I have come to a crossroads in my project planning. Here all this time I was planning on a stock restoration with all the accessories I could possibly find when all of a sudden I started giving this wild idea to building a standard 1955 Beetle instead of a deluxe. I can say that I have never seen a standard Beetle at any show, ofcourse maybe I am just not looking in all the right places. So before you wonder if I have given much thought to this undertaking I have put about a solid month of thought into this. I realize just how plain the standard really is but in its simplicity it really would look quite nice if done correctly. I have done alot of reading and looking on the internet but reference material on the standard just is'nt very abundant. I do understand that there is absolutely no frills with a standard, no crome on the body, window cranks, door handles, rear view mirror. The dash is plain and almost every finish is painted. I have already aquired a three spoke steering wheel for this project. I just have several questions that need some good knowledgable answers and this is certainly the place to find them. Here goes...
1. Are the bumpers painted? If so are they painted body color or black?
2. Are the head light rings painted body color?
3. Are the tail pipes painted, and if so body color or black?
4. Can a standard have a sliding ragtop?
5. Are the wiper arms painted body color or black?
6. Can a standard come with a basic no frills radio?
7. Were there any standards shipped here to the US for sale or are they European only? If also shipped here to the US would the car also include semaphores?
8. Would the vent window divider be painted body color or black?
9. Are the door handles and window cranks painted body color or black?

Sorry this thing is so long. Any advise, help, pictures would surely be welcome.

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😎 all body colour wipers are black

Hi kdfwagon, welcome to the forum.

If you read through some on the threads on here about standard models, you'll find that the finish on things like bumpers, hub caps handles etc. which are chrome on a deluxe, depends on which country it was destined for. Some are painted silver, some are in body colour and some like the UK still get some chrome in places.

I think if you are building a replica of a standard you could pick a country which has the finish on these bits that you prefer.

Would you change your brakes and gearbox to standard spec too, or just the cosmetic stuff? 😃

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Ah, my favourite subject!
So... if your 1955 is German, hubcaps, bumpers and all handles will be painted body colour or L226 Silver Grey. There seems, from period photos, that both were available.
Headlamp rings were never painted but chromed, unless you had a pre-May 1949 car!
Only one horngrill should exist, the other wing being left plain. That horngrill should be painted like the car if the car is German.
A German Standard will have its front hood handle left in unfinished dull metal (unchromed and unpainted).

Yes, there were some Standards that came factory-fitted with sunroofs if requested at the time.
If your car is an Export Standard, ie. from Belgium, Switzerland or Holland for example, bumpers, hubcaps and all door handles would be chromed.
The front horngrill will also be left in shiny metal finish.
The front hood handle will also be chromed.
Some Standards also had a waistline painted, most of them did from the Oval-era onwards, it would seem from period photos. This waistline was white. The coral red waistline was only for splits.
In both cases, German and Export models, the headlining is reduced to a sparse rectangle, with exposed body-painted metal everywhere else.
German Standards have no carpet in the rear luggage trunk but a folded matt black cardboard panel. Exports mostly had a piece of carpet.
All Standards have the three front carpet panels (brown/beige) and carpet runners over the heat exchangers. A 1955 would have a ribbed rubber piece over the front section of the central tunnel from the handbrake to the pedal area.
For 1955, the colours for Standards were L37 Middle Blue and L225 Jupiter Grey. I'm not sure if L41 Black was still an option.
Some Standards were exceptionally ordered in other colours but these are rare cases.
I'm probably forgetting some things but this should get you started!
For any more info, help will be at hand!
😃

Wow...thanks for the welcome. I live here in America and wonder if standards were ever shipped here. The only convenience I plan on makeing are hydraulic brakes and a sycromesh split case transaxle. This site is way cool. Keep up the good work.

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Personally, if you really want a standard oval, why don't you just buy one? They are rare, but are not that hard to find. Would seem to be much easier and cheaper in the long run. Just my opinion.

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I personally would not make the change.
I think you will devalue your car.
You could actually buy a standard much more easily than you think.

If you came to sell the car in the future i think you would struggle as it would neither be one thing or the other.
Sorry if it's not what you want to hear but IMHO you would be best restoring as a deluxe.They are a lovely car to drive,and it would keep it's value to a max.

Hi kdfwagon, as the owner of a German Spec 1955 standard I can tell you how mine looks, although it has been modified over the years (not by me) to look like a Zwitter so I cannot guarantee everything is 100% correct. All the areas you mention have been painted body colour with the exception of the wipers which are black. The exhaust is without paint so I cannot comment there. Mine was factory fitted with a ragtop, as confirmed by the birth certificate, but original ragtop standards are not common, I believe this was the most expensive option at the time. Everything else agrees totally with 48REME's comments.

German (European?) standards also had mechanical brakes up to -59.

Here is some info (in German) about the changes for both deluxes and standards:
https://www.oldbug.de/historie/modelle/html/vw_modelle.html 
(direct link doesn't appearantly work. Click on "Historie, then "VW Käfer modellubersicht"...)

Also check this cool Standard beetle site:
(ignore the popups. This site is very informative about Standards)
https://www.clik.to/jupitergrey 

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...Mechanical brakes up to 1964, actually, I think...

Nope.


In other words Hydraulic brakes, single circuit from 5th April 1961 to 31st July 1969. So I mixed up the year changes some.

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