Gary Beck’s L639 Zenith Blue ’67 Beetle

Eric Shoemaker on July 10, 2015

Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck

Digging in the archives here at 1967beetle.com, we wanted to put this article in the spotlight once again. I believe this car has sense moved on to a new home. However, it’s rare to see a ’67 Beetle restored to this level. Attention to detail is everything.

Not long ago, I put an ad on 1967beetle.com looking for a clean L639 Zenith Blue ’67 sunroof. I thought the odds of finding one was a long shot to say the least. Well, as it turns out a reader from 1967beetle.com emailed me a said, “he had a nice one he might sell with only one prior owner.”

Wow, what are the odds of that?! Anyway, the next day I drove out from Southern California to the land of enchantment (Arizona) to check this ’67. It was great, just what I was looking for. (Rust free and accident free) Bret and I came up with a price for the car and I had it shipped back home to California.

Since I’ve had the car, I brought it to my painter in Redlands, CA and had him take everything apart and repaint the car the original color Zenith Blue. Then I took the bug to Lenny Copp at West Coast Classic in Fullerton, CA for an all new interior. Here are some photos of my pride and joy.

Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck

Featured ’67 Beetle — Gary Beck

Thanks 1967beetle.com for the help on finding this car, and thanks to Bret for selling it.

– Gary Beck

Thanks, Gary, for sharing your ’67 with 1967beetle.com.

Posted by Eric Shoemaker

Hello, I'm Eric. I started Air-Cooled Artifacts (previously, 1967beetle.com and Lane Russell). I drive a '67 Beetle daily and love to share vintage Volkswagen stories with the world.

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  1. Mike Buettell October 22, 2013 at 8:49 pm

    That is one very nice looking car!

    1. Eric Shoemaker October 22, 2013 at 9:07 pm

      It’s probably one of the best Zenith Blue ’67 Beetles I’ve seen! Gary, do you plan on replacing the fuel pump with a German unit?

      1. Gary Beck October 22, 2013 at 9:20 pm

        I do have an NOS one that I will install some day.

        1. Eric Shoemaker October 22, 2013 at 9:24 pm

          Very nice. This car is simply fantastic.

  2. timm October 22, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    Sweet Ride! Love this color and nice job on the resto. I know the interior is awesome if Lenny did the work!

  3. Rachel October 23, 2013 at 3:58 am

    Wow! What a beauty. There’s one thing missing tho………
    What’s her name? You have to name her!! LOL. Enjoy your car, it’s just beautiful.

  4. Mark October 23, 2013 at 4:28 am

    Absolutely gorgeous Gary. Beautiful car. Wish I could buy it from you. Mark

  5. john m. poirier October 23, 2013 at 5:49 am

    Congrats Gary! May you enjoy many this beauty for many years to come! Good choice on the license plate.

  6. Graham October 23, 2013 at 6:02 am

    one very envious reader from Perth, this is a real beaut, take care of her.

  7. Russ October 23, 2013 at 6:27 am

    Well done. Ditto on the fuel pump. Bumpers look nice, are they Wolfsburgs?

    1. Gary Beck October 23, 2013 at 6:52 am

      The front bumper is a Wolfsburg West bumper.

      1. Eric Shoemaker October 23, 2013 at 7:25 am

        The best. The rear looks OG by the over rider curvature. One year only goodness.

  8. Dave Knowling October 23, 2013 at 6:52 am

    That’s a beautiful 67. Congratulations! If you ever want to sell it, I’m your guy. It would look good next to my white 64 out here in Illinois.

    1. Eric Shoemaker October 23, 2013 at 7:26 am

      I think he wants to give it to meeee.

    2. Gary Beck October 23, 2013 at 8:58 am

      The thing is I have about $20,000 invested in this car now.

      1. Mark October 24, 2013 at 7:03 am

        It is worth every dime of $20K

  9. matthewjohnkeen October 23, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Nice clean lines there, I like the running board rubbers, period accessory or factory option?
    Keep an eye on the braided fuel lines with the increasing ethanol content in fuels.
    Very nice car.

    1. Gary Beck October 23, 2013 at 8:51 am

      Thanks for the tip on the ethanol, I’ll watch for that.
      The running boards are the NOS color that originally came on the car and the fender beading is NOS Zenith Blue beading.

  10. Luiz Antonio Paíga October 23, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Halo Eric, How much this car? I want to buy one for import to Brazil.
    Thank you

    1. Eric Shoemaker October 23, 2013 at 8:37 am

      Luiz,
      The car isn’t for sale. You’d have to talk to Gary.

  11. matthewjohnkeen October 23, 2013 at 8:34 am

    What tyres are you running there Gary?

    1. Gary Beck October 23, 2013 at 8:54 am

      Tires are the BF Goodrich 3/4″ radial white walls.

