Well i cant believe i have arrived at a stage where i am having to consider selling my '49!! 😞

Due to (future! :shock: ) family commitments and working 7 days a week with my business. Im lacking time and money. I dont want to sell the car ive grown to love it so much and when i think of the work ive done to it, id be loosing so much.

for those who dont know me, me car is a November 1949 standard beetle. original colour is bordeaux red.
the car is buy no means for the purist, i bought it as the bare shell and the chassis also. so everything else on the car i have had to source myself!!!!
this means the car will never be 100% original, but at the same time its as close as i can get to been correct within my capabilities. indeed if i had it for the next 10 years some parts could be changed as and when they were found (Ie i have a '54 36hp engine) (well its better than having airbags and empis on it)

My chassis is fully restored, less cable brake parts in the drums!
the body is sandblasted, zinc primered and primered.

i have everything else for it (in cupboards, under the bed, in the kitchen, bet im not the only one!)

THIS IS WHAT IM MISSING


Rear lights (49 only with aluminum ring)

Front and rear bumpers thicker ones with rib (may-dec 49 only)

overiders (late 49 only)

running boards (49-53 only)

door catches and latches

Front headlights (any pre 67 will do, prefer pre 53, i have new lamps if needed)

speedo housing/ baklite pod surround (must be brown)

Glove pocket mouldings and aluiminumn surrounds (47-53)

semaphore switch (must be black)

ZAR tag (fuel on off switch orig or reop will do)

interior door handles and window handles (with black bakelite)

Wireing loom (49-53 6 volt)

shoes, springs, levers for drum internals on cable brakes

fuel tank (may-dec 49 only with large filler neck and alli cap)

Oh and 2 liters of bordeaux red



sad thing is im now at a crossroads. looks like the car will have to go, its now just a case of when?

Do i sell up now, my wife will be pleased for me! i could if i sold now 'break even' obviously this would not include all my labour and fuel for driving to every corner of the country for parts. but al least id be getting back some/most of the money i have chucked at it?
this seems the easiesr route but im so sad that i havnt finnished the car, ive never "not finninhed a car".

So do i carry on, investing more money i reckon it needs another £2000 to get it on the road. maby if i finish it my wife will like it so much she will want to keep it?

thing is im aware that i'll never make a profit on the car! but do i break even now, or try and get the car on the road with another £2000, but then will i break even if i still have to sell? as i said its tricky as the true purists will pick holes with it but because its standard the airbag boys will also not want it?

oh, my minds all over the place.......someone tell me what to do!!!

(picture [not my car!] of what the car will look like when finnished)

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Keep it. There that was easy.

If you have the space and it's not causing friction at home, keep it. It sounds like you are young enough to put the project in abeyance for a few more years.

The availability of time and money can change quickly and to dispose of something you've obviously put heart and soul into may/will come back to haunt you every time one of those missing '49 parts shows up.

As for '49 values...give it time, there's always a cache to '40s VWs.

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100% keep.
For all the reasons John Mentioned.
There's a guy in the Gen. Discussion section doing loans :roll: :roll: :roll:
Seriously Lee,if you won't miss the money take John's advice.

hey George

yeh i know i should keep it. but i just cant see it happening.

its not just about the money, i mean i could keep it as it is, its not costing anything sitting there. but on the same account it is just siting there, this car was supposed to be a project to enjoy and more importantly drive. but i cant even see it leaving my workshop in the next 5 years!!

christ i dont even know what the car is worth as it stands?

my wife/ future family :shock: :shock: are more important than any car!
ive got 9 months to decide!

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AH! I see.
Lee,those things are expensive :lol:

I waited 5 years to finish my cabrio,it soon goes.
But Yes,you're right,family are the most important.

if i could get the parts in the next few months id be inclined to "finnish" it, but ive have the same wanted list for over a year now!!! so cant see it happening.

like i said i wont be making any extra profit buy finishing it, but it will be finninshed!

does anyone have a clue what the car is worth. i have everything bar the list i have above! in some cases 2/3 times, eg 4 front seats, 7 16" riviter wheels. nos window mechs etc.

pm me if youd prefer

i'll try get some pics

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Maybe if you look on it as an even longer project...say 21 years and 9 months. That way you are planning for your eldest's 21st birthday present. :wink:

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Hey Lee,

Your list is not the same as 5 months ago !
You bought the wheels and the back seat from me !! :wink:
And you can have the brake parts if I can find them :roll:
I'm working on 6 fenders now ( 4 front 2 rear )
I have one correct headlight for sale !
I know Baby's are more importend then cars and cost some money but imagine in a few years , you go to a vintage meeting with your Baby on the backseat ! DON'T SELL THE CAR !!!! :cry: :cry:

Regards,

Guido

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hey there, yeh i have the 16" wheels and rear bench. but theres still loads to find.

it seems as if the last 6 months, split parts have dried up? if i had these parts id definatly finnish it, but this is one of my biggest worries that i cant get the parts, and time is not my friend!!

