Morally.....what should I do with this car?

[silvertonguedevil]

Ok, so I just bought an ultra clean '64 sedan. This car has been in the same town it's entire life. I have a binder with maintenance receipts dating back to 1964. I have the original owner's manual with service booklet that has the body/chassis number on it. It even has a business card for the Service Manager from the date of original purchase. I have been all over this car and it has zero rust....anywhere. It has been repainted once (original color, Sea Blue) but all of the painted surfaces inside the car are original and are in excellent condition. The interior is original. The car has 98k miles on it. The car is basically all original except the PO lowered the car. I ran the engine numbers and I am almost certain that it's the original numbers-matching engine.

So here's my dilemna. I can appreciate the original and the restored-to original cars but it's not really my cup of tea. I'm wondering if this car is rare and if it should be placed with someone who will appreciate it's originality or restore it to it's factory settings. I guess the bottom line is I don't want to f**k up a great car by driving it daily and chancing messing something up. I need some opinions.
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-Greg

[zozo]

Maintain it well and drive it like it was meant to be driven.

[djkeev]

Why do you ask? What do you DO to cars??

They need a lot of attention compared to any modern car but if you do that and drive it recognizing what it is, it should serve you for years.

If you think you've got a Chevy 327 with a stick shift and four barrel carb and you drive it like one, it will die on you shortly. They never were a go fast drive hard car. They were basic transportation for the 50's and 60's, a totally different world than we know today. The Interstate system was barely begun and the craziness of today's commuter wasn't yet in place.
We worked in the town we lived in, shopped in and often the same town we grew up in. Life was much slower and simpler.

If you think you will destroy it, you know yourself well, pat yourself of the back for being honest with yourself and find a good home for it. Probably an older person who had one in his youth and wants one again. He/She will love it and baby it and protect it. Sell it to a kid, he'll destroy it most likely.

Recognize that being all original it has an increased value over one that has been wrenched on and modified over the years! Charge Accordingly.

Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[silvertonguedevil]

It's not that I'm going to ruin it by being it's owner. I'm not hard on cars, I don't plan on chopping the top or anything drastic and I know how to drive a VW. I just don't want anything to happen to a rare car (if it's even rare to begin with) whether it's getting rear-ended at a stop light or lunching the engine....stuff like that. My plans are/were to repaint it in it's original color, redo the upholstery in it's original materials, keep it low, install a 1641 in it (while keeping the original engine now) and just driving it as my daily driver.
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-Greg

[JHvolks]

the car was made to serve us, we were not made to serve the car..
i appreciate your respect for this car. my advise would be to drive
it and take good care of it. i've been driving mine for years...
i'd never drive anything else....25,000 miles a year no less...
it is so much fun, and so rewarding. enjoy it while respecting it
for what it is.
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1962 Beetle
1957 Beetle
1963 Single Cab
1959 Bus
1957 Beetle

[cru62]

[my59]

Before you put another engine in it to keep up in the I-state, take to the backroads, the 2 lanes, the places you never see zipping from exit to exit and you might rediscover some simple pleasure in driving a simple machine.
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[79SuperVert]

I guess I'm in the minority but I would definitely not use it as a daily driver. In that kind of excellent original condition, a few years of slogging through salt, rain, dirt, potholes and traffic will make it a tired, rusty and worn car. (Edit: I just realized you don't live in the rust belt, so cross out the salt and rust - but add in the fading from the sun and the drying out of the rubber and plastic).

The problem of course, is that if you decide to sell it you can't control what someone else will do to it anyway. You sound like someone that appreciates originality and low mileage. Could you keep it as your "fun" car for weekends, sunny days and cruises, and drive a beater or something that is already worn out for the daily slogs?
_________________
Central Jersey VW Society

Wanted: Art Collins VW (Savannah, Georgia) items - license plate surrounds and other items. Also ivory "AM", "FM" and "SW" buttons for a US Blaupunkt Frankfurt.

[64vdub]

I drive a 1964 with a stock 40 horse 1200 and drive it as my daily- 12-15 thouand miles a year Absolutely no problem keeping on the freeways in Southern Cal where the speed limit is 65 and most everyone is going 80+. I do 65mph, 70 if I have too; people behind me can suck my exhaust fumes.... Leave it be, drive it as is,enjoy it. They're only original once!
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64' Pearl White beetle, type 113 sedan. Purchased in Hamburg Germany, driven for a year via vw tourist program, shipped to CA in 1965.

Founding member of Derkaferklub, Southern Cal. since 2008

Q: Would you consider a trade? What do you collect?
A: I collect money


GO SF GIANTS!