      1. matthewjohnkeen October 23, 2013 at 9:20 am

        Nice tire, pricey but nice :)

  12. Eric Shoemaker October 23, 2013 at 10:39 am

    Also… Here’s another one of Gary’s past cars. Fantastic quality.
    https://1967beetle.com/lotus-white-67

  13. Steve Parker October 23, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    Georgous car Gary and almost a carbon copy of my car! The only thing I don’t have is the whitewalls. The really spooky thing is my licence plate is also “peoples car” only spelt PPLS KR. Wierd huh?

    1. Gary Beck October 23, 2013 at 5:48 pm

      That’s cool, I would love to see some photos.of it.
      Vwbeck@gmail.com

      1. steve parker March 31, 2014 at 4:56 pm

        Hi Gary.
        Finally uploaded some shots of my bug, check it out!
        Steve Parker.

        1. Nathan March 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm

          Where?

        2. Eric Shoemaker March 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm

          I was going to ask the same.

  14. juanherrera638401932 October 23, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    Really nice car, its the dream come true. Congratulations.

  15. Jim Ratto October 24, 2013 at 4:07 pm

    Very very nice car.

  16. Tim October 31, 2013 at 1:45 pm

    Hey Gary:

    I would like to paint or dye my black running boards to match the body of my Zenith Blue 67 beetle. How did you dye yours?

    1. Eric Shoemaker November 1, 2013 at 7:54 am

      Tim,
      I connected you guys over email. Let me know if you need more help.

  17. Kevin Morrison July 10, 2015 at 9:33 am

    Hi Eric, Speaking of details. Could you once again tell us the exact time that the paint code decals were changed from German to English? I believe I may have asked this in past years. I know my 66 and 67 sedans were in German but I believe by the early 70’s the colors were being printed in English.
    Thanks
    Kevin

    1. Eric Shoemaker July 10, 2015 at 9:35 am

      That I honestly have no idea about. Am I a big help or what?

      1. Kevin Morrison July 10, 2015 at 9:45 am

        Thanks anyway Eric. I’m sure someone out there knows the answer. I ordered some replacement decals yesterday and made sure they would be printed in German as that is correct for 67 and below. Also ordered the windshield washer bottle “red” pressure decal. Some time after 1968 they were made of silver, but again, I’m just not sure when VW switched over the colors. As we all know, VW was known for changing things during productions cycles and NOT necessarily by the model year.
        Keep up the good works
        Kevin

  18. Matt July 10, 2015 at 9:37 am

    damn that car is clean!

  19. Eric Shoemaker July 10, 2015 at 9:38 am

    Note that the running boards are even the correct color. These details are always missed.

  20. Todd Sloan, Portland July 10, 2015 at 9:45 am

    Love the new like condition of this car. A sure target for me to work towards when I take on my Zenith blue ’67.
    I did not see any photo’s here of the interior. Could I get a few?

  21. Mike Buettell July 10, 2015 at 10:50 am

    Gary sold this car on “Old Bug” over a year ago (maybe even 2 years ago). It was purchased by Crevier Classic Cars in Costa Mesa, CA and listed for $34,000. They dropped the price to $29,900 and it appeared on ebay several times. Looks like it finally sold. http://www.crevierclassiccars.com/inventory/1967-volkswagen-beetle-sunroof-coupe-stock-number-200333…
    I examined this car in person and feel that other than a non-German fuel pump, the car is perfect. It has a sunroof, sapphire VI FM radio, virtually new lobster claw seatbelts, and Hella sb12 headlight rings (all rare). This ’67 Beetle really is the standard by which all ’67 should be judged. Congratulations to the new owner. I hope he/she finds 67beetle.com and keeps us up to date.

    1. Eric Shoemaker July 10, 2015 at 10:56 am

      I knew Mike was aware of the history. That’s correct. To “toot” my own horn a bit, I restored the oil bath. It was an honor to work on such a high profile car.

    2. Eric Shoemaker July 10, 2015 at 10:59 am

      Also, I do agree that this ’67 is the standard. Other than the fuel pump, everything is 100% correct as it should be.

  22. Sam Glenn July 10, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    O man! A beauty! Somebody got a gem for sure. I’m confused who the owner is now, whoever, Congratulations on your find & thanks for sharing
    Sam G

  23. Richard July 14, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    What a super nice 67 and very close to being correct.

  24. Gary Beck September 11, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    I do miss the 67 bug, but it was just to nice to drive around as much as I want to drive one.
    every time I parked it some place I would worry about it.
    Kind of takes the fun out of it.
    I think I’m ready for the next one now.

    1. Kevin September 11, 2015 at 8:06 pm

      I know that feeling exactly Gary! At the moment I have a 66 1300 sedan and a 71 Westy pop top. They are both what I would consider 95 point vehicles. I love owning them but I really have to be so careful when driving or parking them. The last couple of years I seem to be just dusting them off more than driving them.

  25. Gary Beck December 1, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    Just bought another 67 Zenith Blue sunroof bug.
    it’s in the shop now getting new interior.
    When done it should look about the same as the one above that I sold.

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