August 25, 2013

Der VW Hippiepackwagen bewegt in die Geschichte Bücher
— Purple Avenger

Translation: the "classic" body style VW bus is moving into the history books.

Introduced in 1950, the iconic vehicle had an incredible production run. Over the years, there were many mechanical changes, but the styling remained largely unchanged. The last one to be produced, in Brazil, is still as instantly recognizable as they were 50+ years ago, even though this model looks to be equipped with an Ethanol burning 1.4L water cooled engine, rather than the old air-cooled flat 4 "bug engine".


I used to have a 1957 VW bus. Swing axles, scary single master cylinder, drum brakes. I paid a princely $300 for it in grad school, and it even ran. Not well, but it kinda moved on a couple of gears and stopped after a fashion. I bought it from a hippie who didn't want to bother changing the transmission out. I got a used trans at a local junk yard and changed it out in the UCSD dorm parking lot, did the brakes...then drove it all the way back to NY and rebuilt the engine. Good times, good times.

H/T commenter Mike Hammer

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 12:00 PM | Comments (250)
Post contains 202 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Haha!!!

Posted by: DAve at August 25, 2013 12:02 PM (OksBo)

2 The intellectual tenor of this comment thread can only go up from here

Posted by: DAve at August 25, 2013 12:02 PM (OksBo)

3 even Philip Fry had one of those.

Posted by: mallfly at August 25, 2013 12:03 PM (bJm7W)

4

I had a 65 with reduction boxes.  Paid $500 and had to push it 2 1/2 miles to get it home!

 

 Drove that thing back and forth across the country for 3  years. 

Best received car in America.  Everybody that saw it  had a smile on their faces.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:04 PM (y0sTd)

5 i hope anna sees this thread....

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl i support chelsea the rodeo clown at August 25, 2013 12:04 PM (8JJ6O)

6
  This might be a good thread to recall one's first car.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 12:04 PM (SAMxH)

7

 

Rode from Texas to Colorado in one in '69. It was one year old and already had a bad   miss. I don't think my insides  have ever completely     recovered.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:05 PM (1Y+hH)

8 A buddy of mine had a bright orange one that lost its reverse gear, which, if I recall was a pretty common issue. You just had to be strategic about parking it on the appropriate incline to get in and out of parking spaces—or always have a co-pilot to give you a shove. Good times, indeed.

Posted by: jakeman at August 25, 2013 12:05 PM (fbMnQ)

9 Best part about the Split Window Van was when you broke down you either got mechanical help or turned on by the first person who stopped to help!

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:06 PM (y0sTd)

10 bah, missed putting up the gaming thread

Posted by: The Dude at August 25, 2013 12:06 PM (vJdyz)

11 Even hippies had more of a sense of freedom than this bunch of libs.

Posted by: AmishDude at August 25, 2013 12:06 PM (xSegX)

12 scary single master cylinder, drum brakes.



Scary  master cylinder?  I don't know of any car that has ore than one master cylinder.    That's why they call it the "master".

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:07 PM (lZvxr)

13 Oldest brother lost his leg in one of these death traps. Was hit head on by a drunk pickup driver, went through the windshield, was dangling through the opening (unconscious) by said leg for over half an hour before rescue workers got there to save his life. To this day, I refuse to ride in ANY VW product.

Posted by: Fahrfugnuggen at August 25, 2013 12:07 PM (r6wtL)

14 Oh dear lord. My Ex bought one when we first got married in Germany in the same color (baby blue) but all over. Can't remember what model year, but the damn thing was held together with duct tape. Of course the ex had to show off on the Autobahn and the sliding side door flew off and the dumb yokel actually started to back up on the Autobahn to get it. I think I couldn't talk for a week from screaming at him

Posted by: Ma Bell at August 25, 2013 12:09 PM (RLdcX)

15 the first car i bought was a '63 bug...it was yellow, had dome hub caps that ended up getting stolen.....i loved it...but the radio didn't work and the gas gage didn't work either........i traded it in for a pontiac grand am that was a complete and total lemon.....but the radio worked and so did the gas gage

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl i support chelsea the rodeo clown at August 25, 2013 12:09 PM (8JJ6O)

16 The worst thing about the old VW was it leaked oil and the heater was crap because it was air cooled and most of the time you got exhaust fumes inside.


What was good about it?  It was cheap and easy as hell to rebuild.

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:09 PM (lZvxr)

17 I don't know of any car that has ore than one master cylinder.

They all have a dual pistons internally and operate the wheels FL-RR, and FR-LR in an "X" shape.  Lose one piston seal, and the other still leaves you with two braking wheels.

With an old single master, you lost all four wheels, and were left only with a hand brake

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 12:10 PM (2BHYC)

18 This might be a good thread to recall one's first car.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 04:04 PM (SAMxH)


Okay, you first . . . and I've been very remiss, how's the knee doing?

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:11 PM (8lmkt)

19

No   Vic, no.

 

 

The worst thing was.....

 

 

36 horsepower.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:11 PM (1Y+hH)

20 17 With an old single master, you lost all four wheels, and were left only with a hand brake

Posted by: Chelsea Purp at August 25, 2013 04:10 PM (2BHYC)


Hah, didn't know that worked that way.

