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OUR VW PAGE Pat and I also enjoy that neat little car--the Volkswagen (VW) Beetle. Maybe because it's from the era we grew up in, but we luv them Beetles. Our family has owned Beetles that were built in 1966 (now 65) all the way up to our current "new" 1999 red Beetle (now a 2006 New Beetle convertible). We have done everything from "just keep 'em running" all the way to full restorations! I just wish that today's Beetles were as easy to work on as the original Beetles were. Pat's son Chris, had an original 1966 VW beetle (see below). It operated on a 6 volt battery system which made the headlights run very dim. It was powered by a 1300cc motor. Chris and I worked many hours maintaining and trying to keep this Beetle in its original condition. My daughter Marlene, had several VW's while going to high school. The 69 that you see below was totally restored from the ground up by Pat, Marlene and myself. I totally stripped it to the bare bones, sandblasting or wire brushing each component as I went along. The floor was completely replaced with sheet metal that I welded in place. The motor was completely rebuilt--again by me. I did all of the painting in my spare time. Pat was responsible for the great interior modifications, including a new headliner and carpet. This was a Bug that anyone would have been proud to own. Pat had a 71 Karmen Ghia that ran, but needed restoration, that we never even got started on. I had a 74 Super Beetle that I ran back and forth to work in. They both ended up being sold to other VW enthusiasts. In the spring of 1999, I decided to buy Pat a new generation Beetle. While Pat was off showing our Bulldogs, in South Carolina, I went to the local dealership and made a deal on a nice tomatoe red Bug. Pat was totally surprised and loved it. It was the kind of car that you jumped into and was always happy. Alas, it proved to not be Bulldog friendly so it was replaced with a more practical mini-van. Along with the large Beetles, we have accumulated a pretty good collection of VW toys--over 300 pieces as a matter of fact! The VW's below are ones that we have either owned or seen in our travels. Click on the other VW links (coming soon) for additional photos. . VW NEWS FLASH!: On 8/26/06, we decided that we could no longer do without a Beetle in our lives. We are now the proud owners of a 2006, salsa red, 5 cylinder, 150HP, convertible, new generation Beetle. We are really excited about re-joining the Beetle family. Check the pictures below! December 2006: My passion for the early Beetle has been rekindled with the addition of our 2006 New Beetle convertible. I had been searching for the right car for over a month, when I ran across the below 66 on Ebay. I have looked at many local and out of state Beetles, but found the Ebay 66 to be what I think will be a nice addition to our family. After my bid was placed, there was some anxious waiting and a little after noon on the 18th, the car became ours. It is currently being transported to Texas. Updates will come later. Xmas Eve 2006: Chris had this idea to try & find the owner of his old 66 that he sold in 1994. Chris knew the general area that the fellow lived in, so we decided to give it a shot. We knew that the odds were not in our favor as 1: Did the new owner still live in the neighborhood? 2: Did he still own the car? and 3: If he still owned it, would it be outside where we could find it? Well....we were lucky on all counts. After driving around the neighborhood for about 5 minutes, Chris thought he recognized the area. After making a left hand turn, at the end of the cul-de-sac was Chris' old 66 (see pictures below). The owner remembered Chris' name and was as excited to see him as we were to see the car. It is a daily driver and plans are in the works to restore it. We tried to buy it back but the current owner had sentimental reasons why he wanted to keep it. At least we know it is still around. January 07, 2007: Chris has decided to re-enter the world of owning vintage VW's. In a span of two days, not only does Chris buy a 65 Beetle, but the following day buys a 67 Ghia. Both are projects with lots of work ahead. What a way to jump back into ACVW's! Photos coming soon. October 2007: I finally realized that my dream of owning a split widow Type 1 was probably not going to happen. So, I decided to add an oval window Type 1 to our collection of air-cooled VW's. After searching for several months, the right car came along. With the help of fellow VW enthusiast Brian Conklin, I found a pretty much untouched 1956 up in Minnesota. After a few days of hagling, I came to an agreement to purchase the car from Nick Summers. Brian and I left Houston on a Friday morning and drove 20 hours straight through to Minnesota (Brian doing most of the driving). With only 4 hours of sleep, we went to Nick's house on Saturday morning to pick up my new addition. I was not dissapointed! We hooked up the 56 to Brian's pickup and homeward bound we were. We split the return trip into two days of driving and arrived home on Sunday evening around 6PM. In all, the trip was over 2500 miles. Pictures of our 56 are below.
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