1978 Vw Super Beetle Convertible Champagne Edition Ii on 2040-cars

I’m ready to part with my 1978 Super Beetle Convertible, Limited Champagne Edition II. Only 1100 cars of limited champaign edition II were imported into the US. It’s a beautiful car with a completely rebuilt fuel injection engine that starts and runs great and has only 1000+ miles on it. The car still needs some work to return it to it’s original glory, especially a new paint job. I sell it as a project car. Altogether the car has only run less than 30.000 miles since it was built.

Everything works in the car. The seats were reupholstered by the previous owner with white vinyl. The dashboard is in very good condition with no cracks. Even the little clock is still ticking.

Three years ago I had the engine replaced with a completely rebuild engine based on a 1976 motor which now has around a 1000+ miles on it. The new engine + installation was $3000. Further down you’ll find a long list of everything that was done during the rebuilt.

With the new engine I put in new brakes, brake drums, wheel bearings, brake cylinders, and flexible break lines in all four wheels, as well as a new master brake cylinder, fuel pump, bushings, and ball joints.

It has a set of Coker BF Goodrich Silvertown radial white wall tires that have only run a 1000+ miles and are in great condition. The tires alone coast around a $1000. The original wheels have been sand blasted and powder coated.

The car has very little rust. Only a few small spots. There’s a little hole under the rear seat next to the battery compartment. Apart from that I couldn’t find anything major. The convertible roof has small tears in it but apart from that still works great. I have a new white boot for it that still needs to be installed.

Unfortunately I was not able to get the car through smog and it has been standing in my driveway for a year. I worked on solving the problem on and off but didn’t succeed. That’s why I would prefer to sell the car out of state where the smog regulations are different than in California.

I just talked to a veteran VW mechanic in the LA area a few days ago hoping that I could convince him to help me fix the problem, but he said California regulations are too tough when it comes to the late model fuel injection super beetles. He says California just doesn't want the FI super beetle on the streets and he doesn’t want to deal with them anymore, so I finally decided to let it go. Hopefully there is someone else out there who knows these engines better than I do. I still see a few of them driving around. I don't know how they get them smoked, but there must be a way. Maybe it's just my lack of experience.

Here is what I did in the last year to solve the problem:

I tuned the car after I put in new spark plugs, ignition coil, distributor cap, points and condenser. I checked all the fuel injectors and replaced one. I put in a new used wiring harness, EGR valve, EGR filter, and resealed the EGR and exhaust system. Every part of the EGR system is working as it’s supposed to. I had an exhaust shop put in a new cat and had them wield a bung into the exhaust system so I can install a wideband oxygen sensor. I used the oxygen sensor with an Innovate LM-2 digital air/fuel ratio meter to tune the engine and make sure it has a stoichiometric combustion of 14.1. I’ve put in a tach so I can check and fine tune the air/fuel ratio at 1500 and 2500rpm, the same rpm they check during the smog check. Unfortunately the car still failed due to it’s NOx being too high.

I will sell the car with the $250 Innovate LM-2 air/fuel ratio meter and wideband oxygen sensor. The LM-2 is also a great OBD-II scan tool.

It was my ambition to make the fuel injection system work they way it should and make this 35 year old car drive as clean as it possibly could, but I don’t have the time anymore to achieve that goal so I hope someone else is going to take over.

Here’s another con. Unfortunately that car got into a small accident and received damage about two years ago to it’s front left side. I had a local body shop repair and repaint it. There’s a photo from under the hood that shows signs of the repairs. It’s also the reason why just the front left fender and the hood has new paint on it. I didn’t have the time and money back then to take apart the whole car and have it completely repainted. The steering wheelis still a few degrees offset but the car runs completely straight, so I guess it’s just the wheel that needs to be readjusted.

Please feel free to ask any questions you might have or contact me if you want to take a look at the car. With a little work and patience this classic could be turned into a real beauty. Ideally you pick up the car in Los Angeles, Pasadena area. I have the clean title in hand. This is a true auction starting at $1, with no reserve. 

$500 non refundable deposit with 24 hours of end of auction to be paid via Paypal. Remaining balance to be paid within 3 days of end of auction either via PayPal or certified check from a bank that I approve of. The car is also for sale locally and can be purchased locally while the auction is ongoing. I retain all rights to end auction or deny selling to anyone at any time for any reason. 

Just to remind you what you see is what you get and you cannot return this car or expect a refund. I have explained everything to the best of my knowledge and offer it "as is" and "where is" without any warranty as to the condition.

Here’s the list I was given from the guys I bought the rebuilt engine from.

The engine came out of a 76 beetle. The engines are the same from 75-79. The engine was completely disassembled and hot tanked to remover any foreign matter. The Brothers Machine shop in Ontario, CA did the work on the block. Go online and check them out. We have used them on several engines and been to there shop and very impressed to there attention to detail. I had them line bore the block. That means that all the main bearings surfaces have been re sized and trued and this allows the crankshaft to spin freely. Another important step is to deck the block so the cylinders are parallel to the block and the crankshaft. These are very important to building a reliable engine.

The engine block has been drill to accept an external oil filter and that has been added.

The crankshaft has been reground with new bearings.

4 reconditioned connecting rods with new bearings(They have been re -sized and straightened.)

New Mahle pistons and barrels.

A reground Fuel Injection camshaft and new lifters with new bearings.

2 new fuel injections cylinder heads.

New timing gear.

New chrome moly push-rods.

New solid rocker arm shafts with swivel feet on the rocker arms.

Aluminum valve covers.

The engine was completely balanced to 1/2 gram.

The cylinder heads were cc'd to determine the size of each chamber.

The engine was assembled in a clean environment and torqued to manufacture specs.

Th distributor was cleaned and lubed.

It has new spark plug and wires. The fuel lines are new Goodyear fuel line that has plastic inner liner and a rubber outer to insure a better and longer lasting seal.

The throttle body seals have been replaced.

New clutch and throw out bearing.

All new vacuum lines.

It comes wiith good wiring harness, electric fuel pump and new filter and fuel pump relay, air flow meter. A new 55 amp alternator.

I am sending a few pic's on the engine.

Good luck with the bidding!