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:12 PM (lZvxr)

21 We had a '68 model when I was a kid.  I still remember a trip we took through Missouri to northern Michigan.  Any hill dropped our highway speed below 45 and we'd scream down the other side, sometimes seeing north of 65 before the speed dropped off.  Good times...  oh, and no AC either.  Heh.

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 12:12 PM (/jHWN)

22 the sliding side door flew off and the dumb yokel actually started to back up on the Autobahn to get it.

that is hilarious, Ma Bell!!

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:12 PM (8lmkt)

23 There’s a lot to be said for simple vehicles. My first car was a 1964 Buick LeSabre convertible. Nice first car, great car for college. Had a tendency to overheat, but that’s because I was running it on practically no radiator. Second car was a 1974 Plymouth Voyager, when the Voyager was still a normal boxy van. It had a tendency to stall at stop lights. I could pop the inside engine cover, undo the air filter cover, spray it with starter fluid, and start it up again before the light turned green. Eventually I took the time to take a closer look at it, discovered it was just a hose only barely hanging onto the nipple it was supposed to supply with whatever it supplied. Then I drove from Ithaca, New York to Los Angeles California in it. That really was “good times, good times”.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at August 25, 2013 12:13 PM (CeNUw)

24

>>> With an old single master, you lost all four wheels, and were left only with a hand brake

 

 

Admittedly, a VERY cool hand-brake!

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:13 PM (y0sTd)

25 We used to sleep in ours in the back yard in the early 70s. My brother bought one a few years back and restored it. Still sounded like a seeing machine. Lost it a few years ago when a tree fell on it during a hurricane.

Posted by: Wiserbud at August 25, 2013 12:13 PM (WCe8r)

26

>>> 36 horsepower.

 

 

36 very sick horses.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:14 PM (y0sTd)

27 My wife's parents had one when she was a teenager. At night when the parents would be asleep, she and her sisters would put it in neutral and roll it away from the house, far enough so they wouldn't hear it start, so they could sneak away and do all sorts of naughtiness.

Posted by: EC at August 25, 2013 12:15 PM (doBIb)

28

A buddy had a 57 bug and we drove it for months using the hand brake when the brakes went out.   

 

 

We painted it camoflauge but it looked like a frog, which became its name.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:16 PM (1Y+hH)

29 The ones in the 70s had 50 HP

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:16 PM (lZvxr)

30 First car was a 1971 Chevelle Malibu. The car idled at 30 mph. Got 10 mpg. Loved that car.....

Posted by: flodigarry at August 25, 2013 12:16 PM (RJDsf)

31 36 horsepower.


That was the turbo model.

Posted by: Retread at August 25, 2013 12:16 PM (Oz+LZ)

32 The ones in the 70s had 50 HP


vroom vroom!!

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:17 PM (8lmkt)

33 This just in: Houston's cheerleaders have long hair and even longer legs.

Posted by: EC at August 25, 2013 12:18 PM (doBIb)

34 Did you put any of those flower stickers on it?

It's not a hippie van without flower stickers.

Or a marijuana leaf.

Or a Grateful dead bumper sticker.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Ecclesiates 9:11) at August 25, 2013 12:18 PM (28TG+)

35 The worst thing about the old VW was it leaked oil

Some gorilla separated the case halves with a screwdriver and bunged the mating surface, or tried to get cheap and reuse pushrod tubes and seals on a rebuild...or wouldn't spend $.50 for a fresh valve cover gasket.

and the heater was crap because it was air cooled and most of the time you got exhaust fumes inside.

You forgot to hookup the heater box accordion tubes after putting the engine back in, had rotted out heater boxes, and/or the engine compartment rubber seals were missing.  When that stuff is all in order that air cooled heat will scorch your ass off

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 12:18 PM (2BHYC)

36 Plutonium-stealing Libyan terrorists hardest hit.

Posted by: Beau Jest at August 25, 2013 12:18 PM (wO8Zn)

37   Hiya Peaches.

  Knee is fine, Monday I go for an evaluation.

  My 1st car was a '47 Chevy Aerosedan.  It was parked alongside the house, suffering from a broken piston.  He gave me the option of watching it get junked or buying it for $25 and fixing the thing.
 

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 12:19 PM (SAMxH)

38

The only real drawback to the old Type II was the crosswind.  

 I had mine blown across the entire median and into oncoming traffic on I 25 outside of Socorro, once.  Luckily there was almost no traffic coming the other way.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:19 PM (y0sTd)

39

 

 

*drums fingers waiting for 'first car' stuff to start cuz I usually win that one*

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:19 PM (1Y+hH)

40 the windshield wipers didn't work either.....so i couldn't drive it in the rain until my dad went to a car show and they had this crayon like thing that if you scribbled it all over your windows and then rubbed it really well.....the rain was supposed to just slip right off so you didn't need wipers..........so i applied it....and guess what??!!!! to my surprise!!!!! it didn't work!!! so i couldn't drive in the rain.....but my arms were really sore...

