The Nissan S30 was sold as the Nissan FairladyZ in Japan, and the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and the 280Z in the USA. Neat cars, but very susceptible to rust.
Old Photo - College Parking Lot c. 1980
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The Nissan S30 was sold as the Nissan FairladyZ in Japan, and the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and the 280Z in the USA. Neat cars, but very susceptible to rust.
The early Super Beetles (and all the regular Beetles) had flat windshields.
I mentioned friend Bruce above, who drove the family's 2nd car, a '76 Chevette, to the college. In 1976, Bruce's dad had his heart set on a Rabbit. The dealer would not come down from the $5000 retail price, so the family wound up with a new Chevette for $4000 instead.
The Chevette is often the butt of jokes, but it was a good car for them. I did the first tune-up on it in 1980. It was in the family for a long time, providing reliable and economical transportation.
I didn't know about the windshield, but thought the hood (front trunk) looked extended compared to the regular Beetle. This is just a guess on my part, though.
I found this explanation on the interweb: "
"Pre`58 and `58-`64 windshields were dead-flat. In 1965 the windshield was enlarged and got a slight curvature - that glass was used through the end of production of the Standard Beetle in 1978 as well as in the 1971 and 1972 ("1302") Super Beetles.
The noticeably curved windshield debuted on the 1303 Super Beetle in 1973.a'
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Definitely were flat WS super beetles.
The F100 is a bump side so it can’t be a 150. It’s 5 lug so it can’t be. 250/350.
The F100 is a bump side so it can’t be a 150. It’s 5 lug so it can’t be. 250/350.
The triumph could be a TR8 maybe.
In 1975 my Rabbit, which had some "performance" package, came to just over $3,500 out the door. It was in Oregon, no sales tax, $23 license fee and long before dealer paperwork fees. That $3,500 was a lot of money for someone just finishing college. In 1980 I traded it for a diesel VW Dasher wagon.
Went from Brooklyn, NY to Salt Lake City (around the Great Lakes) in a brand new, '76 Rabbit.
It was me, 2 girls who took chemistry classes with my sister and a guy who got off in Buffalo.
The girl who owned the car had a boyfriend in Salt Lake.
That poor car was broken in with a 2,800 mile highway run.
I continued west and later heard that the car spent time in the shop in Salt Lake....never heard if damage was done.
It was me, 2 girls who took chemistry classes with my sister and a guy who got off in Buffalo.
The girl who owned the car had a boyfriend in Salt Lake.
That poor car was broken in with a 2,800 mile highway run.
I continued west and later heard that the car spent time in the shop in Salt Lake....never heard if damage was done.
In some ways, the Beetle was quite the car. It was very simple. Parts, were super inexpensive. And as long as you washed them regularly, so they didn't rust out, they lasted a long time.
VW dealer parts were extremely expensive back in the day.
A college classmate was rebuilding the carb on an air-cooled bus - one little diaphragm, I think for the accelerator pump, was C$40.
I had just rebuilt a friend's car for a Slant Six. The entire kit was C$6.
This was in the early '80s.
It's probably much better now, with the internet connecting owners to aftermarket support, etc.
I can't speak for how much genuine VW parts cost, back then or now. But I recall walking the aisles at local auto parts stores, back in the mid '70, looking at tune up parts, including points and condenser sets, carb rebuilt kits, and such. The Beetle parts were no more expensive than those for Ford and Chevy trucks, which were well known to be some of the least expensive vehicles to maintain, back then.
My sister had a '69 Beetle, that she had bought new, and drove for many years. My brother-in-law did all the maintenance on it, and he had shared with me that it was very inexpensive for parts.
And inbetween, the The Faculty does well in presenting cars teenagers in the late 90s might have drive. Very much, the difference in determining "youth" from the boomer generation up to the modern is by the furniture, fashion, and biggest celebrity figures.
