If you are considering a VW Beetle, get a copy of How to keep your Volkswagen Alive. It is a classic that still holds it weight today. It was also one of the earliest car books I remember reading that sparked my curiosity about the Beetle.

Working on a Beetle opened me up to the world of cars. Small jobs turned into big jobs. Before you know it, you're doing everything yourself and it's extremely rewarding!

I had a 1972 Beetle in the early 1980s. During the very cold (20 below zero) winter of 1982 or 83, mine was one of the few cars in the railroad station parking lot that would start at the end of the workday. The battery under the rear seat was protected from the weather, and there was no coolant to freeze.

Never been a fan of removing the trim and emblems on a classic VW.

I think this is called the California Look, lowered, different wheels, brakes. Not much original '56 left in this one. But it was well executed.

I love that he made this big point of the car having a bunch of “wrong” parts when he finally got it, and then showed off all the “wrong” parts that he installed because he wanted them. Lol.

THIS IS MY EXPERTIESE......I have had hundreds of vws. and I have a VW channel. Thanks for posting this

Love the beetle. Wrenching on these little guys is the perfect gateway drug to tackling more ambitious projects your own (i.e. Engine builds or complete restorations )

I'm not sure I understand why so much effort was put into getting original parts when this car has so many parts that aren't original. Not to mention the lowered stance. Very cool car though

Dude, he owed you a ride in that thing. A built motor like that deserves to be heard and felt!

Woulda been nice to hear the engine and maybe a small ride going up and down the gears.......

That 56 Oval is sweet!! So glad to see TFL giving classic ACVW's love!

My first car was a 72 Super Beetle and it taught me so much! This restoration is stunning, so well done! I so wanted to hear it...

Brings back good and bad memories I bought my 55 in calif in '71 drove it home to minnesota , was my daily driver for a few yrs . after a while it ended up in the barn. When the farm sold to a housing developer I pulled it out of the barn in about '88 went into the city to get a friends car haulier and turned around and went to pick it up, all in about an hour. Got back to the farm and it was gone. Because of the farm sale I had the funds to do a complete resto. To this day I still look for it, all I can say is I hope I like the color. Ended up sinking the money into a '67 Plymouth Barracuda Coupe, that just paid for the retirement cabin, so in the end, ya. But Damn I still miss that Bug.

Thank you, Tommy and Joe. Love TFLClassics. Sadly I am old enough to remember when "classics" were brand-new cars. Thinking of the original VW Bug, remember how many mods there were. Can not imagine doing that to newer cars (Corolla, Civic, Impreza).

I love the story behind and the finished product is great. Nicely done.

Nice & clean. Good job. My brother bought one in 73 (new) I'd love to have one just for the memories of riding in his.

I've had 11 VW's over the years. All daily drivers. Working on my first ghia 69. Hope to see you on the road!

Lived and breathed VW's from an early age as my dad worked in a dealership from 1956 till he opened his own shop in 65 due to eyesight problems. Dad fixed up a 54 deluxe complete with semaphore signal arms for my brother, shoehorned a type 2 gas heater in the front. Frikn' cold here in Canada. Had an Okrasa crank and dual 28 mm carbs 36 hp model in a 58 sunroof. Really had to be careful with first gear in the old split type trans, tiny gear on the main shaft. Hindsight tells me I should have saved a lot of the ones we discarded along with all the parts we sent to the scrapper. Big thing to watch for is end play at the pulley. Too much and you need an overhaul, the thrust flange on the # 1 main brg is worn into the block.

l drove a 75 type 1 w/ an 1835 fuel injected from Dallas Tx to Argentina and back and from Dallas to Cabo san Lucas and back as well. My friend still has and it daily drives with its 3rd belly pan. Same motor had 450k on it last time l talked to him during covid lockdown.

Is the drivers door out of alignment?

This was a great video. Glad you made it and shared it

that last part when he said he wouldnt do it again,,,, mmmm that got me thinking, come on man, when youre passionate about something it doesnt matter if its tough, it actually makes it more meaningful.. cheers though.

Nice video of cool old stuff! Nice job Tommy!

Simplest way to add traction to any bug is add a piece of plywood under the front bumper. As it will create a ground hugging effect. I did it wish help from friend. Enable the car to go pedal to metal and even pin the speedo!

This is one of the most beautiful beetles I’ve ever seen. Well done job he clearly knows his stuff.