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl i support chelsea the rodeo clown at August 25, 2013 12:19 PM (8JJ6O)

41 My first car was a VW bug, circa 1964- when I got my learner's permit. Had the tiny split rear window & European "Flipper" turn indicators in the door posts. No gas gauge, just the valve in the firewall you flipped to reserve when the motor faltered. We "hot-rodded" it by installing a 1300cc transporter engine. It was a good little car for a 15 year old. Next car was a Kharman Gia- two tone blue. Same engine deal. A few years later old Dr. Hartwell Boyd down the street bought it & drove 'till the day he died.

Posted by: backhoe at August 25, 2013 12:20 PM (ULH4o)

42 My first car was a VW Notchback sedan. The year model was about 1965, I think. Bought it from a Navy officer who brought it over from Germany on a navy carrier.

It was a European model, had gauges that read metric, no mph, just kph, and gas tank read in liters.

It was easy to maintain. I ended up trading it for a Harley, IIRC,

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 12:21 PM (UIH3m)

43 America's Trabant.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at August 25, 2013 12:22 PM (Ys0KI)

44 My first car was a 2 door, 2 tone 1957 Ford with a 289, 3 on the tree, and the funky overdrive lever. I inherited it in the spring of 1965 at age 17 from a favorite aunt. It had about 20K on the odometer when I got it and it was my only ride for about 10 years. It was a great set of wheels.

Posted by: Angel with a sword at August 25, 2013 12:23 PM (4ypfR)

45 Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 04:07 PM (lZvxr)

Vic, these young whipper snappers have grown up with dual split master cylinders. So that if you lose fluid in one side, you still have two wheels braking left.

I actually had a hydraulic blow out with a single master cylinder.

Going down a hill.

With a T intersection at the bottom.

Thank the lord Jesus I got it slowed enough to make the corner and no one was coming either way.

I was 17. In a '51 Ford.

Oh.

And all you dual split master cylinder punks?

My Lawn. Get Off. Now.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Ecclesiates 9:11) at August 25, 2013 12:23 PM (28TG+)

46

First car was a 1983 Mustang GT Convertible with 16k on it.

Bout it out of the Pennysaver for $4750 when I was 15.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:23 PM (y0sTd)

47 Ah, it was called the Volkswagen type 3.

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 12:24 PM (UIH3m)

48 the crosswinds... hahaha.. I forgot about that..  we'd get blown all over the place!  When I was about 6 , I slammed the sliding door shut on my index finger ( playing with the door )  Almost lost the end of my finger, but the hospital stitched it all together somehow.  have a cool X scar to this day from that. 

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 12:24 PM (/jHWN)

49 Wanna see the inside of my hippie van?

Posted by: Bob Filner at August 25, 2013 12:24 PM (Ys0KI)

50 I'd still like to find an old Squareback to clean up and use to get around in town.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:25 PM (y0sTd)

51 Okay, fine, I learned how to drive on a Dodge station wagon with a push-button tranny interface.  The first car I actually owned was a '58 Mercedes 180C, battleship gray, with the shifter thingy on the column.  It was a gift from loser ex #1 and had bad brakes and I rear-ended some lady about a week before the wedding.  I gave her $20 bucks to fix her headlight, she mailed me back $10 of it.  Mr. Ex later chased down some guy in a similar vehicle and sold it to him for parts for 50 bucks.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:25 PM (8lmkt)

52 First car was an 86' Buick Regal. Sadly I could not afford a Grand National.

Loved that car.

Posted by: Kreplach at August 25, 2013 12:25 PM (hmUex)

53 *drums fingers waiting for 'first car' stuff to start cuz Iusually win that one* Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 04:19 PM (1Y+hH) What was it...a Henry J?

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 12:27 PM (j7iSn)

54 VW were the original accessory kit cars. Baja kits, Lincoln Continental grill and tyre trunk kits, nurf running boards and all sorts of bolt-on crap designed to squeeze .04% more performance out of a lawn mower engine.

Posted by: 13times at August 25, 2013 12:27 PM (fGPLK)

55 86 Honda Civic was my first car. Traded up to a 92 Ford Festiva hatchback, had that one for 5 year till I said to hell with it and put a roll cage in it and entered a rolling competition.

Posted by: The Dude at August 25, 2013 12:28 PM (vJdyz)

56

"My first car was a 2 door, 2 tone 1957 Ford with a 289...."

 

 

Had  a friend who had my favorite   Ford ever.  1961 Galaxie, black. Had a bubble back window, I think they called it a Starliner. Also had a 390 that came with big 4 barrel, headers and rated at 375 horse. I think it was that old Daytona thing, had to build 50 of them in order to race one at Daytona as a stock car.

 

 

It had 3 on the tree and overdrive.   Raced him  for top-end one night on the Ft. Worth freeway. My speedo said 135 and I was done. He was right next to me, losing ground quickly and them jumping back even but couldn't   get past me.

 

 

After we stopped I asked, "What the hell were you doing?" 

