1966 Volkswagen Beetle

We are delighted to be offering for sale a 1966 Beetle and what an eye-catching example it is too! Resplendent in a vibrant shade of green, this lovely bug is adorned with an assortment of desirable period accessories.

’66 Beetles came with a 1300cc engine and had a 25% power boost for increased drivability. Figures from the day suggest a 0-50mph sprint tome of 14.5 seconds and a top speed of a heady 80mph or thereabouts. In practice, this equates to a classic car more than capable of keeping up with the cut and thrust of modern-day traffic.

Our seller, a serial car collector, took the Beetle as part of a two for one deal for his old Jaguar 420G. Lovely as it is, he has too many cars, so the Beetle is in need of a new home.

The previous long-term owner bought the car we believe in 2011 and set about having a comprehensive restoration carried out. Amongst the work carried out was a full professional respray, a new interior and of course much mechanical work including a rebuild of the engine and gearbox.

Our seller reports that the Beetle drives well, cruises happily at the motorway speed limit and makes a great daily driver.

We note the Beetle started out its life as a blue car, the long-term owner clearly deciding something more vibrant was required during the rebuild. It is hard to disagree.

We are told a new front end wheel well and inner wings were fitted before the paint shop got to work. Since the rebuild we gather the car was hardly driven, just being taken out for very short summer runs, residing in a garage when not in use.

This has clearly helped preserve the car’s generally good condition.

There are some marks here and there, visible in our extensive photo gallery. For example, the paintwork is damaged on the closing edge of both doors. The paint in the door shuts is not the best quality either.

The roof has some small areas of broken paint, with a little surface rust beginning to appear. This may well be from the fitment of the roof rack.

The offside rear wing has an area where the paint appears to have worn away slightly and just above, we note some degradation to the paint on the seam below the rear window. There is also some cracking to the paint just above the right-hand exhaust tailpipe. The windscreen wiper arms are rusty, an easy fix.

The Beetle has been lowered, which much improves the car’s stability and handling and sits on matching white painted deep dish wheels, with body coloured hub caps. The wheels could do with the paint touching up here and there. Whitewall tyres with ample tread complete the look.

The Beetle is adorned with plenty of chrome, most of it in reasonable condition. The rear bumper could do with rechroming in places.

Accessories – well where do we start? The period roof rack is a lovely touch and adds to the Beetle’s practicality and the bug visor is a cool edition too.

The interior was doubtless completely redone at the time of the rebuild. Seat have been recovered to match the exterior. All are in great condition save for the driver’s seat which shows some creasing and could perhaps do with a light clean.

The back seat has been fitted with some basic seatbelts, a sensible addition.

The dash has been nicely painted in the body colour and what a lovely simple thing it is too. Basic instrumentation and not much more.

The modern radio does look slightly incongruous, but it does boast Bluetooth connectivity and connects to the rather large rear speakers, with hidden subwoofers too. It’s loud! We do note some holes in the panel under the rear seat, from old speakers we guess.

There is no headlining fitted, instead occupants can gaze up at the rather patinated roof, showing some surface rust. We rather like it, but some may wish to cover it up or perhaps paint it.

Carpets are in good order, though a quick clean in places would not go amiss.

The boot boasts a matching spare wheel and what looks to be an air horn. The condition is fair.

Driving a Beetle is always an experience, the floor-hinged pedals taking a little getting used to.

We always include plenty of pictures of a car’s underside, so pause a while and look in our gallery. Clean off the surface dirt and perhaps redo the underseal, especially if the intention is to use the car all year round. There are signs of surface corrosion in places and on some of the components.

We are told the engine and gearbox were completely rebuilt and from the way the Beetle drives, we have no reason to doubt this.

The engine bay is a little tired, but some time spent on a Sunday morning would doubtless improve the look, without too much effort.

Our seller reports the Beetle drives well and cruises happily at UK road speeds, all accompanied by that distinctive air-cooled sound. Unmistakable.

History Highlights

Sadly, there is little paperwork accompanying the car, so most of what we know has been provided by our seller, who gleaned the car’s history from the previous owner.

The flat-four 1285cc engine had a rebuild along with the four-speed gearbox.

A complete repaint and a tasteful new interior were carried out. The modifications such as lowering the suspension improve the Beetle’s road manners, whilst the chrome addenda create a rather unique and eye-catching look.

It is easy to see that much time, effort and great expense has gone in to creating the lovely car that it is our pleasure to sell.

Sadly, there is little paperwork accompanying the car, so most of what we know has been provided by our seller, who gleaned the car’s history from the previous owner.

The flat-four 1285cc engine had a rebuild along with the four-speed gearbox.

A complete repaint and a tasteful new interior were carried out. The modifications such as lowering the suspension improve the Beetle’s road manners, whilst the chrome addenda create a rather unique and eye-catching look.

It is easy to see that much time, effort and great expense has gone in to creating the lovely car that it is our pleasure to sell.

You cannot help but fall for the charms of an early Beetle. Whether it is the iconic looks, or the distinctive sound from that simple engine, you can guarantee a crowd will gather whenever you park.

Most older drivers have a Beetle story, whether it’s from ownership experience or simply passenger rides. Any time spent beetling leaves an indelible impression.

They are simple cars to work on too, so maintenance is within the easy grasp of the home mechanic.

An everyday usable classic, we confidently expect it so sell for between £8,000 and £11,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our headquarters near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, so to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.