1972 Volkswagen Beetle Sedan

After some frustration with dealerships and the high payments for leasing vehicles, my wife and I decided that now was a good time to pick up one of our bucket-list cars as daily driver. After some searching, we happened to find and purchase a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle.

The '72 Beetle had the look we liked:

• a flat windscreen
• shallow dash
• more compact than the later Super Beetles
• the bumpers that we had planned on buying
• eyelids
• minimal rust

In addition, the engine seemed to be running strong, the brakes worked, and the suspension did not seem terrible.

{{< img src="images/featured.jpeg" alt="Photo of the Beetle as of September 2019" >}}

If you want to follow this project along, you can do so by checking out the 72-beetle tag.

Sections on this page:

• Vehicle details
• History
• Our plans
• Parts, tools, equipment

Details

• Year: 1972
• Transmission: 4-speed manual
• Engine: 1600cc
• Odometer: 75, 763 miles
• Purchased: June 14, 2019

History

Currently don't know too much about the car except that all the work in the last five years has been done at one shop and that the previous owner made it to front page of a local newspaper with their Herbie vinyls.

I have a small collection of the service history. The folder had several other cars mixed in so I am not sure if this is all of the reciepts that the previous owner had. Below is a rough outline of what work I know has been done.

Plans

Immediate

• remove Herbie vinyl
• fix rust and paint
• reduce gas fumes in cabin
• get seats that are not broken
• fix rear drivers side turn signal

Long-term

• disc brake conversion (don't like the drum feeling)
• push button start
• immobilizer
• redo interior (headliner, seats, floor, dash)
• inside and out paint
• electric engine conversion
• birth certificate

Purchases

Combo of receipts and things we need to get in the near future:

Follow this project

You can follow on this site by checking out the 72-beetle tag.