[alfie the monster]

Petersfield Hampshire to Bitburg in Germany for Das Drag Day. Close ratio gearbox, loud exhaust and IDA carbs for 440 miles each way. I think it took half a day for my hearing to come back :lol:

 

[M.I.B]

Berlin to Oxford via Calais in a 1200 in Spring '93

Stopped for fuel and the 90 or so minutes on the ferry.

Put about 8000 miles on it that summer and then drove it back to Berlin in October. Loads of shows including Stonor and some at the Pod.

Car never missed a beat and all I did was oil and plug changes and valves once or twice.

 

[runningmonkey]

Manchester to Aberdeen and back, in February. 700 mile round trip in a 1969 Bay window. Boy it was cold! :bandit:

 

[runningmonkey]

Petersfield Hampshire to Bitburg in Germany for Das Drag Day. Close ratio gearbox, loud exhaust and IDA carbs for 440 miles each way. I think it took half a day for my hearing to come back :lol:

I feel your pain, use to regularly drive the race car to the pod. Used to take me a week for my hearing to recover to! :lol:

 

[gojira]

I like the idea of planning a journey when things get better and I'm interested into what you think the limits are to these old engines in one sitting? (With breaks of course)

This question in particular - if the engine is in good condition, continuous driving at 60mph is probably the least stress you can put on the engine per mile. I'd be more confident doing 300 miles on motorways than nothing but local journeys at 2 week intervals.

It's not really relevant to your question, but my father drove a splitty from Australia to England in the '70s. Back then it was a 10 year old van though, not a 60 year old.

 

[Orby1]

I drove my bug from High Wycombe to BBT in Belgium and then on to Bad Camberg in Germany the next day. Then back again.
I've gone in my mate's bug from Berlin to Camberg, and despite both places being in Germany, is a longer journey! His bug has done that a number of times.
I concur with the point made about a bug being quite happy sitting at 65mph on the motorway all day. To answer the OP's question, there are a lot of us here who've regularly done 300+ miles in one go, I don't see why you couldn't go more. The journey should be limited to how much of a numb backside you can stand, rather than what the car could take.

 

[Dr. No Idea]

This question in particular - if the engine is in good condition, continuous driving at 60mph is probably the least stress you can put on the engine per mile. I'd be more confident doing 300 miles on motorways than nothing but local journeys at 2 week intervals.

It's not really relevant to your question, but my father drove a splitty from Australia to England in the '70s. Back then it was a 10 year old van though, not a 60 year old.

I drove my bug from High Wycombe to BBT in Belgium and then on to Bad Camberg in Germany the next day. Then back again.
I've gone in my mate's bug from Berlin to Camberg, and despite both places being in Germany, is a longer journey! His bug has done that a number of times.
I concur with the point made about a bug being quite happy sitting at 65mph on the motorway all day. To answer the OP's question, there are a lot of us here who've regularly done 300+ miles in one go, I don't see why you couldn't go more. The journey should be limited to how much of a numb backside you can stand, rather than what the car could take.

Good to hear people doing some good miles in their cars!

I think you both hit the nail on the head, cruising on the motorway is probably pretty easy on the engine.

I like the possibility of getting a tow bar set up so I could take a trailer and the family on holiday in the Beetle.

Maybe in a few years!

 

[Dinsdale]

London to Bad Camberg in the Beetle. ~440 miles.
London to Oudenarde (Belgium) in the Van. ~200 miles.

These were both stressful outbound journeys as neither vehicle had done more than about 40 miles in one go previously.

I really wouldn't want to be on a motorway class road - particularly in Germany - if you can't sustain at least 60mph.

 

[malky39]

Preston-Glasgow 186 miles when I bought my bug, first time driving and aircooled VW and it rained the whole time

 

[tofufi]

The journey should be limited to how much of a numb backside you can stand, rather than what the car could take.

This ^^^

The most I've done is 400 miles, and 12hrs driving, in a day in my '71 bay.

It's been over the Pyrenees twice in the 14 years I've owned it. Furthest south it's been in my ownership is Valencia, Spain

 

[veedweeb]

Manchester to santa pod in a Squareback is the longest aircooled journey I've done.

 

[Duble agent V.W.Ford]

The longest journey I've ever done is anything on the A1/M1 Jeez what a dull road! :yawn:

 

[Greg McD]

North Donegal to Santa Pod and back in a '78 bay.

 

[torpointboy]

Back in 2009 I bought my Splitscreen, drove it from Richmond in North Yorkshire to Cornwall 354 miles in its first day of ownership

12 days later I embarked on a trip abroad, I had a house in Italy so I did the following route

Torpoint Cornwall to Portsmouth Ferry port 189 miles
Portsmouth Ferry Port to Santander Spain (Ferry)
Santander to Barcelona- 440 miles
Barcelona to Rome (Ferry)
Rome to Latina (house)- 84 miles

Got my trip into the SSVC Mag around FEB 2010 under the headline 'Bella Goes to Italy'

 

[>DEL<]

Back in 2009 I bought my Splitscreen, drove it from Richmond in North Yorkshire to Cornwall 354 miles in its first day of ownership

12 days later I embarked on a trip abroad, I had a house in Italy so I did the following route

Torpoint Cornwall to Portsmouth Ferry port 189 miles
Portsmouth Ferry Port to Santander Spain (Ferry)
Santander to Barcelona- 440 miles
Barcelona to Rome (Ferry)
Rome to Latina (house)- 84 miles

Got my trip into the SSVC Mag around FEB 2010 under the headline 'Bella Goes to Italy'

 

[legend...]

That jogged my memory... I drove a friends bug from London to Chimay. That was 249 miles each way.

I'm planning on putting my brave boy pants on and driving my bug to EBI next year (if it's on!) 394 miles!

I'm nervous driving it to Lidl, about a mile from my front door!!

I've been co-pilot in my mates T25 the last couple of times.

 

[soysauce]

Longest amount of miles in one day 400. Furthest road trips Dunkirk - Norway! Dunkirk - Croatia. Dunkirk - Switzerland. Its all possible if you have the time! Always make sure van has a service before hand and carry all likely spares, have had a few issues over the years but all have been fixed at the road side. Also have EU breakdown cover but luckily never needed it.

 

[soysauce]

Longest trip in a bug Dartford - Weston supermare and back one cold winters day many years ago for something called the Bugmas Cruze!

 

[type3]

I'm planning on putting my brave boy pants on and driving my bug to EBI next year (if it's on!) 394 miles!

I just heard EBI is postponed until June 2022.