Wait, what ?!
Didn’t that make the spare tire positively useless as a, yanno, *spare *tire; as I assume it was always deflated when you needed it ?
Asked and answered. Whose idea was this, and were they shot ?
Yes, that must be why the Beetle was the most popular car ever made, and if they were “shitboxes” then so were Porsches, because they shared many components. :rolleyes: As I mentioned in another thread, the Beetles’s four-speed stick shift was a masterpiece of excellent engineering that was a pleasure to drive. Yes, I did own a Beetle – it was my first car and I had it for many years, and my pleasant memories of aren’t just based on nostalgia but on what a great it car it really was. Few American cars at the time had nearly the same assembly quality. And no, it didn’t rust in all the years I had it in Canadian winters.
The rear engine wasn’t in any sense a “safety issue” – the front gas tank was probably the real hazard – and it did provide excellent traction, but you had to be aware that the car was rear-heavy and therefore susceptible to spin-out, as someone already said. Not the kind of car you’d want to take around sharp turns at high speed.
Some of the other drawbacks mentioned were fixed in VW’s famous series of ongoing incremental improvements while retaining the same basic design. A fuel gauge was added sometime in the mid to late 60s (before that, if you “ran out” of gas you’d just pull a little lever and it would give you a reserve supply), and the windshield washer was electrified. For those cold winters when the engine heat was pretty useless, a gas heater had long been available.
To be fair, the Beatles did spend time in Germany.
When did they add this “gas heater”? My 71 had the standard exhaust gas heat exchanger which uses the large engine fan to blow the air. And it was fairly useless. I also had the bonus of the exchanger being cracked so it was a good amount of exhaust that was blown in on those cold mornings.
My Dad bought a used Bug in 1962, from someone who’d brought it over from Europe; Czechoslovokia, IIRC. It had the tiny split rear window, and appeared to be older than God’s parents.
I loved that car, learned how to drive in it when I was 15. It was easy and fun to drive. I can’t remember it ever giving us any trouble, just kept on running, until the day in 1968 when the engine seized up. My Father did not believe in preventative maintenance, never changed/added oil until the microscopic, dim green, " low oil" dot lit up under the speedometer. That little light either burned out or developed a bad connection; Dad found out the hard way.
For some reason, the oddity that I’ve never forgotten was the radio. The minimal lettering was in an Eastern Eurpoean language; the two knobs were large and ornate, looked like something from a Flash Gordon movie. The station selection button was hyper sensitive- you could scan across the entire display face with about a half-twist of the dial; and, the indicator moved in reverse motion. Turn the dial to the right, and the indicator went to the left, and vice versa.
Windshield washer- no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t even have any.
ETA: engine in the rear, of course.
I had a '69. Biggest scare I had was while driving on a snow packed two lane highway in the winter. I was going north, a Semi was going south. When it passed me, my rear end went a few degrees right, a few degrees left, then way to right. I found myself going backwards on the wrong side of the road at about 50 MPH until I coasted to a stop. I ended up on the opposite shoulder facing where I’d come from, just in time to see another car come up behind me, which I might have hit head on from the rear had it come just a few seconds earlier.
The only curved glass on it was the rear window.
It was available pretty much since forever, though it may only have been offered in certain areas where it was cold enough to warrant it. There were two different manufacturers, Stewart-Warner and Eberspacher, and I believe it was a dealer-installed option. This is an interesting article about a 1962 Beetle that talks about some of the oddities like the gas heater and the windshield washer powered by the spare tire, and has some VW ads from the era.
Yep - My brother and I were sitting in the back of one that had the battery short out and set fire to the seat. Of course with it being a 2-door we were trapped in the back for a few seconds (but it felt much longer) until we convinced the guys up front the car was on fire and to get out so we could too.
Until just now I never knew that was common, or at least not unheard of.
When I was about 12 my parents used to let me do the shifting in ours. They’d tell me when they had the clutch in and I’d move the gear shift from the front passenger seat. Lots of fun for a young kid and I was so proud I knew the shift pattern, but unfortunately we got rid of both of our Beetles before I was old enough to actually drive.
I also remember ours had the single indicator in the instrument cluster for the turn signals - a two headed arrow with a single bulb that blinked when you used either turn signal. As a real young kid I couldn’t figure out how my folks knew whether the left or right outside signals were working since there was only one indicator inside.
The “flat” windshield had a slight curve after 1965. Looked flat but didn’t create sudden glare that made the whole windshield opaque when the sun was in the right place. Super Beetles got a noticeably curved windshield in 1973.
My '62, bought in Canada, came with the original German Blaupunkt radio, with a Long- and Medium- wave band selector. No Long-wave stations in North America, so it stayed on Medium (AM).
