I’ve looked at literally thousands of Volkswagen Beetles—a lot of them 1967 Beetles. In the process, I’ve purchased scores of Beetles for one purpose or another. It is heartening to find an “honest” Beetle. By “honest”—I mean one that is easily identifiable at almost a glance. This Beetle belongs to Greg Minuskin, a Reader-Contributor of 1967beetle.com.
In my looking at and researching 1967 Beetles, I find that possibly the most rare of the three Models is the Sun Roof Edition. Here is one of those rare Sun Roof Editions—waiting to be driven away by its new owner!
But first, let’s get some important details squared away:
- You know how I am about VINs! All three VINs (spare tire well, tunnel and title) correspond.
- The Beetle for sale has 15,609 miles showing on the Odometer. You can add 100K to that, I’m sure.
- With every vintage vehicle the new owner will discover some things which need refurbishing or repaired. Greg and I looked over the car with that in mind.
- The trunk liner and wiring cover need to be replaced with originals or good reproductions. The ones in the car are home-made.
- The door scrapers and felts need to be replaced.
- Greg tells me that the running boards have some “rippling” in the rubber—this may indicate some rust-bubbles beneath the rubber. In that case, the old rubber would need to be removed, the rust removed and new rubber stretched onto the running boards again.
- The carburetor is not an original VW105-1 but is a good-quality, working unit.
- Also, the front windshield was changed at some point—it is not original German glass.
- However, all other glass IS German Sekurit.
- Greg believes that the car has had one repaint. There are no apparent bubbling spots.
- The black-walled tires are not new but have plenty of tread left. Even the injection mold features still are readily apparent.
Status: SOLD
Mileage: 15,609
Location: Tustin, CA
Price: $10,500 OBO
Contact: Greg Minuskin
The new owner may find some other things which he wishes to revise or repair but these are the things which seem to stand out on this car.
Right up front let’s talk about Rust. There is NO rust on this car! And…it always is garaged. I know that people tire of hearing me talk about rust, but it is so important. You can pay for NO rust up front or deal with the high cost of rust removal down the road. How pleasant it is NOT to have to deal with rust!
Now, I want to get to some other juicy aspects of this Sun Roof Edition!
As in Greg’s Article, the Sun Roof not only is operational but is an option which is going to give great pleasure. I recall a particular Sun Roof ’67 which I once owned—how I miss that opened roof with the fresh air blowing into the car!
Hagerty’s Car Valuation Guide instructs the appraiser to add at least 7% to the value for the Sun Roof Edition. In my experience, I find that the Sun Roof Edition is quite rare. Recently, I visited a large Volkswagen show. Of the several 1967 Beetles present, not one of them was a Sun Roof!
To give added air-flow, this Beetle has Pop-outs with new rubber seals.
Note that the Headliner is stretched nicely. However, the Headliner does have some staining in places.
Some months ago, Greg had the Front Suspension completely rebuilt by a qualified shop. That includes the Steering Box, Tie Rod Ends, Steering Damper and Ball Joints. Greg tells me that the car drives like new—nice and tight. After the work had been done, Greg and I chatted on the phone. He was so excited to tell me about how the car drives now that this work has been accomplished.
The Transmission was rebuilt sometime in the past before Greg became the car’s owner. Recently a mechanic checked the Transmission and reported that it is working perfectly.
A Fuel Filter has been installed behind the driver’s rear wheel
The Uncut Dash is adorned with a working German Wolfsburg III Blaupunkt Radio. This is a great rare accessory which also will help this car to stand out at the shows.
Here are some of the other 1967 Features which are Original Equipment to this Beetle. All of these not only add good value to the vehicle—they represent parts which, in today’s market, can be extremely difficult and expensive to source:
- Steering Wheel and Horn Ring
- Seats
- H0 Engine—a BIG Plus
- Fuel Pump
- Generator
- Distributor
- Lobster Claw Seat Belts with an Accessory which gives the original belt system a third
- Point
- Front Fenders–oh, yes!
- Original Owner’s Manual
Feast your eyes on the stunning features of this delightful car:
Greg enjoys outings in his Beetle. You will too!
Who’s going to make an offer?
Comments are closed.
Such a rad car! What’s the switch that’s stashed in the glove box? Just curious…
Hello, Ryan. Thank you for responding. I checked with the Owner. He tells me that this is a by-pass switch to the radio. The wiring can be re-routed to match the original dealership installation configuration. jay
A gem. This one is going to sell fast.
