Provenance — Lake Tahoe to the Pacific Northwest

The car is originally from South Shore Lake Tahoe, California. It eventually made its way north to Sequim, Washington, where it's believed to have received a respray in its original Poppy Red and an interior refresh — possibly not entirely correctly — under an earlier owner.

Carl, a Sequim-based enthusiast who'd known the car for decades, bought it in 2013. Working the case and chassis stampings, he determined the engine case was stamped within about two weeks of the chassis — close enough to be correct for the period, though it can't be certified as numbers-matching. Carl rebuilt the engine, including a big-bore upgrade to nearly 1500cc, and refreshed the interior correctly this time.

On the record: all-original sheet metal — this car has never had bodywork, a rarity for a 60-year-old convertible. Engine case stamped within roughly two weeks of the chassis date; correct for the period, not certifiably matching.

Rusty bought the car from Carl in 2021. It was transported by trailer and garaged that same day, and has lived in a dry, insulated, temperature-controlled garage since — engine at well under 50 miles since Carl's rebuild at the time of purchase. The whole car has been reconditioned to the point that it runs and looks nearly new.

Fun fact: the Beetle and the 356 share more than a driveway. Ferdinand Porsche's design firm developed the original Beetle in the 1930s for the German government, and the early 356 — particularly the 356/2 — borrowed several of its components directly from the Beetle: the air-cooled, rear-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive, and independent rear suspension. The 356's engine started as a modified version of the Beetle's, with more displacement and better carburetion, before Porsche's own engineering took it somewhere entirely its own.

The car today

Top down, Poppy Red, and out at shows — a driver, not a trailer queen, even with the mileage kept low.

1965 VW Beetle Cabriolet, front three-quarter view, top down 1965 VW Beetle Cabriolet, side profile
Front three-quarter and side profile — Poppy Red, top down.
Front end detail, chrome and paint Bumper and grille detail
Original sheet metal, close up — no bodywork has ever been done on this car.
Beetle dashboard and gauge cluster Rear three-quarter view, top down
The dash Carl refreshed correctly, and the rear three-quarter view.
1965 VW Beetle Cabriolet parked, top down 1965 VW Beetle Cabriolet at a car show
Editorial note: this page follows the same rule as everything else on 356workshop — facts are confirmed against the physical car and owner's account before they're published.