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You have to work in steps !
Floorpan is almost ready, What about your engine???
And body?? You could focus on these 2 Items and in the mean time search for the other parts, I have several things you need, but why would you buy a speedo, front bumper semaphore switsh from me if your body is not ready !
I think you dont need thr trims for glove box( tell me if I'm wrong)
If you can finisch the engine or body it will gife you a good feeling !
I know people who are working now 6 years on a car and invest crazy money ! And that car is still not ready ! The body worker who did his car was and still is a crook (15000 euro) and the car is looking great on the outside, but now we have found out how he did it!
I'll post later more details about this, with detailed pictures from what they did wrong and the name of that crook ! Don't worry he's in Holland not in the UK !

Guido

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Tuck it away!

Even if it sits there for 5 years you will lose nothing. You can always sell it in 5 years you may never be able to buy it back.

In the mean time you can lurk in the background looking for parts, buying and selling them etc to help finish it.

Or as i said on the samba, give me the seats and bits I need for my 50.

Seb

Reading between the lines Lee, I think you've set your mind on selling it and want to know how much it's worth 😞 . Personally, I'd keep it as you'll never get another chance to get one once the baby's born. I speak from experience !!! :shock:

As everyone else has said, stick in the garage and wait 'til you have the time and money to pick it up again. That's what I've done. Had my oval about 7 years and never drove it :oops: It's currently sitting in two pieces in my garage. (chassis & body). Chassis is complete now, and I'm starting on the body soon. I daydream about the day I can drive it. That, and this website are what keeps me motivated.... Oh Yeah...and visiting '50 karmann's garage :wink:

Too many paople go through life thinking 'What if........', don't be one of them :wink:

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Hi Lee,

I kind of always got the impression that the fun in it for you was the restoration and not the final car. If you always had in the back of your mind that you would sell it when it's done and it was never a keeper, then you may as well sell it now and let someone else have the challenge of finding the rest of the parts. If on the other hand, you've always dreamt of owning a '49 and had all intentions of keeping it - then keep it :wink:

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Keep it.....it is not everybody that have the chance to own a 49! I would like to have one! Time is nothing. Finding parts and working on a car is the most fun part of the hobby!
regards

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If it were a 60's bug then yeh, maybe.
But a 49? .... "Lifes not a rehersal".

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man you guys are tough. Im not seeing this maby as black and white as some of you.
i can see what your saying, hell i have a '49 and yes i probably would never get to own one again.
ive been unable to sleep all night.

"Hi Lee,

I kind of always got the impression that the fun in it for you was the restoration and not the final car. If you always had in the back of your mind that you would sell it when it's done and it was never a keeper, then you may as well sell it now and let someone else have the challenge of finding the rest of the parts. If on the other hand, you've always dreamt of owning a '49 and had all intentions of keeping it - then keep it "

yes i do enjoy the restoration rather than driving the car (my last one took nearly every weekend for 3.5 years and i only drove it probably 300 miles before i sold it. i was too scared of getting a chip or even some dirt on it :oops: !!)

and i think it is this which is one of my biggest "demons" with this 1949. ok so i stick with it, plough another 2/3/4? k into it then it still sits in the gararge cos im too scared to use it. i feel so guilty for this firstly my wife and secondly for the car, this is a car like you say to be enjoyed and driven, and this is not something i can see happening for a long time if ever.

and yes your right i do have my mind set on selling it now, i think that decision way made last night. and it not because i always intended selling it. this was the car to own all cars for me (well maby an F40 or GT40 come higher). this is not a decision i have made on a whim. theres no profit to be made with splits, i knew that when i bought it. ive spent stupid money on it. ie £450 for two unrestored ribbed semaphores, £150 steering wheel, £175 for a speedo, etc etc

realitvly speaking the car is not worth much, but to carry on with it id still have to spend i reckon £2k to get it to a standard id be happy with.
my house has eaten up all of my money, and i came a cropper with my business last month where someone didnt pay up on time after all my monthly accounts had paid off. I had to send "the boys" round to speed things up, my wife had to bail me out with her life savings to keep me afloat untill the cheques cleared. this was very emabrrasing and something which i cannot afford to happen again. im suppose to be able to support my family, i cant imagine how we would have coped if she wasnt at work......and she wont be for long!
im ok now, still owed a lot of money though.and im working my arse of to pay my tax bill in two weeks so it doesnt happen again.
With my new responsibilities now i cant afford to be put in a situation like this anymore. im forever expanding the business and with this comes greater rewards but also greater risks.

im not one for loans, ive never had a credit card, i buy things when i can afford to, and struggle like hell when i cant. as my father in law says "easy come-easy go".

and this where im at now, sorry for the essay, but i just thought i had to explain the situation. this is not just about the here and now im having to think fowards here.

yes to me the 49 is a piece art, but its only metal at the end of the day. the car was so easy to find (thanks to many of you on here) and i still cant believe the luck ive had with it. i think it time to hand that luck to someone else.

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