VW Dunebuggy Oil, 1958 ?

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I have had a Meyers Manx dunebuggey made from an old 1958 Volkswagon frame and engine. It was given to me by a friend that moved to my area from California. Finally got it running this week. The oil had sat in it for about three years so I got the oil hot and drained it. Only thing I had around was some left over 30 weight HDEO in the blue Wal Mart bottle we had purchased for the chain drive on a old Case skid loader. It runs great with it and looks clean.

Never owned a VW so what oil should I run year round? Air cooled is a little different for me.
 
Depending how far south you are... I would run a 40wt oil like Rotella or a straight 30wt.

Would this be air-cooled?
 
Yes, it is air cooled and I live in the hot mid south. The lowest it gets in our garage is about 32 degrees.

Thanks for your help!
 
40wt Rotella I think would be the best choice!
wink.gif
 
So that would be the 36 HP engine?
Is is modified?
Straight weight oils were recommended. This is because multigrades were not that good then, and broke down in the high heat of the air cooled engine's environment.
REmember, there is no oil filter and has a small capacity so frequent changes are best.
2,000 miles is long time, 1,500 is better for that engine.
The diesel Heavy Duty oil is very good and cheap. 15-40 for dino, and 5-40 for the synthetic version.
 
Having owned a couple air-cooled VWs--just a Microbus now, I recommend:
10W-40 conventional year around. 20W-50 conventional if you're running it really hard.
Kendall GT-1 API SL grade has extra zinc you may want for your flat lifters. Castrol GTX is good, too.

The heads run hot on these.--Adjust your valves every 3000 miles maximum, keep on top of ignition timing and idle mixture, inspect for vacuum leaks periodically.

Oh yeah, and replace your fuel lines unless they are brand new.
Old VWs burn...a lot.

That's my advice in a nutshell.
Have fun with it!
 
My dad bought a 70 bug and a 74 brand new. Both went over 100K on Pennzoil 10w-40 changed every 3k and this was back in the 70's.

The 70 got parked in the early 80's when he decided to rebuild it. Got the engine apart and it still has the hone marks in the cyls. Spotless inside.

He wrecked the 74 in 1984 with 145K on it.

Neither had any work besides oil changes and valve adjustments. I remember him cleaning the oil screen with gas every oil change.

Both of these cars lived in SoCal and did lots of desert driving.
 
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Yes, it's a 36 Hp and it looks stock.

Can I ask if anyone has a good online site for VW parts and accessories?

Thanks again!
 
I have used to following to keep my VW and other VW's on the road for hard to find parts:

germanautoparts.com
marksbugbarn.com
eisparts.com
busdepot.com (Better selection by talking to them by phone)

My neighbours son tinkers with all kinds of Air-Cooled VW's and there is a guy that runs a shop called Euro-VW repairs and he can seem to get anything, so if you need help locating a part at anytime let me know and I will ask him for you. 99% of the time it comes from the US.

Also I don't know if you have been to Canada, but there is a great Air-cooled VW meet with literally thousands of air-cooled VW's and water-cooled cars/vans at the meet in Niagara Falls, Ontario every year. I have been taking my '89 Cabriolet there and many people have offered me money on the spot for it because it has the old CIS mechanical fuel injection. There are also a ton of vendors with rare & hard to find parts. You should come up some time.
 
Try keithsautoparts.com

They have always had everything I have needed for my VW dunebuggy. They also have a machine shop for line boring cases, etc. I usually just drive down there, but they ship UPS too.
 
I try to shop local when ever I can. Don't forget about cbperformance.com they have allot of parts, cip1.com has a ton. There are also shops that are more for specific needs like wolfburg west, BFY obsolete or a shop that has higher standards like aircooled.net.

Of course I would suggest visiting thesamba.com for any aircooled VW. Best aircooled VW forum on the web IMPO.
 
Great and helpful tip about the fuel lines.

I'd get on that as the first order of business. Sounds like a really fun little hobby vehicle!
 
Check out "the samba.com". This site was helpful when i had my 74 thing.
For oil i ran 5w40, 30w, 40, and 15w40 diesel oil. Without a oil filter and being air cooled i changed my oil every 1500 miles. I liked the 5w40 the best but, it was also the most expensive. You will be fine with the 30w.
Good luck,
Greg
 
Originally Posted By: Drivebelt
Originally Posted By: Keith Z
You can run a diesel 15w-40 Rotella or Delo would be good.
+1.


+2, if you're driving it often in warmer weather. In the winter, 10W-30 or 10W-40 is fine.
 
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