If Jay thinks it’s a “nice” car, it id [probably a beautiful automobile!
Beautiful car
Jay knows his stuff.
Love the car!
I love it. I agree with Eric, a gem for sure, & Jay’s endorsement makes it ! You’re right this one wont be on the market for long. I love the color! (Wonder why?)
An absolutely stunning example of a stock sunroof 67′ Beetle! WOW!!!
Agree!
How Rare are the 67 sunroofs?
Hello, Jeffrey….You ask a question which cannot be answered exactly. We would need to learn how many 1967 Sun Roof Editions were manufactured, and how many of these actually came to the USA–since we are talking about the Deluxe ’67 cars here. Then, given almost 50 years of rust, accidents, fires, etc., we would need to come to a percentile which represents attrition. A friend did a year-long study which shows that running, driving and inspectionable and registered Beetles are a very small percentage of those originally imported into the USA. Taking from that, we’d have to say that we’re probably talking about single-digit percentage numbers of Sun Roofs left–as I say in running, driving, etc. condition (we’re not considering here wrecked cars, cars lying in backyards, etc., etc.). Jeffrey, here is the figure for 1967 Beetle Convertibles which were imported to VW Dealerships in the USA for that Model Year: USA registration for 1967 Convertible Beetles only was: 6,349. Fast-forward 50 years and imagine all of the bad things that happen to cars over the years. We arrived at a figure of possibly under 100 Convertible 1967 Beetles in restored condition (watch what I say here–“restored condition”). No one knows for sure because there is no Registry solely for Convertible ’67s (of which I am aware, anyway). We have no figures for how many Sun Roofs were imported for ’67. Certainly not many. 50 years later I think that you can guess that, indeed, the Sun Roof Edition is a rare Beetle. I go out on a stout limb here–when I say that, in my opinion, the Sun Roof is more rare than the Convertible. jay
Good opinions, thanks.
I clearly remember Jay Chamberlain who owned (Tucson) Pima Volkswagen circa 1969 encouraging me Not to buy a sunroof because they all leaked and problematic. Bought the sedan instead.
What a shame. In 1977, I purchased a Sun Roof. It needed to have the seals replaced. I bought
new seals and, with minimal skills, was able to replace the seals. The roof never leaked. jay
Jeffrey…I forgot to add that there are drain tubes in a Sun Roof Beetle which help to funnel water away.
Neglect (bad seals plus not keeping the drain tubes cleared) could result in leakage. jay
Jay, I always wondered where that water would go! Drain tubes explains it.
So, Mike B.. What’s your offer going to be? :)
My 1967 sunroof Beetle in L282 Lotus white is similar to Greg’s. I ordered it from the factory without rear popouts because I was concerned about security when I parked on campus (I put window channel locks on my quarter panels.). It is covered in my garage and gets out and about 2-3 times a month. While it is numbers matching, the HO case has had its internals redone a couple of times (260K on the ODO), and I’ve added external oil cooler and filter, front disc brakes and 3-point seat belts. Front windshield replaced when I had the paint redone and all rubber seals replaced (with German rubber) in 1991. All other windows are orig, The sunroof works great. Do I love to drive it? Hell yes. Would I ever sell it? Hell NO!
Gee whiz…. Let’s moderate. Replace those “H” words with “emphatically.” Apologies from the ol’ geezer.
Hello, David…I love it! When are you going to get with Eric to do a Featured Article??? I wish that I never had sold my SunRoof! Keep enjoying that Beetle! jay
I didn’t realize the rear pop out windows were an option.
Todd..Looking at the Technical Section for Type 1 on thesamba.com, under M-Codes, I find #93, which reads: Hinged Quarter Windows. It then notes that this M-Code was found written in crayon (grease pen) on VINs 113, 114, 117 and 118 Beetles. We know that VINs other than these received “Hinged Quarter Windows” but apparently these are the only ones, so far, which have been reported. The :”Birth Certificate” of a given Beetle may register whether a car originally came with the “pop-out” windows, or not. I wonder how some cars were designated to receive the pop-outs? Maybe someone will respond to this and give us more information. BTW–originally, (and in the Owner’s Manuals/Workshop Manuals), these were called “throw-out” windows. I don’t know when they came to be popularly called “pop-outs”. jay
Jay, my first ’67 had them, but my current one does not. I suspect it may have had them but were removed. I hope to have them installed at some point.
