Oval time

I got thinking about passions recently. You know, things you’re really into. Things you’d do with your spare time, if you really had any spare time.

An uncle of mine passed away last week, and I decided to write down how he’d affected my life. It was a very productive exercise. As it turns out, he had a great impact on my central passion; dogs. And not just dogs in general, but specifically American Cocker Spaniels. Oddly enough, it wasn’t anything he did that fueled this specific passion; it was simply inviting us to visit in the Cariboo. You see, that’s where, as a kid, I was introduced to a Cocker Spaniel that was allowed to roam. He roamed into my sphere of interest and I kind of adopted him for the week or two that we stayed at my uncle’s lakeshore cabin. Then years later I did adopt a rescue Spaniel from the same area. I’ve had one ever since.

But this post is really about my second passion; air-cooled Volkswagens, specifically Beetles. To drill down even further, oval-rear-window Beetles; pre-1958 models.

I’ve never owned a pre-58 Bug before, but I did briefly have a ’55 Kombi, which in layman’s terms is a VW van sort of halfway between a panel van (no side windows) and a Deluxe Microbus, which had windows all around and even small rectangular windows along the roof perimeter. I sold it years ago however to partly finance post-secondary education. Now they’re priced into the stratosphere for a nice one.

I’ve been monitoring prices of air-cooled Ovals the last few years as our debts gradually get paid down. Maybe in a few more years I’ll be able to get back into VW ownership. A colleague at work recently noticed a vintage restored Beetle on my screen-saver. He commented on it, a bit unclear as to why I had chosen that image. When I explained my passion for these old cars he asked, “Wouldn’t you rather buy a BMW instead?” Well…no. We have a nice reliable car for daily transportation. I’d rather have that one and a vintage Oval than have one BMW in the garage. But that’s just me. 

There’s a site I follow almost religiously called The Samba. It’s almost completely devoted to air-cooled VWs. I follow the “New Car Ads” section, which incidentally doesn’t mean New Cars, but rather New Postings of Cars for Sale. Out of probably a dozen or two new ads every day that are posted, I’ve come across maybe a dozen-and-a-half pre-58 Bugs per year that I’d buy in a heartbeat if I had the money today.

Here are my 3 current favorites: 

No. 1 is a 1957 Oval Window, the body and interior fully restored to original style. The engine is about twice the displacement of the original and probably 6 or 7 times the horsepower. Of course the brakes and suspension have been aptly upgraded to complement the power increase. And to top it off, it’s a former DBK club car from California (a legendary car club from SoCal). And it’s listed for sale at about half what it would cost the average hobbyist to reproduce to this high level of finish and detail.

1957 Beetle sedan

2165cc with 48s

The second one is 3 years older but equally well restored and performance-modified. It was completely dis-assembled prior to re-painting. That’s by far the best way to go. It’s how these cars were originally painted at the VW factory. A custom cloth interior was installed; the early cars were a bit more stylish in terms of upholstery. If you look at late 60’s cars you’ll predominately find vinyl on the seats, door panels and headliner. I had a ’62 like that. It’s OK, but certainly not in the league of cloth. Again, this one’s also got a powerful engine, upgraded brakes and suspension, new wiring harness, etc; it’s basically a new car. And the price is at least half what it would cost someone to restore this 58-year-old car. I can’t understand how it hasn’t been snapped up yet.

1954 Oval sedan

Completely disassembled before being re-sprayed.

Cloth seats, headliner and door panels

The latest one that’s been posted is also a ’57, this one's closer to home in Washington state. All the bells and whistles of the previous two cars, but listed at significantly more money. I doubt it’ll sell at that price. That’s not to say it’s not worth the money. My wife may disagree with me, but the value in parts and labour on this car is probably twice what the owner is now asking for it. (BTW, the price on the first car has dropped about 4 grand since it was initially listed; actually dropped more than that more but the ad says you get lesser value wheels for the reduced price.)

1957 Oval sedan

Large displacement engine.

Stock-style interior; this one's done in vinyl.

The last one is a car I followed on The Samba quite a while ago for a few months until the price dropped low enough that someone took the bait. This one was (and is) a gorgeous piece of engineering. I saw a photo of the original car, just before the restoration started. A low-mileage non-rusty car; an ideal candidate.

Prior to restoration.

The original colour was retained for vintage curb appeal. To the uninitiated, aside from the lowered stance and custom wheels, it could be a stock Beetle. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. A lot of thought went into carefully fitting a turbocharged engine into the space originally occupied by a 1200. The decklid fully closes, which is pretty rare for such a highly modified Bug.

1955 Oval sedan

Incredibly neat and detailed turbo-charged engine, all tucked beneath the stock decklid.

I could go on. There have been several more in the last couple of years I’ve had my eye on. I just hope that by the time finances permit such an extravagance, that cars of this calibre will still be within reach. The recent economic downturn has helped suppress prices (for me, that is), and the value of the Canadian dollar versus the US currency is in my favour now as well. I don’t anticipate any decline in this particular passion of mine anytime soon. If I can’t indulge in a purchase now, at least I can “live the dream” through the eyes of The Samba for now.

Fortunately my primary passion, my American Cocker Spaniel, is beside me right now, softy snoring.