 

 

"Trying to get it into overdrive" was his answer.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:28 PM (1Y+hH)

57 I'd still like to find an old Squareback to clean up and use to get around in town.

I had a '68 Squareback some years ago, it was all aftermarketed out with a giant ragtop and little scoops on the back vents.  It was pretty cool, but needed a whole new electrical harness and I sold it.  Discovered a bunch of fuckin' hypodermic needles squirreled away under the dash in teh process.  Ick!!!!

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:29 PM (8lmkt)

58 I've got     at tale to beat all.  Purchased a Korean War jeep from Fort Irwin CA, and drove it nonstop to    Houston.  None of those fancy radios, A/C, or heaters (well, the T90     gearbox    did generate plenty of heat).

Posted by: Vashta Nerada at August 25, 2013 12:29 PM (/i3Yt)

59 "The worst thing was..... 36 horsepower."

No, the worst thing was... The Thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_181

Posted by: torquewrench at August 25, 2013 12:29 PM (gqT4g)

60 My first car was that Maverick Grabber that CBD put the picture of with me standing next to it on one of the threads.  But my first ten years or so was on motorcycles.

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:30 PM (lZvxr)

61 The worst thing was...36 horsepower.

0-60 spec -- "yes"

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 12:30 PM (2BHYC)

62

>>> 2 door, 2 tone 1957 Ford with a 289...."

 

Shouldn't that have come with a 260?

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:30 PM (y0sTd)

63

Posted by: torquewrench at August 25, 2013 04:29 PM (gqT4g)


the Thing is a lot of fun off-roading

Posted by: The Dude at August 25, 2013 12:31 PM (vJdyz)

64 I'd like a squareback too.  I occasionally find one on CL, but invariably they are rusted out badly.

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 12:31 PM (/jHWN)

65

0-60 spec -- "yes" "Depends"

 

 

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:31 PM (y0sTd)

66 What was it...a Henry J?

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 04:27 PM (j7iSn)

 

 

No, but the speedo that went to 160 might give you a hint. My poor father had no clue what he was doing when he handed that thing down to me, miracle I survived two weeks with it at the age of 16.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:31 PM (1Y+hH)

67 Every Thing is a Beautiful Thing

Posted by: VW Bumperstickers at August 25, 2013 12:32 PM (y0sTd)

68 I had a '63 notchback that was updated to 12V and a 1600 cc.  Loved that car.  25-30 mpg and only a few dollars for an oil change.  Perfect college cars those old VWs.

Posted by: flounder at August 25, 2013 12:32 PM (Kkt/i)

69 First car was a 79 Olds 88 two door, lowered in front with Cordoba wire wheel hubcaps, no emblems....now I'm driving a Crown Vic Police Interceptor. I'm proud of the fact that some 26 years later I'm still pushing a full size, rear drive V8. Merica!

Posted by: azjaeger at August 25, 2013 12:32 PM (niWgN)

70 first car as such was my father's older car, which he decided without a "do you mind" to GIVE AWAY a couple of months after I got my license. (Couldn't drive the newer one because I didn't know how to drive a manual transmission.)

Oldsmobile Jetfire, not sure which year.

Posted by: mallfly at August 25, 2013 12:33 PM (bJm7W)

71 still want a 29 Model A pickup

It's not my biggest dream car but it's one I can somewhat afford and I'll get one eventually

Posted by: The Dude at August 25, 2013 12:33 PM (vJdyz)

72 I also had a '63 VW Bug, restored to museum condition, white on white, absolutely gorgeous.  Stolen from right out in front of my house in Venice.  I still to this day suspect the asshole who sold it to me.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (8lmkt)

73
   I wound up spending an entire summer fixing the engine on that Chev--Dad towed it to an uncle's shop and parked it under a carport. Jacked it up and tore it down, with no real idea of what I was doing.Became the shop mascot and had my introduction to an FSM.  (Factory Shop Manual)

  Yes, it ran fine, and my last year of high school I had friends I never knew existed prior.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (SAMxH)

74 My first car was a 76 Toyota Celica-nothing special. It had a standard transmission, which was a challenge for a bit. I think everybody should learn how to drive a standard.

Posted by: Northernlurker at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (Cyy6i)

75 "First car was an 86' Buick Regal. Sadly I could not afford a Grand National."

There is a kit to put Buick V6 turbo engines into Datsun Z-cars.

Mechanical sacrilege, sure, but so were the Scarab Chevy V8s in Z-cars. And the V6 doesn't crock the weight/balance anywhere nearly as badly.

One such Buick turbo transplant was built as a sleeper. Looked like a quite ordinary 260Z with faded paint. Under the hood, GNX engine that had been gone through extensively.

It was a big surprise to various stoplight heroes when the light turned green.

Posted by: torquewrench at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (gqT4g)

76

Had a '65 bug.  Ran pretty well.  Lost the clutch cable in second gear when out.  The thing would start up from the stop light on the battery and then you could flutter the gas until the engine started.  Running in second put enough turns in the battery that I did it about fifteen miles of urban driving.

Colder than hell in the winter.  Defroster was pretty lame, too.  No AC.

Got into civil rights thing in the mid sixties.  The group met one fine morning in East Lansing and a couple of women were detailed to ride to MS with Aubrey in the bug. Bless their hearts, they never hesitated.  I'd have bitched.  Worked fine, bless the little bug.

