Can't choose. I like them both. Had a vw before. VW sqaureback"s and fastback's are pretty cool too. The knock on the VW is no A/C.

Go with the jeep, he'll get more ladies....;0)

You guys are about as much help as I was,

I like them both as well . I still think he can make a bug cool and fun to knock around cheaper, just less moving parts. His mother said the same thing about the jeep and getting girls. I like the versatility of the jeep, but I see new and old of them everywhere and I just don't see classic bugs much.

I've never owned a Jeep CJ but I owned several 60's era VWs. I lived in western Pennsylvania at the time and I drove them to work year round. In fact in spite of there lack of a good heater I preferred driving them in the winter. With a good set of snow tires they'll go anywhere. In the summer they were good inexpensive transportation, fun to drive and of course that's when the heater worked. I would go with the VW.

Harley Sportster - you can get them used for cheap and they are a blast to ride.  Take the Motorcycle Safey Course first though.

I would hunt for an older CJ5 with a 304 v8.

I always say safety first for the kids.  For me it had to be in the mid 90s and up and have air bags.    That bug wouldn't stand a crash with a mid size SUV.  With young drivers you want something that's easy to drive  with automatic.  I let my son drive my 69 Mustang.  It took him at least hour to figure out the clutch to get it to move without killing the engine..LOL.  My son wanted to buy a 70s hot rod.   He also plays Hockey.   Im like is this car going to start when its -25 leaving the Hockey Rink at night with a Carburetor.  Then the half hour drive home from practice in 6" of snow in a rear wheel drive car.   I figure when he's done with college and has a job he can buy whatever he wants.  The other killer is insurance.  For him to have a car with us not having no tickets or accidents in over 15 years its $1400 a year for liability for him alone.   I've looked all over for insurance and there all about the same.  My son ended up with 2001 Grand Am GT.   But he has his eye on 2002 F150 4x4.  So we keep the Grand am for my Daughter who gets her license this summer for her If  he buys the Truck.   I don't even want to think what the rates will be when she's driving.  Its  not like the 70s and 80s when we were driving around.  That's for sure.        

Last edited by Steve69 (12/16/2015 10:25 AM)

HenryJ wrote:

I would hunt for an older CJ5 with a 304 v8.

We had one of those.  Bought it from a junkyard for $300 with a set of 4 newish off road tires.  It was rusty as it gets.  We jumped it up a hill and on of the fenders gave way and it ran the fan into the radiator, cut right through the tubes.  We kept it running, cooled it down with water, bent over the cut tubes and dumped 4 tubes of that powdered gray stop leak into the radiator.  It didn't hurt the engine and it sealed up just fine.  It was just a beater for running through the woods, but it was tough as hell.  By the time we finally had to send it back to the junkyard, where we recouped $200 of our investment, it would only make right turns, had no brakes, and the roll bar had be ripped off it.  I should have kept that motor because some years later I bought another CJ5 with a 232 straight 6 in it.  The V8 swap is pretty easy, and any AMC V8 will work as they are all the same from the 304-401.

My cousin also had an '89 Wrangler that we swapped a 350 Chevy into.  That thing was a monster.  He never broke the Peugot built 5 speed in it despite what Advanced Adapters claimed was inevitable, even when he banged 5th gear at about 100 and on of the driveshafts let loose. 

Are Jeeps dangerous?  Well, IMO any vehicle in the wrong hands is dangerous.  Are Jeeps rollover machines?  Not in my experience.  I've done a lot of hairy stuff with them over the years, but never rolled one.  I've also seen videos where they repeated the "tests" done by various news outlets to show how dangerous certain various vehicles were (Sidekick was among the ones derided).  They found that a high speed S turn would flip a 7 series BMW just as easily as a Jeep or Samurai.  When it comes to vehicles kids need to be taught what they can and can't do.  Do that and I would continue to worry only about the other drivers on the road.

VWs are also very cool.  My father-in-law has both a Beetle and a Ghia convertible.  The Ghias can be hard to find without major body issues, and repairs are more difficult because of the fully unitized body (fenders don't unbolt).  The following is huge, parts readily available, and with the right parts they can be made pretty quick owing to the fact that they weigh nothing. 