[desmodave]

Well said,Keep it stock,enough of the cal look and the rest.The stockers are worth the money,they are a piece of history and need to be preserved,in the long run youll be glad you did,Cheers,Dave

[Derek Cobb]

Morally!?! It's YOUR car. Do with it as you wish. Yes, there aren't a lot of all original bugs out there, but yours isn't the only one left. It holds no historical value other than being a nicely preserved specimen of a car that was produced in the millions.
If it pleases you to try and keep it as original as you possibly can, then do just that. If you need it to be reliable transportation, then that's a great idea too. If you want to drive the wheels off it you don't need permission from anyone here. It's yours.

[buguy]

I agree, lowering and minor things like that can be undone. Make it how you want it and enjoy it as much as possible.

[QUADRADO]

Just sell it to me and call it a day!
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"Sometimes you're the bug sometimes you're the windshield"

[airedout]

Do what you want to do with it, its your car. Its a bug, unless its got some seriously rare options, chances are it is not rare or super valuable. Every car ive ever owned ive cut up (i mean really cut up) to make super low on air. When i cut up my 60,000 mile original datsun 521 pickup, it made people cringe, but you know what it was my truck not theirs. What you have, sounds like a good foundation to make a really nice car, custom of stock.

Dwight
AcrophobiA GA

[theastronaut]

I'm in the same situation. I have a clean, 127k mile, OG paint, matching numbers '64 sunroof that many would say is too nice to drive daily. I've put 35k miles on it in the last 3.5 years. Has it's condition gone downhill in the last seven years that I've owned it? Certainly. The paint is a little thinner around the edges and there is a little more primer showing on the high spots. It does require more upkeep and maintanence than a newer car. Is it worth sacrificing a little paint thickness to continue driving and enjoying it? For me it is; it stayed parked about two years after the OG 40hp engine dropped a valve seat. Now that I have it back on the road I realize how much more enjoyment I get out of driving it instead of one of our newer cars. I have made a few non-permanant upgrade to enhance its driveability such as a 1600 DP with 36 DRLA's, a larger sway bar, castor shims, and 356 style wheels to widen the track but all the OG parts are safely tucked away, waiting to be reinstalled one day.

That being said, I also own a '66 bug that's about halfway through a frame off restoration. As soon as its finished, it'll be my daily driver and I'll focus on preserving and returning the '64 to as close to original as possible. I appreciate the '64s originality, but not to the point where it causes me to park it and allow it to become a museum piece.

As nice as its turning out, I can look at and study over my '66 all day long- and still get nowhere near the enjoyment compared to a short drive in the '64. Life is short, and we aren't promised tomorrow. I vote drive it, while preserving it the best you can; you may have many, many more tomorrows and I bet you'll still want to enjoy its originality then.
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Strive for perfection in everything. Take the best that exist and make it better. If it doesn't exist, create it. Accept nothing nearly right or good enough."
-Sir Henry Royce, co-founder of Rolls-Royce

'64 Beetle Sunroof OG Bahama Blue
'63 Beetle Vert
'66 Beetle
'88 Festiva L
'89 Festiva L
'64 Chevy C10
'66 Chevy C10

[Steve Herndon]

a fun question really! Using the word morally, it raise the preservation of the type 1s to a religious calling! That said, I say it's really a personal decision and if your into it, a financial question. I believe there's plenty of survivors out there, especially on the west coast. I have a matching number, pretty much original '63 that I don't intend to change. Truth is I like it the way it is, but I don't feel like I'm carrying the torch for some team, just enjoying a neat car that was cool the way it was built nearly 50 years ago!
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Steve H - '63 Ruby Red Sedan, 198,000 miles, stock, 6v
Former:
'68 Sunroof Auto
'73 SB: Best Ever College Car
'73 SB Convertible

[Old Paint]

Driving it isnt really a moral question, if you were asking how to cut the dash for your JVC stereo, and where to put the holes for your Kraco tach, and oh, how do I install a fiberglass front end.........those are moral questions. Drive it!!!!!..........carefully
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Greg

1961 Ragtop
1961 Single Cab (Old Paint)

[Aynthm]

People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - drive.

[fassed]

[silvertonguedevil]

I'm off on Friday. I'll snap some shots. It's due for a repaint and some upholstery work but you'll be able to see that's it's a pretty clean car. I verfied that it is in fact the original engine. I was flipping through the original Maintenance booklet last night and the dealership/salesman had written in there the VIN and the engine number on the day of delivery, March 17, 1964. Something else kinda cool.... They bought the car on the date mentioned in Reno, Nevada and then there is a receipt on like March 20, 1964 at a Chevrolet dealership in Hood River, Oregon. They charged them $1.65 to "open the decklid". I wonder if they could'nt figure out how to do it or if it was giving them fits. Then they had the first service done at 386 miles in Bellingham, Washington at a VW dealership up there. I think they must've bought the car to take a big trip up to the Pacific NW! How cool is that?
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-Greg