Sad to hear that your starter wasnt strong enough. On my beetle (also 2 l type 4) I used one of a golf. I cant remember the year but it has the following numbers:
Bosch nr 001121006
Vw nr 020911023f
Those are good available on the Dutch scrapjards for approx 25-30 euro's. The only mod you need to do is to (weld and) redrill the holes.
Good luck!
Best regards Mark
Ps. This is what it looks like after the mod.
