Pick of the Day: 1951 Mercury Coupe Custom

On September 8^th through the 10^th, the Goodwood Revival is celebrating Carroll Shelby’s life on what would be his 100^th birth year. The 2023 event is also commemorating 75 years of the Motor Circuit and 25 years of the Revival.

Carroll Shelby began racing cars in 1952, before the days of fire suits, when drivers counted on being thrown from the vehicle to avoid fatal impact. During his racing career he won Le Mans as both a driver and a team owner. Heart problems ultimately forced him to halt racing 1960, which was when he diverted his attention to performance and sports car building, his most famous builds being the Shelby Cobra and the Shelby Mustang. He passed away in 2012 at the age of 89 as an automotive legend with enough accomplishments and unforgettable stories under his belt to fill a museum.

England’s Goodwood Revival will honor the legend, his cars, and even the airplanes he flew while he was an instructor in WWII. It’s not clear which planes will make an appearance, but Shelby flew several, including the B-25 Mitchell bomber, Douglas A-26 Invader, and the long-range, high-capacity B-29 bomber.

In a press release from the Evening Post, Shelby’s grandson Aaron Shelby said, “Goodwood held a very special place in my grandfather’s heart… We’re honored that the Duke of Richmond and his team have chosen to honor the 100th anniversary of Carroll’s birthday this year.”

“It’s such a privilege to be celebrating Carroll Shelby at the Goodwood Revival this year,” said the Duke of Richmond, Goodwood’s host. “He was a good friend and I remember when Carroll first came to the Revival back in 2000—having raced and famously won at Goodwood in the 1959 TT—bringing with him his infectious personality and competitive spirit. It will be wonderful to see those glorious cars that Carroll raced and designed in action at Goodwood once again over the weekend.”

For those needing to plan ahead, tickets for the Goodwood Festival are already available at Goodwood.com.

Every April, the tourist town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee fills to capacity with all types of cars and trucks. The Pigeon Forge Rod Run happens twice a year (Spring and Fall) and it never fails to draw a huge crowd of enthusiasts. The event has an interesting formula for success, and it has a lot of history in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Although it is known as the Rod Run, the event went by another name for most of its early years. It was originally held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, another nearby tourist town. It was first an unofficial gathering that grew into a huge street party that led Gatlinburg city officials to push the event out of town in 1982. The next town over, Pigeon Forge, was a growing tourist town with the Dollywood theme park and many other attractions and welcomed the hot rods to town for the 1983 event.

1.Chris Ryan’s 1966 Corvette coupe features a deep green hue, covering flawless bodywork. Horsepower comes from a stack-injected LS engine.

At the time, the event was known as the Grand Run, as the show was held at the Grand Hotel and Convention Center, but most folks called it the Rod Run even back then. As the event grew, MCS Promotions took over the event and added a spring event to the schedule. In 2014, the event moved to the new LeConte Center, and the name officially changed to the Pigeon Forge Rod Run. The LeConte Center is the perfect home for the Rod Run, as it provides indoor and outdoor space for hundreds of cars and hundreds of vendors. The event is held Thursday through Saturday, and there are lots of great awards for the hot rods, muscle cars and classic cars in attendance. In addition to the awards is the Dirty Dozen, a special invitation-only feature area organized by ScottieDTV. High-end, head-turning builds make up the Dirty Dozen, but that’s just a fraction of the show cars on display at the LeConte Center.

1.The Pigeon Forge Rod Run is known for its wild builds, and this Nova funny car is a prime example. It features a twin-blown big block Chevy engine, and rumor has it this Nova was spotted driving on the street after the show closed.

We enjoyed the weekend of activities at the Spring Pigeon Forge Rod Run and assembled this gallery of photos from the show field. Stay tuned for another coverage of the action that takes place outside of the show. Every available parking place in town is packed with old cars, and people love to get out and cruise when the sun goes down. If you want to see the Pigeon Forge Rod Run for yourself, mark your calendar for the fall event, which takes place September 12-14, 2023 or check out www.rodrun-pigeonforge.com for more information.

