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Air cooled Volkswagen appreciation thread

My father had a real early VW, a 47' if I remember right. I rode in the very back as a toddler, way before car seats for kids.
 
I still carry heavy nostalgia for my '66 green and white van. I had it my first year at college in Winter Park, Fl. Among adventures were the 13 people trips to New Smyrna Beach where smoke was pouring out all the vent window, the good kind of smoke. There was the trip to Sarasota with two girls and our very close camp out in the thicket of Australian pines at Lido Beach Key, There was a time when my girlfriend from Pa. came to visit and we slept in the van in a parking lot at a local park only to be awakened by multiple flashlights and a stern policeman's voice. There was also the tragic night when I drank way too much at a wedding reception and rolled the van on a sharp corner and killed it. I had to have some stitches. I was so relaxed that I was not injured in the roll, but tried to get out with the car on it's side. I opened the door and, as I was getting out, the door closed and slammed me in the head. That is why I needed stitches.

In the list of cars I have had in my lifetime, the van and a late '80s Toyota Corolla were my two favorites.

The motor on my van had a habit of stripping out head bolts, causing blow by. After that happened twice, the third time I decided to get a new engine. The new engine, with installation, cost a total of $415. After the crash, my girlfriend's father bought my scrap van from me for the motor. He got a great deal.

I'll never forget that car.
 
I had a '71 Super Beetle in high school (in the early 90s), I loved that car.... I'd love another one someday to mess with and drive around with the kids.
 
El Pee said:
I had a '71 Super Beetle in high school (in the early 90s), I loved that car.... I'd love another one someday to mess with and drive around with the kids.
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I did just the opposite, parked the VW's or sold them off when the kids arrived. No way was I gonna drive them around in them.

Just a safety thing for me.


Barney
 
I'm not a fan on modern VWs at all, but I wouldn't mind having an air cooled Beetle to tinker with someday. Maybe build a Herbie replica, since I loved those movies as a kid and still watch them once in a while. I think decal kits are actually available to do it.
 
I loved my 69 Westfalia camper bus. I bought it with 70K on the odometer and since the cylinder 3 valves were toast, my dad and I rebuilt the engine in the garage. I drove it down Baja to La Paz, across to the mainland and meandered back up to Calif, all over the Golden State and even a run up to the old Olympia brewery in Washington. After putting another 70K on it with no sign of engine wear, I sold it for $500 more than I paid. In some ways I wish I still had it, but I'm just remembering the fun stuff.

I also had a 63 single cab pickup (6 volt) that was fun, but that 36 hp engine didn't have much pep (also rebuilt that one with my dad after he threw a rod). The bed side panels dropped to create a flat bed for loading, which was handy in a pinch for my job at the moving company. The pass-through storage compartment between the cab and gas tank was also cool. I bought it from a friend of my dad's -- he used to take it to Baja and claimed you could hide a case of tequila if you removed the sheet metal hiding the gas tank and packed the bottles carefully.
 
leesonic said:
I thought it was time we had a thread for air cooled Volkwagens on here. Whether you own(ed) one or not, if you've always had an admiration for the Beetle/Bug, Type 2, Ghia, Type 3, or any other air cooled VW, post here.

Here's one that I've just been looking at again. I bought a book back in the later 1980s called "Air Cooled Volkwagens" by Colin Burnham. Inside was one of the most beautiful looking VWs I had ever seen, a Bug called "Peaches and Scream". Just this week, I was talking to a friend about an old clock he had from an aircraft, and I remembered this Bug that had cockpit style gauges. Just a simple Google search found some pictures, and brought back memories of looking at that book. I think this car was a $20000 car back then.

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The more recent pictures of it seem to show a lower stance. Personally, I'm not a fan of "if it's low, then even lower must be better" trend that seems to be prevalent today. I like it as it was, just a little lower at the front.

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Lee.
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OMG that ENGINE.

2011etec said:
Dumbest thing you could do back in the sixties was buy your daughter a van rkgren1,lol.
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My sister rolled our 'microbus' over three times in rapid succession. She was chasing her bf in an MGB on a curvy road. He got her out, initially unconscious but without damage thanks to wearing her seat belt.
 
Apparently my dad had the right kind of wife..

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My first car was a 62 Beetle I bought for $50 and rebuilt the engine for another $53 when I was 18 in 1971. One year later my first real job was as a mechanic at a VW dealership. I moved on from there to two Porsche/Audi dealerships then made the rounds as a service tech at local GM brands before becoming the General Manager of a Midas franchise which led to me hating the auto business and moving into the Pro audio business.
 
2011etec said:
When my dad bought the vw station wagon in the 60,s they gave him a book with factiods in it and also lots of cute jokes about the bug .Anybody have or remember it?
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Was it this? "Think Small- What's so Funny About a Volkswagen?"

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