Future of ‘double-fronted Beetle’ on Route 66 up in the air

Patrick Varine
Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 10:30 a.m. | Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 10:30 a.m.

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Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review

The double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle mounted atop Excel Auto Body’s sign in Salem has been a landmark along Route 66 for more than five decades.

Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review

Excel Auto Body owner Art Furney looks through his office window at a decal of the double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle has marked his shop’s location since 1968.

Courtesy of Art Furney

This photo shows the replacement double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle that Furney and shop workers created in 1994.

Courtesy of Art Furney

Excel Auto Body owner Art Furney finishes mounting a replacement of the original double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle in spring 1994.

Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review

The double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle mounted atop Excel Auto Body’s sign in Salem has been a landmark along Route 66 for more than five decades.

Courtesy of Art Furney

The Excel Auto Body sign sits along Route 66 amid scaffolding, as the replacement for the double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle is mounted in spring 1994.

Courtesy of Art Furney

Marsha Carido of Murrysville poses for two different photos: on the left, she is 3 years old in 1994 when the replacement Volkswagen was mounted at Excel Auto Body. On the right, she is 19 years old, when the replacement was being re-mounted after repair work.

Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review

The double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle mounted atop Excel Auto Body’s sign in Salem has been a landmark along Route 66 for more than five decades.

With the exception of a few years in the early 2010s, the double-fronted Volkswagen Beetle, painted Hawaiian blue, has been a constant landmark along Route 66 in Salem Township.

Created by Excel Auto Body’s original owner, Ed Britz, in 1970, it has been repaired and replaced over the years, and now its future, much like the car itself, is up in the air.

Al Furney, who grew up in Delmont and bought Excel from Britz in 1979 after working there for two years, is heading into retirement. On Wednesday, employees from Bill Anderson Auctioneers were showing more than 264 lots that were part of an online auction that ends at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The lots, however, do not include the car, which has a long history.

“Ed built the original in 1970, two years after opening the shop,” Furney said. “In 1980, we restored it while it was on the pole, replacing some parts and giving it a new paint job.”

Just like any other car that sits outside, the double-fronted VW is affected by the Western Pennsylvania weather.

“It gets a lot of salt from the road, especially from big trucks,” Furney said. “The salt spray just goes up and that’s what really causes problems.”

In 1994, Furney and shop workers purchased all the new parts they’d need to build a replacement.

“We were able to switch it in a week and hardly anyone even noticed,” he said.

In 2010, it was taken down for what Furney thought would be a quick round of maintenance, which eventually turned into a three-year hiatus before hoisting it back atop the sign in 2013.

Furney said he couldn’t imagine the property without it.

“That was our signature,” he said, “Everybody knew us from that car.”

The car is even listed on RoadsideAmerica.com, an online compendium of “offbeat tourist attractions.”

Furney has his own offbeat plans for retirement.

“I’ve been a partner in a hunting lodge in Alaska — Alaskan Adventures — for a lot of years,” he said. “I run the hunting division, so I’m planning on spending some more time doing that.”

As for the car, it was sold separately from the auction along with the buildings and property and purchased by Steve Hoy, owner of Hoy Concrete Construction in Export.

“I just have it up for a lease right now,” Hoy said. “I’m trying to find another body shop to go in there, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

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