One thing I remember, is that the heat from the engine was transmitted to the cabin in winter through channels in the door sills. Which eventually rusted through, and mine formed a small rust hole right behind the front wheel wells. So when driving on wet roads, the spray would enter through those holes, and flow in through the vents onto the floor. By the end of the winter, there was an inch or so of solid ice covering the floor. In summer, you could bail the water out with a can, and it would eventually dry after a rain if left parked in the sun with the windows open.
Basically, I loved that car, had virtually no problems with it, I drove it once from Canada to El Salvador and Guatemala and back, with my family…
I have to add that not all the rear-engine bugs had rear swing axles. Fully independent rear suspensions with inner and outer CV joints came along in '68 (three model years after the Corvair got them).
Oh no! So late to an air-cooled VW thread!
That was probably some sort of later addition. Every Beetle at least sold in North America came from the factory with the spare tire washer arrangement (the newer Mexican and Brazilian ones might have had a normal pump.) The only major difference is the Super Beetles had a special valve that prevented the tire pressure from getting below 25 psi or so.
This isn’t quite right. The hot air was circulated into the cabin by the engine cooling fan. The VW’s poor reputation for heating is mostly due to two particular maintenance issues.
First, the vast majority of VW’s on the road had their idle set too low. It was supposed to be around 900 rpm, whereas most contemporary domestic cars ran around 400-600 rpm. That meant if you got your bug tuned up at the corner garage, the engine was usually idling too slow which meant the fan was turning slow which meant it wasn’t sending much warm air into the cabin. It also lead to overheating on hot days and the dreaded flickering oil light.
Secondly, the system had to be completely leak free, which was almost never the case. The paper tubes that ran from the heat boxes on the exhaust manifold to the heater channels in the frame were particularly fragile and never got replaced by cheapskate owners when damaged. Ditto with the main seal around the engine compartment. The heater boxes and heater channels themselves also liked to rust out.
With everything sealed and the idle set properly, the system worked great. You got heat a lot faster than on a water cooled car and while the air output was a little less at idle, it was still plenty to defrost the windshield and keep your toes warm. Although the vans used essentially the same system and it definitely was inadequate with the bigger interior space.
Congratulations, you’re the first person I have ever talked to in my entire life that had something good to say about Beetle heat. 
I had a high school teacher that drove a Karmann Ghia. I always thought it was such a cool car and wanted to buy one. But wasn’t it just a Beetle with a stylish car body? Engine in the rear.
http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Volkswagen/67-VW_Karmann-Ghia-DV-09_AP-02.jpg
There were a lot of minor differences, but the Karmann Ghia did follow the same basic design as the Beetle. It basically used the Beetle engine and transmission, but the engine was modified (things were moved around a bit) to fit the lower profile of the Karmann Ghia. The chassis was the same basic design but was slightly wider to accommodate the Karmann GHia’s body. The way it was laid out, they had to change the angle of the steering column and a bunch of other things. They changed some things in the suspension to handle the larger size and to make it more sporty. While they moved a lot of things around, they didn’t really veer too far from the Beetle’s basic design.
The body of course was much different. As you noted, it was much more stylish. They employed much more sophisticated manufacturing methods in making the body, so it wasn’t just more stylish it was actually much better built. The higher manufacturing cost of the body was reflected in the higher price for the car.
Because of all of the minor differences there’s a lot of parts that won’t swap between the two cars, but if you are mechanically familiar with a Beetle there isn’t anything on a Karmann Ghia that will surprise you.
A German tribute band, or the German real thing?
So, more or less like any second hand vehicle around that time. Particularly the bits about always traveling with tools and spares, getting stuck out somewhere, and the heater not working properly.
Compared to my dad, I’ve done very little work on my cars. Compared to my kids, I’m a genius of obsolete motor mechanics.
Ha! I’m not saying the heater didn’t suck, just that the problem was more one of reliability than performance. On the last Beetle I owned, I actually had enough money to replace the falling-apart hoses, the long-gone engine compartment seal, and the thermostat* and was astounded at how well the thing kept me warm after years and years of freezing in various VW’s.
Of course once I was flush enough to actually start fixing things the right way on the bug, I was well on my way to affording a nicer car. 
*Oh, yeah, I forgot that in my earlier post. Lots of VW owner-mechanics didn’t even know the VW had a thermostat and when they broke they almost invariably just got removed instead of fixed. Which would prevent the heater boxes from getting hot and thus further reduce heating performance.
Back in my time, everyone learned to drive a 4 speed on a Beetle. This was before the “invasion” of Japanese cars in the USA. If you wanted a sporty import, you’d get an MG or Triumph.
Had an MG too. In case the OP wants to know where the engine is on an MG: It’s under the bonnet.