As someone who has repaired, restored, modified, and built thousands of air cooled VW's I agree with everything said except that this is a restoration. This is clearly a resto mod/rod. It's been over two decades since I've touched an air cooled VW, but I could smell this car just by watching this video. They all smell the same if they have any of the original interior. I remember a time in the mid eighties we were fixing or restoring 4 busses at the same time. All 4 were sage green and all 4 were owned by guys named Kevin. The amount of mass confusion in the shop when trying to locate parts or talk to customers on the phone about progress on their buss was on a whole other level. I miss those days. But, I will never miss hanging wheels with lug bolts instead of studs, or grinding magnesium bell housings to fit 12v flywheels. Magnesium burns so hot you can't see it. Magnesium dust combined with a carbide bur and steel bellhousing studs makes for a very dangerous work environment....

Nice VW. I'm almost 50 years old and my first car when I was in high school (1990-ish) my first car was almost a Bug like this. Lowered and custom. It has the Porsche wheels and super nice interior. The engine needed rebuilding but being in Auto Mech in high school this was not a problem. The only thing that made me go another route was in the Miami, FL area I could not have a car without AC. I know there were options to put AC in these Bugs but the cost of the car, the cost to rebuild the engine and the AC would have blown my budget. So I bought a 1978 Monte Carlo which was close to showroom condition and I turned it into a killer low rider. The MC came with a 305 V8 and freaking ice cold AC.

my father was an old hippie that was obsessed with air-cooled VWs, he had a 59 Ghia, mother bought a new 67 Bug. i have it still today and I'm 54. so of course, this 67 has become a money pit over the years, especially back in the late 80s early 90s when i was young and dumb. i also have a 65 Squareback. people that think old Bugs are unreliable and breakdown a lot don't know how to work on them. thanks for the video bruh

At around the 13:40 mark, i have to say that was quite an honorable decision to make regarding parting out that '56. It sounds as if the guy had great bones for a rebuild, but he chose to part it out and help others who needed that missing, crucial part.

In my opinion,the best thing to do with classic cars is to bring them to their original condition,as they were new from the factory.The highest prices are paid for such cars ,so many car lovers have the same opinion.

No windshield wipers means no need for a spare tire. 👍

Got my Volkswagen Up! 3 door for my daily and planning on getting a 61 bettle or there abouts soon. the 1960s models were my favorite then they turned abit to square during the 70s and less rounded and desirable for myself.

I bought mine in 1999 and still have it. Still finding ideas to change, modify or replace. It's staying with me till the end. Probably more till my end than the bug's end...

In 1986, I had a 73 that was all original except that the engine had been modified and it was much faster than stock. I drove that car in the Winter in New England. The heater box worked well once the car warmed up, but it was a bit pathetic deicing the windows. I eventually traded it for a more modern vehicle. Now that I am older and getting close to retirement, I would like to find another baby blue 1973 at some point. It was a fun car and thankfully when I do, I no longer live in New England, so I'll likely enjoy it more.

I love old bugs. They were my thing back in the day.

Great video and awesome that the owner was so informative.

You have tall tires on there and 3.88 gears 1100 RPM at over 70 is way too slow. this will run hot......2200 to 2800 is the best RPM...but you can go as high as a max of 3500 on the freeway.

I got to enjoy my 65 bug with its stock 1200, with "forty horses of fury," and it wouldn't pull 70mph. Now it cruises at 70 and easily runs out at 125ish, speedometer stops at a hundred. She's got a hundred horse 1641 with big valve aftermarket heads, Scat counterweight crank, Scat rods, Engle 100 cam, 1.25 ratio rockers, single Weber 44 IDF two barrel and a merged header with a single chamber Flowmaster. All going through a Rancho freeway flyer trans, with a Super Diff and 3.88 ring and pinion. It doesn't take much to make a bug fast, the car only weighs 1600 pounds. It's a good time "walking" Honda kids and Mustang bros from a stoplight, even with that little motor. 😄

Awesome car! loving the rims. keep safe everyone. Keep Buggin. 😊

Beautiful old school new school oval. I helped a buddy do a 57 the same way.

Great informational vid!!

My 1st bug was a 1965, in 1980. Was "12 volt" converted yeah right! just had 12 v battery in it. Discovered over time what a rust bucket is was (minor) disguised with tin plates n screws, then undercoated to hide @ foot well, etc.....Later I found by chance a '66 in a VW recycler / junk yard, a theft recovery, for $750, bought it 2 days later and towed it home. Swapped the parts off the 65 into the '66 n sold the 65 for $300. Owned a '55, '56, '65, '66 , Two "67's and last a '68 from the original owner. He was an uncle to buddies wife, I had that 15 years. 2 liter alloys dropped, a built 1776 with wilder cam (sounded like turbo spooling up @ 6000+ rpm's) My fave was a 1969 kombi walk thru deluxe, i bought off a friend for $2500. I also got a 2nd bus the same year/model rolling shell for parts. I'd just gas n drive lowered too on chrome 5 spoke empi's. Sold that 7 years later for $6,000 (burnt up cylinder 3 I think, had light knock) My 1966 was fastest of all, once I got divorced, I had pockets of cash to get it how I wanted it. And having friends and contacts, I got great deals on parts. I had Honda recliners with lowered tracks I made. Wide 5 Fuch's copies by American Eagle wheels (discontinued making years ago) studded wheels. Balanced n blue printed 1641, dual carbs, spinning a race trans with welded straight cut 2nd & 3rd gears.....Wind up the tach to 6 grand, snap the clutch, feel front end lift inches off the ground, and lay solid dual black marks thru 3 gears, with stock 4th gear chirp sound hahaha. Was fun as hell driving that for 8 years, all dialed in for speed. Sucks didnt take pictures of its start to finish (polaroid days, no cell cams) Learned a LOT over the 40 years into the VW scene ! Luckily the only rusty 1 was the first 1965 I traded for. Not many VW's over here in the Philippines lol or parts supplies

Nice work, tell me the 50's vw bodies bolt directly in a IRS chassis? Or must i do some custom modifications ( shock towers and body bolt holes)? I have a 56 body and a 70 irs chassis, can i do it? Tank you in advance!!

Second time I’ve watched this! Great video, interview, and vocho!

The one thing I learnt about owning a VW Beetle several of all ages the only one I regret selling was my Alpha Romero engined Baja Bug my third the next will be with a Subaru engine, my Rover V8 engined one was a lot of fun but a running disaster.

Although not considered classic or collectible, here in Mexico they made them until 2003 so there are alot of modern 90s and early 2000's models for sale, a really good example, ready to daily drive can be found for around 3k-5k, thats what a project bug from the 70s cost in California. I used to own and look out for 60's/70s bugs but now I rather look for late 90s-early 2000s models, way less rust and in better condition, with the added bonus that it doesn't hurt to modify them like it would with an early model.

14:30… “In 55 they started coming out with the oval window.” It was March 10, 1953, when VW made the last split window and then made the first oval window bug. It is a particularly famous day in VW history.

I still have an original ignition with the VW key just like that one in my parts box from many many years ago..

Nice!!!! One of the best VW resorptions on the web

1100 RPM's at 80, yeah right. Very nice car, I am hoping he just misspoke

One of my dream vehicles is a restored 74 super beetle with ac!

I absolutely hate it when somebody says something like, this car will probably do something in the race. Don't give me probably that's just wishful thinking nonsense

I’ve owned 4 bugs and my oldest was a black ‘56 Oval I wish I still had. 😎 👍🏻

This brings back memories of SoCal buggin’! 😎

Nice job on the VW 😊

I admire the effort and end product. I personally like them to look factory.

I think he meant "freeway flyer" trans. I always converted my windows to one piece but this bug looks great with the og windows

I had a 72 super convertible, rebuild in 89 sold in 90 becoz of moving to another place. Regret till this day. Really curious how do the young people perceive this car nowadays.

It would have been nice to hear it run, or for Tommy to take a ride in it.

If you have an old one without a gas gauge, can you add one yourself? You can add a new Weber carburetor, Is it worth the money for that?

Is the “Cal Look” solid door windows (no side vents) gone ? And why ?

1776 motor...wow..just BYB's. Coming from another VW enthusiast and someone who had a 57 sunroof and who was trained by a German who worked in the German factory back in the 40's after the war. Worked at his repair shop in mid to late 60's and then mid-70's at 1 VW,Porsche,Audi dealership and 1 specific VW dealership. Here is a question that you might find interesting. What part in the 1100 engine was made of wood? Good luck.

Bought a New 72 Super Beetle in 72, loved that car.

The problem I had with 71 Super beetle is the link from the gas pedal to the engine broke twice.

Hi TFL ! Do you have the email of the beetle owner? I found the gas tank cap he is looking for, to see if its the exact one he needs. Thanks !

Beautiful beetle. Tasteful and I'm sure it's a pleasure to drive.

i have 4 old bugs but my problem has been trying to find a motor

After watching a very well made video. We didn't even get to hear the engine. Start up and run. ARRRRRGGGGG

Love my VWs, great thing is I was born near Wolfsburg Germany in '67 PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS ✌💖☮

OG German metal is getting harder and more expensive to find. But generally, it fits much, much better than the repop stuff. On this oval body, German is the only way. I have a Type 3 Notch and that is all German OG metal. Re-pop does not exist. Even more challenging to build.

Hi, could anyone tell me the color of the wheels? I want to paint mine this color

Great car I owned a 1967 V W bug😊

You know someone paid to have the car done when they say the hardest part was finding parts for the car 🤣. Great looking bug though.

can these be legally driven without seatbelts?

where was this filmed? bay area?

what is with the rear hood ?

Where he got that engine from and how makes em

Would have been even better with the hood handle and top badge

3:88 was stock gearing in an AT code trans…. Was never referred to as a “highway gear” from VW that’s just a marketing term Rancho made for guys with early 4:10’s…. Beauty car though!

Maybe I gave up too quickly but after 7mins of watching this video I didn’t learn anything before I buy a beetle. On to the next informative video

Was hoping to hear it run.....

69 pan.......? That's a 55' Gas Tank. The bullet signals are off, driver door doesn't close correctly. That white pearl hides how bad that body is.....

One thing to know is that if you own a Beetle with an original parcel shelf option [a light weight basket weave shelf that ran across the cab beneath the dash from driver to passenger side at about knee height] you *have* to park it inside a secure garage or some sh!thead *will* break a wind-wing to unlock the door and steal it some night. DAMHIK... 🙄🤬😒

HELP I NEED TO CHECK AND ADD OIL TO MY 1967 BUG AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW

I've owned one since 1992... Europe, Super Beetles are big. Memminger Cabriolet builds are 50k for them.

That is a beautiful restoration. I'd like to see you review an EV converted bug or Porsche from EV West or Zelectric. They do amazing body restorations as well as some hot EV internals.

i like all the classic beetles

WOW. I remember back in the day, if you didn't have much money for transportation you could get a Ford Falcon, or a VW bug. Now either one will set you back a small fortune.

Would have been nice to put it back as original as possible, Guess I like the original look as it was manufactured. Think they call it being a purest. Joe complains about the person parting out his old VW, but his is nothing but parts, 56 body with a 69 pan, so the Chassis is a 69 to be titled as that, so why worry about the rear apron you have a hood extender on it anyway. Really sad it was lowered, It's me just don't like the lowered look and rough ride, but that's what people do. Porsche's design of the VW Beetle was to allow it to go anywhere. Yes, it takes a lot of hard work to get it nice looking as Joe has done, but the extra effort would have been nice to be original and the heaters in all my VW work great, never had a problem, just maintain them.

smartass: It's a 56 Oval Beetle, so the original motor was a 30HP 1200ccm. Not 1100ccm and not 36HP. A 2 liter Type 1or Type 4 engine without fully programmable ignition and injection never ever does 200HP in a road car. If it's a really well made engine, it should have around 140 or 150HP, but not 200. To do times in the 13s, you'll need 170-180HP and more than 2 liter. The motor in my profile picture is a 2.3 liter Typ 1 with 48 IDAs made by one of the best Type 1 engine builders in Germany, Udo Becker. This one might get into the 13 secs on a quarter mile.

I need motivation since I saw a video of a guy saying that the beetle has been so bad through out the years that everyone that had a vw never buy a new one

That oval needs a safari windshield!

I'm looking into buying a 68 ghia

Oval window beetles actually ran from 53-57.

Its nice to see Wolverine driving a bettle

This is a very nice custom beetle. The only thing that actually makes me mad hearing him say: he got to professional welders and experts, and then you see the “two fingers” 61 to 67 front apron…….everything else is custom but quite easily changeable. But seeing late metal panels welded to an older body, that is a huge mistake for me.

made the hidden gas tank original.....and modernized the very visible wheels

I think you should have taken us for a ride.

Those cool old gas caps are being showed off in homes, on people's shelves all over the world.