Marla, Plain and Small: I Drove the Beetle!

Monday, February 29, 2016

I Drove the Beetle!

Colin had a work trip out of state last week, so I headed down to my parents' this past weekend. The big news...

I drove the bug!

I didn't get to drive it very far since it's still being remodeled, but I got to go for a few blocks. My first car (which I still have) was a 1977 Triumph Spitfire. I'm so used to the clutch, gas, and shifting in the Spitfire that I'll have to adjust to the bug being a bit different.

On Friday we went by a shop that repairs VWs and other foreign cars. The owner and his wife let us check out their lot where they have cars they use for parts and cars that have just been sitting. They have one convertible that is sadly rusting away. Someone come save it! They also had some VW buses and Karmann Ghias (including a convertible...again, someone come save it!). A few pictures from my dad and I checking out the place are below.

Click photos to enlarge

After we left the garage, we headed over to the shop to start working on the bug. Dad had already removed the original, broken windshield. You'll see below the bug with the windshield out and then a few pictures later you'll see the new windshield installed. The original windshield had a chrome insert in the rubber. We didn't have the budget to do that with the new windshield. We still have the original one that Dad is going to hang up in the shop. We had someone come and professionally install the new windshield.

The rest of Friday and all of Saturday we tackled a variety of projects. We worked on installing bows to the original convertible frame. There were some bolts stuck in the frame that took quite a bit of time to remove before the bows could go on. We ordered synthetic bows from http://cip1.com. We still have the bow above the window to install, so it is not pictured.

Dad had already installed the carpet in the front of the car and put in the original seats. We got black plastic mats from Auto Zone to protect the carpet. I detailed the dash. Carpet still needs to be installed in the back and then the original bench seat will go in.