1970 Bug Arrives from California!

[whirlcool]

A few weeks ago while I was out on a layover in SFO, I spotted this bug for sale. I bought it from the original owner. Yes, the guy who drove it out of the showroom back in 1970.
It's in good shape, needs new tires and interior seat covers. But it drives very nicely and is surprisingly quiet for a bug. I had it shipped via an enclosed carrier. That is the original paint on the car! It has always been garage kept. Amazing, yes?
BTW, Black Labs love to go for a ride in the car, even in a bug!

 

[whirlcool]

Here is another shot.

 

[whirlcool]

And one more.....

Here is another one.

 

[petek]

There goes the neighborhood property values LOL!!!!!!

it's very cute

 

[maytagmark]

Beautiful Bug,I was pretty sure it was a '70 when I saw it in the other thread being unloaded, on the '70 models they made the headrests a little smaller,added the side reflectors on the tailights,made the front turn signals larger,yours must be the deluxe model as it has all the chrome around the windows and the back windows pop open, I owned three '70 models all around '80,one the same color as yours,I think it was called desert tan,a red one and a white one,just keep the heads tightened to specs,adjust the valves,and change the oil at least every 3000 miles and it will run forever,but i'm sure you already know all that. What year is the Type 3,it has to be at least a '70 but no newer than '73 as that was the last year, in '72 they changed the steering wheel to the 4 spoke flat plastic type,just seeing it from the front its hard to tell,I had two of those,one was a '71, same color as your bug,it was very mint at the time it even had a/c that worked. Wish I had kept all those VWs. Mark

 

[whirlcool]

The Type 3, again! It's also a 1970 model. It was the first year for a mild redesign of the front end and tail lights. Believe it or not, it's still fuel injected!

I like this color on bugs (Diamond Blue) but not on the Type 3. It's like too much of a good thing on a larger car. Too much "cuteness". I plan on repainting it to Elm Green sometime later this year.

Yes, VW's are quite "fiddly" cars. Every 3K you have some maintenance as you pointed out. But then again, back in 1970 cars required much more maintenance.

 

[whirlcool]

This is what the Type 3 should look like when completed. Much better in my opinion.

 

[whirlcool]

This is what the Type 3 should look like when completed. Much better in my opinion.

 

[58limited]

Thats a nice Bug. My sister had a '70 Bug back in the late 70s. I've been thinking about getting one someday.

 

[appnut]

Wow!! Congrats!!! I"m impressed.

 

[maytagmark]

Now that I think about it the minty type 3 was a creamy yellowish color not tan but the other one I had was a dark green color,your right the light blue looks really cute on the bugs,we had a '74 standard Bug growing up and a '74 Super Beetle in light blue,my super had auto stick shift and a sunroof

 

[Unimatic1140]

Oh Allen that is Super COOL and FUN! Congrats on your brand new (at least new to you) toy! Enjoy, someday I want a vintage car as well.

 

[rickr]

Cute V Dubb!
My uncle that lived in L.A. had a 1959 Bug, that he purchased brand new. It had over 250,000 miles on it when he turned it over to his son. Cousin Chris hopped it up until it was one of the fastest V Dubbs in L.A. It was stolen in 1991, while Chris was at Magic Mountain theme park and the car was never recovered.

When I would visit L.A. I always noticed how many Bugs were running around in L.A. long after they were no longer available new. There were several shops out there years back that would take the Bugs and rebuild them from the ground up and resell them as a rebuilt car. Don't know if that is still going on to any extent or not out there now.

 

[whirlcool]

Robert:

VW's are a nice way to get acquainted with the vintage auto world. Most parts are readily available and pretty cheap. They are very easy to work on (you would find it a breeze) and you actually get a sense of satisfaction driving one.

Another car that is soon to be a classic and goes fairly reasonably is the Buick Reatta. The 90-91's are the best. I am seriously looking at those now. I am guessing that there are a undiscovered classic. But when they achieve that status (I really think they will) the prices will soar! I think only 3,000 of them were ever made. they drive more like a Jaguar does than an American car.

Thanks all for the compliments!

Eventually the Type 3 will be the dog car. It has a vinyl interior and I will be putting truck like pebble texture rubber flooring in it. After the dogs go for a ride, all I will need will be a leaf blower to clean it out.

With the way old bugs are appreciating, I'll be selling this one in about 18 months. It's will be finished by then, just like new!

Now, if the dogs get in my Mazda (Karen won't let them near her BMW) it's a two hour vacuuming job to get all the hair out. Kurt, the black lab isn't too bad with his hair, but Kelley the Dalmatian and Brandy with the longer lab hair really dump it out. I can't tell you how many times I've shown up at the airport to be told that the back of my legs or the back of my jacket is covered in dog hair!

I forgot the interior shot of the bug!
That VW logo on the dash was removed, and the seats are susposed to match the door panels. Someone just threw those black slip covers over the original torn up upholstery. I'll do that myself. Bug interiors are very easy to do, you could redo one in a weekend.

 

[rp2813]

It's hard to beat a nice clean old bug for a visual treat. And is it just me, or are the clean original ones almost always that beige color? It's kind of a shame that the original issue California plates will need to be replaced, but I'm sure you'll hang onto them. 1970 was the first model year that got the plates with the blue background, hence the alpha part starting with the letter B. I suspect some of the young tweaker types would covet that plate you've got as somewhat personalized.

 

[gansky1]

Herbie!

That is a fun car - congrats on the one owner beauty! My son would say that all it needs now is a "53" on the side!

I drove Fred's 1986 Mercedes 560SL covertible when I was in Chicago last month and fell in love with that car - what a dream to drive...

 

[whirlcool]

I saw that on that license plate. BOI? The neighbor across the streets teen asked me if I am going to go to a "rave" in that car.
Maybe it just came out that way.

I remember back in the 70's when Mississippi came out with new plates, the first three characters were letters. Shortly thereafter the state got a LOT of complaints about the assigned letters. Well, the plate were numbered like this "GAY 732, GAY 821, etc". The state replaced the plates for people who complained, and explained that a computer just generates the letters and numbers and GAY just happened to be up for assigning. Mississippi in t he 70's.

Thanks for the info about the blue & yellow plates, I didn't know that 1970 was the first year. Here in Texas I understand that I can keep them on for up to 30 days before I need Texas plates. But I do have insurance on the car.

 

[exploder3211]

I want BchBehr on my car.. Wonder if the state of NC will allow that

 

[rp2813]

Sploder, you'd be surprised at what gets by the screeners sometimes. I've seen some stuff on California plates that amazes me. I don't see any problem with your personalization other than the possibility that it's already been issued.