What got you interested in VW's?

[Ruffuss]

;D I've seen this on other forums and thought it would be fun here. Although Ruffuss has an interesting story, he isn't what
got me started in VW's.
My first car out of drivers training was a 51' Chevy Deluxe coupe with a 375 horse 327, while pretty fast, it wasn't very reliable. While it was down one time and a 16 year old was without wheels, a neighbor gave my ole man a 59' euro rag top, he couldn't get started and didn't want(to pay to repair) it. So I started messing with it and got it running/driving. Found it was easy to work on and fun to drive, like I drive everything HARD!! also found the insurance was a lot more reasonable then the hot rod Chevy with a history of tickets. I could also drive it to work all week for very little gas, so not like the Chevy. Drove that VW every where all the time and in all weather. Beat on it, wrecked it made it into a Baja, beat on it some more and it kept going. Finally had an engine fire and burnt it up. I have had many since. Many at a time. I've also had my fair share of hot rod V8's but always come back to the aircooled VW.
What's your story??
Kenn

[MadMike]

Traded My Hodaka Wombat for a dune buggy because my knee blew out ,Early to mid 70's I remember My best friend and I getting chased by the Village Cop in a blizzard we never did get caught ;D ;D ;D We chopped it up the next week and I bought a shortback Chenowth kit He welded up for me

[dubfreak1]

My blood in the late 60's didn't look like normal corpuscles, they were all mini bow-ties! If wasn't Chevy, it was nothing. When Beth and I got married I had a 69 Nova V8 with a M22 rock crusher close ratio trans and a 62 Chevy II 4dr 6 stick that I had rehab-ed from a $50 wonder. Beth had never driven in the winter much and I was worried about her getting stuck. My Dad used to have a 1960 Bug and I knew how good their traction was in the snow. Found a 1968 Bug and bought it for Beth. After about 20 miles into the trip home from picking it up, my corpuscles started changing. I'd always been polarized towards sports cars, but never owned one. Driving the VW was a lot more like a sports car than my 62 Deuce. While I still like Chevys, the change was irreversible. I still think an air cooled VW is a sports car too!

[VDub63 ( Steven )]

Hmm... Mainly my father. He had always had a dune buggy and the Baja ( the one that got smashed ). I would drive the buggy at Silver lake on the dunes at 12. Then bought numorous to fix and sell. I was told to tear a motor apart ( or at least that is what I heard ). He bought a 66 for my sister's first car, she didn't want it. He had a black Baja in the yard, I started messing with it. Got it running and put it in first gear and stalled it. I kept practicing and eventually got it out to the road turned around and put it in the driveway backwards. I was asked when he got home from work if I had moved it I told him yup. I bought my '63 in '98, dad went with me. That car will NEVER leave me. We have started Addy early she has a '62 that is currently appart to put pans, heater channels, and any other rust.

[gokart]

I was hooked from day 1. I was brought home from the hospital in my Dad's '69. Here I am at 2 years old.



I grew up in that car and learned to drive in it. He still has it.

[ed]

Until last November, I've never owned a VW, but I was around them quite a bit when I was younger.

My grandfather had a great little Type 3 fastback. I loved seeing him drive up in it, this old German guy with the driving hat and wool coat. He and the car seemed made for each other.

VWs were all over the place when I was young. Neighbors and school friends had Beetles and Buses, and my dad's best friend had an older Bus camper for fishing trips. One of my neighborhood buddies got a Karmann Ghia, and we used to work on it and run around all over the place in it. I learned how to drive a stick in it -- just got in the driver's seat and did it, no problem. Surprised him and another friend that I could do that. (Surprised me too, but I didn't let them know that.) Oddly, that Ghia also taught me how to remove ticks -- after we broke down on the side of the highway, and had to wade through some tall grass to get to a phone.

Later on, another friend had a Bus that he used for his plant business. I could never drive that thing; the stick just sorta moved in all directions, and only he knew the approximate location of each gear.

I've always wanted to restore a car, but the cost of parts and stuff seemed pretty far out of reach. Then I thought, hey, why not a VW? Parts were fairly inexpensive, and there are still plenty of them around. So here I am. ;D

[ghiastein]

My Addiction started from my Father a BIG Chevy Guy. I grew up in Chevy's numerous hours were spent in the garage with him helping (I was the tool hander). I remember him building engines and installing them into what ever Chevy was around. Nova's, Monza's and Trucks. He still has his 55 GMC that was the vehicle I remember the most. I was there when he built the engine and installed it. I loved chasing for parts with him.

As I got into my teenage years I saw less and less of my Father due to the Coast Guard. I guess he thought that we needed some more bonding time. So back in 1996 he suggested I get a 1978 Diesel Rabbit for $100 that he knew about. The catch was the fact that it did not run. After tinkering we found that the flywheel was installed 180* out so the marks in the inspection hole in the bell housing incorrect. Just a quick timing issue and I had a running Rabbit.

