STALLING

Sounds like it's time for some carburetor work.

You should be able to adjust your carb to get more fuel.

my bug used to do that too.. was quite annoying lol took it for 6k service, they just tuned the carb and adjusted the mixture - nothing too sinister. :D

There was a problem similar to this with a friend's VW Bus. Drain the fuel tank, clean it out and seal it. This stalling problem is easily caused by debris or rust in the fuel tank blocking or partially blocking the fuel outlet on the tank. It's easy to imagine a 35 year old car having a rusty tank - especially in wet climates. The fuel pump is working fine, it just can't get enough fuel out of the tank to keep the engine running. After the engine stalls, a few minutes go by and the fuel has slowly refilled the line. You can start it, only to have the same thing happen again. Remember that gasoline is flammable - if you've never done this type of thing before - take it to a shop and get it done. I don't want you getting blown up!

I just bought a 73 beetle off eBay. The owners told me the same thing. Run a little and kill. I put gas in it and it runs perfect.