Cars from the 2023 Spring Pigeon Forge Rod Run

Earlier this year, the internet caught wind of an electrical fire that sparked in a F-150 Lightning at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The fire damaged two other Lightning pickups and put a pause on the popular truck’s production. More on that story here.

We found a video on YouTube by CNBC TV that shows the extent of the damage. In the video, an officer can be heard saying, “Let’s hope it doesn’t blow up.”

New video shows fire involving Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup

youtu.be

The video supports concerns around the challenges of extinguishing electrical fires, which are challenging to put out due to a chain reaction known as “thermal runaway.” Typically, lots of water is what firefighters have available to combat a fire, but stopping electrical fires can take thousands of gallons of water. That topic is covered in this article about a Tesla Model S that caught fire in January 2023.

“In a lot of ways, the Super Beetle wasn’t that super,” Jake Raby said. It’s an odd quote to come from a guy who may be the biggest fan and expert of the Seventies Beetle, and it’s an odd quote to use to lead a story meant, in part, to get people enthused about the cars. On the other hand, it’s how Volkswagen enthusiasts – typically much more interested in the earlier Bugs – have long seen the last-of-the-line Super Beetle, and ironically it’s something that anybody needs to understand in order to fully appreciate the cars, either for what they were or for their potential as restomods.

Road & Track‘s review of the new-for-’71 Super Beetle noted that it did a good job of reiterating the long-standing qualities of the Bug in the face of increasing competition from Japanese economy cars and from a new wave of domestic cars like the Pinto, Gremlin, and Vega. “The Beetle, whether in standard or Super form, has three main points to recommend it: fuel economy, workmanship, and its reputation for long life and service. If you value those three virtues above all others, then the Beetle is for you. Otherwise it is hopelessly outdated.”

Still, for better or worse, the Super Beetle helped cement Volkswagen’s legacy. Intended to keep the familiar Type 1 on the U.S. and European markets for just a few years longer, until a suitable replacement for the aging car could be developed, the Super Beetle may have been choked by smog equipment, may have been hastily altered to meet safety regulations, and may not have looked quite right to fans of the Beetles that came before it, but it also saw the Type 1 surpass the Model T’s global sales record and eased Volkswagen’s transition from builder of quirky people’s cars to a full-fledged modern automaker.

“In a lot of ways, the Beetle is like an old friend,” Road Test magazine noted in 1977. “It’s a car nearly anybody can feel comfortable in right away.”

Why Buy a Super Beetle?

Raby, the chief technical director for the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America, noted that the Super Beetle, particularly the sedan, doesn’t have the same sort of universal appeal as its predecessors. The larger body doesn’t look right to many, the MacPherson strut front suspension is a radical departure from the old beam front ends, and the cars introduced diagnostic ports, electronic fuel injection, and even catalytic converters – complexities that go against the ideal of a simple car that anybody could maintain and repair.

But that’s not to say that the Super Beetle doesn’t have its admirers.

“I’m one of the few people who appreciate the Super Beetle over the standard Beetle,” Raby said. “It rode better and had added capabilities when it came to handling. There are things we do to Super Beetles that you can’t do to a regular Beetle.”

In fact, many Porsche components from that era swap over to the Super Beetle, and the discovery of that fact by younger Eurocar enthusiasts in recent years has led them to seek out Super Beetles to modify for the “German Look,” a movement that aims to build a sports car out of the Beetle rather than try to build the Super Beetle to conform to the “Cal Look” so popular with pre-1967 Beetles.

“Super Beetles can be made to handle as well as a 911,” Raby said. “I’m not kidding about that.”

