1974 VW Beetle For Sale
SOLD!
Current Listings CLICK HERE!!
This 1974 standard Beetle sedan is located in Southern California and it has been in the same family
since new. It was ordered from European Motors in Glendale as a "Tourist Delivery" car
that the owners flew to Wolfsburg to pick up themselves for a European Vacation.
It has been here in California ever since and it has a very full folder of documentation that shows this history.
The family that owns it is of German decent and so the "blood lines" of this one are quite pure.
It was always maintained well and in around 1986 it received a new German engine
as well as a repaint in the original white color.
The repaint was an average job at the time...not up to today's "restoration quality"
but it still has a clean look with a few scuffs and scrapes here and there, but nothing major.
It is a very solid example with no major rust issues.
It did have one collision in it's history on the drivers side front.
This was repaired of course and the only noticeable trace of this is visable under the front hood
if you look in the corners...from the outside it looks just fine.
Still with it's blue California plates...it is a good old car.
The thing that gets me most excited about it is the history of the car
and all the papers that come with it.
I love seeing the books and receipts...it is like travelling along with the car in a way.
Here is the original warranty stamp from Wolfsburg in the book.
Radio warranty
Even a tax refund check stub from VW of America
The original shipping papers are quite fun to see
Looks like the shipping was just about $500 back in 1974 to get it here from Germany
Just shy of $3000 total when new.
Atlas white is the color with grey upholstery and the optional Sapphire AM/FM radio.
So fun to see that this documentation was retained.
This shows the delivery plans including free rail transport for the buyers from Frankfurt to the delivery location.
The steam ship "Erika Bolten" from the port of Emden to Terminal Island right in Long Beach.
Great stuff...where's the time machine?
I would so love to do this!
Here is a receipt from 86 showing the engine rebuild.
Warranty
The mileage at the time of the rebuild install was 66,465
It has about 85,000 on the car now...so roughly 20k on the engine.
Manual
There are more recent service records as well.
Here is another from a couple years back..
And here is the car today in the owner's driveway basking in the California sun.
It has not been used much of late...just sitting a bit and fired up occasionally for a splin around the block.
It looks quite nice when you step back a bit like this, but as you get closer
you see some of the signs of time passing.
The paint is just slightly faded but I bet it will spring back to life quite a bit with a good deep polish.
The finish on the vent wings is worn.
A tad bit of overspray on the original window rubber on the vent wing
Underneath it looks very solid in these photos which is a major plus.
The engine looks pretty dry underneath which is another good sign.
A little surface rust on the uncoated pushrod tubes and such, but nothing to be concerned about.
That floor pan looks amazing!
Here is the area under the battery on the passenger side rear of the floorpans...looks totally solid, just a little scrape
of the undercoating but the metal looks like it must be super solid.
When they painted it they did spray over the fender beading and the hood seal...it was a basic
in and out style paint job I suppose.
Under the front hood is is a bit messy with the remains of the original fiber board trunk liner
still in place.
Neat to see the original material still here, but a replacement of this would dress the trunk up quite a bit for
very little investment.
Here in this photo you can see the signs of the collision in it's past...
the side wall in here shows the hammer marks and metal working from getting it back in shape.
Passenger side looks smooth back in there.
Spare
There are a few chips in the paint in spots as you can see here.
The interior is all stock and unchanged from original.
Great German accessory parcel tray under the dash.
The seats and the headliner (and carpet too)
look to me like they were changed long ago.
They need some cleaning to be sure but overall are holding up pretty well.
Headliner..
The door panels appear to be the original grey ones delivered with the car when new.
I bet those seats would clean up a fair bit with a little scrubbing.
A few wrinkles in the back.
One patch spot on the headliner over the passenger side door.
Carpet looks quite nice!
A little blurry here...but it looks to me like 85,000 and change.
Another neat detail is the red lettered overlay that shows Kilometers per hour.
This was put on when new to allow the driver to calculate local speed while travelling
on the continent. Most folks removed this sticker when they got back to the US...but this one is still here!
Inside of the glove box looks pretty nice.
Dash pad has a couple of small cracks but still looks good.
Nice to see that original AM/FM radio in the dash that matches with the original purchase order.
They need a scrubbin!
No rips or damage to the seats which is nice.
Looks like a faint crack in the paint along the seam forward of the drivers door.
Small scuff in the paint on the drivers side front fender.
A few stone chips here and there.
Glass is all good
The thermostat operated vent flap in the engine lid is intact.
Engine runs well, clutch and trans are good, brakes too.
The owner states that the front end feels slightly "loose" while driving but this may be due to them
comparing to their modern car...and I have not had a chance to drive it myself so I can not comment further.
There is a couple of paint cracks along the rear apron
Here is a bit of a flaw as well
The bumpers look good...the original rubber impact strips are there.
Wheels and tires look fine
A couple small stains on the door edge
Pasadena plate frames.
A few more underbelly shots
Front end has a lifetime of grease build up...
Bottom of the trans...
Very solid looking
Some age to the rubber...getting a little dry.
Small paint flaking spot on the door edge
Under the crescent vents on the side there are a couple rust bubbles which is very common on these cars.
There is insulation in there that holds the moisture in...an unfortunate design choice.
Running boards look good
A scoff on one of the hubcaps and a little surface rust.
Clean title and current registration
A good deep cleaning and detail on this car will make a big difference I think.
Some crazing to the plastic on the taillights
Front seats are normally protected by covers
In closing this looks like a good car.
It's not a show car obviously, but it seems a good solid honest example
with a truly great back story and documentation.
Great driver and a fun, reasonably priced entry into the world of old VW's
SOLD!
Current Listings CLICK HERE!!
For More Info...CALL
951-767-1600
or email oldbug@earthlink.net