I think so. It was being disassembled for a full restoration by the PO, but I’m just going to put it back together and drive it. Comes with a complete 1300 that rolls over nice. It’s missing bumpers and seats. Has one piece windows and an adjustable beam. Arrow straight and no rust. I have a bunch of stuff leftover from the green one, including a brand new Bosch 009 and coil and a bunch of other odds and ends.
Hello, After driving around in my 58 Impala and my 40 delivery to the beach in high school, I had the opportunity to drive another car in our family. Just a few days before graduating from high school for me, my brother had purchased this 1949 green, sunroof VW bug. He had this bright idea to buy cars and fix them up to resell later. It had a cloth sunroof that folded on the outside, semaphore turn signals, split rear window, a roller gas pedal, and a stick shift that did not have synchos, so the shifting always needed a “double clutching” to shift smoothly. There was no gas gauge, just a lever on the firewall that one flipped over to the other side when the car started sputtering. It gave the driver another 1.5 gallons to get to a gas station. There were many times having fun driving around that this car sputtered. We had to make a quick pit stop, wherever we were… Balboa, Malibu, Laguna Beach, San Diego. I still had the 58 Chevy Impala and my 40 Ford Sedan Delivery, but those cars took a vacation when my brother gave me this car. He had recently sold a custom camper VW Van for this 49 sunroof bug plus money. So, he was in the process of getting a newer, more powerful, empty van for another conversion. We drove all over So Cal with this different cruiser. With the sunroof open and cruising around the beach cities, it was a hit wherever we went. But, at Harvey’s Broiler inland, we were outcasts. The reception was cold to say the least. In Balboa/Newport Beach, we were the coolest guys driving around in a rare car. At every stop down the coast (Grissinger’s, Hody’s/PCH, and of course, Merle’s), we were asked a zillion questions about the car. Those cool, car hops just loved hanging around this little cruiser. It was not a hot rod, but in the beach cities in So Cal, it was a cool cruising vehicle. It fit right into the drive in scene alongside of the hot rods and cruisers in the lots. Jnaki By December of 1962, we sold it to another high schooler for his first car. Then it became a fixture at Grissinger’s for the next several years. Today, it is a very sought after, valuable car. These photos from the internet are the exact color and look of our 1949 VW cruiser. Pea soup green. In 1962, our friend in Los Angeles had just purchased a very fast, black and white 56 2 door post Ford and wanted to sell it to me. Eventhough I had a 58 Impala at the time. The car was a racing 56 Ford with Moon Discs that supposedly drove at Bonneville, modified motor, floor shift, roll bar, lowered and it had the look of...I AM FAST. Today, I would buy that 56 Ford in an instant, but back then, no one wanted a Ford painted black on the lower panels and white on top...Including me. Jnaki On the drive home from Montebello, I wished I had more money so I could buy that racy looking 56 Ford 2 door post car. But, I had a 40 Ford Sedan Delivery sitting in the yard, a 49 VW sunroof that my brother gave me, and how could I afford another car? (It was fast and sounded so healthy...it was very tempting) Hey Dad, want to...
This is Swee’ Pee, our ‘65 ragtop! This is our 8th one after driving our 1st ‘65 on our honeymoon from Tenn. to Upstate N.Y. during the ‘73 gas crisis.
my 1970 was my daily driver for a long time.. The was from Octbugfest 10/1994 in Puyallup,Wa the old fairground exhibit hauls
I’ve never owned one but have been curious about them, mostly in the early split and oval window types. Lots of people I knew had Bugs as their first car. My parents bought one new in 1968 and drove it all the way to Mexico City. It was mostly reliable but had its quirks. It would not start if it rained hard. The distributor would get wet so my dad would have to cover the back with plastic. It would also blow off the little exhaust extensions from time to time. It would also have some issue with some smog device it had. It would randomly begin to run bad so my dad would stop by the side of the road a look for a used cigarette but with a filter and put the filter somewhere that seemed to fix it for a while. My parents got rid of it in 1972 after too many annoying incidents, the last one being the gear shift lever suddenly came loose while my mom was driving it to work.
A couple shots of a '57 oval window bug that turned up last year at a local show. Only time I've ever seen it....
Maybe thirty years ago or so, there was a maintenance mechanic at a local paving company who ran an honest-to-goodness rear-engine VW bug at area dirt tracks. Had roll bars, trimmed fenders, wide tires, modified engine of course but ran with the lower "hobby stock/street stock" classes. On shorter tracks and if the track was on the damp side he did alright keeping up with the pack. It was a crowd favorite, wish I had pics!
I'll contribute. The Blue Ghia, known to west coast drag racers as "The White Knuckle Ride". Featured in VW Trends and the French magazine "Super VW" back in 2003, and Hot VWs cover car in 2017. Bakersfield March Meet winner in 2009. Only VW to win at the March Meet ever. 2332, CB Performance comp eliminator heads, with most of the engine components coming from CB. Turbocharged, mechanical injection, methanol fuel. Also street legal. Best ET., 9.70 at 143. Boost kept relatively low to run mid 10 second times. Three generations of Lawless boys in one of the photos at Sacramento last year before it closed for good. Hot VWs magazine shot from Medford Oregon last year with my son driving to a big win!
The Jalopy Journal
