1968 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic

Beetle Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

158839017

Gasoline

No Reserve! 1968 Volkswagen Beetle Karmann Convertible survivor. This is a complete body-off restoration of a one owner, original paint, rust-free Texas car. Let me start by saying that I restored this car as a graduation present for my 18 year old daughter, so it was done right and no corners were cut. Unfortunately, she only drove the car once before leaving for college and deciding that the four speed and lack of a/c were not her cup of tea. When I decided to restore a Beetle convertible, I looked at many cars but all were either badly rusted, hacked up or both. I searched for over a year for a solid, original rust-free candidate for the project and finally found this one. It was sold new by Southwest VW in Houston Texas and still wears the original dealer license plate frame. It had been in the gentle and dry Houston climate since new and was still in the possession of the original owner. When the convertible top started to rip in the 1980’s the owner parked the car in his garage and threw a cover on it with the intent of having the top replaced. It had 42,xxx miles on it at the time. It wasn’t touched again until 2008 when I found it. I drove to Houston and trailered the car home to Florida. When I started the restoration, I quickly realized that this car was a true time machine and in far better condition than I had hoped. It had none of the typical rust problems that plague these cars. In fact, this was the only convertible I’d seen in which the heater channels and convertible support rails were perfect. The only metal issue was a small rust hole in the rear passenger foot well, so rather than do a metal patch, I bought complete high quality, heavy gauge pan halves from Wolfsburg West and replaced both sides using plug welds to duplicate the VW factory spot welds. I’ve documented the entire year-long restoration, including hundreds of photos, so if you are interested in this car, please be sure to go to my restoration thread on The Samba.com. You will not find a more solid, original Beetle vert. The pictures say it all, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=374902&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 I have put about 3000 miles on the car since completion, including several trips to Daytona Beach (over 200 miles one way), and the car performs flawlessly on both the highway and surface streets. I had wrestled with the idea of doing a 100% original restoration, but decided to make a few small and easily reversible departures from originality for a cleaner, more retro look. All the original parts will be included in the sale as well as many other spares accumulated during the restoration. The car now sports a set of reproduction 15” Empi 8-spoke wheels with Continental 195 65 15’s in rear, 155 60 15’s on the front and 2.5” drop spindles. I also replaced the original “guard rail” bumpers with a new set of ’67 and earlier Euro blades with guards. The large “tombstone” tail lights have also been swapped for a set of the smaller ’62-’67 units and I replaced the amber front turn signal lenses with a clear set. The interior seemed rather claustrophobic with the high back bucket seats, so I swapped the upper front seat backs for a set of low-backs, which was a dramatic improvement. I also opted the go with white for the top and interior color instead of the original black. Yellow and white are a better color combo in my opinion and the car remains cooler in the Florida sun. My biggest dilemma during the restoration was whether or not to repaint the car. I decided that since they’re only original once and this car still retains 95% of its original Yukon Yellow paint (a convertible only color), I’d clean it up and leave it as-is. Retaining the lovely original patina also ensures that there are no bodywork atrocities hidden under gallons of Bondo and shiny new paint. The original matching numbers engine has been completely rebuilt, by me, to 100% stock appearance. I made a few non-visible modifications for the sake of performance. A CB performance cam, straight cut timing gears and higher volume oil pump were installed and the heads were completely rebuilt and lightly ported for improved flow. Every internal part, with the exception of the crank, is new. The original case was align bored during the rebuild. The engine pulls hard and still idles nicely with no cooling issues. The suspension, front-end and brake system were completely redone and the car rides and handles perfectly with no rattles, squeaks or other noises. The heater even works well. The additional sound deadener that I placed on the floor pans and the new carpet and padding practically eliminate all road noise. I also replaced the firewall insulation in the engine compartment and added Dynamat to the package shelf and firewall on the interior so engine noise is kept to a minimum as well. I would be comfortable driving this car anywhere. Chassis/Pan: Cleaned and stripped, pans replaced and painted multiple coats of gloss black, sound deadener on pans, new body to pan seal, new hard fuel line run inside tunnel like original, pedal cluster rebuilt, new accelerator and clutch cables, new shift rod bushing and coupler, new transmission mounts Suspension: New upper/lower ball joints, new 2.5” drop spindles, new tie rod ends, new steering damper, new sway bar mounting kit, new rear z-bar bushing kit, new gas shocks, new inner and outer rear spring plate bushings, new swing axle boots, new grease fitting and seals on front beam, new Continental tires Front Brakes: New bearings, races and grease seals, new shoes, springs and wheel cylinders, new hoses and hard lines, new master cylinder Rear Brakes: New bearings, shoes, springs and wheel cylinders, new axle seal kits, new hoses Engine: 42,xxx original miles with 3,xxx on complete rebuild. Matching numbers case align bored, original crank, new straight cut timing gears, all new bearings, new seals and gaskets, new connecting rods, new Mahle 85.5mm pistons, rings, cylinders, new CB cam and lifters, new high volume oil pump, new oil cooler, cooling tins blasted/painted, heater boxes blasted/painted, intake blasted/painted, air cleaner blasted/painted, carb rebuilt/re-colored, heads ported and rebuilt with new valves, new seats, new valve guides, new springs and retainers, new push rods and tubes, new valve covers, new muffler, new clutch, pressure plate and throw-out bearing, distributor rebuilt Body: Completely rust-free with 95% original Yukon Yellow paint with lovely original patina. Small chips and dings as would be expected, new white convertible top and padding, new synthetic header bow and mounting plates, new header bow seal, new synthetic quarter facings, new rear window frame insert, new side tension cables and springs, new top frame weather strip kit, new firewall insulation kit, new German running boards and mats, new engine to body seal, new engine lid seal (not yet installed), new body mounting pads, new door bumpers, new turn signal lenses and mounting seals, new front hood seal (not yet installed), new bumper bracket grommets, new inner/outer front/rear window scrapers (not yet installed), new vent window rubber seals and locks (not yet installed), new quarter window vertical seals. I’ve not yet gotten around to lubing and adjusting the door and quarter window regulators. Interior: Completely redone using all TMI products. New white seat covers, new seat pads, new white door panels, new white arm rests, new white headliner, new white header bow interior cover, new white sun visors and clips, new NOS dash pad, new turn signal switch, new glove box liner, new defroster vents, new carpet and pad kit over sound deadener, new interior knobs, new e-brake and shifter boots, new window cranks, all black interior hard parts stripped and painted correct VW silver-beige. I know that I could have re-commissioned this car with considerably less effort and expense but, again, it was done for my daughter so no short cuts were taken and no expense spared. Parts were bought almost exclusively from Wolfsburg West and the cheap stuff was avoided. This was a methodical, year-long restoration of an unmolested survivor car. My decision to sell the car has been made, so this will be a no reserve auction. My opening bid is less than half of what I have in parts and just the labor for the top installation. If you have interest in owing this car, I urge you to take the time to review the entire restoration project at http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=374902&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Please ask questions before bidding. If you have zero or negative feedback, please contact me prior to placing a bid or it will be canceled. $500 deposit due within 24 hours of auction end. Paypal ok for deposit only, balance to be paid in cleared funds within seven days of auction end. The car can remain in my garage for up to 30 days while new owner arranges shipping.