I’ve been running into a number of very interesting air-cooled VWs of late. Must be the summer temperatures that draw them out of their garages. This one was caught out in the “wilderness” of the Meiji Jingu park, which is one of my new Sunday haunts and is already paying dividends: my first curbside split window Beetle!
There is something utterly irresistible, to a Tatra aficionado such as yours truly, about these early Beetles. From this angle, the dorsal fin is virtually outlined in sharpie.
The unadulterated ‘30s shape and primordial detailing (those tiny taillights, the semaphores on the B-pillar, etc.) was a delight to behold in the light of day. The person who drove it, seeing my interest in his steed, greeted me. Unusually, this person was not only glad I was there (that’s why folks go on this street on Sundays, after all), but spoke very good English.
This was not his car, but a friend’s – he owned another ancient bug that was out of commission at the time, so he borrowed this one for a Sunday stroll. The body is 1949, but the chassis is from 1961, which explained the funny feeling I had that something didn’t quite add up.
I had seen a 1955 Beetle on the street the day before that looked 100% stock and noticed how spindly these old bugs looked, perched on their narrow 16-inch tyres. This one was markedly lower, so the 1200 chassis thing was not too big a surprise. Makes sense from a user-friendly point of view, as well – hydraulic brakes, synchronized gears, bigger engine and all that. Driving a truly stock ’49 Type 1 must be somewhat taxing.
Not enough of a Beetle connoisseur to evaluate the interior, e.g. dials, seat fabrics and so on, for their originality. But that steering wheel certainly looks the part.
The conundrum is the license plate. I forgot to ask the driver about it, stupidly, but this is an old “single number” plate (pre-1970). I’m just not sure whether it belonged to the 1949 bit of the equation or the 1961 side of things. Probably the latter, if I had to guess. This beetle’s chassis would have been sold here new in 1961, then.
But that rear end just screams 1939. Yes, this particular one was made in 1949, but nothing really changed from the very first ones and nothing gets this streamline maniac’s juices flowing like the simplicity and purity of an early Beetle body. Even one being transported by way of a ’61 chassis.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1946 Volkswagen 1100 (Type 11): The Beetle Crawls Out Of The Rubble, by PN
1950 Popular Science: “Hitler’s Flivver Now Sold In The U.S.” – From Modest Beginnings…, by PN
Sweet find! And a deluxe model at that. I can’t say I blame the owner for putting it on a later chassis, there were many improvements. The plate is probably for the ’61 chassis, the VIN number is on the tunnel under the rear seat.
The purity of line of a split-window Beetle truly inspires, even to this day. I don’t think I’ve seen one since my childhood days in the fifties. Thanks for a visual treat that made me remember how my Beetle love began!
A set of whitewalls make any car look better … including a vintage VW Beetle.
As a small child still remember how these and ovals were customized en masse with the large tail lights and front wing mounted indicators from the big rear window model.
What a gem here. Being the license plate nerd I am, that is indeed an old pre 1962 tag, for Fukuoka.
When I started paying attention as a kid, 60s VWs were everywhere and I have even seen the occasional mid 50s version, but almost never these really early ones. What strikes me about this 49 is that it is painted in a shade completely outside of the color palate that I associate with the Beetle. But I like it.
Count me as another fan of that uncut, unadulterated styling at the rear.
Love every thing about this bug, inside and out. I see there is just one exhaust pipe as was correct for early Bugs. Not sure what year the second pipe was introduced but I’m sure by ’61 there were two, so 1200cc with a custom exhaust pipe?
Yeah, that’s what I thought too. To make it look more like a 1100cc Beetle.
Only one tailpipe jumps out at me as a detail that differs from later models. Two outside mirrors may not be stock either.
Looks like a pretty spiffy paint job.
Great photos. Nicely maintained / restored car.
Great looking Beetle.
According to VW Beetle Specification Guide by James Richardson twin tailpipes were fitted from May 1955 for USA and Canada and from August for the 1956 model year for all Beetles.
The Chrome strip on the bonnet looks odd to me, I don’t know if it should have a Wolfsburg crest at the bottom? Maybe early Export trim Beetles looked like this.
The Wolfsburg Castle badge appeared a bit later, along with the bigger trunk handle. The chrome strip should be consistent with a ’49 Export model, according to what I read online. But there are true Beetle specialsts on CC who will know, I’m sure..
Among other things, the front “hood” is not correct for a ’49. That gap between the end of the chrome trim and handle is all wrong; no VW would ever have had that. It looks terrible. The chrome strip should come down very close to the handle.
And that turning latch style handle is not correct for ’49; it’s from ’48 or earlier. It should be a bigger loop handle, like in the image below of a correct ’49.
There’s more issues: The chrome trim on the windshield and rear windows came a couple years later; in ’49 it was just the black rubber.
I suspect there’s some other deviations from an authentic ’49 deluxe. But that’s all nit picking, although the gap between the front hood trim and handle looks really off.
Who knows what this ’49 body has been through…it’s very common for old VWs to have had parts from earlier and newer cars to replace damaged and lost ones.
Yes, there’s nothing like a split window VW, especially from the rear. Just like Erwin Kommenda styled it in 1938, with a few minor changes.
The 15″ wheels really give it away as not being authentic through and through. It would be pretty easy to put 16″ wheels on it.
I forgot the image, of an authentic ’49 Deluxe (it does have added turn signal lights):
Handsome little devil! The newer chassis likely drives much better.
Nice and it’s good to see someone using the pastel factory colors, they were so beautiful .
-Nate
Tidy old Beetle, Paul has already noted things that arent right the hood trim I noticed but its on a later floorpan anyway with improvements like hydraulic brakes and 1200 engine so not being entirely correct visually isnt a biggie at least it isnt slammed into the pavement with raised floors such things come with.
Twin tailpipes were May 1955 for North America and August 1955 for 1956 model year for everywhere else.
I’m puzzled by the chrome strip on the bonnet, which doesn’t have a Wolfsburg crest, maybe the early Export models had this.
Sorry, posted twice by mistake
The Japanese TUV must be awfully tolerant to permit those tiny tiny stop lights. In my 1970 trip to the Old World I noticed that the old VWs uniformly had the post 1962? tail light assemblies.
My Dad had a rusty ’59 which eventually was totalled when parked in front of our house It was his first “2nd” car, bought about 1966, totalled in 1968.
Before that, he was in the army in the early 50’s over in Germany, and was often assigned a beetle as transport…though he also drove REO trucks. Likely that’s part of the reason he bought his own beetle quite a few years later. He might have driven a pretty early one like this…he was back in the states by 1953.
A new ’68 Renault R10 replaced the beetle. He’d been going to France on business trips towards the end of the 60’s, and became a bit of a francophile and of course you could still buy a French car in the US. The R10 was a bit bigger than the beetle, had 4 doors, and a watercooled instead of aircooled rear engine.