I like me some honest patina, but this one that Tim Finn found in Portlandia is just a wee bit more than I prefer. I’m also not a fan of the headlight treatment, but presumably, this is more about being technically legal than anything else. It’s a survivor and it runs, so let’s give it credit for that.
The rear lights are aftermarket too. Maybe we can assume this was sitting in some weedy yard or lot, and someone made off with the original headlight and taillights. Maybe the original front fenders too.
Its license plate tags are good through November of 2019, so it’s not just out for a joy ride. Maybe it’s part of an effort at weight reduction?
It is in Portland, so don’t think this isn’t cool. There.
Patina? Hell that’s lawn art that runs. Looks like they spent all of $20 getting it road worthy. With that being said If it were local and mine I would drive it, with a huge grin, until ticketed by “the man” for operating an unsafe vehicle.
Wait, they got it roadworthy? 🙂
To be fair, my first car was a ’66 Beetle which looked more respectable but the paint was the only thing holding it together.
What’s curious is that this one seems to be perfectly solid, with only surface rust on it. However, I’m not very familiar with the anatomy of the German insects; is it just the running boards that are missing, or the rocker panels altogether ? Can’t say for sure.
The running boards are gone. They really don’t have rocker panels. What you see is the edge of the floor pan to which the body is bolted. That floor pan has been bent at the jack point giving you an idea how “solid” that whole thing is.
I couldn’t get my mind of the thought of presenting this beetle to the German TuV inspector.
Having been poor in my youth and the owner of a couple of beaten beetles, I can tell you exactly what that car smells like and sounds like.
The scent is of hot oil and old grease, dead rubber flooring, and a whiff of whatever that stuff is the Germans used to pad the seats. Mix in (a little) cold fresh air from the wing vent and you got it.
The sound is all engine with whistling valves and either a blatt or a roar coming from behind your head depending on the state of the muffler.
Driving is weird. You “accelerate” in first gear until the engine noise is a roar but nothing else changes (like your speed). You then slam it into second hoping to speed shift quick enough to avoid losing momentum and snapping your neck around like a bobble head doll. The feeling is kind of like you were riding inside a big clothes dryer drum on a cart, and every now and then (as you shift gears in the car) going over a little speed bump that makes the dryer lurch.
Once you’re in third things are okay because all the other traffic has left you behind, and you’re moving fast enough for the wind noise to mask some of the engine sound.
The brakes would be considered totally unacceptable if the car was moving faster than 45 miles an hour….but it won’t so you’re okay with them.
Ah, the good old days.
That smell permeated my parents’ garage. My dad said it reminded him of his grandfather’s car.
I used to laugh that in the UK I was supposed to drive a brand new truck at 40mph on two lane roads, but could legally drive the VW at 60mph, even though it needed advanced notice in writing when you wanted to stop. In reality, 32 ton tippers were often agitating to pass me.
Yeah the heavy vehicle limit here was 70kmh on highways when I started that line of work, being held up by VWs was normal. Ive had an old Beetle to 60mph indicated on a flat but it took forever to get there and the faintest slope slowed it down.
“whatever that stuff is the Germans used to pad the seats” Old Mercedes often had that same smell. It was rubberized horse hair. Yes, rotting animal product.
Is the poor performance of the old Beetkes somewhat exaggerated? I only drove them once or twice for a mile or two in town, and sure the stats weren’t good (0-60, top speed) and the gearing were not ideal for some highway conditions. But they would cruise all day at 70 mph (72, no?) and, more to the point, I started driving when these things were everywhere and I don’t remember them being rolling roadblocks. Not like T1 buses, or even smoking 190 Diesels or old ladies in Ramblers. Or perhaps already all the Beetles in California had been rebuilt with 1600 Empi parts.
Thank you for “going where angels fear to tread.”
I daily’d a ’71 ‘bus for around five years, succeeded by a ’64 Type I for the next six years, spanning from around 1989–2000 in Charlotte, NC, Knoxville, TN and Atlanta, GA and its so-called “rush hour” traffic.
Now, a man’s got to know his (car’s) limitations, and no doubt, the VWs had those in spades, but the old ‘bus did okay, except maybe on runs through the Appalachian mountains. I never felt the brakes on either vehicle to be inadequate, but I also drove in such a way as to avoid brake fade, or often even needing to use the brakes (which meant looking a bit farther ahead than my hood ornament).
The Beetle, after a 40-horse refresh, maintained a steady 70-75mph from Atlanta to Peoria on one trip (except while going up those aforementioned mountains), and in Southern Winter ice storms, I’d just laugh at the guys in their spun-out-and-stuck Jeeps and 4×4 pickups as I putt-putted by, scraping ice off the inside of the windshield, a mere 6″ from my nose.
And if one were so attuned to the car as to know the exact combination of throttle input and steering angle to stay away from (a line, which when crossed, could put you on your roof in a flash), one could leave far more powerful cars behind on a twisty road where raw horsepower was a hinderance.
Yeah I always found the handling to be decent but was never the type to corner at the limit on a public road.
When they were running well my Beetles kept up with 2000s era Scottish traffic and weren’t too faced by freeway speeds but living in Minnesota now I probably wouldn’t want to drive one. The lack of A/C would put me off right away anyhow.
