1959 La Dawri Sebring

$19,800

This 1959 La Dawri Del Mar is mounted on a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle chassis.

Interesting tidbit: The Del Mar was a 1959 offering from LaDawri. People bought the body kits in 1959. The donor car is a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle as verified by the VIN, the engine, pan, etc. Even the rear portion of the body is still visible in the engine compartment. In the 1970’s we bought old Volkswagens for $50 and put cool bodies on them. In this case, it is our opinion that someone purchased a new 1959 VW and had this body installed. They are perfectly matched. LaDawri sought to provide bodies for this exact wheelbase. This may have been a factory built “proof of concept” exercise.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at one very cool 1959 La Dawri Sebring. Initially developed in British Columbia, Canada and built here in Long Beach and Los Alamitos, CA, in the middle of the So Cal hot rod scene. La Dawri produced a number of high quality bodies. We have recently purchased several cars from an estate sale including 5 La Dawris. These cars were stored for many years and are in remarkable condition for their age. Let’s check this one out!

Rarity

Custom bodies were all the rage in the late 50’s and 60’s. La Dawri became one of the largest manufacturers, offering bodies for a wide variety of donor chassis. This Sebring is the smaller body, intended for a 90 inch wheelbase. It is mated to a 1958 VW Beetle chassis. Take a look at the familiar VW pan layout and be sure to check the engine compartment where you can see the builders integrated part of the existing original body into the fiberglass.

The VIN places the original Beetle construction as late 1958 and this body was produced in 1959. It seems plausible that a new 1959 Beetle was converted either by La Dawri or an unknown builder with some pretty good skills.

Exterior.

Solid gelcoat over hand laid fiberglass. Fresh respray in Red

Engine