Classic VW Beetle 1957 Oval Ragtop

1957 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic

I purchased this car about ten years ago as a project car from a friend who is a VW nut. My skill set in general has been with British cars and a few early Porsche cars which I have been restoring as a hobby for over fifty years. This car presented a challenge for me in that the intricacies of the VW where new to me and given the bucket of bolts and a few boxes of parts that I started with, I had very little to guide me in what was correct or not. Also, the car had been fitted with some later suspension and chassis components which further added to my confusion in what I was looking at. This presented challenges in ordering the correct parts and such. The car also had no motor. The car was basically rust free and very straight. The end result is not entirely correct but certainly is a beautiful example of a classic rag top beetle.
Essentially every component or part has been restored or replaced with new high quality parts (a frustrating part of this resto was finding high quality parts). Much of the last ten years was spent gathering parts and such with the bulk of the resto being completed over last three years.
The motor is a 1964 1200 40HP. I had the long block completely rebuilt which included a line bore, and balanced internals, new pistons, jugs, wrist pins, bearings, upgraded oil pump, and other misc. parts. The valves have been enlarged to 1600cc spec and the heads have hardened seats and springs. I worked with a gentleman at Scat to come up with a custom cam grind for this application. I fitted an original rebuilt 32 carb as well.
The body was removed from the pan, stripped to bare, sprayed with epoxy primer, blocked and shot with Agave single stage paint.
The pan was completely restored and sealed with POR 15.
The top is a canvas top from Wolfsburg West. The rest of the interior is from TMI and is all new or restored. The seat bases, steering column, and other misc. parts were striped and painted. Nearly every surface has Dyna Mat type sound and heat shield.
The wheels are correct solid disc wheels with new tires.
The front has been lowered a bit with CB performance drop spindles and also has all new ball joints, tie rod ends, steering box, and bushings.
All the brakes and associated components are new.
The transaxle is the only thing that I didn't restore internally as it presented no need to do so.
Things to note that are not correct.
Vinyl interior.
'67 hood hence the VW badge on the top.
Ball joint beam.
'67 transaxle.
The radio is one of those Bluetooth classic look radios.
I have the correct antenna but did not instal it yet.
I opted to upgrade to a 12 volt system.
The car runs and drives excellent with no odd noises or shakes.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to see any other pictures specifically or of the restoration process.

On Aug-20-16 at 07:47:49 PDT, seller added the following information:

A few things that I did not mention in the ad that are worth noting.The windshield trim has not been installed but is included.
I opted for a stainless steel Vintage Style Abarth exhaust system which is hand made and of exceptional build quality. It also sounds fantastic while not being too loud.
I edited the photos to show the stainless steel exhaust system mentioned above.
Also, the missing windshield trim is evident in one of the photos.

On Aug-20-16 at 09:15:23 PDT, seller added the following information:

I was unable to edit the photos to add apicture of the exhaust as I had indicated I would in my previous edit. I can email photos to anyone interested. Please provide an email address if you are requesting pictures.

• Make: Volkswagen
• Model: Beetle - Classic
• Trim: rag top sedan
• Year: 1957
• Mileage: 200
• VIN: 1377621
• Color: Agave Green
• Engine size: 1200
• Drive type: RWD
• Interior color: Saddle
• Vehicle Title: Clear
Want to buy? Contact seller!