The use of air-cooled VWs as promotional vehicles and shop haulers is hardly a new concept. But it does strike me that their presence is shrinking as a generational shift likely means the use of a familiar, smile-inducing vehicle means less and less to those who were born many years after its introduction. I hope cars like this 1968 VW Beetle here on eBay with a custom truck bed and front end never fully disappear from the roads, and this one looks like a deserving candidate for restoration.

This particular Bug has a fiberglass truck body on the rear and the popular 40s Ford nose kit on the front. Personally, I like the Rolls-Royce nose for more of the laugh factor, but this will do as well. The interior looks OK for the age but far from perfect; whatever the restoration entails, I hope those door panels survive. I’d swap in a more period correct head unit and also go back to a stock shifter rod and knob. The steering wheel can stay, however.

I did some digging but can’t find out much about this old VW tuning shop. I’m assuming they did the original fiberglass work, which the seller says is deteriorating in places. With the bed in place, I wonder how you gain access to the engine? This is a critical question, especially since the seller indicates motor mount replacement should be a priority for the next owner. The last time I saw vintage air-cooled Bugs being used as company vehicles was in the Caribbean for the Truly Nolen pest company, which used yellow Beetles dressed up like a nuisance mouse.

From this angle, I actually like the original steel wheels and hubcaps better than the white rally-style wheels. If it were mine, I’d have some widened steelies custom made with color matched hubcaps for an OEM+ look, while cleaning up the custom body work and perhaps incorporating some sort of rear apron to finish it off (or otherwise eliminate some of the wheel gap out back). This Beetle would make an excellent shop vehicle or parts hauler and I hope it returns to those duties soon – how would you use it?