The early Volkswagen Beetles are noted for their svelte styling, lower production numbers, and overall surprisingly high level of detail for what was always intended as an economy car. The convertible offering take this to another level in terms of desirability, especially since production numbers were undoubtedly lower. The Beetle shown here remains incredibly original, right down to its 6V system. Find it here on eBay with bids to $11,700 and no reserve.
I love the small details (and the big ones) on an early Beetle. The dog-dish style hubcaps, big chrome bumpers with overriders, smaller tail lamp assemblies, glass headlamps, and the unique vents on top of the engine lid are among numerous distinguishing characteristics between this era of the Bug and later production models. This car even wears the desirable California black plates and what looks like a period dealer plate frame.
And this is perhaps the best color combination in the business, with a black exterior paired with a red interior, all of which remains in surprisingly nice condition for a car that doesn’t appear to have ever been extensively restored. The seller doesn’t provide much detail in terms of history, but considering it still runs and drives and the interior still presents this well – which is hardly a given in a convertible – the appearance suggests this Beetle was looked after well into its retirement years.
At the very least, it wasn’t ever sorely neglected by its caretakers, and it also seems likely it spent a fair amount of time in a garage. Convertibles oftentimes make it painfully obvious they were parked outside for long spells with tattered tops and trashed interiors. The 40-horsepower engine is also said to still run smoothly, so this Beetle presents a unique opportunity to lightly refresh and enjoy or take all the way down to a bare metal restoration. Which path would you choose?
Had 63 in 1980 bought it from older gentlemen (late 60’s) lost his license poor eye sight. Sat for a few year’s. The front suspension tubes were rusted out. Replaced unit, 4 bolts, steering arm, 2 break lines out-in about one hour. Tune up oil change breaks. All in . $650.00. Ran it for a year put about 15000mi back and forth to work and around town. Ran great absolutely fun to drive about 25mpg’s sold it in 1982 for $800.00, and have regretted since. I would see all the time running around town until I moved out of state in 1993. All I can say is DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fred, welcome to the ‘used to own one and got stupid’ club. I have 2 awards! I had a ‘67 and a ‘69!
Fred know what you mean. I feel ya buddy. I had a 63 VW convertible that was red with a black top. And a 49 Ford WOODY. To this day I don’t know why I sold them.
My brother had a fuel injected fastback that had a manual transmission he didn’t like. It needed some maintenance but rust free and light at a feather. He traded it for a Vega. Within a month he realized he had destroyed the engine not topping off the oil. He had to thereafter add a quart at every gas fill-up. Then it became a quart every other day. An oil trail to our house, all the way down the street. It looked nice, smelled like a toxic dump fire. As for that 40hp, it can probably get a fuel injection and CDI ignition update and get a few more ponies. It needs it if you have any hills. Cute cars parts around. Don’t expect to be happy on the highway. But a fun park and weekend toy. Buddy had a ’65 in high school. It needed a slope and tailwind to break 60mph. That’s not enough grunt on our highways any more. Back then we’d as a joke both have our arms out the window flapping like a bird. Girls liked our sense of humor. It actually worked!
Fred, we have all had the “what was I thinking/why in the hell did I sell that car?”moment. You are not alone. Anyone who has been in your place should give your comment a thumbs up as a mini Barnfinds experiment. Probably will set some kind of record
Thanks for nice comments. It’s been 39yrs and when I close my eyes at night before I dose off I still rember that BUG like it was yesterday, maybe I’m nuts ? But still I wish I knew what I know now when I was younger DAMN!!!
You’re not alone, Fred. My two were a ’73 Electra and a 1998 Tracker! :)
If you have it, plug the VIN in online and see if it pops up somewhere. You won’t get it back for $850 but who knows? Maybe it’s sitting somewhere in a backyard in your town. Someone more knowledgeable than me can weigh in on how to go about finding a long lost car.
I have moved to many times and as yall know you listen to the ball & chain to cull your collection of what they. call crap to lighten the load & keep the peace ✌ also I really don’t want to know I’m happy-go-lucky with the memories as they are
No, we all do the same.
Maybe we’re all crazy?
Many fond memories of the VW’s I owned through the years, from a 67 to a 73. Should have hung onto one of them at least. Simple, easy to maintain, dependable transportation for the most part.