Gave it to my brother when I went off to Basic, upon which time it promptly burned up.

Posted by: Richard Aubrey at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (dmbXR)

77 My first ride was '62 bug.  That damn thing loved to go off-roading, even if it meant three engine changes. 

I imagine a choomwagon would have been quite an adventure.

Posted by: Fritz at August 25, 2013 12:34 PM (KIHQS)

78

If I may quibble with the German title to this post, "Der Kombi ist vorbei" would be more idiomatic.

 

Carry on.

Posted by: RS at August 25, 2013 12:35 PM (YAGV/)

79 I drove a '60 bug w/ sun-top (canvas) my freshman year in college.  Only had compression in three cylinders.  Top speed 50.  Sounded like a bad lawnmower.  Hood held down with wire.  One windshield wiper and hole in dash were radio used to be...  6 volt system.  It ran right up until the day it didn't.  Back then, I never had money and couldn't afford to fix it.

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 12:35 PM (/jHWN)

80 Had a '74 Superbeetle that Ex #2 had gotten new in high school.  Cool car.  Stolen from in front of my house in Venice.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:36 PM (8lmkt)

81 There's a really nice 65 Bug by me that I am tempted by, but I really want a squareback.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:36 PM (y0sTd)

82 after a Kinks concert in Berkeley came out to one we rode there in and someone had stolen the steering wheel...still don't remember how we got home

Posted by: the Butcher at August 25, 2013 12:37 PM (iyHrO)

83 Had a Ford Contour (I forget the year), manual tranny and, oddly enough, one of the best handling cars I have ever driven.  Stolen from in front of my house in Venice, never seen again.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:37 PM (8lmkt)

84 Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 04:28 PM (1Y+hH) I thought the "Starliner" was Fords hardtop convertible.

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 12:37 PM (j7iSn)

85 heh, friend's first car was a Gran National. One of the greatest creeper cars I've personally been in. Surprisingly it lived for 2 years before he ran it right into a UPS truck

Posted by: The Dude at August 25, 2013 12:38 PM (vJdyz)

86 Damn peaches, have you ever had a car that wasn't stolen?

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:38 PM (lZvxr)

87 "the Thing is a lot of fun off-roading"

I would have a hard time turning down a Thing if someone offered it.

There was a German car collector round here who had a Unimog with portal axles, and had a Thing that was rebuilt to the army specifications with portal axles and a military paint job. You can imagine he had a good time on sunny weekends out in the desert.

Posted by: torquewrench at August 25, 2013 12:38 PM (gqT4g)

88 garret, You may be correct.... perhaps my memory is wrong. Anyway, it had 8 under the hood.

Posted by: Angel with a sword at August 25, 2013 12:38 PM (4ypfR)

89 I thought the "Starliner" was Fords hardtop convertible.

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 04:37 PM (j7iSn)

 

 

That sounds right. Maybe it was Sunliner.   Something like that, gorgeous car all black and chrome.  

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:38 PM (1Y+hH)

90 Damn peaches, have you ever had a car that wasn't stolen?

I know, right, Vic?  It was Venice, place is a fuckin' shithole.  But, yeah, I've had a lot of cars.  Most of the other ones were wrecked (no fault of my own). 

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:39 PM (8lmkt)

91 Hey, my mom moved my whole family (her and the five kids) across country in a '57 VW van. Upstate NY to Tucson, Az, with all of our possessions. Hell of a trip, took 10 days, but that damn thing got us there...

Posted by: HH at August 25, 2013 12:39 PM (XXwdv)

92 Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 04:39 PM (8lmkt)


Is that Venice Beach?

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:40 PM (lZvxr)

93 '62 Bug. Open the trunk and flip the cardboard cover over the ignition switch - all it took was a paperclip to steal it.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 25, 2013 12:40 PM (ylG8S)

94 Posted by: HH at August 25, 2013 04:39 PM (XXwdv)

Didn't the Eagles have a song about that??

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:40 PM (8lmkt)

95 Nope, looked it up. The convertible was the Sunliner. Search for Starliner, there's a pic of one just like the guy had. What a beauty.

Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 12:41 PM (1Y+hH)

96 There's a really nice 65 Bug by me that I am tempted by, but I really want a squareback.



My father taught me to drive a manual transmission in his '63 squareback, then 'gave' it to me a few months later when I got my license. I traded it in on a brand new Vega a couple of years later. And before you laugh, I got 90k miles out of the Vega before getting t-boned in an intersection.

Posted by: Retread at August 25, 2013 12:41 PM (Oz+LZ)

97 Is that Venice Beach?

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 04:40 PM (lZvxr)


I was a mile inland, Vic.  Easier get-away for the thieving shitbirds and, of course, it was "gentrifying," so the pickins were good.  I couldn't believe it, though.  Who the fuck steals a Ford Contour?  I later realized it's the hard-working invaders, looking for parts for their own shitboxes or whatever.  That was actually a really good car, though, I was surprised.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:42 PM (8lmkt)

98 Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 04:41 PM (1Y+hH) Ok!

