went on Saturday morning to collect.
So... he's a 1973 Beetle 1303, with a non-standard 1600cc engine (48bhp) in a rather bright shade of orange! I've never had a car that attracts so much attention! Driving back on Saturday, I had toots on the M25, kids waving out the back of cars - it felt fantastic!
No major things planned as yet - I need to modify the seat in some way for a couple of extra inches of legroom, and a smaller steering wheel will make driving easier too (I'm a large 6ft5).
So, that's it for now... He joins the Golf R to make me a two VW man.
30 years later, having been pretty much a life long VW fan, I finally have one. I was watching this on eBay last week, and was the highest bidder, but it didn't make reserve. Anyway, after a bit of negotiation, I went on Saturday morning to collect.
So... he's a 1973 Beetle 1303, with a non-standard 1600cc engine (48bhp) in a rather bright shade of orange! I've never had a car that attracts so much attention! Driving back on Saturday, I had toots on the M25, kids waving out the back of cars - it felt fantastic!
No major things planned as yet - I need to modify the seat in some way for a couple of extra inches of legroom, and a smaller steering wheel will make driving easier too (I'm a large 6ft5).
So, that's it for now... He joins the Golf R to make me a two VW man.
i have a '74 with the original engine. Unfortunately it's also original everything and very tatty... yours looks fantastic.
biggest joy for me is that old school feeling, esp the H-gearbox, so direct and very mechanical. Sync on 2nd is wearing, but i enjoy the quirk of having to ddc on downchange.
Scary that so many people comment on how this was their family car when they were kids, it's really a 2+2 and dwarfed by todays minis.
Are you still running drums all round?
biggest joy for me is that old school feeling, esp the H-gearbox, so direct and very mechanical. Sync on 2nd is wearing, but i enjoy the quirk of having to ddc on downchange.
Scary that so many people comment on how this was their family car when they were kids, it's really a 2+2 and dwarfed by todays minis.
Are you still running drums all round?
Robert Elise said:
i have a '74 with the original engine. Unfortunately it's also original everything and very tatty... yours looks fantastic.
biggest joy for me is that old school feeling, esp the H-gearbox, so direct and very mechanical. Sync on 2nd is wearing, but i enjoy the quirk of having to ddc on downchange.
Scary that so many people comment on how this was their family car when they were kids, it's really a 2+2 and dwarfed by todays minis.
Are you still running drums all round?
Mine has a disc conversion on the front - although the brakes are still truly alarming, and that's if I manage to get my size twelves on the right pedal!biggest joy for me is that old school feeling, esp the H-gearbox, so direct and very mechanical. Sync on 2nd is wearing, but i enjoy the quirk of having to ddc on downchange.
Scary that so many people comment on how this was their family car when they were kids, it's really a 2+2 and dwarfed by todays minis.
Are you still running drums all round?
The previous owner of mine appears to have tended to just about everything... even gave me this reassuring shot of the underside.
Great that yours is all original though
Do you go to any VW events with it?Pickled Piper said:
Nice Bug,
I am old enough to remember when these were new and remember seeing that colour in the VW showroom.
It looks like a 1303s to me in which case it would have been a 1600. I am happy to be corrected.
It looks to be in great condition, presumably restored?
Cheers I am old enough to remember when these were new and remember seeing that colour in the VW showroom.
It looks like a 1303s to me in which case it would have been a 1600. I am happy to be corrected.
It looks to be in great condition, presumably restored?
Nope... it's a 1303 - the S had a twin carb 1600cc engine, high ratio final drive, and front disc brakes.
Mine would have originally been a standard 1300cc, but now runs a single solex carb 1600cc, and has had the front brake disc upgrade.
According to the brochure, the colour is Brilliant Orange... love the lack of black/grey/silver/dullness!
Dr Interceptor said:
Cheers
Nope... it's a 1303 - the S had a twin carb 1600cc engine, high ratio final drive, and front disc brakes.
Mine would have originally been a standard 1300cc, but now runs a single solex carb 1600cc, and has had the front brake disc upgrade.
According to the brochure, the colour is Brilliant Orange... love the lack of black/grey/silver/dullness!
