The other day, we featured a short-lived 1966 VW Beetle due to the auction ending. That car sold for what seemed like a great price, but it wasn’t necessarily a hard to find version of the People’s Car. However, this highly original 1955 oval-window Beetle here on craigslist in Vermont is desirable for being an early model that retains some desirable accessories and is said to have been the actual car featured in a vintage VW billboard advertisement. The seller is asking for $7,500 or trade for another vintage VW that’s less of a project.
The seller sounds like an interesting guy: he recently bought a historic church (plenty of those languishing in VT) and doesn’t have the bandwidth for another restoration project. He says the Beetle has clearly been loved, and he bought the car from the second original owner. The interior remains in excellent condition for the age, with an uncut dash bearing the original radio and seats that look like they were hardly sat in. The headliner could use replacement, but that’s the only major flaw inside.
On the outside, the car has been repainted once in its lifetime, and the seller says the lower quarters on the passenger side could use some work. Overall, this is astonishingly solid for a New England car of this vintage. I absolutely dig the Euro-spec “blade” bumpers that were installed by a previous owner in the 70s, which, along with the OEM roof rack and NOS exhaust included with the sale, tells you something about the commitment to originality the Beetle’s previous caretakers have adhered to. Also note this Bug still has its desirable semaphore turn signals attached.
Overall, this is a pleasingly honest example of an early VW Beetle, and I’ve always thought the oval windows were among the prettiest generations of this air-cooled classic. The motor hasn’t been fired up but does turn freely; given the love that’s been lavished on this example, I’ll bet that it was treated well mechanically, too. The paint? Well, I do dig the patina, but I might be tempted to clean up the fenders and leave the rest as-is, along with installing the new whitewalls included in the sale on re-chromed hubcaps. How would you restore it – or would you?