My ’67 came without pop-outs. I found a nice set and installed them. The holes for the latches are pre-drilled, so installation is fairly simple. I opened the pop-outs the other day when Neva and i drove to a VW show. Certainly gives more ventilation. It would be nice to have a Sun Roof, too boot! jay
Jay, you are right about the ventilation, I can tell a big difference. Two weeks ago, I had my daily driver in the shop, so I drove my Beetle to work for a couple days. The temperature was almost 100 and extremely humid (me in dress shirt and tie), and I was wishing I had those windows!
Todd. PO windows were a dealership add on. This is why you see some cars without them. They are very easy to install.
I received the following regarding Pop-Out Windows from David Brown, retired Volkswagen trained Parts Manager: “Hinged Quarter Windows” or pop-outs were mostly installed at the Dealer. Most likely Sales (Department) spec’d them when they ordered cars from the factory. I’m not sure how all this was done as I had little knowledge in the Sales Department’s end. Pop-outs were available from any VW Parts Department under Part # 111 898 105 A. This was a complete Kit for ’65 and later Sedans and included all parts necessary to make the swap. I never heard the term “throw-out windows”, that’s a new one.”
(I add a note here: See page 12 of the USA Deluxe Model 1967 Beetle Owner’s Manual, under #26. “Throwout windows–Optional rear opening throwout windows increase the ventilation of your Volkswagen. To open, loosen locking knob, pull knob to the rear and outward.”) jay salser
Wow, you folks are both entertaining and informative. I just returned from a cruise around the neighborhood, sunroof open (Pacific Beach/La Jolla in the San Diego area). While toodling along, I invariable encounter high end Porsches, Maseratis and even Ferraris. People don’t pay much attention to them because they are relatively common around these parts. But a ’67 sunroof Bug with the sun glistening off chrome and Lotus white paint…. Yep, smiles, waves and wistful glances, but you all know this phenomenon because you’ve experienced it. Keep ’em on the road!
David…I am soooo jealous! LOL Yes…someone is going to get this Lotus White Sun Roof and join you in enjoying that Cali sunshine! Wish that it could be me! Alas–my car stalls all are full. jay
Well,Jay, you know what they say:”there’s always room for one more.” Regarding a feature article, I have had a couple of articles about my Bug printed in “Vintage Voice,” the fine publication produced bi-monthly by VVWCA: one in the May/June 2011 issue (titled “Of Life, Love, and a VW”); the other in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue (titled “Survivors”). I’m sure you can find them on the VVWCA web site. Thanks for your kind comments.
I’m amazed this car is still for sale.
Us as well. I’m sure it will find a new home soon.
My ’67 Sunroof”s “Birth Certificate” has in the Extras/Options column: M 093 with hinged quarter windows. Hope this helps. Also, only 20% of 1967 Deluxe Beetle were sunroof cars…model 117. Model 113 is the hardtop sedan. People sometimes get confused with that number because it’s also the first three numbers of the VIN for 1967. But once again, a convertible is a model 157, a sunroof is a model 117 and the hardtop is a model 113. So, how many is 20% and how many survive today, ??? I’ve been to many shows and have owned my car for 16 years, I’m usually the only metal sunroof car, let alone a ’67. Hope this helps, I don’t chime in here to often lately.
Hello, Jody…I am so glad that you added to the discussion with some hard facts. The 20% factor is one I’ve been wanting to see for some time now. I agree–after 50 years, how many of that 20% could be left today. I’m assuming that the 20% figures into the worldwide production figure. I’m also guessing–at this point, that 20% of the worldwide production might not have come to the USA. Would this be a reasonable assumption, Jody? Get back to us if this is not a correct assumption, please. It’s always good to hear from you. We should hear from you more often! jay
Now offered at $10,500.
Yes Jay, 20% worldwide.
That’s what I suspected, Jody. In my opinion, the Sun Roofs and the Convertibles are on the “endangered list”. Actually–I’m surprised that Greg’s Sun Roof hasn’t sold. Sun Roofs come to sale rarely. I see that the price has been cut by $2975. jay
Well, I’m sure a few things could explain that. I think the color has a lot to do with value. Although it’s an original color combo, it doesn’t pop. If you read any of the top evaluation tools online they always state the vehicle has to have “the right colors”. It’s like curb appeal for a home.
A coworker of mine is the one who bought this car. She asked me to come take a look at it since I’ve owned about 40 ACVWs over the last 35 years. It really is a sweet little car. I told her I approve.
It’s a nice example of what a ’67 Beetle should be. We are happy to have been able to find it a new home.