Beyond how easily they can be modified, Super Beetles also presented the last chance to purchase a convertible Beetle. While the standard Beetle sedan continued to sell alongside the Super Beetle sedan after the latter’s introduction (and even outlasted it, remaining on the market through 1977 while the Super Beetle sedan was discontinued after 1975), all convertibles from 1971 onward were Super Beetles.

As with the “instant collectibles” of the late Seventies like the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, many Super Beetles of that era immediately went into “mothballing for their children to unwrap,” Terry Shuler wrote in “The Origin and Evolution of the VW Beetle.”

In addition, Volkswagen churned out special editions left and right during the Super Beetle era. There was the 1972 Baja Bug; the 1973 Sports Bug; the 1974 Love Bug, Sun Bug, and Fun Bug; the 1975 LaGrande Bug; and the 1978 and 1979 Champagne Edition convertibles. European buyers got even more: the Yellow and Black edition, the Jeans Beetle, the City Beetle, the Big Beetle.

“It was another sign that VW was preparing to abandon the Beetle to its fate,” Graham Robson wrote in “Volkswagen Chronicle.” “Special-trim models are a telltale that the marketing department is anxious to prop up a declining car.”

Still, plenty of enthusiasts have since taken a shine to those special editions to the point of restoring them, complete with original graphics and other special equipment.

Even without all that foofaraw, Raby said the Super Beetle offers the basic enjoyment of driving an old Volkswagen. “It’s got better creature comforts, more room, and a better ride,” he said. “The earlier cars always have a bigger following, but the Super Beetle is for people who want to drive their car.”

How to Identify a Super Beetle

So what made a Super Beetle different from the standard Beetle? Mainly, it comes down to the MacPherson strut independent front suspension that Volkswagen engineered for the car. “Volkswagen never officially said why they did it, but a lot of it was due to safety,” Raby said. “This was right after the Nader thing and the switch to independent rear suspension.”

To make room for the new front suspension, Volkswagen had to lengthen the wheelbase by about 0.8 inches and stretch the hood and front sheetmetal by about 3.2 inches. Those added inches aren’t easy to spot in a side profile view; instead look at the bonnet – it’s broader and flatter at the leading edge than the earlier bonnets with Vee-shaped leading edges. Super Beetles also adopted a slotted front apron under the front bumper while all sedans – regular and Super – got narrow crescent-moon-shaped vents just behind the rear windows in 1971. Under the bonnet, the additional room afforded by the MacPherson strut IFS allowed a larger trunk as well as a lay-flat spare tire instead of the more upright spare in standard Beetles.

For what it’s worth, the Super Beetle name was only applied to North American models with the MacPherson-strut IFS. European models saw the same changes but were sold under the 1302/1303 model names.

Changes then took place almost on a year-by-year basis. In 1972, the Super Beetle received a taller rear window. In 1973, all Beetles received a curved windshield, deeper dashboard, so-called “elephant’s foot” taillamps, and an alternator instead of a generator. In 1975, all Beetles received electronic fuel injection, rack-and-pinion steering, and turn signals mounted in the bumper instead of atop the front fenders. And, as noted above, the Super Beetle sedan existed only from 1971 through 1975 while the standard Beetle sedan lasted through 1977.

Dozens more minor changes from redesigned front seats to the presence of fender beading took place during the Super Beetle’s run. Bob Cropsey detailed those in his book, “Volkswagen History to Hobby: All the Facts – All the Fun,” noting that only one part remained the same throughout the Volkswagen Beetle’s entire run: the clamping strip that holds down the weatherstripping around the bonnet and the engine lid. That said, according to Raby, Super Beetles are essentially the same as standard Beetles from the A-pillar back.

When doing a VIN check, look for the VINs stamped on a tag in the lower driver’s side corner of the windshield, on a tag on the driver’s side B-pillar, and stamped directly into the floorpan under the carpet under the center of the rear seat. Standard Beetle VINs start with 11 throughout the Seventies. Super Beetle sedan VINs also start with 11 in 1971 and 1972 then switch to 13 from 1973 through 1975. Super Beetle convertible VINs start with 15 throughout the Super Beetle run. The third digit in the VIN for all three models is the last digit of the model year. Online sources including TheSamba and JBugs have charts that indicate serial number range for each model year.

