I had a shitbox 1964 Beetle but was having a 2nd child, so bought a silver 1971 4 door 411 for $1000 in 1986. It had the 1700cc fuel injected engine with a 4 speed manual. What a great driving car, rode beautifully, engine felt strong and quiet, and it loved highway cruising. We were able to get a big twin stroller in the frunk plus a full two weeks of groceries. I had it repainted the original silver, so it looked sharp. The only thing, it would buck under hard acceleration, particularly when in a higher gear. Unfortunately I was young and stupid about cars back then, and I took it to a dealership to figure out what was wrong. I told the service guy it felt like the engine wasn’t quite bolted down. Well, they replaced the struts, then something else, kept going back, saying the same thing. Finally, I was told it was fixed, when I asked the same service guy, Hans, what was it, his German accent got a little thicker, he was talking about the engine....mumble mumble, oil leak, mumble mumble engine mounts disintegrated, mumble......Wait, I said, so what you’re telling me is that the engine wasn’t quite bolted down. His sheepish look was all I needed to know....me, who all I knew about cars back then was that you used the round thing to aim it, had diagnosed the problem $2000 ago. Live and learn. Or else you’re just wasting your time.
A lovely & comfortable car. I still drive it with passion.
There are some shops in Germany (International shipping) but (fitting) bug or bus parts are easier to find.
Very cool! I had a '71 411 wagon when I lived in Germany. 4 speed with the 1.7 liter fuel injected motor. It's the car that taught me to work on cars!
I had a shitbox 1964 Beetle but was having a 2nd child, so bought a silver 1971 4 door 411 for $1000 in 1986. It had the 1700cc fuel injected engine with a 4 speed manual. What a great driving car, rode beautifully, engine felt strong and quiet, and it loved highway cruising. We were able to get a big twin stroller in the frunk plus a full two weeks of groceries. I had it repainted the original silver, so it looked sharp.
The only thing, it would buck under hard acceleration, particularly when in a higher gear. Unfortunately I was young and stupid about cars back then, and I took it to a dealership to figure out what was wrong. I told the service guy it felt like the engine wasn’t quite bolted down. Well, they replaced the struts, then something else, kept going back, saying the same thing. Finally, I was told it was fixed, when I asked the same service guy, Hans, what was it, his German accent got a little thicker, he was talking about the engine....mumble mumble, oil leak, mumble mumble engine mounts disintegrated, mumble......Wait, I said, so what you’re telling me is that the engine wasn’t quite bolted down. His sheepish look was all I needed to know....me, who all I knew about cars back then was that you used the round thing to aim it, had diagnosed the problem $2000 ago. Live and learn. Or else you’re just wasting your time.
Great story and a good lesson for the rest of us!
Looks like a fun project! Following
Ate you found a place to find parts on these type of cars? I'm planing to buy one
Ebay seems best, but I've had decent luck crossing PNs over to T3 stuff.