I drove that car for many years falling in love with my diesel Rabbit until 1999 when the engine blew up. After collage I maxed out my credit cards to build a new motor for my Rabbit and made tons of rookie mistakes and it never ran right after that due to a warped GEX head. The Rabbit sat for many years after until 2005 I tried to get it running again. Another quick head gasket install and th Rabbit was running again. But the car felt different it was not me any more it was time to move on and it was traded in on my Blazer. I do not really miss the Rabbit but it would be cool to find it again.

During my Rabbit years I was a big fan of water cooled VW's. I had a 1981 Rabbit a 1999 New Beetle and a 1986 GTI. The Beetle was the reason that I gave up on water cooled VW's and the reason why I hate Mexican assembled cars. After wrenching on my GERMAN 1978 Rabbit and tinkering with the New Beetle I could tell the difference. The New Beetle was just a thrown together from a huge corporation just to make a cheep buck from cheep Mexican Labor. Actually all of my water cooled VW's were just like my New Beetle with the exception of the 1978 German Rabbit. The 81 Rabbit and the 86 GTI were both manufactured in the USA.

Well in the middle of all that I purchased my 1969 Ghia and never looked back to VW water cooled again.

Currently our daily drivers are Chevy's talk about a 360* turn around.

[Dustin]

I don't have much of a story, I was born liking them and have no memory of them not being a part of my life.

[vwfanatic]

When I was 16 my best friend got a Bug(`73 Super) . I really took a liking to it and at the time could not afford one so I started collecting toys (VW) instead. It was cheaper and there was nothing to restore. 20 years have past and I have had 7 VW's and still collect the toys too. My children I am sure will have a love for VW's as well. At 5 years old my daughter already wants to learn to drive my bus. I told her as soon as she can reach the pedals I will give her the keys and we can go out.

[dunedudex4]

It's my cousins fault... He took me to the dunes in the 80's and I was hooked on the sandrails and dunebuggy. Thanks Dave T

[Happy Camper]

The hook was set when I bought my first car. My dad talked me into it, which is odd, because he never had a VDub? Oh well, It was a 68' bone stock, I bought it from my high school math teacher. $375. I overpaid by about $100 because I really wanted it. This pic is what it looked like after about two summers. My dad had a body shop and I grew up working in there, so the exterior was pretty easy. My dad was always befuddled because I spent more for the wheels and tires than I did on the car.

I rebuilt the 1500 SP, however, besides the header, the engine was still stock, new inside, but stock. The interior had about a football field sized area of crushed velvet in there (it was the 70's!) Had a big stereo with about 20 speakers. The insurance was cheap and it sipped gas, I loved that car.

Oddly enough this pic was taken in front of Steves house (team afx), I was there visiting my girlfriend, now my wife (Steves sister), Steve was about 13 years old then!

I would love to find out what ever happened to that car.

[teamafx]

My story is easy! Some yahoo came over when I was about 13 to date my sister driving a VW that looked really cool and thats all it took! Now he is my brother-in-law and a Happy Camper ;D

[vdubdriver]

My father bought a ’64 Beetle new from the dealership (I was 4 yrs old). The ‘64 was sold in ’73 for a new AMC Gremlin (before I had my driver license). I was about 21 when I bought a '70 beetle for $200. I later bought a '74 beetle (with no motor) that was sitting outside someone's barn for $50. I drug it about a 1/4 mile before the rear brakes unlocked! I fixed the brakes and put in the motor from the '70 and was on the road again.

I currently own a ’65 Convertible, ’67 Ghia (wife's), and a ’73 Super Beetle. I have never had all three roadworthy at the same time; this summer will be the first time.

[vw1s]

I was born in '76, came home from the hospital in my dad's '72 Super. A few of dad's friends also had VW's, which, were always being tinkered with, while I "helped". I remember my dad's friend Charlie had a Blue Super, I loved opening the decklid and staring at the engine, I remember the shape of decklid pull, and how the button felt when I pushed it to reveal the treasure inside. Finally, at age 15, I had the chance to buy my own VW, a '73 standard, which I purchased for $650, I got ripped off by about $649! The '73 was to become "Blu", but, was later determined to be "too far gone" and was replaced by the '77 I have today. I've owned a few other VW's over the years, including, my favorite, a '74 412 variant, and, my third favorite, an '83 GTi. (Blu is a close second to the 412, but, don't tell him)
I also remember a yellow bug running around Lansing when I was a child. It had a chopped top, a herrod helper, no decklid, and lot's of chrome on the engine. I loved that car!

[blue71]

I couldn't afford a muscle car and my older sister and her fiance (now husband) had a 67 beetle when they were in college. I worked on it when I was in junior high and high school. My brother in law saw a primered 71 beetle on the way home from work when I was I think in 10th grade and they bought it to resell. I wound up getting it as an early graduation present from my folks but was told that if I didn't keep up my grades it would be gone. After some work and paint, its my blue one that I've had ever since. The next project for me is to work on my sister's 67 bug.