1963 Volkswagen Type 1 - California Custom War Beetle

  • Location: Warsaw, Missouri, United States
  • Condition: Used
  • Make: Volkswagen
  • Model: Beetle - Classic
  • Type: Coupe
  • Year: 1963
  • Mileage: 4000
  • VIN: 5604350
  • Color: Green
  • Engine size: 2007cc
  • Number of cylinders: 4
  • Fuel: Gasoline
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Drive type: RWD
  • Interior color: Black
  • Drive side: Left-hand drive
  • Vehicle Title: Clean

1963 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic Description

Full body-off restoration project. My original idea for this project was to have a simple car restored to brand new condition which I would then use as my primary vehicle. I spent over $33,000 and the product I received was not up to my standards (the body and engine were top notch but lots of little things weren't as good as they should have been). For a while, every weekend, my father would come over and we would work on perfecting this beast. Due to the level of detail we were going for, it ended up taking forever. Eventually I grew tired of spending my weekends working on it and gave it to my father. My father turned this into his retirement hobby project and invested hundreds if not thousands of hours into the car. He hardly ever drove it other than to keep it in prime condition. Due to his age and failing health, he gave it back to me about a month ago. I had since moved to Missouri and he drove it here from California. It's a bad ass car and lots of fun to drive, but at this point I have another car already and I work from home so the reality is I'll barely ever drive it. It would be better for someone else to get good use out of it.
My father put together a binder with around 200 pages of receipts, info and guides. You can download the PDF version here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VUuA5jNIbjXwixp3ySuqTqB4nf_pSCc6/view?usp=sharing
There are also two DVDs with video that explain some of the special features on the car. I will not be putting those online but the original binder and DVDs will be included with the car.
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I'll do my best to list details here but please know that I am not a mechanic like my father and my explanations may not be as good as they should be. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. I recommend looking through the entire PDF as it may answer some of your questions.
Note that if you are out of area and would like this car to be inspected by a mechanic, I would be happy to bring the car to a mechanic within the city of Warsaw (it will be your responsibility to pay the fees). I recommend Maples Ford: https://www.maplesford.com/ That's where I took it for state inspection (passed with no issues). The service manager and one of the mechanics had both owned classic Beetles in the past and were experienced with working on them so they would probably be able to give decent feedback.
About three weeks ago my father tuned the carburetors, adjusted the valves and changed the oil.
Title is clean and only in my name.

Body restored and painted at Kombi Haus: https://www.kombihaus.com/- Paint and primer used are DuPont Imron industrial coating.- Color is the exact green used in US military camouflage.
Engine and front end built by Wolfgang International: https://wolfgangint.com/- 2007cc engine. Most popular build done by Wolfgang. Known for reliability and performance.- Literally the specific engine in this car was featured in an edition of Hot VWs magaine (https://hotvws.com/). They did an article with Wolfgang International right as they were building my engine. I don't know the month and year of the edition but if you're interested, Wolfgang would be able to tell you.- Front end is lowered but not cheaply with a kit. It was custom built for its current configuration. Besides the cool appearance, I was told it improves the handling and ride.- Racing headers and camshaft.
Transmission has four spider gears instead of two.- Has a heavy duty plate (I don't remember the specific name for this) that would typically be added to a racing transmission.- Geared for low end power, not speed. I had no intention of racing or breaking the speed limit in this car so I had them gear it low. It easily cruises up hills due to this and is great as an around town car.
Dual Weber carburetors.- 'Weber Windows' installed so that you can adjust the carburetors more easily. Further, the taillights have been custom designed to rotate out of the way and allow access to the Weber windows behind them. You don't need to remove fenders to adjust the carbs.
Mallory electric fuel pump and fuel filter.
Modern marine-grade fuse blocks installed.- Most (or possibly all) electrical connections have been hand soldered.- Wiring is new from the rebuild.
Glasspack muffler.- Originally had a fancy sidewinder but my father found it was practically jammed against a brake line and there was no room to make it safe. He fabricated brackets and installed the Glasspack which actually sounds really cool and has resolved the safety issues.
Four wheel disc brakes.
Porsche wheels painted to match the car. Spare tire also has a Porsche wheel (not painted).
Custom engine lid sliding brackets. These allow you to adjust the engine lid for hot or cold weather without removing it.
Body and pan were insulated with noise reducing materials.
Pan was completely painted with POR15.
Hidden locking compartments have been created under where the rear seat used to be.
Battery has a key-operated kill switch for theft prevention.- Optima yellow top battery - less than two months old.
Push button start.
Extremely loud horn system.
German square-weave carpets.
Original 60's California license plate.
This car will come with several boxes of spare parts, new quarts of expensive oil, and a spare tire with Porsche wheel.
See PDF for many more details: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VUuA5jNIbjXwixp3ySuqTqB4nf_pSCc6/view?usp=sharing
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What's wrong with this car? To the best of my knowledge, here are the only issues with this car:
- During the trip from California to Missouri, the electric fuel pump stopped working. My father tested it with a voltmeter and said the pump itself had gone bad. He installed a stock fuel pump which is what the car is now running on. The electric fuel pump works fine as of right now so I am unable to explain what happened to him during his trip. The Mallory is still on the car but so is the stock fuel pump so if you want to use the Mallory, you'll need to remove the stock (easy to do). Otherwise you can keep it just like it is, not running the electric, and everything is fine.
- During the trip, the odometer/speedometer stopped working. Has not been investigated.
- Oil/grease smudges. My father wasn't always as careful as he should have been and so has gotten some smudges on the paint around the engine area. I imagine these can be removed but haven't tried.
- My father had spilled a little gas on the trunk carpet which made it stink. I hung it outside to air out. My dogs ate it. If interested, you can order an exact replacement from Wolfgang International.
- Doesn't have a windshield wiper fluid bottle.

That's it. Everything else should be solid.
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Disclaimers:
- I'm selling the car 'as-is' and offer no warranties or refunds. It will be the buyer's responsibility to inspect the car before purchase (as stated earlier I'll be glad to bring it to a mechanic of your choice within the city of Warsaw.) If you are a local buyer, I'll gladly meet with you to let you inspect the car yourself.
- I will not release the car until payment has been confirmed by my bank. I don't have a local bank in Warsaw, so I'll need to drive an hour to deposit a check or money order. From there I imagine it takes two or three business days to clear. If you would prefer to do a wire transfer for quicker payment, I am fine with that.
- Buyer is responsible for pickup and shipping. I will bring the car to a location in Warsaw for you to take possession.

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This is a truly unique car and I hope that you will enjoy it for many years to come. Thank you for bidding!