The seller of this unusual Volkswagen Beetle project is quite candid that this is not for the faint-hearted, and that the only real value may be in the genuine Fuchs wheels it rides on. Apparently, this is not one man’s attempt to create a cheap slant-nose tribute but an actual kit that you could purchase if you were a Beetle lover who wanted to live the Porsche life on the cheap. Known as a “930-Vee” kit, this unusual conversion was fooling absolutely no one but it has that sort of horror show appeal to it where you can’t look away. Find the Beetle here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $4,995 or make a best offer.
It’s really pretty amazing how hard people tried to make their cars look like Porsches in the 70s and 80s. While I understand the appeal, it just seems like there were far too many attempts made to transform otherwise cheap or pitiful cars into something they could never possibly be. The amount of effort to integrate this awful body kit only to end up with a car that looks like an exploded bake potato would seemingly make a Beetle owner realize the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. The seller certainly knows this based on the candidness of his listing, but I still think his starting price is way too high.
Still, I doubt he would turn down an offer of any significance, especially if it at least paid for the Fuchs wheels. He notes the floor and heater channels are ravaged by rust, and the top frame is obviously a disaster as well. The listing also notes that the Beetle has been hit in the past and that it has been sitting – likely with no roof – since the 80s when the previous owner passed away. The interior doesn’t show much in the way of useful parts, so I suspect the only value here is someone who wants to salvage the body kit as a means of entertaining themselves with a Beetle they don’t have any use for.
In general, you have to concede that the 1980s yielded a lot in the way of styling trends and automotive accessorizing that few eras have managed to eclipse. The slant-nose Porsche 911 remains a sought-after collector car, weaving in the wild looks of pop-up headlights on a car that the factory never imagined would have them. To see an original air-cooled Beetle attempt to mimic this look is a bit jarring, but also a reminder that the 1980s were an epic time to be a car enthusiast, all the way down to being able to make the cheapest car on the road look a little more exotic with the help of a bodykit and some genuine Fuchs. Would you restore it for fun or sent it to the scrapyard?
I appreciate the sellers refreshing candor with what we’ve experienced on eBay.
The gist of the ad as I interpret it is “the car is junk, I threw the $5k price out there just to have a beginning price point”. IIRC the wheels were about $1k each which I see as the singular real value here.
Just my two cents worth which is more than I would pay for this minus the wheels!
There are repop Fuchs that look the part. Have to take them off to see if there is an OEM part number. If fakes not worth the metal. I have a few sets and know from my days of 911 ownership.
With a mild resto would be a hit at Radwood. Very rare kit on top of a just as rare bug ragtop.
There is a really ugly fish that looks just like this car.
“Leave the Volkswagen, take the Fuchs” (apologies to Mario Puzo)
They always looked good with a Chop Top with that body kit if I had the money I’d love to have it
This looks almost better than a lot of those $30,000 rust buckets that have the same VW engine in them.
You’ve got to have a sense of humor and a real commitment to the joke for this one.
Yeah, you can look at it as a satirical comment on all those Ferrari wannabe kit car that existed back then.
24 hour of Lemons!!
It’d never pass Inspection.. it’s got more rust there than on the Admiral Kuznetsov with escorts!
Give it some cosmetic help, find some very attractive females (yes sexist) and shoot a spoof Miami Vice type trailer or music video
After that, park it in the garage next my bug drop top with the fake Rolls Royce grill/hood.
Same idea, but with, um… “cosmetically challenged” females.
Hey now, don’t knock this too much. Those headlights are easily worth $5 for the pair used. The rest of the car? Uh…
Well, it helps keep weeds from growing in a gravel parking spot. See? It has a purpose!
Better looking than that funky Spitfire a couple days back… Would be a crowd getter at Cars-n-Coffee… and any Beetle event…
HEY!!! Billy Bob hold my Beer 🍺!!!
I sure do appreciate the seller’s honesty. Nice departure from the usual “know what I got” line. It is almost too bizzare to crush, but too far gone to repair. Maybe park it outside for another decade or two, then crush it. I’d just like to look at it, not drive it.
