Paging Tommy Chong! Alright, so this is a little more in-depth than Anthony Stoner attaching the grille from his parents’ Rolls-Royce to the front of his Beetle in Up In Smoke, but the sentiment is the same. Though these types of Beetle to Rolls-Royce conversions aren’t exactly hard to come by, this is the nicest one I have seen for sale in a while. The seller states that this car was donated by a veteran to support the US Veterans Fund and is being auctioned off as such. Find it here on eBay in Georgia with bidding at $2,800 and no reserve.
For all the work that was done to the exterior, the interior of this Volkswagen is relatively unchanged. Is it just me, or does every old Beetle have some kind of wiring dangling from under the dashboard? The seats look to be in usable condition, as does most everything else in the car. There is a Pioneer radio installed, and the dash looks like it may have some cracking but it could definitely be worse. A good cleaning would go a really long way on this car! Maybe the next owner could source some authentic Rolls-Royce interior components to add that extra little something?
Yep, this is definitely a Beetle, in case anybody wasn’t sure! The unmistakable configuration of a Volkswagen engine is absolute confirmation of that. These little engines are great fun to work on, and with two able-bodied folks working together they can be a breeze to remove and install. If I recall correctly, roughly four bolts and some hose clamps will have this entire engine ready to come out! Ease of service is one of the many reasons that Beetles were the go-to budget car for years. That is what makes a Rolls-Royce kitted Beetle all the more enjoyable; it is a driving contradiction. The seller states that he has not tried to start the car or do anything to it. At a minimum, it needs fresh fuel, brake work, and a battery.
Someone has already bid on this car, which means at least one person likes it enough to want to take it home. With some cleaning and some dedication, this could be a neat little car and a great conversation piece! I’m not sure I would drive it, but I certainly don’t hate it. If you like meeting new people, this car would be an excellent tool. Worst case scenario, this Beetle looks to be in decent condition as far as sheet metal and could be a great starting point for a restoration back to original. It looks like the “Rolls-Royce” parts could be easily removed and replaced with original Volkswagen parts. What would you do with it?
Two persons working together to remove and install a Beetle engine would just get in each other’s way.
Funny but true!
Not really, used to do it all the time. Put some blocks under the engine, undo the last few bolts and you need 2 people to each grab a fender to pick the car up off the engine, walk it forward and set it down.
Wow, haven’t seen one of these in a long time! I prefer the flat-windshield Bugs, but this one is in nice shape and cheap. I’d probably get the original trunk lid and deck lid, and swap them back & forth to see if people notice. The headlights are a little more complicated.
Considering its a super beetle it would be better served with the rolls stuff removed as the fenders just don’t look right I believe the kits are really made to fit the standard beetle.
It doesn’t look to rusty and the 1303 can be made to handle and still be an economical daily driver
I’ve always thought it would be fun to get a Rolls Royce and put a Volkswagen hood and trunk on it!
Well, it does answer the question, “What would the world be like if Germany had won the war?” Behold……
They would own Bentley………….oh……they do.
I love it. It just needs some top grade plywood from Home Depot on the dash and door tops to finish it off.
Another JC Whitney special. My Dad would’ve liked this even down to the tacky, mag type hub caps. He had a Super Beetle with faux ’37 Ford front end and rear fenders.
I’ve seen some done up like the one you described! As tacky as these things are, for some reason I can’t help but love them.
Rolls-Canardly, rolls down the hills, canardly get up em.
Willie Mays Hays here. I play like Mays, and I run like Hays. There is a similar portrayal in the movie Major League of this car. Different color tho. Definitely unique.
Beetles with Rolls conversions require a sense of humor – not a shoddy interior!
This poor baby needs every piece of chrome engine tin available from the JC Whitney catalog as a quick-hitter…
…and then a visit to a So Cal lowrider shop for an over-the-top bunched crushed velvet interior, plus wood on the dash and armrests.
Back in the day, either tuck-and-roll or diamond-tucked Naugahyde interior was the ticket until the animal rights activists started screaming about all the poor little Naugas being hunted to extinction.
This one needs more work then the Corvair listed – that pile of wires under the dash is concerning. Getting Beetles running is the easy part – it’s the stopping, shifting that is a bit more tricky. It’s bid to 3K which is probably right on for this fat girl.
The RR front clip and the RR trunk were kits that you added to a beetle.
There was also a ’39 Ford front clip available. So it is not the converters imagination, it was the creator of conversion(s) kits creativity.
saw quite a few of these back in New York City in the 1970’s. Always like the joke that was a Bug being a Rolls.
totally cool! I have yet to see one with the 40 ford front end show up
In the late 60’s I did VW clutches during my lunch hour at a nearby shop that rented lifts by the hour. And I still ate lunch!
When I was younger, I thought these were the craziest looking things, however, the last few years, I’ve started to really like them. Besides it’s the one thing I would own that my wife wouldn’t to drive, lol!
It’s not a restoration this needs but a Veterinarian as it should be destroyed on humanitarian grounds! Just my opinion & I know someone may like it but its not for me!
I bought it and it turns heads everywhere I go great conversation piece…
I remembered when I was a kid, my friend lived adjacent to the Princeton Cemetery and we used to play there. They had a small fleet of these Beetles for the workers presumably to keep a more formal dress to the cars. They had different colors too.
I like the car, but it looks like someone had a vw beetle an a RR an put the front of the RR on the beetle.