1960 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic

Coupe

4 - Cyl.

Manual

2747656

Clear

Gasoline

1960 VW Beetle Survivor Condition Black New Oxide Red Interior Low Miles Coker White Wall Radials Runs Excellent Show/Driver Condition You are looking at an extremely nice Southern California VW Beetle. The vehicle is owned by my good friend John, he is closing in on 80 and needs to sell his little gem. We were told the car recently (couple of thousand miles) went through a complete rebuild on the original engine. John knows these cars very well since he sold VW’s for many years in his dealership. Having spent most of my adult life involved in collector cars and specifically their restoration I would like to make a few points about this vehicle. The bug is showing 78K miles on the body from new. We cannot be positive of this because there is really no paperwork history to substantiate it. But my thoughts are simply this. We know that John bought the car from a successful Lexus Dealer that took the vehicle in on trade in Santa Monica roughly eight years ago. The owner of the dealership really likes classics and keeps some around the dealership. This one hung around for quite some time, as it was rented to Disney Studios on a periodic basis for commercials and a movie or two. Over that period of time I would highly doubt that the car rolled more than 1000 miles. I referred to the word “survivor” in the title and I take issue with most of the people that use that word, because most of them are truly NOT survivors. First let me just say that survivor classic cars are my favorite. I have a number of survivor cars in my collection and they are truly my favorite. Survivor Classification really started with the Corvette guys at the annual Bloomington Gold Corvette meet in Bloomington, IL. If you have an interest in knowing exactly what makes a survivor a survivor go to this site: http://www.survivorcollectorcar.com/?link=4areas The bottom line is it must be at least 50% original factory finish and equipment in four categories: Exterior, Interior, Under Hood & Chassis. Once a car has been repainted completely it can never be considered a Survivor. And our little Black Bug has been completely repainted so it truly is not a Survivor. So why did I say that? Simple. IT LOOKS ORIGINAL. That’s right. This 1960 Bug reeks of originality in feel and appearance; from the exterior paint to the interior to the engine bay and chassis. It “looks” like a period correct “survivor”. It drives almost as though it is a new 1960 bug recently hatched from its’ time capsule. The body on this car is almost a virgin. It absolutely appears to have never been hit and cannot identify any rust or rust repair to the body panels or undercarriage anywhere. The body lines and all panels are extremely straight and all gaps line up wonderfully. EXTERIOR: The two small exceptions to the body are that the hood somewhere in its life got a “tweek” in it, almost like a crack in the side of the hood (see close up pictures). Several rivets were put into the under roll lip and it works just fine, but there is a flaw if you look closely. The second area would be the rear bumper. It looks like maybe it was tapped slightly at some point and the arms that attach from the underbody to the bumpers were bent slightly and do not line up perfectly. Let me emphasize that this is a minor flaw and most people would probably never notice it. The fix would be to pull off the brackets and align them or buy new ones and reattach the bumpers. For a great old driver I would just leave it like it is, but if you want to show the car maybe you would spend a half a day and fix it. If I get a chance I might pull them off and take care of it I will. By the way, the bumpers look as though they were replaced or at least rechromed at some point in its life and are in #1 condition. They are very high quality and the over-riders are in the same type of condition. I believe them to be after-market, but again they are very high quality. When you look all down inside the front trunk of the car and in the engine bay area all the paint is original. The fenders and doors are all original to the car and there is no evidence of body damage anywhere in the car. The body is the most important part of an old car to me and this one is as nice and as straight as you will find. The doors close perfectly. Everything lines up perfectly with all gaps exactly as they should be from the factory (except for the slight gap difference when you look at the hood from the side as previously noted). Nice solid original California VeedubThe Body appears to be completely original to the car and looks to have never been damaged. The fenders and doors are all original to the car. The paint was probably redone many years ago and is in exceptional shape sans a few blemishes that add to the overall wonderful survivor-ish appearance previously noted. It has that great period look and feel of the original type acrylic enamel, much like how the car were finished from the factory. When I first studied the car even up close I was fooled for quite a while, thinking it was indeed the original paint. I just love that look. You can tell when it was repainted that there was no body work done to the car, so everything is even and matches all the way around the car. There are no bondo areas or lumpy body repairs to the original panels. There are no bubbles or bad spots due to poor body repairs. This is a very original paneled car. MECHANICAL: Previous to John the car was owned by the owner of the Lexus Dealership who took it in trade and kept it around the dealership for a nearly eight years. The story that came with the car and surely intrigued the owner of the dealership was that it was originally bought by an elderly German woman that brought the car over from Germany in the early 60’s. It seems to make some sense because there is that old style plastic stenciled lettering over the knobs on the dash for the switches (see pictures). One can tell from the age of the stencil that it is very old. The vehicle was rented to Disney Studios in Burbank on many occasions for commercials and movies, during the Lexus Dealer ownership. It was one of the owners “pets” and accordingly it was maintained to a “carte blanche” status. We don’t have records but the engine was probably rebuilt under his direction to a very high standard and it runs out accordingly. The engine is not the 36 hp crash box trans type but rather a fresh air 40hp type out of a 63 or 64. There is little difference in these engines during these years and this was pretty common to go to the larger engine if they needed replacement. The engine has no leaks and runs out strong. John recently adjusted the valves and it runs fantastic in all