One of my closest friends in high school operated a ’61 VW from the time he got his license (the start of 11th grade) until it finally died a couple of months before he graduated from college. It was capable of 70 MPH or so on the flat although it would take a while to get there. Any upgrade, no matter how slight, would see a decrease in speed. There were some hills in our area, not even noticeable in my 1963 Plymouth or 1965 Pontiac, that would require a downshift to third in the VW. The smell I most associate with the car was that of exhaust fumes; I know that the heat exchanger boxes were replaced at least twice but the fumes never really went away.
Is the poor performance of the old Beetles somewhat exaggerated?
Yes. Its top speed prior to the ’66s was exactly 72 mph on the flats. Back in the early 60s, that was plenty fast to keep up with highway traffic at the time, which tended to roll along at about 65 or so, on good roads. The ’66s and up could do 80 (or better).
I used to surprise quite a few drivers by keeping my foot down and knowing how to keep my momentum up, including in curves.
I suspect the headlights and taillights are more “art” than necessity. The work involved in drilling new holes and reconfiguring the wire terminals is considerably harder than finding real replacements from junkyards or Ebay. Both ends seem to share a quad pattern that doesn’t look accidental.
Performance? What performance?? I once took a ’65 Bug for a weekend when I was selling used cars in L.A.
I took my life in my hands as I took it UP Topanga Canyon. On the curves the swing axle definitely would “swing”! Handling was really, to be kind, unique. Climbing up the Canyon, well….little doubt a 15 spd. bicycle could have out run the Bug!!
Later we owned a ’71 and ’73 Super Beetle. My wife loved them, but they were only good if compared to that ’65, IMhO. OTOH, their build quality compared to the Chevy Novas we had around then-excellent vs. the Novas. DFO
That is one wacky, funky bug. You can really get any heap registered in Oregon, can’t you?
In California at least, unless it is a “salvage” title, no inspections are necessary to register, or insure, a car older than 1975. Newer requires a “smog check” only.
I have a set of correct head and tail lights in a box in the garage, but I dont think they would be interested.
1. It runs, so there is hope.
2. The owner wants it this way.
3. If the headlights were actually AIMED, they could really be legal.
4. What are the combination lock and cable on the front bumper meant to secure? Does the cable actually hold the front bumper onto the car?
I suspect they’re holding the “towel rail” on. In an ironic, hipster way.
No those are aftermarket lights that don’t have a high and a low beam. Hopefully they were sold as driving lights so they reach more than 50′ down the road, if the person is brave enough to try and drive this at night.
To secure the hood as it doesn’t have a lock
It doesn’t go through the hood handle though, and you have to pull the release from inside the car to open it, assuming the hood is still correctly attached.
I see a VW Bug from that era on my way to my local Barnes & Noble that looks 1000% better than this one although it does look a little beat & is in the Boston area
Reminds me of the delapitated VW that came back to life to help Herbie and his VW army in the movie starring Helen Hayes.
I like the patina, not so much the lights.
They are only original once.
All it needs is a couple of toilet flush handles to replace the door handles and a toilet seat bolted to the engine lid for a “continental kit”.
Uh, yeah no
Poor car. I know cars are inanimate objects, but this one just LOOKS sad… “please stop… I’m so tired, I’m done.”
I began with a 59 in similar condition and returned it to its owner mint, under the surface it was solid, just beat up and brown from from surface rust and 8 years in a basement under a barista machine, it did however have the correct lights so didnt look this rough and with a fresh 72 model 1200 installed and brakes from a 63 it went and stopped as well as could be expected, probably the best one Ive driven in a long time.
A little panel beating and some paint this` one“ would come up ok
If the lights are LED, might be to use less power.
How was charging on these? I had a Bosch generator on my Moto Guzzi and it wasn’t very interested at low revs, even though I went over it. When I replaced it with a Nippondenso alternator I was pleased to see charging at idle instead of discharging. A lot lighter as well.
The 30 amp, low cut in generator was more than adequate on these cars. The pulley was sized to spin the cooling fan at about 2x crankshaft speed. Fan was driven off the back of the generator. Headlights also ran off of much more robust wiring than most other cars, US or import. Each lamp has an individual fuse for each beam.
I don’t understand the “patina” thing. I’ll be sitting in the stands watching the pass in review at the Old Car Festival and some old wreck, dented, rusted, upholstery and top in shreds, parts missing, trailing a cloud of oil smoke, will pull up and the announcers will go absolutely squishy about the “wonderful patina”, and remind everyone “it’s only original once”. Meanwhile, I’m muttering “the designer didn’t intend for it to look like that”.
Meanwhile, I’m muttering “the designer didn’t intend for it to look like that”.
Nothing stays the same; the forces of entropy are persistent. Do you look the same as in 1965? 🙂
Seriously, things do age, and it’s ok to see that. maybe not all the time, but it gives some perspective.
I thought VW had ceased production of the ‘original’ beetle years back, but apparently not. Now, however, it seems they are (again?). 80 years – not a bad run.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/13/volkswagen-to-stop-making-its-iconic-beetle-in-2019