If it were solely up to me I'd go with the Jeep for the versatility.  Some day though, hopefully many, many years from now that Ghia will live in my garage when my father-in-law goes to the Margeritaville in the sky.  Maybe that'll change my opinion, who knows?

Oh, my other weakness in classic 4x4s!  The IH Scout, a 4x4 built by a company that makes tractors.  I mean seriously, does anyone doubt its toughness with just that as a descriptor?  If more enticement is needed, they built them with Diesels (built by Nissan) when no one was doing that.  Their I4 was literally half a V8, with a block off plate on the side that would have had the other bank of cylinders.  They were smart too, and used Dana axles (27 front and rear in early models, and 30 front, 44 rear in later models with an optional 44 front) and t-cases (18 early models, 20 later models).  Pretty sure their autos were Chrysler Torqueflites.  They also offered AMC I6s (232s and 258s).  Their gas motors would last 300k, when most other manufacturers would be lucky to see 100k.  They built a turbo 4-cylinder variant in the mid 60's.  Their only weakness was rust.  Parts availability is somewhat spotty for body, trim, and interior, but mechanical parts are readily available thanks to interchangeability with other makes.  The Scout II, built from '71 onwards are the most prevalent, but the earlier 80 and 800 models do pop up on occassion.  The IH built V8s came in 3 sizes, 304, 345, and 392.  I think the Scouts were only offered with the 304, but the pickups and Travelalls could be had with the bigger engines, which are bolt in swaps.  Not long on HP, but they make tons of low end grunt, even the 4 cylinders had good low end (and could knock down 20+MPG depending on the rear gear).  I think 4Wheeler or another mag built one as a project truck in the late '90s called Project Tonto.  The Scout's another vehicle that I almost bought.  Maybe one day I will.  I will not go on Craigslist, I will not go on Craigslist, I have enough vehicles, STOP, don't open Craigslist in another tab!  Uh, I gotta go...

TKOPerformance wrote:

Oh, my other weakness in classic 4x4s!  The IH Scout, a 4x4 built by a company that makes tractors.  I mean seriously, does anyone doubt its toughness with just that as a descriptor?  If more enticement is needed, they built them with Diesels (built by Nissan) when no one was doing that.  Their I4 was literally half a V8, with a block off plate on the side that would have had the other bank of cylinders.  They were smart too, and used Dana axles (27 front and rear in early models, and 30 front, 44 rear in later models with an optional 44 front) and t-cases (18 early models, 20 later models).  Pretty sure their autos were Chrysler Torqueflites.  They also offered AMC I6s (232s and 258s).  Their gas motors would last 300k, when most other manufacturers would be lucky to see 100k.  They built a turbo 4-cylinder variant in the mid 60's.  Their only weakness was rust.  Parts availability is somewhat spotty for body, trim, and interior, but mechanical parts are readily available thanks to interchangeability with other makes.  The Scout II, built from '71 onwards are the most prevalent, but the earlier 80 and 800 models do pop up on occassion.  The IH built V8s came in 3 sizes, 304, 345, and 392.  I think the Scouts were only offered with the 304, but the pickups and Travelalls could be had with the bigger engines, which are bolt in swaps.  Not long on HP, but they make tons of low end grunt, even the 4 cylinders had good low end (and could knock down 20+MPG depending on the rear gear).  I think 4Wheeler or another mag built one as a project truck in the late '90s called Project Tonto.  The Scout's another vehicle that I almost bought.  Maybe one day I will.  I will not go on Craigslist, I will not go on Craigslist, I have enough vehicles, STOP, don't open Craigslist in another tab!  Uh, I gotta go...

I agree and actually have a bookmark toolbar with a Craiglist search setup so I can keep an eye on em. Way better deals than the early Broncos and arguably equal or better vehicles.  I think Trucks on Powerblock did a series on one.  Soon I will own one.

Kar wrote:

Here you go Steve, it appears to be a fairly common swap, think about it, a 350 hp motor with a flat tq curve in a 1800 lb car. All I can say is wow, sign me up.

 
Now that looks like fun!!   

Don't let the lack of heat be the deal breaker for the Beetle.  I lived in Germany in the mid '60s, and saw plenty of Beetles with auxiliary heaters - powered by gasoline.  They got plenty hot and quickly.  Read the paragraph - About Gas Heaters - towards the bottom of this article if you are interested:  http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqheat.htm
Enjoy.