Where Do Super Beetles Rust?

Essentially the same places that standard Beetles rust, according to Raby. “The big one is the heater channels. With cold air going through them and getting humidified, that builds condensation, so just the act of using the heater will make the car rust.” Nor does it help that the heater channels, which double as the rocker panels, rust from the inside out, leaving owners unaware of the problem until it’s almost too late.

In addition to closely inspecting those channels, Raby suggested looking at the floorpans, where water accumulates and remains trapped by under-carpet insulation, and under the battery, where spilled acid often causes the floor to rot out. And that crescent-moon vent behind the quarter windows tended to allow water to seep in, he said, so look for rust behind that vent and near the rear window.

Super Beetles are susceptible to rust around the front suspension mounts, which will make the car dangerous to drive because that area is the strongest part of the car, Raby said. However, that’s a problem that has more or less taken care of itself over the last 40 to 50 years. “We don’t really see that anymore because that’s the sort of rust that kills a car,” he said.

That said, that area around the front suspension mounts can be difficult to repair if the car has been in an accident and if it was put back on the road after straightening the cosmetic damage. “Look at the tires to see if they wear improperly, then look at the strut tower area for signs of damage,” he said. He also noted that the most common sheetmetal damage to these cars comes from getting rear-ended, in which case the rear apron will show signs of damage.

Replacement sheetmetal, interior, and restoration parts are all widely available for these cars, but Raby said many of the reproduction sheetmetal parts are questionable at best, and he’d much rather pull body panels off a junkyard car and spend the time straightening them than trying to get reproduction parts to fit. “Good, used German-made parts are highly sought after,” he said. “There’s still some good junkyards in California with tons of cars for the picking.”

What Engine and Transmission Did the Super Beetle Have?

All U.S.-market Beetles built from 1971 on, including the Super Beetle, had the 1,584cc flat-four engine, commonly known as the 1600. Initially rated at 60 horsepower, the 1600 dropped to 48 horsepower in 1973 with the addition of emission control equipment and remained there through the end of production.

The 1600 was equipped with a diagnostic port as early as 1971, but it wasn’t until 1975 that Volkswagen added Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection to the engine, and even then it was analog. Similar to the fuel injection systems found on Volkswagen Type 2s, Porsche 914s, and Volkswagen 411s, it was often removed because mechanics in the Seventies didn’t know how to work on it, Raby said.

“It’s rare to find a Super Beetle with the fuel injection unit on it now, that’d be a total unicorn,” he said. And even if one were to find an extant fuel-injected Beetle, keeping it running in its original form would be next to impossible. “They heavily relied on a feed from the cylinder head temperature sensor, and you can’t find those at all now. Even the parts that cross over to the Porsche systems are tough to find – the 914 restorers search the world over for those parts.” And they pay top dollar for L-Jetronic parts too.

The solution, Raby said, is to either swap to a carburetor or to retrofit the fuel-injected engines to the modern EFI systems available from the performance aftermarket.

The Automatic Stick Shift – a clutchless vacuum-operated three-speed transmission that debuted in 1968 – remained an option on Super Beetles through 1975 and partway into the 1976 model year. Otherwise, all Super Beetles received the standard Volkswagen four-speed manual transmission designed to be used with Volkswagen’s independent rear suspension.

Rebuilding Super Beetle engines and transmissions is no more difficult today than it has ever been, Raby said. Parts are readily available, and Volkswagen engine specialists remain plentiful. “That’s one of the easier things to do,” he said.

How Do Super Beetle Chassis and Brakes Hold Up?

