volkswagen beetle - classic
Sale price: US $9,000.00 Make an Offer
| Condition: | Used | Year: | 1979 |
| VIN : | 1592041020 | Mileage: | 103121 |
| Interior Color: | Black | Transmission: | Manual |
| Options: | Convertible, CD Player | Model: | Beetle - Classic |
| Body Type: | Convertible | Exterior Color: | Blue |
| Make: | Volkswagen | Vehicle Title: | Clean |
Old Hickory, Tennessee, United States
Vehicle description
Volkswagen Beetle - Classic. 1979 Volkswagen Super Beetle Convertible Mileage: 103234 Nick name “Petal” Date of Build: 19, December,1979, Wolfsburg, Germany. Age: 42 Originality: 95% * Though not an Epilogue Edition, it is one of the last toroll off the assembly line as documented by the records from the WolfsburgArchives that come with the car. Purchased new in January 1980 by my Aunt, in Macon, GA. The OriginalOwner. Aunt Lynn was a school teacher inMiddle Georgia and drove the car to work for much of her career. This car has been in the same family since newand always garaged and never smoked in. The car was spray painted and scratched by vandals on thedealer lot when it was there for a service in 1983 and repainted the originalcolor by them (or contractor). At thattime the dealer recommended water proofing the car’s frame and that was done^.There is no rust on the car and the floor pans are all intact. A carpet kit wasalso installed. A new computer “brain” was installed for the fuel injectionsystem as the original factory one had a tendency to fail. In 2002 the original vinyl top was cracking and was replacedwith a durable canvas top. The frame of the convertible roof was inspected andfound to be in good condition. (some get warped from improper storage in the alwaysfolded position.) The original top boot also comes with the car. The canvas top is in good condition but thereis some stitching loss in places. The family always drives only on Sunny days withthe top down. In 2004 at 98000 miles the engine was rebuilt by a reputableVW engine shop in Atlanta, GA.* It was taken down to halves and rebuilt withall new seals, valves, springs, bearings, and other internal mechanicals. Theoriginal transmission was also rebuilt. The original engine and transmission arestill in this car making it a true survivor. After about 2009 the car was used for weekend drives and carshows. A new stereo was installed in 2014. In 2018 Aunt Lynn passed away and I became the new owner. Iwent through her and since I got her, I have put new tires on the car andremoved, repaired, repainted, and re-surfaced the running boards. I had bought a spare set that I was going toinstall but the original German heavy duty ones were in such good shape that Irefurbished them instead. The new running boards come with the car. I had the brake lines and shoes inspected/replacedas needed and replaced the front factory drum brakes with a Disc brake conversionkit from J-Bugs of California and the braking is much improved. All inner andouter wheel bearings were also replaced. A new distributor and generator wereinstalled. A new fuel filter wasinstalled and the line to the Eberspacher BN4 Defroster * * was plugged off. Ithad the original muffler and tail pipe but they were rusted out and I replacedthem. Most small stuff I do. Anything else is done by a shop that works onClassic VWs. Known issues: The horn is shorted and I just have not gotaround to fixing it. It works but is unplugged. The gas float /sending unit needs to be replaced as the gaugeonly works from ½ to full. I have a new one but have not gotten around tofixing it. It involves taking out the Eberspacher unit to get at the gas tank andis just not that big a deal for me. The new sending unit comes with the car asdoes 4 jack stands. She could use an alignment. (Does not pull, just the steering wheel isslightly wonky when wheels are straight.) Battery is weak. I have a cut out switch on it but forgot todisconnect it several months ago and the always on quartz clock runs it down. Clock still works. She had service done in October 2020 at a shop that works onVWs here in TN. We use Lucas Oil Hot Rod Oil with Zinc to protect thevalves. Premium gas. Comes with garagedust cover. It is getting increasingly hard to find an original, un-molested and un-restored Super Beetle. I see them at car shows with replacementengines or converted to carburation for 10 extra horsepower* * . I see them restoredfor prices in the 20k(asking) range on