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Former Show Car: 1973 Super Beetle

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Up in my neck of the woods in southern New England, there have always been a few salvage yards on my radar in the Bridgewater, Massachusetts area. For some reason, I have never had any luck gaining access to them, as they all seem to be pretty strict on the “no yard admittance” policy. This 1973 Super Beetle here on eBay looks to reside in one of these no-access yards, and the seller claims it has show car roots. What do you think? 

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The seller has even gone so far as to repaint what the original graphics would have looked like, which seems like a lot of effort for this rusty Bug. Still, someone put some effort into it at one point with the aforementioned paint job, metal fender flares, wide Shelby-style mag wheels and a custom interior of questionable taste. It would be wild to see what this Bug looked like when it was fresh and new, as I’ll bet it was eye-catching in the streets.

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Interestingly, the engine lid is fiberglass. One of my favorite features is the period-correct rear ski rack that mounted over the engine cover to make the transport of skis and poles possible in a car with limited storage options. I can only imagine this thing with fresh paint and snow tires heading up to Vermont for a weekend – what a scene that must have been! The car’s location in Massachusetts indicates some ties to a Northern climate, so it’s not surprising there’s rust in the running boards and elsewhere.

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The interior sports custom seat covers, door panels, dashboard and more, and the rear seat has been replaced by a shelf with custom upholstery. The engine is said to have relatively low mileage and turn by hand, but the seller cannot locate the keys for the ignition. With a starting bid of $100 and no reserve, this could be an interesting project to restore back to period form. Would you revitalize the show car looks or keep it stock?

Comments

  1. Avatar Rick

    Scrounge what you can – wheels, shifter, maybe the engine and transmission and scrap the rest. While I love Beetles, this one is too far gone… and it’s a fat chick Super anyway :-)

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  2. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    Someone may want the slot mags.

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  3. Avatar Jeffro

    I have no love for a Super Beetle!

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  4. Avatar Bob

    Not a show car where I’m from.

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  5. Avatar JagManBill

    I have a 62 that was also a show car. Supposedly won its class at the Tri-State auto show back in the late 70’s or early 80’s. Its still a ratty ole bug…

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  6. Avatar The One

    4 get about it!

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  7. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    I’m baffled that the seller went to the effort of painting the old stripes back on LOL.

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  8. Avatar Skloon

    This is like saying one careful owner, and not mentioning the half dozen neglectful ones

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  9. Avatar twilliams1797

    I might go as high as 150. .

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  10. Avatar RoughDiamond

    I owned a ’65, ’66, ’69 and ’70 Bug. Great vehicles! My dad bought a ’72 SB from a cousin moving to CA and no matter what he did he could not find any remedy to get a shimmy out of the front end. He finally took the SB to an old school VW mechanic and when he described what it was doing, the mechanic just grinned and chuckled and said they referred to them as “Shimmy Beetles”. He told my dad it was a common problem on SBs with no fix. Needless to say that was not the answer my dad was hoping for on that day.

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    • Avatar Jack

      I’ve worked on VW for almost 50 years…you can always fix the “Super Beetle Shake”. Guy apparently didn’t want to work on it.

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  11. Avatar Terry

    It probably has sprouted roots as long as it’s been parked. That’s bug ugly.

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  12. Avatar John b

    The keys are in the ignition btw…..

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    • Avatar Zachary Archbold

      wow, just noticed that.

      Like 0

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