Early Volkswagen Beetles have a ton of appeal and get attention wherever they go. This 1956 is probably no exception with its lowered stance and accessories, it is sure to turn heads. The seller says they found it sitting in a private collection and it is now for sale. Located here on eBay with a current bid of $5,200, there are over 270 detailed photos of every inch of the car in the ad! Located in Dade City, Florida, the roof rack with vintage accessories add to the look wonderfully. This car looks like a winner and even comes with another surprise! Have a look for yourself and see what you think.
There isn’t a ton of information in the ad regarding what has been done, but you can tell this is a pretty nice car. As mentioned before, there are over 270 high-resolution photos of every inch of the car in the ad. The seller says “…I am going to let them do the talking for me…” but does encourage questions, so that’s good. You can see the interior looks like it has had custom upholstery treatment. The rear seat and headliner look amazing as well.
The engine is a 1600cc with a single-carburetor. It has been updated a bit as well with sidewinder exhaust, electronic fuel pump and “custom dipped tins.”
Here you can see the “trunk” looks pretty tidy. The headlight shrouds are a common custom treatment and fit really well with this car.
The Beetle gets its stance from an independent rear suspension pan with a narrowed five-inch front adjustable beam and disc brakes. As mentioned, the car comes with (if the buyer chooses) a surprise. Yep, a spare rolling chassis! The chassis is non-titled but would be great for spare parts and/or another project. It looks pretty solid and complete minus the engine. If you were the buyer of this Beetle, would you take the spare chassis too?
My kind of Bug!
Love it!! Id put her back to stock so fast… Love the pop out rear windows..very rare! Still has the “H” pattern rear apron…mega cool.
If you didn’t take any spare that the seller offers you’d be kicking yourself for not doing it in no time at all (including the extra chassis).
I’ve seen the engine cover is lifted. I’ve seen that on several other bugs before. Is it for cooling the engine? It looks odd to me but hey, it’s not my car.
Kick ass bug.
Yes on the cooling.
Yes, provides more air but my 63 hated them bad, vws need warmed up and at cooler temps was a detriment…better off leaving it stock and pulling over for sights or a beer break every hour for 15 mins, nice car though
Nice car, but there are a lot of areas of rust that will need attention. You can see bubbling under both running boards and some at the end of one. The engine apron has rust bubbling under the paint. All in all if you want to keep this from getting worse, the body will need to be stripped and affected areas attended to. Looks like the owner put all his energy into the chassis and interior.
A perfect beginning palate .
As a driver, forget it .
I notice there’s no decent undercarriage photos and Florida cars are notorious for rusting from the inside out .
The amount of ruined or incorrect body panels is amazing .
Those who actually know old VW’s will pass on this .
For maybe $4k I’d take it and rebuild the original pan , slap the body on it and daily drive it as I hunted up all the missing and damaged parts .
-Nate
I like stock or custom Bugs but never understood the narrowed front axle.Seem’s like they wouldn’t handle all that well…
Correct ;
Narrowing the beam like lowering is only for that “Cal Look” stance ~ a stock Beetle will out handle this thing .
-Nate
Also it’s another outdated option especially when U can get Air Ride for not much more than the work involved in the narrowing work?
The narrowed front axles lets you put wider wheels and tires on and still be able to steer it. Don’t think I’d trade out the later chassis as it has the good rear axle setup and handles a huge amount better. I’d do Pat’s suggestion, gas it up and drive it.
The off-set rear deck lid is an outdated means to cool the engine. The actual results were slight at best. There are several ways you can achieve better cooling without having to distort the overall appearance of your Beetle, (including but not limited to external, full flow oil cooling systems that are readily available through aftermarket suppliers, with numerous possibilities). In addition, making sure that you have selected the proper transaxle gearing ratio mated to your modified powerplant is vital in maintaining that optimal range. Remember, air-cooled engines work on the proper rpm ranges to efficiently keep you running cool…Oh and by the way to the prospective buyer.., definitely accept the rolling chassis offered up in the deal…
I think it’s less about cooling now and more about LCF…look cool factor.
Just like slammed front ends. Serves no purpose other than LCF.
Still love non- modified bugs. I keep thinking I want another one, but my fat a– fits in my old Cadillac much better. They sure were fun when I was young.
I drove a ’56 in HS senior year, had a similar color silver blue paint and black interior, paint was good for a month only then a deer jumped me one late night at Emerald Bay L.T. and decided I did not need the front group anymore. The older bug was easy to work on and a lot of good times, this listed car could be made nice again, look for rust in the pan for sure. I noticed no firewall cover for the rear behind engine, and as a little extra tip here to BF VW seekers you can use old but good condition wet suits for the sound deadener and firewall liner. When you own these old bugs as long as I did you learn a lot of little diy tricks.
Good luck to the seller and new owner on this bug.
just another ruined classic. to put it back to its original form.and then it would be a parts together car would cost 3 times the current bid price. to bad, anyone have the 36hp mill, pan,wire harness and on and on .
SOLD for $7,000.