automatic transmission

auto-sick shift. vacumn leaks, no low gear, not driver friendly. Easliy changed to regular tranny. dont forget to oil the door hinges by popping the little plugs on the top of the hinge acmexman

In 1969 I purchased a new 1969 VW Beetle with automatic stick shift. It also had a blower fan for the heater and defroster as well as a radio. The cost was $2,150. It was fire engine red. It had very little power but could usually jump off the line up to about 20 or 25 mph as fast as most cars of its day but after that I used to wave them past me. The auto shift had the clutch in the shifter and had only a gas and brake pedal on the floof. It was a standard three speed "H" shift pattern and if you pressed down on the shifter knob the transmission would disengage just as it would if you had depressed the clutch on a manual shift car. If you were heading up a hill you had to anticipate and build up speed or you would be crawling by the time you reached the crest. I can't remember a slower car on the road back then. The blower fan for the heater was a necessary option as my cousin who bought a 1963 Beetle brand new did not have a blower fan on the heater and in cold, snowy weather the windshield would frost over when you stopped for a light not to mention the cold that would return to the interior. In the 1969 you had the luxery of being able to see out your windshieldunder those circumstance. Side windows would always fog over. Of course all Beetles had those heater vents down by the driver's left foot which would melt the sides of your shoe when driving down a highway. The faster you went the more of a hot foot you got. Also because the back windows didn't roll down there was always an annoying buffetting wind sound when driving at speed with front windows down. You got a headache quickly. The storage space behind the back seat always heated up quickly. The car was teriffic in snow. The spare tire up front had a hose connected to the tire stem valve for the winshield washer spray. All in all a fun car and you could lift the front of the car off the ground by yourself.

I had one and I loved it I thought it was quick off the line but it never went faster than 75 which was terrifying I did beat an old a** Mustang with 45 guys crammed into it going uphill to the next light I was astonished but the car was so light and quick it beat them it would never have handled them on the track though with just one other passenger. It did not do well in cold weather starting or otherwise unless you were well dressed for it

where is the neurtal switch on a 1974 superbeetle autostick