web sites and auction houses. Haggerty’sexpect the value to climb or maintain over the next 10 years. ThisSB is more original and much less rusty than I see on auction sites these days. * I judge this car to be 95% as it came from the factorywith the only changes being to the top, the tires, the stereo, and the frontbraking system. I do not include dealer addedoptions like the carpet kit and water-proofing or the upgraded computer asthese are additions for drive-ability and comfort. ^ Water proofing involved drilling small holes in the doorframes and heater channels that run along the car’s unibody frame. A spray probeis inserted into these holes and a paraffin wax- anti rust mixture was sprayedinto these voids to protect the metal. The holes are then plugged. These spacesand channels are a source of condensation gathering, rain / washing waterpooling, and are a major source of rust for these vehicles. There is none on this one. * The shop was Grinstead Porsche / VW ( I knew the owner’sson Larry and helped my Aunt find them and get the car to them. I have knownthis car all of its life) Larry eventually sold the business and it is nowAir Cooled Atlanta. Lynn’s husband UncleDavid had all the receipts in a shoe box but he lost them at some point afterLynn passed. He had old GA titles and registrations, pictures, and other stuff.I got the Wolfsburg Documentation which was kept separate. The car is clear titledand registered in TN and driven occasionally. * *Note on Erberspacher Defroster: This unit was a rare option on the car. (Thoughin my research, I have read that any and all parts that were in the factory atthat time were to be installed regardless of the order request. In other words,“use it, don’t waste it. We are about to shut down.”) Thisunit resides in the trunk and uses a small gas line fed from the main gas tankline. It is designed to be used to rapidly defrost the windshield when the caris just started on a cold morning and the regular defroster, which pulls heatfrom the engine shroud at the rear of the car, is insufficient to act as arapid defroster. But, due to the quirks of language, the unit was oftendescribed in transcribed German specification manuals as a “heater”. It is not. The problem is that it is designedto be used short term-10-20 mins to defrost the windshield and turned off. It puts out a lot of heat very quickly andwill warm the whole car as well as defrosting the windshield. But, if you forget to turn it off, the units havea tendency to overheat and potentially catch fire. Most people either took themout or plugged the fuel line, as I have, to protect the car. Many Super Beetlesin cold climates ended their life on fire on the side of the highway when theowners forgot to turn off the unit or by using the defroster as a heater longterm. This BN4 defroster still works and you can unplug the gas line if youwant to. There are You Tube videos online that explain all about this unit. It is somewhat rare and some VW owners whohave VWs that came with one originally, but was then taken out by previousowners, want them to re-install for 100% restoration purposes. * * My friend Larry Grinstead (of above Grinstead Porsche /VW) once told me that the fuel injected engines were well designed and that toconvert them to carburation was not worth the extra 10 horsepower. “You havethe upgraded ‘brain’ too and it should last forever as the German engineerswere so ashamed at having put the factory, failure prone, computer brain in it in1979 that when they had to redesign them just 2 years later, they made thembullet proof.” I have represented this great old car to the best of myability and knowledge. She has been a part of our family for 42 years and Ihate to see her go. I and my daughters learned how to drive a stick shift inPetal. But we have these and many, many otherfond memories with her. I hope that someone will want her and appreciate her asmuch as our family has and drive her. I’dhate to see her go in a huge collection with a hundred other cars and just sitthere, never used and enjoyed. That is a magnetic decal on rear trunk lid. She is somewhere between the Good and Excellent brackets below but I know times are tough. 1979 Volkswagen SuperBeetle Info Body Styles 2dr Convertible Engine Types 4-cyl. 1584cc/50hp fuel injected Current Values – Pulled this morning. Haggerty’s #1 Concours $65,000 #2 Excellent $46,700 #3 Good $17,700 #4 Fair $10,200