1968 VW Beetle, HELP ME!

[Bri-Bri]

So i have a 1968 VW beetle. i purchased it this fall for about $1,500. i did a little research, and i found that most VW that old would definitely go for a lot more money then i paid for mine. so it was kinda a good deal im thinking!
the problem is i am not mechanically inclined (im pretty sure those are the words i should you!) what so ever! But im having a hard time keeping it running. If i jump start it, it fires right up. but as soon as you try to get going someplace it dies! WHAT DO I DO!?!?!
any advice?

[ckou]

in Greece, when a car is a wreck we say "paint it blue and throw it in the sea"!

Just kidding...

If you can afford fixing it, fix it and the sell it. A VW Beetle in good condition can be sold for a fair amount of money. I'll give you an example.
My dad bought a 1974 Mini Cooper for 1500 Euros and it costed 4000 Euros to make it almost new! So, he paid in total 5500 Euros. A couple of months ago someone was giving my father 8500 Euros to buy it, which means 3000 Euros profit.

All I want to say is that classic cars, such as VW Beetle and Mini Cooper, can be sold for a good amount of money if they are in good condition. Think about it.

[Boss...]

1968 beetles are a fairly simple car to work on and diagnose any problems with. As with anything that messies up on car can be numerous issues. But, the simplest thing it could be is the alternator. The engine is not either turning the alternator witch could just be the belt is lose, or you have a bad alternator and you can rebuild the alternator or just buy a new (which I would do).

You could, just to be sure, take it to a shop and see if they can diagnose the problem for you. But they might charge a pretty penny to even look at it. I wouldn't let them work on it though because they charge so much, and they say something is wrong thats not and charge you for it.

As for it being worth anything, only the best and most pristine go for $15,000-20,000. But an ok one (driver quality) will bring some where between $5,000-8,000.

[Wakesetter03]

Yeah pretty much all that can go wrong with a Beetle motor wise is Air, fuel or spark.
As far as I know all of your suspension would be simple leafs, and brakes would be good old drums XD It would be a simple car to work on.
The guy above me sounds right, that it would be an alternator. Your battery isn't charging from the motor.
Check your carburetor, air filter (this particularly as most Beetles are air cooled), oil and if you have a multimeter check your alternator and battery (try and get someone to help if you don't know). Once the general maintenance checks are done, if there is still an issue, you can from there narrow down issues.

[MartyG]

Lots of old vehicles have crud in the gas tank.....and it gets sucked into the fuel system. Even if there is a fuel filter (there should be!) crud can get caught in the line running from the tank to the filter...and clog it up. When that happens...you stall for lack of fuel.

Or; like others have said...it could be electrical. Borrow a known good battery....if it stops stalling....then that's the problem.

Lots of shops like O'Reilly and Auto Zone will check batteries and alternators for free.

One thing though...if it runs "strong" without knocking when it is running...then it is essentially healthy and whatever is ailing it must be minor.

[Bri-Bri]

thanks guys! :)