Hello
I am new here and I have a lot of questions. I am a car guy but I have always been a Mopar man.

My son's first car was a 73 Beetle. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him he didnt want a VW, etc.  That was UNTIL I drove the car. I fell in love with it. It was FUN.

Anyhow, we didnt really do much with it and eventually sold it to buy another Mopar. He and I both have been wanting another one and plan to do some serious stuff with it.

As I said, my experience with VW is VERY limited so I am going to ask a lot of silly questions. Please bear with me. I didnt learn Mopars overnight and I wont learn VW either.

We dont currently have a VW but I am working a deal on one right now.
I want a 53-57 Oval window.

Here is what I want to do.
Chopped top (maybe. I am not solid on this idea yet)
Lowered front
Wide fiberglass fenders
Custom interior
Sound system under trunk (hood)
Custom gauges
Suicide doors

Here are my questions. Again some may be dumb.

1. I know there are several different size engines for these cars. Which is best for performance? Will they all interchange?

2. How about suspension modifications? Are there any must dos or good tricks?

3. I know there are lots of good parts distributors. Give me the website or number for your favorite.

4. As I said, I prefer a 53-57 with the oval window but that is only because I like the window. Is there any other year that woudl be a better choice due to parts availablility, updated suspension, etc?

5. I have read where people say this is a 65 sitting on a 57 pan,etc.
I didnt know the bodies would disconnect form the pan until I saw pictures.
Why would you want an older pan? What is the differnces in the pans?
Is one year better than others?
I am very intersted in this so any info you could give will be news to me.

6. Does anyone know of a magazine,etc that has done suicide doors where I can get the info to do it?

Thanks in advance for your help. I truly appreciate it.

Thanks!! I am definitely reading everything I can find. I want to have a plan of attack before I attack. lol

I'm not a purist either but PLEASE don't chop the top of an oval or split window bug. Like Bugz said, you can graft an oval into a later body. You can get the looks you're after with a later model car and have better suspension and drive train.

As for engines.................the spectrum is wide..............as for a powerful little car, we have one club member who is an old time drag racer. Last November, he ran 9 dead heat races against Fords, Chevy's and Mopars and after WINNING all 9 races, no one else would pull up to the line against his little 4 cylinder Bug.  This is fact, not fiction.

Like Bugz said, come around, hang out and the only dumb question is the one that ISN'T asked. :thumbs-up:

There you go !!    I told you that you would get some advice. It doesn`t take long to get this bunch fired up.
    I know this is down the road a bit, but I wouldn`t be to concerned about engines right now.  It seems that a lot of people want to learn how to build BIG engines first thing right out of the box when they don`t know how to even adjust brakes on a VW. First things first. Learn all you can about the basics of the VW, what you can or cannot do, what works or not. There is plenty of infomation in this club and other places for you to explore . Ask lots of questions.  I started a long,long time ago with VW and Im still asking questions,still getting answers. Let the games begin. We are here to help. :thumbs-up:

OK now I have another question.

If I bought this car, would I be better off if I bought a later model "pan" with good floorboards and ball joint suspension?

Would that put me ahead as far as my plans or would I be just as well with any pan?

Here's some "food for thought" . . . just keep in mind I'm not a good cook!

Seems to me the off-road crowd actually prefer the older link pin front beam.  Keep in mind that it's basically a mid-1930's design.  Roads improved over the years and ball joints, a more modern design, replaced the link pins.  I've never driven a link pin car as a daily driver but I'm guessing the ball joints offer improve the handling on good roads but sacrifice a little ruggedness.  The Super Beetles have a strut front suspension . . . an even more modern design.  When everything is correct on a Super it's the best handling Beetle you can get.  But, you TOTALLY sacrifice ruggedness.  Rough roads will destroy a Super's front end in short order.  I've seen Super's with the front part of the body visably warped from one trip off road.  Of the three front suspension choices out there, there isn't a good, better, and best . . . it's all a matter of how and where you intend to drive.

In the rear, you have two choices - swing axles or IRS.  IRS is Independant Rear Suspension . . . which actually, a swing axle is too . . . but let's not go there yet.  The swing axle has an axle inside of a tube that runs out the spring plate.  Because there is a fixed distance between the transaxle housing and the spring plate, the wheel moves through the suspension travel in an ark.  The IRS has a stub axle running in bearings at the end of the spring plate.  The stub axle is connected to the tranny by a pair of drive axles with CV joints on each end.  The wheel moves through the suspension travel almost straight up and down.  It's kind'a like this:

The wheels on a swing axle car move like this:   (   )

The wheels on an IRS move like this:    l    l

IRS has obvious handling advantages on good smooth roads and in fast, sharp turns . . . but swing axles are tough.  VW put IRS in all 1969 and up Beetles built for the US market, but the swing axle was the suspension of choice in the Mexican Beetles right up until the end of production last year.  Again, one isn't better than the other.  It depends on what you intend to do with it.

On your front suspensions . . . 1965 and back were link pin.  1966 and up were ball joints.  Without welding on a new frame head the two won't interchange.  A Super Beetle is a breed unto its self.  It has a totally different frame head and body actally holds the top of the struts in place.  Supers were built from 1971-1979.  All convertibles during that time were Supers.  In 71 and 72 they had a flat dash and a flat windshield like a regular Beetle, but from 73 up they had a larger curved windshield and a more "modern looking" dash.  I believe that Super Sedan production ended in 75 (76-79 Supers were all convertibles).  75 and later Supers had rack and pinion steering.

Although anything is possible if you don't mind cutting, welding, and fabricating . . . keep it simple.  Determine what front suspension you want and let that dictate what "pan" you use.  I think it's pretty easy to put a swing axle setup on an IRS pan . . . and with a little cutting and welding a swing axle pan can be converted to IRS.  It's not an everyday thing, but it's been done many, many times before.  As for the actual floors . . . pan halfs are not too hard to replace.  Don't pass up a good deal on a car just because the floors are rusted.  The bottom of the body (heater channels) are a different story.  They are not impossible to replace, but it's not a job for just anyone.

I'm not trying to overwhlem you with information or make it seem like I know it all.  I'm still relitively new to all this myself . . . I bought my first VW a little less than 10 years ago.   But I made a real big mistake in the begining and I try to help others avoid making my mistake.  I had no clue what I wanted, what I wanted to do with it, what the difference between a Beetle and Super Beetle was, etc., etc., etc. . . . then one day I walked into the back yard and tried to figure out what I was doing with 20 junk VWs out there.  Having even a slight clue what you want BEFORE you start dragging cars home will go a long way towards keeping your back yard uncluttered!  But the neat thing is they are small . . . with a little "creative" parking, you would be supprised how many you can cram into a few square feet.  

Zen , Im glad you said all of that and you are dead on.  I like link/king pin for its strength. These front axles can be "slap" worn out and they will still drive down the road very well. Half the time you will not even feel it. Its only when you look at your front tires that you say whoops. Can`t say that about a ball joint axle. If a ball joint goes south ,you will know it at the next speed hump/pot hole when the wheel and spindle hop out of the trailing/ball joint and you are laying on the ground like a dead moose. Not any fun at 60mph either. I have seen the results on the back of a rollback. Its a good idea to take a look at your ball joints once in awhile and check for excessive play. If you let one little thing get loose on a Super Beetle strut front end for any lenght of time,it will shake its self apart. If you want your bug to ride like a Town Car, I suggest you buy a Town Car. I will say this, They are all good front axles when you take proper care of them. Like Zen said: Depends on what you are building, Off roader, street rod, stocker on what type of front axle set up would work for you and still be safe.