The 1303S had a single carb 1600cc engine with front disc brakes. Not a twin carb - in my experience VW never sold twin carb Beetles in the UK.Nope... it's a 1303 - the S had a twin carb 1600cc engine, high ratio final drive, and front disc brakes.
Mine would have originally been a standard 1300cc, but now runs a single solex carb 1600cc, and has had the front brake disc upgrade.
According to the brochure, the colour is Brilliant Orange... love the lack of black/grey/silver/dullness!
Looking at yours, it looks very nice, but there are a couple of small details which point to it being - shall we say - not entirely original. There should be a rubber seal around the engine lid, which is crimped in place by a steel channel. Your car does not have the seal, or the mounting channel. That's either a replacement, non-OEM rear valance, or the original has been "repaired" and the mounting channel removed. And, if my memory serves me correctly, Brilliant Orange came with black interior trim. And in a UK car the driver's door card (only) would have an elasticated storage pocket.
Do you have another shot of the engine bay? It's hard to tell from the photo posted, but the inlet manifold on the 1600cc engine should be a twin port, which is in three sections, with separate ends which bolt to each head and fit to the centre section with rubber sleeves and jubilee clips. In the picture it's hard to see, but yours looks as though it could be a one-piece manifold, which would make it a single port, which was never fitted to the 1600cc engine in the Beetle.
This is before we get to the front windows, which are one-piece whereas they should have separate quarter-lights, and the non-standard wheels. And the fact that the car would have rubber mats rather than carpets, and there is no sound-deadening around the engine bay.
Like I said, it looks nice, but there are a lot of "modifications" which would make me want to have a much closer look. I hope for your sake that it's ok.
.
Edited by Dermot O'Logical on Monday 27th July 18:28
Dermot O'Logical said:
The 1303S had a single carb 1600cc engine with front disc brakes. Not a twin carb - in my experience VW never sold twin carb Beetles in the UK.
Looking at yours, it looks very nice, but there are a couple of small details which point to it being - shall we say - not entirely original. There should be a rubber seal around the engine lid, which is crimped in place by a steel channel. Your car does not have the seal, or the mounting channel. That's either a replacement, non-OEM rear valance, or the original has been "repaired" and the mounting channel removed. And, if my memory serves me correctly, Brilliant Orange came with black interior trim. And in a UK car the driver's door card (only) would have an elasticated storage pocket.
Do you have another shot of the engine bay? It's hard to tell from the photo posted, but the inlet manifold on the 1600cc engine should be a twin port, which is in three sections, with separate ends which bolt to each head and fit to the centre section with rubber sleeves and jubilee clips. In the picture it's hard to see, but yours looks as though it could be a one-piece manifold, which would make it a single port, which was never fitted to the 1600cc engine in the Beetle.
This is before we get to the front windows, which are one-piece whereas they should have separate quarter-lights, and the non-standard wheels. And the fact that the car would have rubber mats rather than carpets, and there is no sound-deadening around the engine bay.
Like I said, it looks nice, but there are a lot of "modifications" which would make me want to have a much closer look. I hope for your sake that it's ok.
.
Sorry, I meant twin port 1600cc, not twin carb.Looking at yours, it looks very nice, but there are a couple of small details which point to it being - shall we say - not entirely original. There should be a rubber seal around the engine lid, which is crimped in place by a steel channel. Your car does not have the seal, or the mounting channel. That's either a replacement, non-OEM rear valance, or the original has been "repaired" and the mounting channel removed. And, if my memory serves me correctly, Brilliant Orange came with black interior trim. And in a UK car the driver's door card (only) would have an elasticated storage pocket.
Do you have another shot of the engine bay? It's hard to tell from the photo posted, but the inlet manifold on the 1600cc engine should be a twin port, which is in three sections, with separate ends which bolt to each head and fit to the centre section with rubber sleeves and jubilee clips. In the picture it's hard to see, but yours looks as though it could be a one-piece manifold, which would make it a single port, which was never fitted to the 1600cc engine in the Beetle.
This is before we get to the front windows, which are one-piece whereas they should have separate quarter-lights, and the non-standard wheels. And the fact that the car would have rubber mats rather than carpets, and there is no sound-deadening around the engine bay.
