I had a green one in 1967 and loved it.
Never ever.
Even without having owned one, I get the message being delivered here.
Grandfather, uncle, and father all had these while I was growing up in the 80s.?ÿ Even pretty good in snow with studded tires, so they say.?ÿ During that era there were always 3 or 4 running models floating around among them, with a boneyard of 6 or 7 parts cars along the edge of my grandfather's hay field.?ÿ My folks seemed to be partial to the sunroof models.
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Love them bugs.?ÿ I've owned a '61, '64, '65 and '67.?ÿ This was all before 1985 when my wife trashed the last one ('67) in a ditch.?ÿ I've rebuilt more vee-dub motors on a kitchen table than anyone else I know.
My favorite VW story:?ÿ I had myself, two kids, a wife, and all our luggage...along with Christmas presents stuffed into an all original '64 bug (Bahama Blue).?ÿ We were headed out to celebrate Christmas with relatives in West Texas.?ÿ Somewhere around Anson I was bushwhacked by the Texas Highway Patrol armed with a radar device that I'm sure hadn't been calibrated since Ruby shot Oswald.
The trooper said I was doing 85 in a 60.?ÿ I told him that car couldn't do over 75 on a downhill with only one passenger.?ÿ He followed me to the county sheriff's office in Anson about a mile away. The general consensus was that since I wasn't a local fixture of the community I would have to post a bond in the amount of the fine to get out of there, rather than just receive a ticket.
I told them to lock us all up since I didn't have the money.?ÿ My wife didn't have a DL so we were all going to have to be wards of the county over the holidays.?ÿ In a heartbeat my wife and two kids started squalling and screaming about being "put in jail".?ÿ The constabularial personnel quickly rethought their position and issued me a citation...once I had provided them with contact info for a relative that actually resided in Texas.
I wanted some type of documentation that car was actually doing 85 mph.?ÿ I never got it.?ÿ ?ÿ
My parents gifted me a 1974 Wolfenstein edition with a hand-crank sunroof when I was in high school. Great car!
I saw one or two in Barrow AK in 1969. Standard practice there was to fit them with fat aircraft tires from a DC-3. Then they could navigate gravel beaches and tundra, and ford small streams.
On another occasion I saw one unloaded from a 737, where it had been carried crosswise in a cargo compartment forward of the passenger cabin.
I've owned many and still have a 79 Convertible!?ÿ?ÿ
@wendell?ÿ ?ÿa Wolfenstein edition would be ironic, since that game was about fighting Nazis!?ÿ ?ÿ ;)?ÿ I'm sure you meant Wolfsburg.
owned several including a '64 camper.
@wendell?ÿ ?ÿa Wolfenstein edition would be ironic, since that game was about fighting Nazis!?ÿ ?ÿ ;)?ÿ I'm sure you meant Wolfsburg.
No, I definitely remember fighting Nazis in that thing. Exhilarating! ??????????????
I lost all interest in them riding with my cousin, the heater was not working, we went a block, got out scrapped the window, went a couple of blocks, got out, repeat. Then got into one with a friend of mine, heater wasn't working, same thing, finally years later in one and the heater wasn't working. That was enough for me to not want any of them in this climate.?ÿ
Best go-kart I ever drove on a US highway... wasn't mine but, I definitely understand the original post. Good times! If the 'leatherman' multi-tool had been invented in the 50s/ 60s, I think they would have been standard issue and served as a comprehensive toolbox.
Bugs and their "heaters" had their problems.
The '64 I owned had a heater knob that sat next to the gear-shift column on the floor.?ÿ If you twisted it one way it opened the vents and air warmed by the exhaust manifold was suppose to flow through the system...the defroster was of course the last vent in the system and never worked.
That knob got a little hard to turn so I decided to take it apart.?ÿ It was an innocent enough looking contraption.?ÿ I bet it had 175 moving parts and was designed by an old nazi hopped up on amphetamine.?ÿ It was impossible to reassemble.?ÿ The rest of the time I owned that car it had a small pair of vice-grips clamped onto the heater vent cables...?ÿ
Nope
But I've owned two Jettas, a Rabbit, and a VW pickup.?ÿ Had a cap for the pickup, mattress in the back, and drove it all over the eastern half of the country.?ÿ It died in Michigan, so I went to a bar to think, and ended up giving it to some locals, and hitched back home
Bugs and their "heaters" had their problems.
The '64 I owned had a heater knob that sat next to the gear-shift column on the floor.?ÿ If you twisted it one way it opened the vents and air warmed by the exhaust manifold was suppose to flow through the system...the defroster was of course the last vent in the system and never worked.
That knob got a little hard to turn so I decided to take it apart.?ÿ It was an innocent enough looking contraption.?ÿ I bet it had 175 moving parts and was designed by an old nazi hopped up on amphetamine.?ÿ It was impossible to reassemble.?ÿ The rest of the time I owned that car it had a small pair of vice-grips clamped onto the heater vent cables...?ÿ
The engine is in the back which has it's advantages such as traction, but the people are up front who need the heat off the engine, it was always an issue that reared it's ugly head at -30f heading to school for the day on the snowy streets. The bug would ride over them well, but you couldn't see where you're going. My cousin did many mornings with his head stuck out the window, imagine how that felt below zero. For some reason he loved that car.
I went to a bar to think,
I'm going to have to use that line in the future!
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Their commercials were avant-garde and funny too. ?????ÿ
This is a bit different than the original but I want one.
Where was the one with Wilt Chamberlain?
Those were outstanding commercials, by the way.?ÿ Was not impressed, though, by the "simple" farmers and the simple to drive car.?ÿ Dang near ran over a chicken!
