1966 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic

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Manual

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Gasoline

I’m reluctantly placing up for sale my beloved 1966 Volkswagen Bug which my husband bought me for my birthday in 1979. It’s hard to believe that I’ve owned it for the past 38 years. It’s an original rust-free California black plate car with only 59,100 original miles on it. It has its original paint which still looks great. The interior even still smells like a new Volkswagen. We purchased the car from a USC student who owned it for one year. When we bought it, the car only had 35,000 miles on it. The student had purchased it from a woman who was the original owner. She did not drive it much, using it primarily for short hops like going to the grocery store. The car did not even have a radio in it when we bought it. I drove the car for about one year in order to minimize fuel usage and save money. I then bought a newer car and placed the VW in the garage. From that point on it was driven occasionally for recreational purposes only. In order to gain more space in our garage, in 1996 (21 years ago), I stored the car (covered) in the garage of my Mom’s cabin up in Frazier Park. This is a mountain community about an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles. This is a perfect place for the preservation of a car because the mountain air is cool and dry. Unfortunately, we recently had to move my Mom into a nursing home. This necessitated returning the car to our garage in Los Angeles. We’ve kept the car currently registered and insured all these years. It was placed on a battery tender and fresh batteries were installed when necessary. The car was started and the engine run periodically. It’s always started right up. Toward the end of its time in storage, it developed leaks from the two small oil cooler seals and the pushrod tube seals. Also, the brake master cylinder had gone bad. To properly address these things we removed the engine and disassembled everything down to the short block (case) which to this day has never been split. Everything was thoroughly cleaned. The heads were re-worked with all new modern valves, springs and guides. New engine and transaxle seals were installed. A new German Sachs clutch disc was installed. A NOS German made Volkswagen muffler was installed. All the tin has its original paint. A freshly rebuilt Bosch generator and new fuel pump were installed. A new battery was installed in October. A complete brake job was done which included new shoes, a new German master cylinder and all new German wheel cylinders. New transaxle seals were installed at the rear wheels. The car has four Michelin tires with very few miles on them. The wheels were recently spin balanced, new tie rod ends installed and the front end aligned. The car rides and handles beautifully, tracking perfectly and requiring only a light finger touch on the steering wheel. The car steers lightly and easily in curves – quite satisfying! In, fact, it’s amazing how much the car behaves like a sports car. It’s no wonder Doctor Porsche decided to take it to the next level with the development of the venerable 356. In 1966 Volkswagen went to a 1300 cc motor which generated 50 horsepower. This one really runs beautifully with snappy power. It accelerates responsively and comfortably around town but it is recommended that it be driven at only moderate speeds on the highway. We’ve always “babied” this one, generally keeping its top speed around 55 MPH. We’ve also babied the gearbox. Following storage, we drained all the old gear oil, refilled it, drove it to heat it up thoroughly, drained it and refilled it again. We’ve always shifted gently, allowing it to glide into the selected gear like melted butter. We’ve also taken it real easy on the downshifting, doing so minimally and often assisting by double clutching. As a result, the synchro rings should have very little wear on them. The body is straight and the car sits well. It does have a few dents and surface imperfections here and there which are shown in the photos. Also, it was involved in a very minor accident involving the right the right rear side of the car prior to our ownership. This was poorly repaired. As best we can tell, the small incursion was centered in the right rear quarter panel. However, the areas which have been re-painted are the right door below the horizontal trim piece, the quarter panel and the right rear fender. The door and fender paint exhibits tiny blisters, and surface paint cracking is present on the quarter panel. No evidence of any bodywork is visible on the underside of the fender. It is possible that a new fender was installed at the time the work was done. See photos. The interior is in amazingly good condition. The headliner is nearly perfect, showing only age related discoloration. The seats have never been reupholstered which is consistent with the car’s low mileage. There is some depression in the driver’s seat area but there are no seams coming apart anywhere. There is a minor tear in the driver seat vinyl at its lower right base. For unknown reason, the previous owner replaced the front and side carpeting. To his credit, he used what appears to be original Volkswagen carpeting. We installed the correct Bendix Saphire AM radio which works well. Despite its few cosmetic imperfections, this car shows very well and frequently receives “thumbs up” from other motorists. It definitely will attract interest at any VW or classic car gathering. 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false If you live in California, this vehicle is “smog exempt” which is a big deal. I have receipts for the entire time I’ve owned the car. It’s very economical to drive. There are plenty of parts available at reasonable prices and there are tremendous website and YouTube resources on how to do a wide variety of work yourself without the need to take it to a shop. In fact, for many owners, working on their cars and doing the maintenance themselves is a satisfying and rewarding part of the Volkswagen experience. There are some really nice restored Volkswagen’s around. But the problem is, you never know what kind of condition these cars were in or what kind of life-long care they had prior to restoration. Some real rust buckets can be made to look pretty good. When a car has been repainted, the question becomes why? Why does a well-cared for car need to be repainted? What is the paint hiding? This is a big reason why knowledgeable Volkswagen aficionados place such high value on original, unrestored examples. An unrestored car affords much better ability to know exactly what you’re getting. In this case, no effort has been made to hide or obscure anything. The car is in exactly the kind of condition you would expect an original, low mileage, well cared for vehicle to be in. And because it isn’t a “perfect” concourse show car, you can take it out and really have some relaxed fun with it. This is as near as you’re likely to get to having the experience of driving a relatively new Volkswagen from that wonderful era. It exudes the “spirit” of the original German factory craftsmen who built it. It’s been a part of our family for a long, long time. We’re hoping it will go to someone who knows and appreciates what this is. The car comes with a car cover and original owner's manual in mint condition. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.