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CorvallisKevin
Samba Member
Joined: April 20, 2021
Posts: 21
Location: Corvallis, OR
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 Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 11:03 am Post subject: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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I know this is a long shot, but I'm trying to track down my old car (that I shouldn't have ever sold).
It's a 1959 Deluxe Beetle from South Africa in Kalahari Beige with red/cream interior, right hand drive. The photos are from 1996 when I first acquired it. The car was sold by me in Glendale, CA to a guy in Pasadena, CA in 1997, and that's the last I saw of it. I'm sure it's been slammed/built, crashed, stolen or re-panned by now, but you never know. Maybe I'll get lucky.
Distinguishing characteristics:
- A red metal dealership tag on the dash which states: Hans Kriess, Swakopmund (see photo)
- All original sheet metal
- Only ever been hit on passenger rear quarter (repaired decades ago)
- Original motor and tranny
- Original interior including headliner
- Original S. African glass
- Original rims/caps
- Original options: Dehne fuel gauge, parcel tray, reserve switch extension, chrome knuckle guards and fender guards
- Original front beam bracing for the S. African roads
- Original red undercoating (can see clearly under the decklid)
I'm hoping to find the current owner, find out it's current condition and perhaps make a deal to get it back.
Thanks.
Kevin
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17970
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 1:11 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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Hire a Private Investigator to track it down.
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stale air
Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2007
Posts: 5151
Location: Senoia Ga, formally NorCal
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 2:16 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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What plate was on it last? The top pic has a CA YOM on it, and the bottom pic has a white Ca plate on it.
I can tell you that the white Ca plate is no longer on file, so either the car was sold out of state, or maybe the car was reregistered to the YOM.
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CorvallisKevin
Samba Member
Joined: April 20, 2021
Posts: 21
Location: Corvallis, OR
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 2:54 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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It never was registered to the YOM plate. I kept those at sale. It was last registered to the white plate.
It's probably gone by now. I just thought I'd throw it out there, see what turns up. |
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stale air
Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2007
Posts: 5151
Location: Senoia Ga, formally NorCal
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| CorvallisKevin wrote: |
It never was registered to the YOM plate. I kept those at sale. It was last registered to the white plate.
It's probably gone by now. I just thought I'd throw it out there, see what turns up. |
Gotcha. Well this vw thing is a pretty small word in the grand scheme of things, so who knows, you may get lucky.
Btw cool car, no wonder you are looking for it. 
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EverettB 
Administrator
Joined: April 11, 2000
Posts: 69809
Location: Phoenix Metro
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:06 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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1997 sale? I would immediately wonder if it went to Japan some time after that, especially since it's RHD.
This doesn't help you at all, of course, unless someone reading here is familiar with a lot of VWs on the Japanese VW scene.
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22647
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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Most of it just fell into the Indian Ocean
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CorvallisKevin
Samba Member
Joined: April 20, 2021
Posts: 21
Location: Corvallis, OR
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| Most of it just fell into the Indian Ocean |
 Probably. Or was stolen and re-panned as a 1975 Super Beetle.
Thanks for the replies. I actually did sell a ‘57 ragtop that went to Japan. They paid top dollar for it back in ‘93/4. |
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CorvallisKevin
Samba Member
Joined: April 20, 2021
Posts: 21
Location: Corvallis, OR
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 5:57 pm Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| stale air wrote: |
| CorvallisKevin wrote: |
It never was registered to the YOM plate. I kept those at sale. It was last registered to the white plate.
It's probably gone by now. I just thought I'd throw it out there, see what turns up. |
Gotcha. Well this vw thing is a pretty small word in the grand scheme of things, so who knows, you may get lucky.
Btw cool car, no wonder you are looking for it. |
Completely unrelated, but I moved from Healdsburg to Corvallis in 2018. And then I was able to buy a house! Median home prices in Sonoma County are stupidly ridiculous. So glad I got out of there, though the area is beautiful.
Quite a few nice cars were lost up MWS Road in 2017 in the Tubbs Fire. I saw one oval, some ‘60’s bugs and a few split screens, all torched beyond repair. |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22647
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 2:40 am Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| CorvallisKevin wrote: |
| Abscate wrote: |
| Most of it just fell into the Indian Ocean |
Probably. Or was stolen and re-panned as a 1975 Super Beetle.
Thanks for the replies. I actually did sell a ‘57 ragtop that went to Japan. They paid top dollar for it back in ‘93/4. |
Hope you find it someday, Kevin. Sorry fir the snark.ok, I’m not sorry, it’s what I do.
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CorvallisKevin
Samba Member
Joined: April 20, 2021
Posts: 21
Location: Corvallis, OR
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 6:00 am Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| CorvallisKevin wrote: |
| Abscate wrote: |
| Most of it just fell into the Indian Ocean |
Probably. Or was stolen and re-panned as a 1975 Super Beetle.
Thanks for the replies. I actually did sell a ‘57 ragtop that went to Japan. They paid top dollar for it back in ‘93/4. |
Hope you find it someday, Kevin. Sorry fir the snark.ok, I’m not sorry, it’s what I do. |
Thanks! But I wasn’t offended. I thought it was funny, because it’s probably true. Where I come from, a lot of these cars ended up on new pans in the barrio. Many beautiful cars were destroyed that way. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same happened to this one. |
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stale air
Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2007
Posts: 5151
Location: Senoia Ga, formally NorCal
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 11:05 am Post subject: Re: Longshot: Anyone know where this car is now? 1959 Beetle RHD |
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| CorvallisKevin wrote: |
Completely unrelated, but I moved from Healdsburg to Corvallis in 2018. And then I was able to buy a house! Median home prices in Sonoma County are stupidly ridiculous. So glad I got out of there, though the area is beautiful.
Quite a few nice cars were lost up MWS Road in 2017 in the Tubbs Fire. I saw one oval, some ‘60’s bugs and a few split screens, all torched beyond repair. |
See, small world, lol.
I work in Healdsburg, and pulled my 58 out of a field here in Healdsburg back in 95. Ive lived in Santa Rosa my whole life, and yes house prices are incredibly absurd. For the past year I have been shopping around, looking for another state to move to, for the same reason as you, to buy a house with a shop. Something thats impossible to do here.
As far as Tubbs, and cars lost, yeah there were many. My buddy moved to Alabama, but had his 61 stored here still. During the fire, I along with another friend of mine had to go rescue the car, and were lucky enough to
get it out of there before it burned.
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