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 12:43 PM (j7iSn)

99
   That dumb old Chev solidified my love for cars which turned into a career that saw the advent of radial tires, electronic ignition, alternators, fuel injection and finally computer controlled cars.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 12:43 PM (SAMxH)

100 O/T I see Colin Powell thinks the Zimmerman verdict was "qyestionable". I assume he thinks the idea of a trial was questionable too. Nope, much better to string the white guy up when he forgets his place. On thread: Chevy Malibu, very briefly.

Posted by: Beau Jest at August 25, 2013 12:44 PM (wO8Zn)

101 My father had a gorgeous 68 Karmann Ghia, but it    got T boned as well.  I would like to find one I could restore, but I'd want a convertible.  I would also want to trim the wheel wells so I could put in something better than the bicycle tires that were standard.

Posted by: Vashta Nerada at August 25, 2013 12:44 PM (/i3Yt)

102 There's also a 56 Bug that is killing me, nearby.  But it's a tad more spendy than the 65.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 12:45 PM (y0sTd)

103 At age 15.5, neighbor gave me a '59 bug that had a tree growing through it.
I didn't know a screwdriver from a q-tip at that point in my life.

By the end of High School, I was trading vehicle repairs in the faculty parking lot for passing grades in classes.




Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at August 25, 2013 12:46 PM (SfGRU)

104 Only had compression in three cylinders. Top speed 50. Sounded like a bad lawnmower.

The lawn mower sound is a dead giveaway -- a loose cylinder head sounds exactly like that on the bug engine.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 12:47 PM (2BHYC)

105 "Didn't the Eagles have a song about that??"


Only on the downhill...

Posted by: HH at August 25, 2013 12:48 PM (XXwdv)

106 My '63 was a convertible and stock except for a 1500 motor.  Absolutely the cutest thing on the road, ever.  Had some kind of special airplane paint.  They wouldn't even insure it as a car, I had to go through Lloyds (of Long Beach, lol) and insure it as a collectible.  I really hope the guy who stole it from me's dick fell off IN HIS HAND.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:48 PM (8lmkt)

107 Old cars and VW buses--good times.  As a child in Germany we went all over Europe in a VW bus.  Got a bit nervous going through the Dolomites, but that really had nothing to do with the car.

In college a friend of mine had an old VW bus that I borrowed to go to work.  As most of you know, the engine was in the back of the car.  It seems that the metal clamp securing the fuel line to the engine became loose, probably from engine vibration, but I didn't know that.  In the parking lot I kept trying to start the car, but it wouldn't turn over.  Suddenly I heard a loud bang from the rear of the vehicle, turned around and saw that the back half of it was on fire.  Seems that gas sprayed all over the engine while I was trying to start the car, and a spark set that gas aflame.

Car fires are nothing to fool around with--if your car is on fire get out IMMEDIATELY!!!!  Within a few minutes that thing was a flaming wreck, and the only reason I got out in one piece was that the gas tank was nearly empty.

Later I had an old '68 Chevy that was built like a tank--we called it the "Car from the Book of Revelations".  Sometimes I had to splash a little gas into the carburator to start it; nice little fireworks there.  Other times I had to start it with a wrench or a screwdriver to the solenoid switch.  I don't think you can start cars that way these days.

As that car reached the end of it's servicable life there was an incident when me, a friend (same one who owned the VW) and his girlfriend were driving through town and the car stalled at a red light.  I kept hitting the starter but nothing happened.  She laid her hands on the dashboard and yelled, "CLEAR"!!!  The car started and we were all quite impressed....

Posted by: Jenk at August 25, 2013 12:48 PM (8xKUx)

108 97 Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 04:42 PM (8lmkt)


I had heard that the bums that hang out at Venice Beach would walk down the street from the beach and crap in people's yards.

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 12:48 PM (lZvxr)

109 I had heard that the bums that hang out at Venice Beach would walk down the street from the beach and crap in people's yards.

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 04:48 PM (lZvxr)


Yes, still to this day, Vic.  I wouldn't go near the place, myself.  It's a shithole.  Although, and this is a somewhat old statistic, but VB at least used to draw more visitors than Disneyland. 

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 12:51 PM (8lmkt)

110 Good thing that bus isn't chartreuse. I'd have had to point out the missing "11 long haired friends of Jesus."

Posted by: nothinglefttolose at August 25, 2013 12:51 PM (J+V/o)

111 I'd have had to point out the missing "11 long haired friends of Jesus." Just remember they saved the day in the sequel. So praise the Lord, and Mr. Ford, and follow that microbus.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at August 25, 2013 12:52 PM (CeNUw)

112 10-4.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at August 25, 2013 12:52 PM (CeNUw)

113 First car was a purple (or maroon) 67 dodge dart.  Had it for 3 weeks before I totalled going down an icy hill.  Was on a first date with a new girl - she ended up with a broken nose from face planing the dash.  Her new nickname was "Rocky" from the racoon-eyes.   We ended up sharing an ambulance ride to the hospital and there was a loose chain that somehow ended up filling the ambulance cab with smoke. 

