Few cars are as simple as a VW Beetle. The construction was simple to reduce production costs, there’s no engine cooling system since the engine is air cooled and they lacked complicated electronics to keep weight and cost down. As a result, they are fairly easy to restore and can be fun little classics to cruise around in. While the vast majority on the road are base level Bugs, you don’t see many droptop Beetles anymore. This one is clearly an older restoration, but was found parked in a garage and looks to be in decent shape. You can find it here on eBay in Dade City, Florida with a current bid of $6,800 and no reserve.
Boise, Idaho has long been a hotspot for air-cooled Volkswagens. There are so many still on the roads here that I’ve just about stopped noticing them completely. However, I do take notice when I see a convertible Bug! They really are cool looking and rare enough at this point that they stand out from the run of the mill sedans. While they feature the same bulletproof construction as the standard Beetle, they suffer the same issues as any other convertible. Interiors are more susceptible to sun and rain damage. And of course, the floors are more likely to rust out. This one’s interior looks to be in excellent condition and hopefully, that means it really was kept indoors.
Here’s the classic boxer 4 engine. At just 1200cc this little engine only processes about 34 horsepower, but it’s enough to get a lightweight Bug down the road. If you are going to daily drive one, you really want it to stand out so that other motorists don’t run you over! This one’s bright red paint job should do the trick on that front.
It looks like there could be some rust hiding under the paint in a few spots and I’d guess there’s some Bondo in there as well, but at the current price, it could be worth getting. These cars have actually become surprisingly desirable, with pricing guides putting excellent examples into the $40k+ range. So do you think this drop top would be worth the risk?
The perfect doomsday prepper car after the EMP or zombie apocalypse. Add a PTO to run the generator and a dual/fuel to run off alternate fuels.
Nice find all kidding aside.
Sam61; you were kidding?
Yes I was kidding. I love all things automotive but do not have the technical chops, like some of the BF followers, to make insightful/technical comments.
I enjoy the BF variety, reading others comments and making a pithy/non sensical comment of my own.
Since the bug is a vert you could add a machine mount…ha ha…
Looks ok other than the bondo everywhere and the front suspension ready to part ways with the chassis due to corrosion. pass pass pass!
I looked at the pictures, and I don’t see any of the front suspension. And if the front suspension really were to part ways with the chassis, a new unit is very easy to install on these old Beetles. I’ve done it many times. I think this car merits inspection before deciding to “pass pass pass.”
“there’s no engine cooling system since the engine is air cooled”
Sounds like an engine cooling system to me. Who writes this stuff? It’s not like they’re cooled passively from the air blowing over them like a motorcycle. There’s a belt driven fan in a shroud that has an oil cooler and thermostat to control air flow over the cylinders.
I meant it doesn’t have a liquid cooling system, ie no water pump, radiator, thermostat, coolant passages built into the engine and no coolant being pumped through the engine.
Obviously you are correct. As Josh clarified, no liquid cooling systems. But you know that’s what he meant
Kind of reminds me of the VW convertible Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett drove in It’s a mad mad mad mad world. I believe theirs was a 1954.
Aren’t all cars ultimately air cooled? Discuss.
If you want to get pedantic, engines are primarily oil cooled… ;-)
My previously-mentioned buddy who passed away a few months ago and I were discussing how air cooling was a misnomer. He was helping a friend who races a Fiat 126P in sedan races in Poland and put a lot of time and effort into oil cooling.
My late bud’ was a race car engine builder (SCCA, IMSA, VARA, HMSA, et al.) and I’d infer that he knew what he was talking about. He liked the fact that I understood engines almost as well as he did, as it gave him someone to talk to about the subject without a blank expression as a response. Man, I miss that dude…
Hey Josh – you say they have “run of the mill hardtops” in Boise – Wow – that’s much rarer than a convertible, indeed I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a hard top VW Beetle, I’ve seen rag tops, convertibles, sedans but never a hard top!
Man, I just can’t win today can I? I hope you were getting what I was trying to say, the top side is hard rather than soft, but you are correct in terms of what body style this is (I’m sure one of our British Readers will correct us both and say that it’s a saloon) so I corrected my mistake.
A saloon is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo. The passenger compartment features two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The cargo compartment is typically in the rear, with the exception of some rear-engined models, such as the Renault Dauphine, Tatra T613, Volkswagen Type 3 and Chevrolet Corvair. It is one of the most common car body styles.
I posted this because I surprised myself. I thought a saloon always had to have rear doors (i.e 4 doors plus boot/trunk) Seems I was wrong.
This is a nice car if price stays reasonable. A good investment I would have thought.
Class 11 hardtop
Saloon reminds me of a joke about the difference between an elephants fart
and a saloon ? Ones a barroom, the other is a
BARROOM !
I’m thinking that $6,800 is a relative bargain for this car. About 25 years ago a neighbor had a super beetle convertible in fairly tattered shape that I was going to offer $500 for. When asked how much she wanted she blithely replied, “Oh, I think I can get $3,500 for it.”
It would have taken a lot more than three grand to make hers into anything close to this and that was a quarter century ago.
I like this car. Too bad I’ve become addicted to horsepower.
Maybe its my monitor, but the original, I assume, red on the dash is a different color than the respray. Given the rust etc in the door bottoms and rockers and the rest of the chassis it appears this may be less than the sum of its parts.
Concerning that the seller/flippah doesnt want to start it. It would be easier to sell it if you could say it ran. While it doesnt seem to be dissuading bidding I’m guessing there are surprises. Props to seller for the thorough pictorial presentation.
I would not say this is an older restoration. This was a “whammer bammer ” with bondo and lots of thick red enamel. They left dents in a fender and a running board. The bumper guards are missing, The windshield rubber is shot. I may be wrong, but I see pop rivets on the underside. Are the tail lights correct? Would a 1964 have glass lenses?
This one would require careful inspection prior to purchase.
What amazed me in the day, was how thick, and substantial, the top was, on the Beetle and the Karman Ghia, when compared with the top on an American car of the time. Of course the fact that the top folded up on top of the back seat/engine compartment was ungainly, but that is how it was, my ’39 MG had the same “feature”.
The top is 3 layers , a headliner with a thick layer of insulation between it & the top.
Thanks for all the Saturday Afternoon Insights everyone
i’m no expert but something looks wrong with this car. I think it might have been chopped
It sold for $9620. Obviously, the buyer doesn’t read Barn Finds.