Bullet points:
It's a 1975 1200, originally Miami Blue and registered in Kilkenny. The reg is 1804 IP and I have the log book in my name. I bought it as an abandoned project from the last owner. He had commissioned my uncle, a panel beater, to restore it in the mid '00s and bought genuine VW front and rear quarter panels to take care of the bulk of the rust. Of course, those panels were still available off the shelf back then, they've become obsolete now and are as good as impossible to obtain. It also has new front and rear aprons, heater channels, rear cross members, a-pillar bottoms. The chassis has two new floor pans. There is no filler in the car, unlike many others. Because the full quarter panels were used, all of the "patching" that is often associated with a restoration was avoided. The body is laid bare at the moment with no interior or shiny paint to hide any sins. Literally any inspection is welcome, it's hiding nothing.
Fast forward over a decade or so and the car was still sitting in the corner of my uncle's garage, unfinished. I made contact with the owner and arranged to buy it with the intention of finishing it off. But as I'm sure you know, priorities change and I've returned to education. I've committed to night classes for the next 18 months and I'm just not going to get the time to do this car justice. Over the last couple of years I did all of the finishing off of the metal work and subsequent preparation to get it to the epoxy primer stage. The next stage is to bring it to a painter, have him set the panel gaps and prepare it for paint. After that it's a reassembly project. The 1200 engine will, by rights, need a freshen up cosmetically as well as a gasket set to prevent any future oil leaks. The brakes and steering will need to be refreshed too.
The Beetle has a set of Lemmerz sports steel wheels, as fitted to many Limited Edition Beetles of the period. If you'd prefer the standard steel wheels, I'm sure I have a set to hand. I have all the glass for the car as well as most of the fixtures and fittings present. I sourced and fitted a NOS Mexi door on the RHS and a really good Californian LHS door. The bonnet is also a perfect Californian genuine VW used item. The wings are all either new or solid genuine VW Californian. I also have a full set of seats, the dash pad, steering column, fuel tank, pedals etc. Basically I have boxes and boxes of parts to help complete the car.
Too many projects drag on for years through the bodywork stage and motivation wanes when the rewards are so intangible. With all the slow and expensive body work done, this project can be broken down into much more manageable chunks with more regular "wins" to keep morale up!
As far as price goes, I'm looking for €6k. This is very keen, considering the cost of a rusty starter project Beetle, the cost of 4x obsolete genuine VW quarter panels, heater channels, aprons, floors, doors wings, bonnet etc plus the hundreds of hours of professional labour to get it to this stage of completion.
I am based in Laois. I have a trailer and will help with delivery if needed.
- 1975 1200 Beetle
- original Irish reg
- logbook present
- all metalwork done
- no bodges
- loads of NOS and genuine VW panels used
- ready for prep and paint
- boxes of hundreds of parts to go with it
- €6k
It's a 1975 1200, originally Miami Blue and registered in Kilkenny. The reg is 1804 IP and I have the log book in my name. I bought it as an abandoned project from the last owner. He had commissioned my uncle, a panel beater, to restore it in the mid '00s and bought genuine VW front and rear quarter panels to take care of the bulk of the rust. Of course, those panels were still available off the shelf back then, they've become obsolete now and are as good as impossible to obtain. It also has new front and rear aprons, heater channels, rear cross members, a-pillar bottoms. The chassis has two new floor pans. There is no filler in the car, unlike many others. Because the full quarter panels were used, all of the "patching" that is often associated with a restoration was avoided. The body is laid bare at the moment with no interior or shiny paint to hide any sins. Literally any inspection is welcome, it's hiding nothing.
Fast forward over a decade or so and the car was still sitting in the corner of my uncle's garage, unfinished. I made contact with the owner and arranged to buy it with the intention of finishing it off. But as I'm sure you know, priorities change and I've returned to education. I've committed to night classes for the next 18 months and I'm just not going to get the time to do this car justice. Over the last couple of years I did all of the finishing off of the metal work and subsequent preparation to get it to the epoxy primer stage. The next stage is to bring it to a painter, have him set the panel gaps and prepare it for paint. After that it's a reassembly project. The 1200 engine will, by rights, need a freshen up cosmetically as well as a gasket set to prevent any future oil leaks. The brakes and steering will need to be refreshed too.
The Beetle has a set of Lemmerz sports steel wheels, as fitted to many Limited Edition Beetles of the period. If you'd prefer the standard steel wheels, I'm sure I have a set to hand. I have all the glass for the car as well as most of the fixtures and fittings present. I sourced and fitted a NOS Mexi door on the RHS and a really good Californian LHS door. The bonnet is also a perfect Californian genuine VW used item. The wings are all either new or solid genuine VW Californian. I also have a full set of seats, the dash pad, steering column, fuel tank, pedals etc. Basically I have boxes and boxes of parts to help complete the car.
Too many projects drag on for years through the bodywork stage and motivation wanes when the rewards are so intangible. With all the slow and expensive body work done, this project can be broken down into much more manageable chunks with more regular "wins" to keep morale up!
As far as price goes, I'm looking for €6k. This is very keen, considering the cost of a rusty starter project Beetle, the cost of 4x obsolete genuine VW quarter panels, heater channels, aprons, floors, doors wings, bonnet etc plus the hundreds of hours of professional labour to get it to this stage of completion.
I am based in Laois. I have a trailer and will help with delivery if needed.
