Me and my Friend Adam ,have our heart set on buying this Beetle:



It has been sat there since 1988.
A friend who spoke to the owner said he would take £200 for it.
First off is that reasonable?(yes i have no idea about Beetles)
Second how much are we looking at for all the panels and i assume a new engine ,we really do want it to be a concorse car.

Our reason for not going for something tidier is because we have both known this car all our lives ,walking past it to school even.

Many Thanks
Oli South

And yes it is a pre 67 model 😎

Hi Oli, welcome to the forum.

That's a 1967 1500 beetle which is a very good bug to have!
It is the first bug with disc brakes at the front, ball joint suspension, four stud wheels. There's a lot of one year only bits on that model such as the engine lid and rear valance, long thin chrome on the bonnet, dash board switches and door pulls.

It's a very sought after bug you've found there and would make a great restoration project. I would rebuild the original 1500 engine (assuming its stull the original?) instead of fitting a replacement and try to keep it as original and correct as possible. This will help with your concourse ambitions.

With regards to the cost of panels, that depends on how solid it is and what needs to be welded and replaced.

Do you have any pics of the bad bits?

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I will pop down there on Thursday and get some more pictures of her.
I did not realise that she was such a rareity!
With regards to the engine, it has not been started since 1987-88 surely it would be seized?
I understand that if this is the case it can be rectified, of corse if i am wrong please correct me.
Also why does it have one exhaust, all the bugs i have seen have 2 :?

Our plans are to keep her COMPLETELY standard 😃
Will parts such as the engine lid be a problem to come accross?

Many thanks and all the best

Oli

Yes, its a very cool car and definitely worth £200! you will no doubt have all the hard to find 67 parts already on the car, though you might have to repair the (67 only?!) doors as they have got expensive and hard to find, I had some here that I sold for more than £200! I think I might still have the engine lid somewhere too. Dont worry about the engine for now there are a multitude of easy temporary and cheap solutions to that. However keeping the stock engine with the car ultimately ( if it is the original?) is a must.( In years gone by you might have just exchanged it/thrown it)
Find somewhere to store it and go and get it quick! 😃

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There are quit a few 66/67 bugs around but the 1500 is the one to go for because of the disc brakes and increased power. It was a change over year between the early bugs, and the later bugs with the short bonnets and upright headlights. Some were 6volt, some were 12 volt. It looks like that one is pretty much all there so you should have all the one year only stuff already. The hub caps are one year only too! You get the best of everything with a '67 1500, early 6 volt looks with later mechanics.

I've known lots of old engines which have been started with some petrol down the carb and a fresh battery. Make sure it's in neutral and see if you can turn the bottom pully on the engine by hand. If it turnes, then you can probably get it running but it will probably still need a rebuild. Can you find out what the mileage is?

It should have two tail pipes exiting through two cut-outs in the rear valance, but one has probably just fallen off or, the exhaust box has rusted away.

It's the lower areas of the body which will be where you need to check for rust. Heater channels/sills, inner wings, floor pans (under the battery which is under the back seat is usually non-existant!) luggage area behind the back seat, Inner wheel arches (where the chassis mounts by the rear shock absorber and behind the front wheel too), bumper mounts front and back, spare wheel in the front. I could go on and on!!

Have fun and good luck!

Malc 😃

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Rite thanks for all the info guys!
Will take lots of pics for your viewing pleasure on thursday :lol:
Will try and find out the mileage also.
I did hear from someone that the battery had fallen through the floor :shock:
I look forward to hearing from you again.

Oli

im adam olis mate and we do realy want this beetle and if we do get it i hope it doesnt fall apart when we move it

Adam i visited her this evening.
The owner wasnt home!
I had a good scout around, the seats are wrecked in the front, (it was really dark and couldnt see through the mould) the mileage looked to be either 11000 or 71000 yes not very specific i know!
She has a cream coloured dash, and the seats looked brown or red?

As i said in my previous post i will find out more info tomorrow and take some pics.

Adam as i discussed before i dont think(i hope) she isnt to far gone to fall apart when we move her.

Also if a beetles door is locked does the button still push in??
If not i just didnt tug on it hard enough
:twisted:

Oli

Sorry posted latest pictures in a seperate thread :oops:

That 67 could cost you an absolute fortune to do up and get back on the road. If it was my first Beetle i would be looking to get something that won't be such a massive project. If you spend £1000 on a running fairly good mechanical bug with work needed you would be better off. Go for a rarer care later. there are actually quite a few 67 about and you shouldn't rush into this one it looks like it will need loads of works and you will just get disheartened by it. Bet the floow heater chanells and all the inner wings are completely rotten. Not trying to spoil your excitment but i have done the same thing years ago and am just trying to pass on that advice to you.
Regards
Simon

That is so so true.
I am not doubting that, however that Beetle means alot to us and i really do want to save it from the scrap heap.
Even if we do buy it i would put it in a garage and do a nut and bolt full restoration, whether it be in 5years i start work?

I know it makes sence to start on a rolling restoration, but it just would'nt be this Beetle.
Adam however will be taking on a project in about a years time, something with is taxed and tested but needs work, so we will have the best of both worlds.

Kind Regards
Oli

do u have any advice on how to approach the lady who owns it because we have asked before and she will not sell for some odd reason she called it a peace of junk

Dont take this the wrong way ok, as I have no idea of your age!, but maybe get someone 'older' ie. a Grandparent?, or Mother, to go round and ask nicely.
It is likely that the car may hold some old sentimental attachment over any value to the point that the owner likes just having it sit there, albeit it slowly rotting away.
A sensible older voice saying it could be restored and loved again, might be all it takes.

I do agree with Simon that this is really not going to be an ideal car at all, there are plenty out there at the moment cheap and in better condition, and you will probably spend a lot on it, BUT, it is a challenge which may prove a more satisfying personal pay-off in the end.

Beetles are just starting on a slow uphill climb in value again, so a RHD 67 is not a bad 1st project at all. By the time you finish it, it could well be worth a lot more.

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I drive past that bug every day - I was gonna go in and ask about it myself! It looks so sad and sorry for itself - good luck with the resto if you do buy it! It looks like the floors are rotted out and sagging on it?

Theres a big Bristol bug scene, are you on the KDC and OVC sites/clubs?

www.krazydubclub.co.uk
www.theoldsvolksclub.co.uk

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no im not a member of any of those

Join the forums, get chatting, theres loads of good peeps and advice on there, also get on VZi (www.volkszone.com/VZi) if you aren't already look at the resto threads and it'll give you an idea of whats in store.

If you want someone to come and have a look round it with you I don't mind having a look, also my friend Lucy (aka Shamrockez on VZi and KDC) knows her stuff and lives just up the road so she'd be someone who can give you good advice 🙂

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cheers for the websites and i will have to discuss it with my mate as he will be helping me get it on the road

Just to let you know that there are a lot of expensive to replace 1 year only parts on this car, like doors, rear lid, wheels, door handles, and the list will go on.

But in original restored condition, well there are not that many still on the road, do your sums and treble them, you can expect to pay £3k for good paint,

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