wakey wakey, beetle brakey

[inlovewithavdubengine]

My friend just got a '69 Beetle... inherited it from a relative, no service records available. I was acting as designated driver in it last night and I noticed the brakes were, well, frankly pretty lousy. Even going 20 miles per hour, you'd have to push the brake pedal practically through the floor and it still took a little bit too long to come to a full stop (for my taste).

I'm not really used to driving the old bugs, and even on my '91, people that are used to driving a 2006 Mazda or whatever are amazed at how much effort is required to drive so I guess my question(s) would be: are unresponsive brakes just a pretty normal thing for these dinosaur v-dubs or should I start helping her check out the drums? Where is the brake fluid reservoir located on old Beetles?

She also had a question about why her car sounded like "a motorcycle"... I told her those old cars usually didn't have much in the noise-reduction department, they probably sounded like a chainsaw new from he dealer. I don't know the cause of the occasional sputtering and stuff when idling, though. Is that normal? Some kind of engine knock?

Mainly I just don't want to see my friend get hurt or damage her car because of worn-out brakes. Honestly, for all I know, those shoes could be the originals.

Thanks for your help

[SidVicious]

Brakes probably need to be adjusted. The fluid will come back up if it's low once the adjustment is done. It probably wouldn't hurt to flush out the brake system if it's been sitting a while. Check the condition of hoses & the res. That'll likely be under the front hood where the spare tire goes.

The sounds, like you said, is likely because it's old. The muffler or other exhaust components might be rusted through in spots. Easy to replace, though not the cheapest thing in the world.

The carb might need adjustment, a filter change or the lines blown out. There may also be rust in the tank making the gas impure.

I'm at work, so I can't search links for you for the brake adjustment, but there are tutorials all over the web & YouTube for that operation.

Good luck.

[buggyman]

Brakes probably need to be adjusted. The fluid will come back up if it's low once the adjustment is done. It probably wouldn't hurt to flush out the brake system if it's been sitting a while. Check the condition of hoses & the res. That'll likely be under the front hood where the spare tire goes.

The sounds, like you said, is likely because it's old. The muffler or other exhaust components might be rusted through in spots. Easy to replace, though not the cheapest thing in the world.

The carb might need adjustment, a filter change or the lines blown out. There may also be rust in the tank making the gas impure.

I'm at work, so I can't search links for you for the brake adjustment, but there are tutorials all over the web & YouTube for that operation.

Good luck.

Hi! Sid ,
Just got off work myself,here's some links to look through in :
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...p?topic=5364.0
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...p?topic=5304.0
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...p?topic=3998.0
Since it was "inherited" = (FREE ) ,it's time to spend at least a little $$ & quality time with it to button things back up to snuff & Sid just gave you a great start toward that end, gotta be able to stop before you can go .