Has Owning a 356 Enticed You to Buy…

[Justin Rio]

A companion Bug for your 356.

Sitting in the same spot for over 30 years.


P.M. me.

[Al Zim]

What a DREAM most of you seem to have. Getting that 1965 Beetle is going to be an expensive project. It PROBABLY needs everything and where are you going to find the parts and an affordable mechanic to put the car together? When you pass 65-70 years of age (I am past that) you will realize that you have forgotten all your mechanical skills necessary to be a successful in this endeavor!! Your 40 year old kids are not going to help you on this project! It is a frustrating, expensive, greasy, dirty, endeavor. Al

[Jay Darlington]

looks like a NICE body, probably very little to no rust. must be in a dry area, you can tell by the evidence of sage brush.
Jay D.

[Michael Pawelek]

looks like a NICE body, probably very little to no rust. must be in a dry area, you can tell by the evidence of sage brush.
Jay D.

Sun bleached paint? I think it used to be red!

[W Mullis]

Mazda Miata, 110 horsepower,5 speed rear drive, lightweight, inexpensive. Major Fun Factor

[Jay Darlington]

What a DREAM most of you seem to have. Getting that 1965 Beetle is going to be an expensive project. It PROBABLY needs everything and where are you going to find the parts and an affordable mechanic to put the car together? Somewhere around 65-70 years of age (I am past that) you will realize that you have forgotten all your mechanical skills necessary to be a successful! Your 40 year old kids are not going to help you on this project! It is a frustrating greasy dirty endeavor.

Al i think your EXAGGERATING THIS A LITTLE! its no different that working on any car, actually the early bugs were easy to work on. there are parts available everywhere, and at reasonable cost. you just have to get out of the mainstream big city's. i live in a small coastal town with a population of about 26k people we have 2 major vintage VW repair shops
Jay D.

[Justin Rio]

If it was a 356 or an oval window it would be the quintessential wet dream but its a late one. No hit, zero rust (good eye Jay) and that is the original paint (Saharrah beige) in process of being sun bleached down to the original primer. It would be a crime at this point to repaint it in the age of "patina". I had thoughts and dreams about putting a Porsche motor and brakes on it but I have enough I'll never get around to.

[Al Zim]

Jay: I do not think I am exaggerating this situation at all. I have been doing Porsche repairs since I started college teaching (FT. Worth) in July 1968, before that while and undergraduate spring 1962 through the summer of 1964 I was employed at a shop whose employees were Porsche Nuts, and one of them still is a known (and loved) nut. Our present shop opened the day after labor day in 1968. I have been siting in this office 6 days a week since then. (yes the family took vacations and holidays).
Yesterday we completed a twin plug carbureted 912 engine. I know what the time, tooling & materials that were necessary to complete the engine On the 356 to make the suspension work properly (front and rear) how long will that take? Who is going to provide the Porsche/VW tools for the correct assembly measurements. Short wheelbase cars (356) have situations with USA manufactured alignment equipment! care must be taken. Al Zim

[Jay Darlington]

Jay: I do not think I am exaggerating this situation at all. I have been doing Porsche repairs since I started college teaching (FT. Worth) in July 1968, before that while and undergraduate spring 1962 through the summer of 1964 I was employed at a shop whose employees were Porsche Nuts, and one of them still is a known (and loved) nut. Our present shop opened the day after labor day in 1968. I have been siting in this office 6 days a week since then. (yes the family took vacations and holidays).
Yesterday we completed a twin plug carbureted 912 engine. I know what the time, tooling & materials that were necessary to complete the engine On the 356 to make the suspension work properly (front and rear) how long will that take? Who is going to provide the Porsche/VW tools for the correct assembly measurements. Short wheelbase cars (356) have situations with USA manufactured alignment equipment! care must be taken. Al Zim

????? I THOUGHT WE were talking about a restoration of a 65 bug, or at least making it a good driver?
Jay D.

[Jay Darlington]

If it was a 356 or an oval window it would be the quintessential wet dream but its a late one. No hit, zero rust (good eye Jay) and that is the original paint (Saharrah beige) in process of being sun bleached down to the original primer. It would be a crime at this point to repaint it in the age of "patina". I had thoughts and dreams about putting a Porsche motor and brakes on it but I have enough I'll never get around to.

YEP, here that bumper would have been rusted before it came off the car transporter. Come-on tell us where its at. .
Jay D.

[Martin Benade]

Here’s my 45-year owned other toy, last month got A brakes and S-90 installed, next summer I’ll lower the rear a bit. It’s fun!

Al, I deferred to you and skipped the B knuckles since you say the steering arms are different, although I used them 50 years ago on my college car and thought it steered just fine.

[Chuck Allard]

One of my friends is a master body and paint man and has done my two personal P cars. He also drives a pristine '57 bug and takes it to shows. Over the years I asked a few questions about his bug; voltage, type of exhaust he prefers, carbs he likes, etc. Meanwhile I had taken in an industrial engine with the engine number on the side instead of the face of the 3rd piece - y'know; worthless. I built it up as a 12 volt, 1720 engine with Webers and Bursch exhaust, 180 flywheel and VW pressure plate, powder painted it and provided all the perimeter sheet metal. I went to his shop in PA to pick up some parts and told him I had something for him in the back of my truck. I gave him the engine to install in his bug since I had wanted to do that for myself back in my college days in the '60s after seeing a few young bucks driving theirs around campus. Then I didn't have the money, time, skills, wherewithall, etc. Now I do but I don't have the pristine bug nor the time and wherewithall. He does, and pulled his numbers matching '57 bug engine, put it in a closet, trimmed and painted the perimeter sheet metal, modified his throttle to match the Porsche engine and installed it. He's been to Carlisle and Ski Roundtop with it since he got it running this year and loves the fact that he has more than double the HP of his original bug. I'm so jealous.

[Martin Benade]

I’m surprised he was willing to chop out enough of the bumper mounts to clear the valve covers. It takes a fair amount of cutting. As for the rear tin, it was off in my picture but a 36 hp VW one just needed notching at the exhaust pipes to fit perfectly.

[Brian R Adams]

Mazda Miata, 110 horsepower,5 speed rear drive, lightweight, inexpensive. Major Fun Factor

If I could fit my bass amp and gigging gear in the trunk, I'd own one already. I know of one, an old girlfriend's 1995, w/ less than 9k miles on it. But she hasn't started it for 10+ years.
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[Brian R Adams]

Been looking for a hatchback. Something popped up in town, a 2015 VW Golf Sportwagen TSI (gas turbo, 5-spd manual), original owner w/ 105k miles and no recalls for its VIN. But I am leery of a modern VW, are they reliable? Edmunds rates this model as middling in that department. I need it for long road trips in the vast, empty Intermountain West.
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