The Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle is a polarizing piece of automotive history. There are many who laud its long production run and basic ruggedness…while others decry its lack of features and comical proportions and questionable origins. However, if you rebody that Type 1 with something Beachy…suddenly the critics are decidedly less vociferous. And what if […]
Most of the kit cars built by in the 1970s had a certain boat-like construction/shape and the Bradley GT was no exception. The GT was the result of collaboration between David Bradley Fuller (who owned a small fiberglass shop) and Gary Courneya of Gary’s Bug Shop in SoCal which sold parts for the dune buggy […]
You had me at “floor jack ratchet strapped to the floor of the trunk.” Yes, I’ll admit that I’ve owned cars that need a floor jack in the trunk. It isn’t that those cars are unreliable, but that you might need to replace a pitman arm on the side of the road. Also, your passengers […]
I’m not sure I’d ever own and drive a car like this next one, but I can say with some honesty that I’m glad it exists. Because it means that some guy got to live out his dream of building a custom and that maybe it gave this dude a reason to get up each […]
The classic Dune Buggy is a shape that was formed in the 1960s to liven up the bleh shape of a stock Beetle and allow bigger tires. People have been making Dune Buggies from Beetles forever and they normally look like a Meyers Manx, but today’s Buggy looks fresh and futuristic…or at least 90s futuristic. Looks good. Find this 1968 Volkswagen Beetle offered for $15,000 in Anaheim, CA via craigslist.
The seller of this next car describes it as a “dune buggy with doors” which is not entirely accurate. This is less a dune buggy and more a classic hot rod. The Maxi Taxi is a well known kit that adds pre-war 1930s styling to the rear engine Beetle and it would be more at home on the road with a Surfboard sticking out the window than on a dune somewhere in the desert. But wherever you drive this thing, it is cool. Find this 1970 Volkswagen Beetle Kit Car offered for $6,500 in Acampo, CA via craigslist.
I remember when seeing a Volkswagen Beetle with a Rolls Royce front end was both a novelty and interesting, but that was a long time ago. Today, seeing a stock Beetle is the oddity as many have been turned into Baja Bugs or El Caminos or whatever, like this next thing…which is…I’m not sure. Find this 1973 Volkswagen Beetle offered for $5500 in Massillon, OH via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
Tipper Rock On sent this car in almost a month ago, and I’d mostly forgotten about it until I stumbled onto it in one of my late night peanut butter whiskey fueled search fests — and (this might be the Screwball talking) but I want this thing. Does it have an engine — naw! You can source your own. But it is a Volkaro, which is the Ferrari Dino-ish looking kit car from the twisted mind of some wannabe Bruce Myers. There isn’t much info available on the web when you search for Volkaro (DT’s article shows up 4th in the listings when you put the term “VOLKARO” into duckduckgo, for what it’s worth) but there is probably some guy living in the high desert that can tell you all about the genesis of the Volkaro and who built them and…but he doesn’t have the internet because he is afraid of getting COVID or the CIA in his computer. Anyway…you don’t need to know the history of Volkaro to know that you still should buy this 1966 Volkaro kit car offered for $2500 in Desert Hot Springs, CA via craigslist.
This might sound like a strange thing to say, but I’m going to say it anyway; This isn’t a bad looking Beetle based Bugatti kit car. I know that sounds crazy, but this thing isn’t bad looking, not just for a kit car, but for any car. I wouldn’t put it in the automotive hall of fame and I certainly want a better shot of the rear end…but for 50 Benjamins, this isn’t bad at all. Find this 1963 Volkswagen Beetle Kit Car offered for $5000 in Atlanta, GA via craigslist. Tip from Matt C.
I was wavering between featuring a derelict Valiant Wagon and a sub $2k BMW 5-series when my teenage kid found this next car and suggested that I feature it because “it is awesome”. That fact is undeniable, but it is also expensive and completely unpractical as a family commuter to do things like carpool to soccer practice and all of the things normal people do with cars. But this isn’t a site for normal people, and Friday the 13th fell on a Saturday this month (today!), so enjoy this Subaru powered 1973 Volkswagen Baja Beetle offered for $18,900 buy-it-now or make offer in New Smyrna Beach, FL via ebay.