1968 Volkswagen Beetle

Herbie wears the number 53 because of Dodger star Don Drysdale. Bill Walsh, producer of The Love Bug, came up with the blue and red racing stripes and gave the cute car No. 53 in honor of one of his favorite ballplayers. The pitcher threw 58 2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings in 1968.

For consignment an early production 1968 VW Beetle. According to the Zertifikat report, this bug was born November 7th, 1967, in Emden Germany and shipped to sunny San Francisco, California on November 9th 1967. In the mid 2010's the car made its way to the East coast and was purchased by our consignor in 2015. Sporting a replacement 1500cc engine, an original interior and one respray in white. While fully operational, this bug does need some TLC and restoration, but nothing that can't be done with some elbow grease and determination. I'm feelin' the love.

Exterior
This cool little beetle has decently minded gaps, acceptably applied paint and its fair share of rust bubbling, invasive rust on the passenger's lower front splash pan, chip offs, dings, some tearing of the metal and surface rust. A respray of the white bathes the body and roof, and some overspray can be seen, as well as a little bit of previous sanding swirls in the body repairs. Rounded fenders in white frame the headlights with chromed visors looking a lot like eyelashes for cars. The lenses for the turn signals and taillights all present well with nice chrome trimming which goes with the black rubber piping seen throughout between the seams of the fenders and bodywork. The rest of the chrome trimmings are present with rust dimpling and badging is all correct designation. Up top a chrome and wood slat roof rack has been added for those long road trips to the beach. Blackwall tires have shiny dog dish style wheel coverings, and this adds to the black trim mystique.

Interior
A swing of the door and we see white metal painted surrounding a black horizontally ribbed vinyl panel, complete with the door handle window crank and a vinyl door pull. Dual textured vinyl seats have smooth black vinyl bolsters and lots of clean black piping. The rear seat is a long bench and stretches from C pillar to C pillar. This interior is all original and has remained well preserved over the years. The carpeting has been removed from the floors, and Coco protective mats have been installed to keep your feet from slipping. An unmolested and simple white painted dash with circular speedometer and square gas gauge sit within the vertical ribbed speaker area which is fronted by an original steering wheel in black with a chrome horn ring and the castle Wolfsburg logo in the center. A modern AM/FM radio is also mounted in the dash and is a perfect fit into the factory location. The headliner is white and is lightly soiled but remains tight in its perforated pattern.

Drivetrain
A cleaned up but not original 1500cc horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine sits in the rear of this car. It has a 1-barrel carb on top, and a 4-speed manual transmission. The engine appears well maintained, presents very cleanly and drives a 4.125 geared final drive through the 4-speed.

Undercarriage
Surface rust is attaching itself to the exhaust system, and also shows on the suspension, which shows as transverse torsion bars upfront and swing arm with torsion bars on the rear. Floor pans are a mix of surface rust and factory undercoating with some minor invasive rust present. Examining deeper we see heavy invasive rust in the heater channels and this rust has invaded the rockers to the point that they should be repaired in the very near future. This damage can be seen from above when the doors are opened. Drum brakes are noted all around to bring this bug to a halt.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter, and a low tweet from the engine. This car has wonderful acceleration, great handling and a smooth ride with bias free panic stopping. All functions were working just swimmingly, just like the ads where they dipped a car in a lake!

While in need of some TLC on the body and undercarriage fronts, the mechanicals of this car are wonderful. A great driver, the original interior, its birth certificate from the Motherland and this bug is ready to crawl right into your garage.

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.