Hey,
mwilliamshs, I dug around a bit.
I used to read the VW enthusiast magazines and I remember reading ads for Coker Tire, which specializes in niche market tires. They're good about carrying modern radial tires, but in the tall/skinny sizes that look right on classic VW Beetles.
Check it out:
https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styl...f560-3440.html
165sr14. According to the spec sheet it's two inches greater in diameter than your stockers, so you drop about 5-10% on your engine revs. You would also pick up an inch of ride height, so that's something to be aware of. Coker has other skinny sizes available if you want to consider them, weird sizes that Tire Rack just doesn't, and their prices appear to be comparable.
A manny tranny swap would open the hypermiling doors very, very wide, but if you're seriously planning selling the car on at the end of the summer, forget it. You'd lose a lot of potential buyers without the auto.