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With nearly 22 million sold, the Volkswagen Type 1, affectionately known as the Beetle, may have helped put the post-WWII world on wheels, but finding one in good condition today is becoming a challenge.
Unless, of course, you know where to look.
Chris Vallone was a graphic artist for a cable TV business network when he began restoring Beetles for fun. With a background in cartooning, he says he always had an affection for the vehicle that looked so much to him like an animated character.
After listing a few of his creations on Ebay, he quickly found that he was far from the only person with a penchant for the People’s Car. His attention to detail attracting the attention of more than a few VW fans online.
So, about five years ago he left the TV game and launched ClassicVWBugs.com with his father, a retired New York City police officer also named Chris. Their nine-car garage is located about an hour north of Manhattan in Congers, N.Y, and business is so good that they’re planning to expand this year. Along with offering restoration services, Chris taps his TV background to produce how-to and other Type 1-themed videos that he have gotten over 1.5 million views on YouTube to date.
Customers either send Chris their beat-up Beetles, or he works with him to find a suitable donor car. Even junkyard quality Type 1s can cost thousands of dollars today, if they’re from a desirable year and have enough original parts. When the hardtop Bug was last sold in the United States in 1977 it had a base price of just $3,000.
Chris prefers working on pre-1967 Beetles, which he says are the most valuable for resale, but is especially fond of the 1954-55 models with their pop-out semaphore turn signals and huge ragtop sunroof. Left to his own devices, he prefers to bring them back to as-new condition, and uses only the highest quality parts he can find, often sourced from Europe rather than Mexico, where the Beetle was produced until 2003. That said, he’ll happily take on any Type 1, and even make modifications like using newer more powerful engines in older Bugs, but is sure to let customers know that it’ll likely be a long time before they see a return on their investment if he does.
That outlay can run anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000, but with about a dozen orders currently on the books, it doesn’t seem to be a deterrent to people interested in buying a little nostalgia. Chris says most of his customers either had a Beetle in their family growing up, or remember buying one for fifty bucks in college and driving it cross country or on another adventure. His 1955 daily driver was even accepted to the exclusive 2011 Fairfield County Concours d’Elegance in Connecticut, where it caught the eye of noted car collector, Wayne Carini.
Taking one of his meticulously finished cars for a spin around the twisty roads of the Hudson River Valley is definitely a step back into a different era. It’s easy to forget how small the Beetle was until you get in one and rub shoulders with your passenger while contemplating just how close the windshield is to your face. Seatbelts were an option in the early days, and still are on the most antique of Chris’ creations.
The flat-4-cylinder engine pumps out something less than 50 horsepower through the car’s four-speed manual transmission, but once you’re up to speed proves surprisingly adequate as it leaves that distinctive air-cooled symphony in its wake. A pencil-thin steering wheel feels very strange to hands used to thick-rimmed modern tillers, but is an unassisted delight, even if it’s hard to imagine using it to hop onto Interstate 80 and head for California as so many did so many years ago.
They may be pricey as far as used economy cars are concerned, but as time machines, Chris’ classic Beetles could be the bargain of the century. Either this one or the last.
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