When should a person rebuild a 1970 VW Beetle engine?

Asked by Tvalwes Feb 13, 2019 at 12:51 PM about the 1970 Volkswagen Beetle

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hello
My Mom owns a 1970 VW bug. Original engine -
she lets it sit for a month or two without starting
and died when she was driving it. We explained
she should start it once a week even if not driving
but she does not. She now says I need the engine
rebuilt. I asked her why, she said so she feels safe
and says she knows about VW beetles.
My question- why does an engine have to be
rebuilt?

5 Answers

If the engine burns a lot of oil and is down on compression. If the engine dies while driving the fuel system/carburetor may need cleaning or rebuilding.

1 people found this helpful.

The battery doesn’t keep a charge after it sits for so long. I do not believe she has checked carburetor- I think it’s crazy to get whole engine rebuilt just “because” she “thinks” she should and she is definitely not a mechanic.

It has stopped before when very hot here and she drove it to the store. Once it cooled down it was fine. I get it and she obviously doesn’t care about spending thousands of dollars to rebuild it even if she doesn’t have to which is not my concern. It is her money. Once she rebuilds she doesn’t think she will have to start it and can just leave it for months on end without something happening again

Hi Tvalwes. I’m looking to buy a 1970 original engine if it’s serial number starts with a “B”. My car had it rebuilt years before I owned it but I’m looking for an original. If she’s looking to replace it, I would buy it and she can recover part of the expense. Let me know!

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