gears. It does not appear to use any oil so we imagine everything was done including the rings. Again, I cannot stress enough. If it needed something it got done. The brakes and suspension all work wonderfully and these items are either brand new or newer with little mileage since work completed. The wiring looks completely original to the car and is in wonderful condition. Another testament to the fact that it probably spent every minute of its life in Southern California in a garage. Also another indication that the mileage on the odometer may in fact be the first time around. It is obvious that this little bug had a pampered life. The trim and rubber in the doors is in like new condition. Indicating that this car has probably spent most or all of its life indoors. The original gasket to the rear window seems to be in it… it is a little frayed at the corners but in great shape. Absolutely clean clean clean undercarriage and floor pans, no rust anywhere. All the trim is in excellent shape. INTERIOR: The interior upholstery was completely redone. The seats and door panels were redone to the original color of Oxide Red (almost looks like a tan to me, but I am slightly color blind). It was done to the exact standard that was used during that period. Everything is shrunk to fit like the factory originals and the fit and finish is exceptional. The seats are in near perfect condition. The seat frames and paint look to be completely original and in a wonderful patina shape. The headliner is in brand new condition and was probably replaced at the same time the upholstery was done. All of the interior paint is completely original and in superlative shape. There are a few little chips, but just beautiful condition overall. When you compare this original style paint to the paint on the exterior they match very closely. That is part of what I am trying to convey with this little bug. The steering wheel looks original and has the usual cracks around the rim. The radio looks to be the original Wolfsberg, which I believe is an old style Blaupunkt. It is currently not working and we are not sure exactly what the fix would entail. It has some classic styling to it, so I would probably stick a newer style stereo in the glovebox and keep the original one right where it is, because it looks so period correct and just really cool. The problem with these old radios are even when rebuilt they just never sound like the newer style equipment. For $200 today you can get a decent little CD player with AM/FM. The car sports the original style rims and hubcaps that are all in excellent condition. The tires look to be brand new, being original style wide white-walls by Coker Classics. They are meant to look like old tires but in fact are brand new radials. I would classify this car an Excellent Driver with Show Car potential. This would be a great car to take to local VW Shows just like it is. It shows very nicely but is not perfect. It has a great patina to it and I believe it is just a very very original low mileage car. When you drive this car it feels fresh and almost new. There are no issues with this little vehicle. You would be proud to drive it and enjoy it everyday. Really nice low mileage cars like this with a virgin body are getting harder and harder to find. We do not have this little bug priced off the planet. The reserve is set at a very reasonable amount for what you are getting. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at any time. Frank Mattingly 949-310-6262 TERMS & CONDITIONS: The car is for sale locally and we reserve the right to cancel this auction at any time before the end of the auction. We do not have a Buy It Now Price listed. The car will be made available for inspection by serious bidders throughout the auction. Please e-mail us if you would like to see the car. If you prefer, we can arrange to have a qualified, independent, professional mechanic perform a pre-purchase inspection for you (at your expense). PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL AS A FORM OF PAYMENT. THIS IS TRUE FOR BOTH THE INITIAL DEPOSIT AS WELL AS THE FINAL PAYMENT. Winning bidder must contact us within 24 hours of auction end, and make arrangements for payment at that time. A $500.00 deposit is due within 48 hours of end of auction. The deposit can be made by cash (please do not mail cash!), bank check, cashier's check, or bank transfer (preferred). The remainder is due within 10 days of Auction end. The remaining balance must be made in the form of a bank transfer (preferred) Cashier's check, or bank check (all forms of payment subject to verification). PayPal will not be accepted as a form of payment for either the deposit or the final payment. If no contact is made within 24 hours we reserve the right to re-list the vehicle, sell it to the next high bidder, or sell it otherwise. Please arrange financing prior to bidding. Once the final balance has been paid, title transfer paperwork will be initiated. Buyer is responsible for pickup or shipping of this vehicle. If you wish to have it shipped using a service, we will gladly cooperate, you can locate shippers by doing a search for “auto shippers”. We have relationships with both domestic and international shippers should you need some assistance. This vehicle is being sold as is, where is with no warranty, expressed written or implied. The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage. Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and to have satisfied himself or herself as to the condition and value and to purchase based upon that judgement solely. The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyer's request prior to the close of sale. Seller assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle. Please Check My Feedback- I value my 100% positive rating, and will do my best to keep it. The winning bidder should have the car insured from the time the final payment is made to us. Once final payment is made, we will exercise a generally accepted standard of care, but the buyer assumes all liability and risk once the final payment is made. Before delivery of the vehicle, the winning bidder must provide a photocopy of a valid drivers license. Delivery is defined as the time at which physical possession of the car is transferred from us, the seller, to the buyer or the buyers’ agent or chosen transport company. If you are not sure about something, Please ASK. Do not assume anything not listed is included. We reserve the right to cancel bids for excessive negative feedback. We reserve the right to end the listing if the vehicle is no longer available for sale. Please do not bid on this auction unless you are serious about owning this vehicle. PLEASE ONLY BID WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY.