Show Winning 1959 Cal Look Bug

General Information
1959 L434 Fjord Blau Vw Beetle
UK Supplied, Right Hand Drive, Matching Numbers Car
105,000 Genuine Miles From New
5 Previous Owners (1 owner for 24 years, Another for 20 years!)
Unbelievable History (More about this later, a story in itself)
6 Volt, Working perfectly including Semaphores
Original, Transferable 3 x 3 Registration Plate
Working Heaters (Like being breathed on by an asthmatic ant but does warm the car on a journey)
2" Narrowed, Adjustable Beam
15" Randar Wheels with 145/65 Tyres Front & 205/70 Tyres Rear
Rear Pop Out Windows
Scat Header, Single Quiet Pack and Stinger
MOT until end of September 2008
Tax until end of December 2008 (Exempt obviously)

Bodywork

When I bought this car 2 years ago it was unwelded(!) but has since sadly had a rear cross member (NOS) and plate to a bumper mount and inner wing welded in to a high standard and paintwork as required. Nevertheless this beetle is unwelded everywhere else and obviously has its original floors and channels. I even suspect one of the rear wings is a 49 year old item original to the car. The paint inside and under the bonnet & boot is original and nice touches such as original factory production line markings can be found on the channels and front bulkhead. The car was resprayed in 1983 to be entered into concours competitions in standard guise and a large portion of the exterior paint is now 25 years old and has minor defects in the form of micro blisters, minor bubbling and mismatch of shade. Before your heart sinks let me tell you that this is being mentioned with honesty in mind. I would grade the paintwork as a 7 out of 10. But let me be clear; this car is a million miles from rat look and can still hold its own in a show & shine and winning Best Cal Look at Bug Jam 2007 is proof of this.

As far as dings are concerned there is a slight crease to the front quarter (You probably wouldn't notice if I hadn't mentioned it) and a 4cm ding next to the rear screen which I have touched in (Caused by a framed print falling off my garage wall!). Neither of these points detract from the look of the car.

To sum up the bodywork I would say that this is a very attractive, straight and 90% unwelded car the likes of which is hard to find. The fact that it has seen 49 years of use on British roads and has escaped serious tin worm is a minor miracle and if it continues to be used as a fair weather, garaged toy (which I suspect it might be) this car's body has many years of life left in it.

Engine, Gearbox & Mechanicals

Engine: The original 30hp with cast generator stand. Just completed the 500+ mile trip to/from the Volksworld Show without missing a beat. Starts well (Yes, even on 6 volts) and requires choke for no more than 5 mins. It can then be shut off and it will run and tickover well. Almost entirely dry but occasionally the odd drip of oil hits the floor but in Beetle terms it's the best I've owned by a county mile and it'll happily cruise at 60mph. The engine has caused me no headaches over the last 5k miles.

Gearbox: The original split case item with no synchromesh on first gear. Changes gears nicely but some transmission whine. Almost not worthy of mention and I have to be honest and say that I'm not sure if this is how its supposed to sound? It is after all a very early gearbox and certainly hasn't caused any problems or got any worse.

Other Mechanicals: Recent brakes, wheel bearings and in fact anything else it has needed. Nothing has been ignored. If it needs, it gets! The car has passed all MOT's under my ownership 1st time.

Interior

All of the interior, aside from the headling, is original right down to the carpets and is in a lovely used (but by no means f*cked) state. Lovely amount of wear to everything and plenty of life in it. A miracle really considering the size of my ar*e. The headlining was absolutely mullered when I bought the car so I had a lovely full grey velour one fitted that looks great IMHO. Some nice Oval cross over features in this interior too such as the semi batwing steering wheel and tinted plastic sunvisors.

History
A photo of a small part of it:

When I was considering the purchase of this car (Didn't take much consideration) it was the history that was the cherry on the cake. It consists of:

Vw Service Books: There are two. (The original supplied with the car and an original Vw continuation item when space ran out in the first). Vw service history is stamped up to 32,120 miles with a final garage service stamped in by a Mercedes dealer(!!?) at 56,134 miles. The history then reverted to receipts and written record.

Other Literature: Original glovebox pack including manual, repair price book, glovebox sized and full size brochure with Reuters artwork. Some of these items came with the car and others I have sourced via ebay/Vw sites. All are 58/59 items and make interesting reading plus are very nice to have and will only increase in value.

MOT's and Tax Discs: I have all the MOT's from the current one right back to the early eighties. In addtition I have a selection of tax discs (8 ish) from this period the oldest being 1985 which is very ancient looking compared to the hologram stamped ones of today.

Trophies, Rosettes and Concours Sheets: I have an old suitcase full (literally) of Trophies and Rosettes that this car won between 1983 & 2003 as a concours standard car. In addition I have the car's score sheets from Vw events such as Stanford Hall indicating how well it scored from interior through to tyre choice. I have a stack of these. Interesting reading if you're sad like me. It goes without saying that the 2 more recent trophies that I have won (Bug Jam-Best Cal Look 2007 and Dubfreeze-Best Custom 2007) also come with the car.

Magazine Feature: I have the Volksworld from October 1990 where the car was the subject of a 3 page feature in addition to the original photographs taken by Mike Key of the car. In it's current Cal-Look form it does seem to attract the attention of the Vw press' lenses and I also have and will include about 6 copies of Volksworld and Ultra Vw where it has made an appearance in various show features. It does seem to get about a bit and is currently a pic on the Volksworld Cars For Sale web page. Have a look:
http://www.volksworld.com/buyandsell.html

Handwritten History, Petrol Diary, Receipts and Miscellaneous:
When the car was resurrected from daily driver to concours in 1983 the owner kept a record of work, receipts and other items; a journal if you like. In addition there is a petrol diary documenting every fill up from 1983. I continue to update both of these items and boy did I get some sh*t for it off of the lads at the Volksworld Show when I told them :lol:
Within these pages you will also find letters to the owner from Bob Shail (VW Historian), Robin Wager (Past Vw Motoring Editor), The Owner Of a Car Museum in Wales (Where the car was displayed for a year; that year it covered just 35 miles :shock: according to the petrol diary) and a leaflet of a Car Supplier to Film and Tv Companies; this car was on their books. I'm yet to discover if it was ever on the big or small screen though? There is also a stack of other stuff including: receipts, business cards, letters, photocopies of old reg docs and old Vw Show Programmes (Collectable in their own right). Great old photos like this too from Stonor Park in 1985:

I'm sure I've forgotten stuff but you get the idea

Spares
As I would like future owners to have an option to return this car to stock I am including the parts original to the car so that they may do so. This includes:

* 4 Solid Wheels plus original Vw domed hubcaps. Have crossply tyres on but they need replacing.

* The original Vw front beam.

* The original rear side glass.

* Blade Bumpers

* Additional spares (28 PCI carb for rebuild, '59 Wiper Motor, Bulbs, Fuses and more).

To sum up then?!
A great car, in great nick with great history which I'll be sad to lose but it is time to move on after over 2 years of ownership. If you could possibly want to know more then check out these two Readers Rides threads about the car:
http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=325125]http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=325125"]http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=325125
http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=395692]http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=395692"]http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=395692

How Much? Part Ex? Contact Details
I am looking for £6295 o.n.o. for this lovely car. If it makes it easier I will take a part ex to the value of £2000. It must be an aircooled Vw, have long MOT and Tax but I'm a little unsure of what I want so just PM me info and pictures. All I can promise with regards to a part ex is that I will reply with a Yes, No or Maybe! I've always fancied a Fasty or Square and even a 1996 onwards classic Mexi bug; the ones with the 1.6i engine.

The car is near Warrington, Cheshire and will be at Big Bang if that makes viewing easier. Alternatively call or mail for a viewing. My name is Andy and I don't bite......much.

(01942) 271490 Home
(07850) 996675 Mobile
andy@thedotfactory.co.uk Mail