Like I said, it looks nice, but there are a lot of "modifications" which would make me want to have a much closer look. I hope for your sake that it's ok.
.
Edited by Dermot O'Logical on Monday 27th July 18:28
The previous owner has had the car for 21 years, and has turned it from what was a basket case into what it is now.
Yes, it will have had a black interior, he's had it re-trimmed and re-carpeted. I appreciate its not standard spec, but it's tasteful, and I like the colour - as with the alloys, the EMPI eight spokes are a popular fit, and I like the look.
Windows indeed should have quarter lights. Mine had a one piece kit fitted some time ago. They both operate correctly and seal well (it's still hard to shut the doors with the windows up)!
Engine is a bit of a mystery. It should be 1300cc, it's on the V5 as a 1500cc, however when he rebuilt it and checked the bore diameter it denoted 1600cc. Either way, it runs perfectly, uses no oil, has no end float play, and is pretty solid.
I know it isn't the last word in originality, but it's solid, and a pretty lovely little car.
I like that. There's not much love for the McPherson strut cars but they look like a Beetle to me, and it has to be better than torsion bars. I passed a light beige J plate 1302/3 on the Dronfield bypass the other day in fact. The rear bumper was MIA but the car had the look of a freshly completed restoration.
I was given a 1957 oval rear screen Beetle in 1983, a LHD import on a 1965 C registration. Long gone now.
I was given a 1957 oval rear screen Beetle in 1983, a LHD import on a 1965 C registration. Long gone now.
Dr Interceptor said:
Sorry, I meant twin port 1600cc, not twin carb.
The previous owner has had the car for 21 years, and has turned it from what was a basket case into what it is now.
Yes, it will have had a black interior, he's had it re-trimmed and re-carpeted. I appreciate its not standard spec, but it's tasteful, and I like the colour - as with the alloys, the EMPI eight spokes are a popular fit, and I like the look.
Windows indeed should have quarter lights. Mine had a one piece kit fitted some time ago. They both operate correctly and seal well (it's still hard to shut the doors with the windows up)!
Engine is a bit of a mystery. It should be 1300cc, it's on the V5 as a 1500cc, however when he rebuilt it and checked the bore diameter it denoted 1600cc. Either way, it runs perfectly, uses no oil, has no end float play, and is pretty solid.
I know it isn't the last word in originality, but it's solid, and a pretty lovely little car.
1500cc would be correct for that manifold - I expanded the photo and it's definitely a single port. Sorry, I wasn't trying to be negative, as the car looks nice, but I was just trying to subtly point out that there are several reasons why it doesn't look original. I've built and rebuilt several Beetles over many years, so these were all fairly obvious signs.The previous owner has had the car for 21 years, and has turned it from what was a basket case into what it is now.
Yes, it will have had a black interior, he's had it re-trimmed and re-carpeted. I appreciate its not standard spec, but it's tasteful, and I like the colour - as with the alloys, the EMPI eight spokes are a popular fit, and I like the look.
Windows indeed should have quarter lights. Mine had a one piece kit fitted some time ago. They both operate correctly and seal well (it's still hard to shut the doors with the windows up)!
Engine is a bit of a mystery. It should be 1300cc, it's on the V5 as a 1500cc, however when he rebuilt it and checked the bore diameter it denoted 1600cc. Either way, it runs perfectly, uses no oil, has no end float play, and is pretty solid.
I know it isn't the last word in originality, but it's solid, and a pretty lovely little car.
Enjoy it!
Dermot O'Logical said:
1500cc would be correct for that manifold - I expanded the photo and it's definitely a single port. Sorry, I wasn't trying to be negative, as the car looks nice, but I was just trying to subtly point out that there are several reasons why it doesn't look original. I've built and rebuilt several Beetles over many years, so these were all fairly obvious signs.
Enjoy it!
That's okay, I know it's not original! It also should have the wing top indicators, but the chap fitted the bumper with the indicators in for a cleaner look, again I approve!Enjoy it!
Off out now to install a new 'retro look' two knob stereo, need to try and locate a switched live supply somewhere in the dashboard. It currently has a modern abomination fitted, but no switched live, so you have to turn on/off manually rather than be on the ignition
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