In the 1960's and 70's the VW Bug was king. Everybody had one or wanted one or slugged their neighbor every time they saw one ("slug bug"). We have owned ours since my oldest daughter Sara was 2 years old and now her son Benjamin is starting kindergarten. We drove it for years - my mom and dad pulled it behind their motor home - my brother-in-law Dale drove it after he graduated from medical school. He was the only doctor at Tucson General Hospital to park an old beat up VW in the parking lot. From humble beginnings . . . . .
I bought the car in 1976 from a young couple, both were school teachers. They purchased it in Germany and drove it around Europe before shipping it back to the states. It is a true German 1965 VW. When we got her, she hardly understood a word of English.
After faithful service, the poor thing sat in my construction yard for several years and was vandalized by the neighborhood youth club. They broke every piece of glass, including the dash gauges and head lights. It then sat next to the house, covered with a rotten table cloth, in an attempt to keep the rain out. The floor-boards were rotted and the hood looked like an elephant stepped on it. It would not run because the old gas clogged up the fuel line. The tires were rotted and the seats were shot. This bug was pretty much a wreck but she is our wreck. We never named it, but she has a lot of history with this family.
All of my kids drove it as their first car; passed down from daughter to daughter. They learned how to drive behind it's steering wheel. Sara was rear-ended once on Oracle Road. Amy drove her after we had her completely restored the first time. After the restoration, the first thing Amy did was scrape the drivers side along something. Someone at the High School sat on the hood and caved it in - at least that is the story we are living with. When Cody drove it, an elderly lady hit her in the right rear fender while parking at the Tucson Mall. The lady admitted that it was her fault and asked us to take it to her body guy - "he will fix it for you". That was the last we heard from her.
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| Sara driving - Amy in passenger - Cody in back - I'm not sure about the 4th passenger |
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| Amy just after the first restoration - note the license plate, AMY222 |
For the past several months it has been my project to restore the VW'b to it's original glory. As soon as it is complete, I will start in on our 1953 Chevrolet pickup, which has been in the family even longer than the VW. I am currently going through a learning curve as I transform from a retired contractor to a paint and body man. I think I am getting the hang of it although, as with everything, it is two steps forward and one back. There are a lot of dents to practice on. The car is totally apart and most of the big problems have been dealt with. Finally there is a good coat of primer covering everything, including me. I have block sanded the entire car and hope to shoot a coat of color real soon.
Amy and Jason live in Oceanside, California and close to their home is a VW parts warehouse. They sell everything for bugs from brakes to interiors. It will soon be "show ready" and worth about 1/10 the money we'll have in it - not counting my time.
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| I have a work area behind the garage that is hidden from view. I'm trying to keep the neighborhood beautiful. |
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| The front trunk hood (the engine is in the rear) has been my biggest challenge. I tried to locate one in better condition but gave up and started pounding out the elephant dents. She's starting to come around. |
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