Epic first date, that didn't end up leading to a second one.  But I eventually dated another girl named Rockette, who's nickname was also "Rocky".  So I may be the only guy to ever date two girls with that nick. 

Posted by: RightWingProf at August 25, 2013 12:52 PM (E/o+q)

114 The US fastback/squareback from 68' onward used the first Bosch EFI system. 

I rebuilt one of those engines from the ground up.  A bit more complicated sheet metal and other external bits than a standard bug engine, but still at bug engine at the center of it all.

That was the first mass market EFI system ever sold in the US.  If you got a balky EFI computer, there's conversion manifolds and solex two barrel carb kits, and dual carb kits

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 12:55 PM (2BHYC)

115

84 Olds Cutlass Supreme--black with red interior replete with roach burns.  I once got it up to 100 with a 40mph tailwind on tallest hill in central Illinois. 

 

My, those little Jap Little Leaguers are assholes.  When I was pitching, I'd have beaned 'em for yelling from the dugout like that. 

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at August 25, 2013 12:58 PM (/dv33)

116 Men at Work - http://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s

My parents tell me I was brought home in a VW Bus from the hospital.  Das VWgroovin runs strong in the family.

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 12:59 PM (LZKqg)

117 My, those little Jap Little Leaguers are assholes. When I was pitching, I'd have beaned 'em for yelling from the dugout like that.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at August 25, 2013 04:58 PM (/dv33)


I was just about to mention that Chula Vista could win this thing, BFM.  I'd like to see that.

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 01:00 PM (8lmkt)

118 Sequel? No. Really? It must not have gotten much airplay. Know what year it came out. You better move that micro bus in behind that suicide jockey. Yeah, he's haulin' dynomite and needs all the help he can get.

Posted by: nothinglefttolose at August 25, 2013 01:02 PM (JCIjD)

119 1971 Opel 1900 Automatic - for 50 bucks.  It was blue with a spray-painted flat black top because some previous owner had pulled the vinyl top off.


Black ice into the side of the hill on Hicks Road about a month after I got it.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at August 25, 2013 01:02 PM (JawqV)

120 1975 Mustang II Mach I. With the 140 cid 4 cylinder. Really.

Posted by: chelsea blaster at August 25, 2013 01:06 PM (NAU+F)

121

Never had a Bug, but a friend did. We'd go swimming over at the Falls in Guntersville. I   rode in the l   space between the back seat and the rear window   once.

 

Anybody   remember the  stickers you could  buy from   the   JC Whitney  catalogue in pidgin German? The  one for the    windshield wiper switch was called  "Das Drizzleflippen" and  the  ash tray   one   said   "Das Schmokedunken."

 We used to turn them sideways in parking spaces.

 

Good times.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:06 PM (0HooB)

122 Peaches, VW theft has been a big thing in SoCal for a very long time.

My first job out of college was Rockwell in Downey and I was living in Norwalk a few miles away.  I had a 71 Beetle. 

Someone must have been lusting after my tires/rims for a long time cuz on on the first super foggy night of the year when you couldn't see more than 3' they came and nabbed them.  I woke up to find the bug up on blocks the next day and walked to work down Imperial the next day. 

I replaced them with stock steel rims and cheap recaps and nobody ever touched it again...

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 01:07 PM (2BHYC)

123 Black ice into the side of the hill on Hicks Road about a month after I got it.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at August 25, 2013 05:02 PM (JawqV)

 

 

Pretty sure that's racist.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:07 PM (y0sTd)

124 63 Ford Falcon in 72. Had a 160 or 170 (can't remember which) and got me where I was goin'...till it didn't. $75

Posted by: nothinglefttolose at August 25, 2013 01:08 PM (M7Cfv)

125 My first car was a 1966 VW Squareback Station Wagon.  I bought it primarily because it had an FM radio in it.  $200 dollars.  Was not reliable and ran sporadically.  No heat and no defrost.  Tough in the MN winters.  I would drive to school with my head hanging out the window so I could see.  I would get to school and my hair was all ice.  Good times. 

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at August 25, 2013 01:09 PM (jucos)

126

I could never keep an original horn button on my VW.  Had at least a 1/2 dozen of the things stolen out of it.

People are scum.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:09 PM (y0sTd)

127 Jenk, Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 engine cases are a magnesium alloy.  Before the 28-PICT carb, it was a metal fuel line that went from that mechanical fuel pump to the carb.  But sometime after that is when they went to the rubber/cloth line that only had its own elasticity to hold on.  But every now and then that fuel line would pop off and before the engine died of fuel starvation it would spray gas all over the engine compartment and the coil that was right behind the fuel line.  So soon *boom* and if you did not douse the fire fast enough, the case would catch fire and by the time the fire department got to you, all you had was a puddle of melted metal.  So the wise heads would use clamps on that fuel line to make sure it did not part ways, even clamp the line coming from the fuel tank.

As I said, the VWgroovin is strong in my family.  Only thing we never owned was a Type 4.

