Bugs as "proper" training for 911/915?

[nostatic]

Had a long conversation about cars with a buddy of mine today. At one point he commented that while my car was fast, he really didn't like to drive it..."to much work". As a point of perspective he had MGs when we were in HS, and is now talking about building a Mustang 5.0-based kit car (I'm trying to talk him out of that one and instead into a Sunbeam Tiger).

There also is a lot of complaining about the 915 tranny here along with clutch feel.

Now I spent the first 6 or so years of my car driving life behind the wheel of either a '67 or '63 Bug. As such, I was used to feel of the pedals pivoting from the bottom rather than suspended from the top, and a tranny that required some touch to make smooth.

So does that training ground give an advantage to warming to the unique "features" of 911s in general, and 915 trannies in particular?

As recent threads have indicated, owning bugs definitely prepares one for the smells of aircooled life.

[cegerer]

Worked for me! Here's my 911 training car - a 73 'Sport Bug':

[JR Indy]

76 (or was it a 78) Bug while going to college. Finally blew up along the interstate while moving to my first job. Left it there, bought some japanese thing. Been trying to get back ever since then, welcome home.

[rs911t]

My first car was a 73 Super Beetle, but I doubt it prepared me for the 911. I've haven't found the 915 a chore. Frankly, I think it's easier to drive hard than the stick in my M3. The 915 provides better feel. The BMW tranny hasn't a soul. Just like Arnold in the T3 trailers - "I .. am .. a .. machine!"

[Bill Douglas]

I've had 2 beetles and a VW Kombi (Van), so I really didn't notice anything about the clutch. Oh yes, Sunbeam Alpines and Tigers are great cars, other than the fact they are British (Lucas).

[beepbeep]

Hell yeah:

[masraum]

As has come up in other threads before, "some people get it and some don't!"

It sounds like your buddy may just not get it.

[LeeH]

I agree as far as the pedal pivot. I learned to drive in a bug so it's always seemed natural to me. A friend in high school asked me to run an errand in her Pinto. Holy cow, I could hardly drive it with the pedals pivoting at the top.

As far as phycically shifting the tranny, my bugs and Ghia were easier to shift. However, there was much more play in the linkage.

[nostatic]

speaking of Pinto, I saw a perfect Pinto hatchback on the way to my buddies house today. Probably a '71, nice yellow paint, original blue plates, just beautiful.

Well, as beautiful as a Pinto can get...

[Matt Smith]

I started reading this thread wondering what the response was going to be, thinking that it certainly wasn't bugs that got me into the 911, as I've never owned one ...or even spent time in one..

Then DUH! The memories came flooding back: My parents had bugs for about 7 years while I was a child. They had emigrated from the UK (me too) in 1972, and we had VW's because my father was more familiar with European cars than the Holdens & Falcons most Kiwis had. We did so many long holidays in those things, my sister & me stuck in the back wedged between the big tent bags and camping equipment.
The last one we had was a beige 1300, which unfortunately got stolen while being worked on at the local Euro garage. I vividly remember crying when the police took us to where they had found it- down a dusty road, all smashed up, burnt and dented

Maybe, just maybe those long repressed memories were a key factor in later 911 ownership?

[greenmonster]

Originally posted by nostatic
Well, as beautiful as a Pinto can get...

Just a FYI: The pinto online community is starting to grow. fordpinto.com just got a much needed make over and the Ford Pinto Mailing list has about 460 members.

back to lurking...

[cegerer]

Not only is the Pinto a smart looking car, they are great track car capable of passing Porsches with relative ease!

[rs911t]

they are great track car capable of passing Porsches with relative ease!

Because everyone is afraid to bump into them!

[Zeke]

I had scads of early bugs, then a 914 and finally a 911. Then a 356 and now a Boxster and another 914. I think ownership of VWs helps establish an apptitude for Porsches. And a lust, and an addiction and so on..........is that "proper" training?

[nostatic]

This has some charm:

[UTKarmann_Ghia]

'72 & 74 Karmann Ghia, and a '72 beetle Funny, first time I got in my 911 it smelled just like a VW

[widebody911]

Worked for me - here's my first car - a 1969 "Targa" bug. I've only had one non-VW/non-Porsche - an MG that lasted less than 48 hours. Other than that, I've only owned one other water-cooled car in my life - a VW Scirocco.

[HarryD]

I have not been a bug owner in a previous life but learned to drive in a '65 Dodge Van. You know, the ones when the sterring wheel is parallel to the ground, the engine is between you and your passenger and the pedals go into the floor. I think if you drove an old manual, you tend to get it as there are many similarities between the early (non power assisted) cars and the p-car. It's part of an era!

[Schrup]

My 15 year old daugter loves Pintos. My training ground was a jalopy fleet of old trucks I had to drive for 6 years. The owner of the company was a cheapskate when it came to vehicles. I hated Beetles second only to Pintos. Didn't feel that much safer than being on a motorcycle. I liked my 915 off the bat, it took me about a week to learn the fastest way to shift without grinding

[ricwon]

yeah, a couple of my first cars were vw. a 68 beetle with a npr big bore kit and a engle 110 cam and a 70 karmann ghia. they were good training for what you can expect from hvac for air cooled cars