Is This Custom Beetle the Mix of Classic and Practical You Never Knew You Wanted?

Could this 1974 Volkswagen Beetle custom pick-up be the workhorse of your dreams, or a nightmare that induces screams?

The Volkswagen Beetle is undoubtedly acclaimed as one of the most successful cars of all time. Originally designed in the '30's, the Beetle did not see huge success until 1945 after production was put to a halt during the second world war. It was released in 1938 and has been a popular choice among the masses around the world virtually ever since.

It was not designed to be fast, luxurious or even good looking. This car was released to sell... to everybody. This car did just that- in fact, it did so well, that it is the longest running car with the most units produced on the same platform in existence.

Volkswagen was Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler's way of creating a car for the people- so it's no coincidence that Volkswagen directly translates to *drumroll* ...people's car. I'm sure there are many young girls out there that are unaware of this little fun fact, so they may feel different about their dreams of owning a pretty pink drop top after hearing it.

Any-who, this car was all about being cheap, simple and mass-produced. This was in order to create widespread automobile use on Germany's new road network.

The car in review today, however, is far from cheap, simple or mass-produced.

This 1974 Volkswagen Beetle is a custom wood bed pick-up truck built onto the platform of a 1970-1979 model Beetle.

All stock aside from the custom fabrications, this car offers a tiny 1600 cc engine producing about 60 hp. She has just over 120,000 original miles in all her decades of existence- pretty low.

Don't expect to find any of the luxuries we take for granted today in this thing... it is bare bones down to a T. The car drives, it stops, it turns and has lights. The owner added an aftermarket radio, but features stop there. You won't find power steering, power brakes, power windows, power locks, heat or air conditioning. Although we're used to the majority of these features today, they were all luxury options back in the mid-seventies- stuff you wouldn't find on a cheap, basic commuter car.

This specific model has the tiny engine paired to a four speed manual transmission- also a standard option for the time period. The owner claims the car is practically new with no noise, no squeals and no leaks.

Probably the greatest feature (aside from the obvious) is the fact that this car offers rear air shocks. As opposed to springs, air shocks work on a pressure mechanism to soften or stiffen your ride as you please- also the perfect choice to accompany a truck bed.

The truck bed is said to be completely custom built, implying it was designed and produced specifically for this car. Other than that and the restoration work done, it is said to be completely stock.

I'm not sure how much the bed effects displacement and power. The car is said to run and drive perfectly, but it's safe to assume you won't be getting anywhere too quickly.

He claims this little Bug wins trophies and is a huge head turner. While it is believable, that does not drive value- at least when it comes to capital, anyways.

All-in-all, we have a unique ride here. It is a stock, 40 something-year-old commuter car transformed into something a little special. At an asking price of $13,000 (or trade for something of equal value- whatever "equal" means in this case) does this classic VDub reel you in, or make you want to blackout off gin?

Let us know what you think!

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