Worst Type 1 crash?

[94VL]

Whats the worst Beetle crash you have ever seen? For me,it was years ago,when a 1 year old 74 Sports Bug went off the road at high speed,going down into a ditch,rolling a few times and hitting some trees.Not one square inch of that car was intact after the rescue (they cut the roof off),or even before the rescue.The driver survived minus his front teeth impacting the rally style steering wheel and knocking them clear out his mouth.The car was in excellent shape before the crash,afterwards the only thing still in OK shape was the jack...everything else being bent or broken beyond recognition.Just seeing it twisted so badly,it was at first questionable being a Beetle...but no one can mistake a bright yellow import with red and black stripe down the side....it was a limited run Sports Bug.This car became scrap metal 30 years ago,far too early in its expected long life.

[Unclewaltsoup]

i have never witnessed an accident with a beetle... but i went to the junk yard last week and there was this nice blue 73 (i think) that looked like some one had turned it upside down and slid it down a hill... most everything was still intact though, save for the roof and glass.

[94VL]

The strength of the Beetle's roof design is pretty impressive.A massively rusted away '77 was in a junkyard I frequented years back,and a large car was stacked on top of it,except for a dent where the underpinning pressed against the roof,there was no sign of any collapse.I actually had to go inside and unscrew some stuff....I didnt feel all that comfortable doing it,but I'm sure the car is still there to this day with that other one atop it.
I had never seen a VW rusted so badly as this one....it had been last inspected/registered a couple years previously but I dont know how that would have taken place....there was rust clear up to the bottom of the door striker plates...jagged rust.The heater channels were completely gone and the floor pans pushed upward.The car body itself sat on the dirt ground,having collapsed over the pan.To think the '77 was the end of the line...
I also knew of a school nurse that always had VWs,and her last one was a 1977 and it became known as the spotted leopard.Rust blisters showed up on every panel.....and once the front bumper fell off when a car backed into it,seems the bumper itself corroded off due to salt and the absorbers were left sticking out.She wound up throwing the bumper in the back seat sorta like Smokey and the Bandit and the LeMans front door from Buford T Justice's patrol car.
I guess Beetle quality went to heck after 1974.

[Unclewaltsoup]

yeah i like the late sixties models myself, but you are very right about the strength of their tops... i have a cabriolet, but i have seen plenty sedans that just seem like that you could carry a locomotive on top.

[Dawnie]

Originally Posted by Unclewaltsoup

i have never witnessed an accident with a beetle... but i went to the junk yard last week and there was this nice blue 73 (i think) that looked like some one had turned it upside down and slid it down a hill... most everything was still intact though, save for the roof and glass.

My first car, at 16 years old, was a 65 beetle and let me tell you, the roof is incredibly strong. Due to my inexperience as a driver, I wrecked causing the car to roll over 5 times. Part of the roof on the passengers side caved in, but not that bad considering the impact. We had no seatbelts on. I held on to the stearing wheel with my left hand and grabbed my friend, pulling her toward my lap with my right arm, held on and just rolled and rolled. Neither of us got hurt. All I can say is thank God we were in that beetle made of solid metal. If I ever roll again in a car, I hope its in a beetle. They are definately solid and well built.

[94VL]

The Beetle's strongest point is its roof design/shape.Ford back in the 50s did a test on import car roofs and found the Beetle to be the most durable by far.However,any impact to the front,rear,or side in a Bug is almost certainly deadly.With nothing really solid ahead of the firewall,the trunk area collapses easily,the doors are very thin in cross section so they cave in quickly,and with only a rear apron and bumper behind the engine,any rear impact will almost always clobber the engine itself.

[5gcivic]

Hit by a fed ex truck

[vwracer14]

i just have a role bare to hold the harness in my race car because the roofs are so strong but the worst crash really wasnt a crash and it hapens all the time someone had a carb leak and the car caught fire

[Rick's69]

I have never seen anything to destroy a bug but my dad's 1970 convertable got hit fro the side near the engine and it spun his bug around 180 degrees and all that really happened was some bad fender damage and rear apron damage. my bug on the other hand got into a very bad accident when i was comming on a turn i hit a 1969 Chevy nova head on at like 25 mph. my front axle was cracked and my fender was smashed into my quarter panel.. now i own a 69 nova.