1950 Volkswagen Deluxe Beetle

This is the last nut and bolt restoration that I'll perform.  Yes, I've said that before, but I mean it this time!  (Nope.....see 1963 Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale page!)

Painted in the original color of Bordeaux Red, the body has been meticulously restored.  All rusted areas were cut out and replaced with steel.  All body components are correct, including round horn grill front fenders, 3 bolt front hood, dimpled rear fenders, and W deck lid.

Headlights and semaphores were completely restored and are correct for 1950.  All trim, bumpers, and badges are correct for 1950.  

The interior features the correct cloth material for seats, panels, and headliner,  The speedometer dash pod is an original ivory pod with a 1950 stamped ground strap.

The drivetrain consists of a newly rebuilt 36HP engine modified with Okrasa components (crank, heads, and carburetors).  The transmission is also  newly rebuilt with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears synchronized.   The thought was to have a drivetrain that's still authentic to what you could build in the 1950s and be driveable in modern traffic.

I'm still in possession of the original 25hp engine and smooth case transmission.  Both were reportedly rebuilt by the prior owner.  The engine has the correct, rebuilt carburetor, rebuilt distributor, D voltage regulator, star coil, and K manifold.

The pan is fully restored and is matching numbers with the body.   The lever shocks were rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics.

I could go on, but you get the idea.  It's a beautiful car for which I went through great pains to ensure it was done correctly and accurately. 

Unfortunately, I don't know much about the car's history.  It had a Strategic Air Command decal on the front windshield, which unfortunately came off when I pulled the soaking wet glass out of the cardboard box in which it was stored.  My assumption is that a member of the US Air Force brought it over from Germany (the information from the VW Museum shows the original delivery was to a city near a SAC base).  There was also the remnants of a 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign sticker on one of the rear windows (see photo gallery).

So, my guess is a Democratic member of the Air Force brought the car to the U.S. and was still driving it in '64.  After that, things get unclear.  I bought the car  from someone in Connecticut who had given up on his hope of restoring it.  All of his work had to basically be re-done, since the welding was unacceptable.   In his defense, performing welding on these early cars is not easy.  The sheet metal is very thin, as finding steel in Germany five years after World War II was a challenge.