With all the improvements in ride and handling that the MacPherson strut independent front suspension brought and with all the development work done on the Super Beetle front ends by the German Look modifiers, the cars are still known for developing a shimmy at around 45 to 50 miles per hour.

“Some cars did that right off the lot,” Raby said. “They just couldn’t get rid of it.”

He said that bushings and idler arms tend to be the main culprits of the shimmy, though some cars will need more extensive front-end rebuilds to eliminate it. For that reason, he recommended test driving any Super Beetle at speed before purchase.

While Super Beetles did receive larger front drum brakes, they didn’t get disc brakes before the end of the line. That said, disc brake swaps, stainless steel brake lines, and other brake upgrades are widely available through the Volkswagen performance aftermarket.

What’s a Super Beetle Worth?

About the same as what it’s been worth the last few years. With so many produced and still available – thanks, in part, to the aforementioned instant collectible status of the convertibles in the late Seventies – Super Beetle prices are fairly predictable and steady. Of the dozens of Volkswagen Super Beetles currently listed for sale on Hemmings.com, only a couple outliers on the top end approach the upper $30,000 range, and all but one are listed for $12,000 or more.

While the ranges of asking prices don’t seem to vary much based on whether the Super Beetles came equipped with a flat windshield versus curved windshield, carburetor versus fuel injection, or any other factory equipment, asking prices do vary based on sedan versus convertible, with prices for the latter generally 25 to 30 percent higher.

While Classic.com does not differentiate hardtop versus convertible Super Beetles, the prices there generally correspond to those on Hemmings.com, with a running average of about $18,000 and most sales taking place in a cluster between $8,000 and $25,000.

Additional Super Beetle Resources

Vintage Volkswagen Club of America

membership@vvwca.com
VVWCA.com

JBugs
800-231-1784

sales@jbugs.com
JBugs.com

The Samba

thesamba.com

Perhaps the most documented seven-year Corvair restoration is now listed on Hemmings Auctions. Completing this 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa Convertible was a labor of love for owner and seller Don Homuth. Now in nearly concours condition, the classic car features all era-correct parts, including its air-cooled flat-six engine and four-speed manual transmission.

It was early-1968 when Homuth set eyes on the Corvair for the first time. He purchased it a day before he had to return to Vietnam after a 30-day leave. It was love at first sight; “to my eye it was a vision of automotive perfection,” he wrote in a 2015 Hemmings article. Homuth’s honest and in-depth progress updates soon became a regular occurrence in the Hemmings Daily series until the restoration was completed in 2021.

Aside from missing his family upon his return to Vietnam, getting back home to drive the Corvair was all he dreamed about. After returning, he drove it for a year, then sold it to the woman who he eventually married to chase a 1966 Corvette Roadster. Once married, the Corvair re-entered his life and he sold the ‘Vette, but bought five other Corvairs, including the rare #042 Yenko Corvair Stinger. As time passed, life circumstances caused him to sell it and the other cars for good, or so he thought, sometime between 1977 and ‘78. Life went on, and in late-2014 Homuth began wondering what happened to his first Corvair love. Just three days after putting an ad on Craigslist, he received an email from the owner. After exchanging stories, an agreement was met. Homuth welcomed the Corvair home in August, 2015 and began the restoration soon after.

The plan was to restore the Corvair to concours condition, and a glance through the photo galleries found in the auction listing show just that.

In locating the car and completing the restoration, Homuth revisited a memory; “For an old man, that’s irreplaceable,” he said. “I’m convinced that first drive in 1968 saved me from the worst of PTSD. That afternoon in 2021 when I finally had this car finished and was driving it around with the top down, I was 24 years old again for a couple of hours, having just returned from Viet Nam. That’s not something I know how to put a dollar value on.”

The convertible is currently stored “under a fleece-lined car cover inside an inflatable bubble in my shop.” Homuth states decided to sell it due to his age, and because he wants to spend more time traveling with his wife.