I had a bug convertible, lost control on a mountain road going downhill when the pavement ended, and the road turned to gravel. Went off the roadway and landed all 4 wheels down in a creek. I thumbed a ride into town (no cellphones back then) and called for a tow truck. The tow truck company told me to call the highway patrol and they would call the tow truck company. The patrolman picked me up and we drove back to my bug. I was given a ticket for ‘improper mountain driving’ and my bug was totaled. The undercarriage was totally messed up. I went to the salvage yard two days later and my 8 track tape deck (remember those) had been ripped out.
Yep, Tony, I remember the 8-tracks. Back when I had my ‘59 Ford Galaxie Fairlane 500 I was so poor I had a 4-track. Three or four tapes is all I had; Simon & Garfunkel, Bee Gees and a couple more. But I don’t miss that Ford like I miss my Bugs.
Thanks again to all ya all ! Like the old saying MISSERY LOVES COMPANY! LOL
I am in the process of finishing an ‘early’ 1968 vw bug convertible that my father in law purchased new in 1968 for a monthlong vacation his wife and daughter (who is now my wife!). Once done in Germany they put it in a container and shipped it back to the states. Lived in VA for 20 years and only driven locally…then put into the garage. My sister in law tried to half maintain it but couldn’t and it sat in a garage in TX and FL for another 34 years. I finally couldn’t take it any more and asked my wife if I could try and fix it up. I had owned 4 VWs when younger, but none in the last 40 years. They are easy and lots of folks to help. I would worry about the heater channels and the rust along the side boards…that isn’t overly difficult to fix but requires some welding. All the little parts are available, including the seat covers. Very inexpensive to get these things in good shape and I am always surprised how well they actually handle.
The floor worries me some. Lots of water can get on those floors and just sit there. You don’t know what it looks like until you pull the carpets up. The underside picture shows decent heater channels but poor flooring. Not sure why there isn’t a passenger side mirror. Broken antenna is easy to replace but a bear to loosen the nuts in the frame. It should be a 6 volt which I would convert or else you probably shouldn’t drive it at night.
All in all, a decent place to start in my opinion though I have no idea of the proper value. I have people bring up stupid numbers to me every time I drive it. It may take $15000 to get this though with the good rag top and no need for paint it could be in pretty good shape for another $5000
The cheap after market seat covers are to big. Looks terrible.rest of bug seems ok I would drive it as is..
Had a 64 convertible, but my biggest car failure was a 55 Porsche bent window cabriolet. 4 years to piece the motor together then sold it for $2500. Still in the “what was I thinking” state after 35 years has gone bye!
I’ve owned a ’62, ’63, ’65, and ’68. I loved them all. But I don’t miss crawling underneath on a cold morning to adjust the valves. Three exhaust ones got a .004 while the fourth got .006 because of the extra heat in that area.
Had a 1957, ’58, ’64, ’68, ’69, ’72 square back station wagon, and a ’73. A couple of them went to all 4 corners of the country. Simple to work on, reliable, but you could easily burn a valve by not keeping the revs up. Fun to drive but small…..I’d be a little leery to drive one very much in traffic these days.
My brother had a 1961 Bug for less than one year.
Let his friend, our next door neighbor drive it. Going around a bend the front wheel hit the curb and the car rolled over. Goodbye Bug and some ladies trash can.
And the pizza they had just purchased was all over them!
Drop it & LT swap it!
I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I killed every model VW I owned over the course of maybe 15 years in the ’60’s-70’s. Vans, microbuses, bugs you name it!Useless for dependable all purpose but nice now for a toy!
Kinda like a Harley clean it up go for a ride, fix it, go for a ride home! NO THANKS!
I’ve had a few bugs (and a few Karman Ghia’s as well) , including a 63 sunroof car. Always wanted a 67… by the way, the vented engine lids were a convertible-only feature, since there was no full width vent under the back window.
My first two cars were VWs, a ’67 coupe, or whatever they were called, and a ’68 convertible. I miss them, especially the convertible, every day. I used to see it once in a while in the city where I lived at the time, and would always want to kick myself, but I was tired of showing up all sweaty from not having A/C, so I bought a newer Cadillac. I got $400 trade-in for the VW.