OK, this one’s a little manic—I’m having a moment. I came across a 1972 VW Super Beetle for sale locally for $4,500. Here it is.
97,000 miles. Since selling my late, lamented 1966 Plymouth Belvedere, Francine—I sold her to buy my mother a car—I haven’t had a classic, and I miss it. Having an air-cooled VW is a dream from boyhood.
Here’s Francine on a rainy day. She had 46,000 miles on her when I bought her. 225 slant six with the Super Six upgraded carb, three-on-the-tree manual column shift. Nearly mint condition:
A few cars before Francine I had the Dart. A 1975 forest green four-door with a peeling white vinyl top I bought from a farmer for $500. The air conditioning worked like a freezer! Boy, I loved that car. It looked like this, only more worn out. I tooled around the county as the cops and crime reporter in this baby.
Anyway, back to the VW. I texted the seller, and after confirming I’d reached the right number, he/she just stopped responding to inquiries about a meetup, so I’m frustrated. Meanwhile, I made phone friends with the local classic VW repair guy, who’s a delight, and asked me to email him to give me an opinion. I’ll definitely be getting to know him better.
This is not a justifiable expenditure. I’m a frugal Yankee and the safety of money in the bank means more to me than having new cars, fancy clothes, or expensive things. But right now I’m really feeling it. I want, and I want bad. I’m afraid I think this means I’m going to buy a classic VW soon; if not this Bug, something else.
Basically I’m making myself drunk on fantasies. One of my first memories of cars, one of my first memories period, is being in that 1967 cream-colored beetle. I imprinted on the distinctive smell of the vinyl interior and the chirping exhaust.
Before that, my mother drove me around from infanthood in her red beetle.
I had my first "car accident" in a Bug. I was allowed to play in the front seat of the 67 and pretend I was driving while it was parked. But I knocked the stick into neutral and rolled a few feet downhill and hit the Wagoneer at the bottom of the drive. My mother said I screamed like it was a 200-foot rollercoaster drop and exaggerated the whole thing (she was surely right; that sounds like me). But I can still see the ground sliding backwards while I looked down at the running board thinking "oh shit."
My stepfather used to cuss and fight with that Bug. So many weekends he'd be on his knees at the engine, pulling and shouting, "God damned son of a bitch!" He could never gap the points right. A dyke taught me how to do that about 10 years ago, and I found it easy. Maybe he'd just had too many beers too early!
When I was a kid, VWs were everywhere, especially in Southern California. Everyone had them. Or Squarebacks, or Fastbacks (it's those I really want). They came in candy colors, and you knew them blocks away from the distinctive sound.
For kids who love cars—and oh, I loved them—the late 70s and early 80s were a great era.
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Update:
OK, I went to see the 72 VW bug. Now I have tonight to worry and cogitate over whether to buy it. Weigh in if you like.
-97,500 miles. Engine has been rebuilt he says.
-I've gone over it visually. No major rust on undercarriage. Paint is good, small chips along joint seams, some wear that you'd expect.
-Drove it, engine sounds good and puts out the power you'd expect from this car.
-Clutch feels brand new
-Biggest problem--there's so much play in the shifter it's absurd. Going from 1st to 2nd I ended up grinding on reverse. Hard to find gears.
-I *think* the shifter just needs bushings put in, but cannot confirm until I get an inspection.
-Horn doesn't work, and the steering wheel needs to go. It's a teeny tiny sport steering wheel, not stock, and with non power steering it's a bitch.
The seller bought it for his wife, but she doesn't like it because it's not pristine. He tried to sell it last year for $7,000, got no bites. Now the price is $4,500.
Seller is willing to get a Uhaul trailer with me and tow it behind his Ram to our local classic VW place for me to have it inspected.
I don't know yet what I"m going to do.
UPDATE TO UPDATE: I told the seller I want to tow it in for an inspection. If it passes and needs work less than $1,000, I will buy it.
My first car was a 1974 Ford Pinto of the yes, it might explode if rear-ended, variety; but man, I would have given my right arm for a Datsun 240z. I admit, Herbie, the Lovebug, tweaked my interest in the VW, but it was a 240z that captured my desire.
My brother had a Torino GT that he did some amazing work on. He doted on that car. And when he wrecked it after having a few beers, stupidly leaning over to grope on the floorboard for an 8 track tape and running into a parked car, my dad had it sit in our driveway on blocks in all its front-end mashed glory for about 3 months. My brother about cried every time he left the house.