Gotta paint it before you park it Cover up the imperfections in the glas.
Swap a wex motor.in and have almost as much fun as a Porsche but 1/5 the cost.
Sorry, I can’t type while I’m laughing this hard.
That is horrifying. I am going to have nightmares about this one. Crush it, please!
I think it would be hilarious to turn this into a full on dune buggy!
My wife says it looks like a duck and should be painted yellow, I said were not buying it
That thing looks sack of buttholes.
That made me laugh harder than looking at the pix. Well done!
Crush it!
Crush, unless could be donated to something like an amusement park type deal for a prop
@Troy well this is a turnaround, your wife wants you to buy a car and you don’t…
The look of the front is just kinda like “I’m sad…I wanted to look like a Packard or a catfish…I just look like an out of work rodeo clown”
You would think after completing the front or the rear they would have come to their senses! Hideous
I remember these kits! And…have to admit thinking how one would look on my Superbeetle ‘vert. Featured heavily in VW magazines of the day, there were some that really looked pretty good. This one, appears chunky, and tacked-on… Like there are a couple Kelvinators strapped to the fenders… Might be worth saving for the conversation value at car shows, but a look that definitely did not age well…
I see this as a “speedster”!
I’d remove the windshield and the roof mechanism entirely… then, Fabricate a roll bar out of those swimming pool “noodles” (made of foam) ..these would be wrapped in black duct tape (this would add “strength” and would be very important in case of a roll-over!!)
as for the rust: I’d use plywood for the floors, , some more black duct tape and lots of Bondo. Then spray the whole underside with Por-15!
If the engine couldn’t, be made to run, I would remove the floor entirely and the seats as well.The 4 occupants would use the FRED FLINTSTONE drivetrain! Maybe add a couple of interior “push bars” for the occupants …..Zero emissions!(except when Brussels sprouts were consumed!)
I might also add some FUCHS RACING TEAM graphics to go with those nice wheels!
UUUUGGGGLLLLYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
burn it, and get it out of its misery
just an example of someone else who needed to get a life instead of projecting this piece of junk as “art”… or whatever
I tried to see the humor here, and couldn’t… and I have laughed at a lot of dumb jokes over the years… all I could think of with this one was “puke”…
Light it on fire. Shoot it. Then publish a public apology for putting time and money into it. Followed by three days in the stocks and a month of hard labor.
Honestly- this is the king of eyesores!
It’s hard to believe that someone went to all the trouble and expense to “create” and sell this as a kit. It’s even more surprising anyone bought one.
I’m amused by those with no historical perspective, though today that’s not to be unexpected. If you went to a Bug-In in the ‘70’s or ‘80’s, or read VW Trends or VW & Porsche, you’d have seen a lot of highly modified Beetles, from dune buggies to Baja Bugs to wire-bodies, with engines from mild to wild.
No doubt some people on BF who say how they’d modify this or that vehicle are likely to find their fantasy wheels ridiculed by a next generation know it alls. This poor Beetle may not be your cup of 10W40, but I’ll guarantee you that what you covet today will be laughed at in the future…if not today.
Perfect to cast this as a character vehicle in a movie or video game production. Huge and memorable screen impact.
A lot of unnecessary hate on this car, has everybody lost their sense of humour? The 80’s were a fun time, nobody built these to pretend they were driving a Porsche, they were just modified Volkswagons, getting modified in the fashion of the time. I guarantee there were a lot of good times had driving this around back in the day.
Exactly.
I think it should’ve been done using a Type3 fastback body, it would have been more realistic.
The second series Clenet used a Bug convertible as a hull and built around it.
I’ve still got an original brochure around here somewhere…. Its not ugly, its cosmetically challenged…
I love it! I would like to see one that is operational. Cars and Coffee, anyone!
Dang… that’s ugly..
The creator of this kit car got exactly what he/she wanted. A reaction. Any kind of reaction. What’s worse than bad publicity? No publicity. This should be used in the media/movies. If this car gets more comments than Camaro, the creators have done their job. Personally I get a headache looking at it, so yeah, it definitely has a purpose – I guess. Good luck to everyone.