btoth76 Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hello Pippy! Hello All! As promised yesterday, - in the "Fantasy Cars" topic - here are the photos of the old Beetle in my neighbor's workshop. The current owner is a VW collector. Before He aquired it, it was only owned by one person, since it was built! I couldn't believe my eyes! It's in fantastic condition. Coat-of-the-arms of city of Wolfsburg, where it was made: A nice Fender :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 Turn indicator in B-pillar: Nice: Engine: Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVIL Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 My Dad had one of these at the end of the 1960s, he had a few Beetle's along the way. What I do remember the most about the first one he had though, was that you not only had to dip the oil to check the levels, but also the petrol/diesel (can't remember which now) had to be checked, as there was no dashboard fuel gauge. Beautiful looking car Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Beautiful indeed ! 20 yrs ago I had a '68 Beetle Auto-Stick automatic.....the clutch was activated by sets of contact points under, and around the shifter base.....you could shift it by hand, or start off in 3rd gear as it had no "foot clutch". The drawback to that was, every time you "bumped" the shifter, the clutch engaged. The Auto Stick was only made in late '68 & early '69 and was such a "flop" that only about 200 were made in total (for USA purchase). I had no idea how rare it was, so when our local used VW dealer offered me a great price for it, to use as his personal vehicle, I sold it w/o a 2nd thought. Live & Learn......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hi Bence! Thanks for posting those pictures. She's stunning! Does the current owner know what mileage she has? It looks like it's probably the original engine. It's certainly a 1.2 L 30hp one. Those engines could last a lifetime if properly cared for. It can be dated fairly accurately from those snaps. Because of the position of the heater vents in the footwell it's post 9th Jan '57 but, obviously, as it's an 'Oval Window' model it's pre 1st August. Could you check out the serial number for me please, Bence? It will be found on the central bulkhead under the carpet in front of the rear seat. If there are any questions the restorer may have please feel free to get in touch. Here's a snap of my one. As you can see it also has the 'semaphore' turn-signal arms but by '59 the oval rear-window had been enlarged. It still had the same small rear lights, though. I was still getting it 'sorted' when this picture was taken as it doesn't yet have the bonnet trim nor Wolfsburg crest and I hadn't sorted out the rot at the base of the doors... ...I do remember...that you not only had to dip the oil to check the levels, but also the petrol/diesel (can't remember which now) had to be checked, as there was no dashboard fuel gauge. Yes; a fuel gauge was an optional extra until 1961! Mine had one, as it happens, so I had a pretty good idea of how much was left in the tank. The very early cars had a huge spanner in the toolkit which was marked off along it's shaft and was to be used as a fuel depth-gauge. Really! BUT ! ! ! One very clever thing about these old pre-fuel-gauge Beetles was they had a 'reserve tap' located at the centre-bottom of the front bulkhead. It was left in the 'Up' position until the engine started to die when the petrol 'ran out' and then could be turned 90 degrees to the right which allowed a second hole in the fuel line to access a second, lower, part of the tank which contained one more gallon of fuel. Brilliant and so simple! Thanks again for sharing the pictures, Bence! They have put a big smile on my face!....... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hello Pippy! You're welcome! I will check out the serial number and ask about the mileage, - hopefully - by tomorrow. The engine fired immediately after turning the key - it runs like a "Schaffhausen watch". The owner also has a first-generation Transporter (or whatever it's called - I call it "Hippy-wagen" :)). Yours' is a beauty two! I like the two-tone finish. As far as the "reserve-tap" is concerned, I had the luck to drive a Trabant 601 for two weeks (almost died in it). It had the same solution for the lack of fuel gauge. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hello Pippy! You're welcome! I will check out the serial number and ask about the mileage, - hopefully - by tomorrow. The engine fired immediately after turning the key - it runs like a "Schaffhausen watch". The owner also has a first-generation Transporter (or whatever it's called - I call it "Hippy-wagen" :)). Yours' is a beauty two! I like the two-tone finish. As far as the "reserve-tap" is concerned, I had the luck to drive a Trabant 601 for two weeks (almost died in it). It had the same solution for the lack of fuel gauge. Cheers... Bence Weren't Those Trabants' bodies made of papier-machet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 Weren't Those Trabants' bodies made of papier-machet? Hello! "Duroplast" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast) The Trabant was an East-German rip-off of the Corvette: transverse leaf-spring, plastic body. Bit less horses, though, to gain mileage. ;) Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Turn indicator in B-pillar: Nice: Engine: Cheers... Bence WOW! That's fantastic! I've has a number of bugs over the years. Sometimes I wish I had one again. [scared] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I had a Beetle in the 70's for a year or two...great car for relaxed long journeys... Same beige colour as earlier post More recently I looked at the dealer near Bristol who buys in Brazilian Caravettes and converts them to RHD and to customer spec motor caravans...some costing up to £40,000... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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