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:09 PM (LZKqg)

128 My first car. http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/2768/641/31917820003_medium.jpg

Posted by: 13times at August 25, 2013 01:09 PM (fGPLK)

129 First car was a '61 Buick LeSabre convertible. It used a lot of gas but at least it was slow.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at August 25, 2013 01:09 PM (aOnaK)

130 Never cared for the hippie vans and I am not sorry to see them go. Used to love pointing out to Hippies, aka my high school teachers, that the same company that made thees also made tanks and staff cars for the "Wermacht und da SS" and their vans were made with recycled tank parts by jewish workers rescued from the concentration camps. The last part may have been a bit of a stretch but it always got their goat. The only VW van I am interested in is Filmore from the Cars movies.

Posted by: The Man from Athens at August 25, 2013 01:10 PM (RXQ2T)

131 Pretty sure that's racist.

Look, I'm not going to be niggardly with my speech and throw half the language into a black hole.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at August 25, 2013 01:11 PM (JawqV)

132 My first car, speaking of rear-engine air coolers, was a 1965 Corvair. Monza coupe. Traded a Honda CB350 for it. Drove that car all over the country. Never failed. Had to replace exhaust once and the Midas dealer had a manifold for it *on the shelf* in stock! No good heat but boy could it go in the snow...

Posted by: Mr Wolf at August 25, 2013 01:11 PM (UIAT6)

133 No, the worst thing was... The Thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_181 Posted by: torquewrench at August 25, 2013 04:29 PM (gqT4g) ********* Aka Rommel's staff car! Always thought these should come with a black iron cross painted on the side.

Posted by: The Man from Athens at August 25, 2013 01:12 PM (RXQ2T)

134 Use to catch rides to high school from two different friends that had VW's. One had to park on hills so she could pop the clutch. The other had a sweet red convertible but she wound up wrecking it and herself.

Posted by: lindafell at August 25, 2013 01:12 PM (PGO8C)

135 My first car was a '92 Saturn, bought new. Didn't have a car until I was a postdoc - walked everywhere before that (a lot thinner then!). I've been really happy with my VW Eos, now 5 1/2 yrs old. Runs like a champ and the top is outstanding. Wish more companies would copy that top.

Posted by: Y-not at August 25, 2013 01:12 PM (5H6zj)

136 "Car from the book of Revelations." Hah! Wow. I had one of those "WARNING-in case of rapture this car will be unmanned" bumper stickers on the back window of the Falcon.

Posted by: nothinglefttolose at August 25, 2013 01:13 PM (QbKVX)

137 First car was a '61 Buick LeSabre convertible. It used a lot of gas but at least it was slow. Huh. Maybe thatÂ’s why my Â’64 kept overheating. Mine had a little alarm built into the speedometer, you could set it to a speed and it would warn you if you exceeded that speed. On a long trip IÂ’d have that thing pushed up to about 80 by the end of the trip. (This was in the days of the 55 mph limit.)

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at August 25, 2013 01:13 PM (CeNUw)

138 VW things were the worst cars ever.  People that couldn't afford a Jeep CJ-7 bought them. 

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at August 25, 2013 01:13 PM (jucos)

139 What was it...a Henry J? Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 04:27 PM

Okay pal...you asked for it....

My first car (in 1966) -- mine, as opposed to driving my late grandfather's '50 Chevy 'til my sister got a driver's license and took it over -- was a '53 Kaiser DeLuxe. Flathead six, four-speed Hydramatic. I loved it, at least until it had some kind of fatal malady strike. I replaced it with a '52 Kaiser bought from a retired dude who had been a mechanic at the Kaiser dealer in town. Also had the four-speed Hydro. The Henry J's "big brother," so to speak....

Wish I still had one. They were great rides. Of course I wish I still had my '54 VW Beetle, Honda N600 sedan and 600Z Coupe, my Austin-Healeys (Bugeye Sprite and 100-4), My Citroen DS-21, my....

Posted by: MrScribbler at August 25, 2013 01:13 PM (kaGpp)

140 Yanks and Rays going into the 11th at Tropicana.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:13 PM (y0sTd)

141 Only 26,000 Type 181s or Things or Safaris were imported into the US.  Shares floor pans with the Type 141 Karmann Ghia.  Everything else, not so much. 

Easy to spot a real Kubelwagen from a Thing in the movies.  Things have a flat front hood with spare tire mounted.  Kubelwagens have a recessed mounting for the spare tire on the front hood.

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:14 PM (LZKqg)

142 Dated a girl whose brother had a Corvair six cylinder in   his Bug.  He'd  put a cam, carb and headers on it. Sounded pretty good for a six, but it wasn't that fast.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:15 PM (0HooB)

143 Posted by: The Man from Athens at August 25, 2013 05:10 PM

You have a Toyota, Mitsubishi or Subaru, pal?

Posted by: MrScribbler at August 25, 2013 01:15 PM (kaGpp)

144 I hate all you people with your cool-first-car stories. Mine was a shit-brown '81 Mercury Lynx (i.e., Ford Escort) station wagon with faux wood paneling. Whatever the opposite is of "chick magnet," that was it.

But the family car I learned to drive in was a classic: rust-bucket bright yellow Jeep Wagoneer back when they could fit 15 people in 'em. You had to keep the windows open or the gas fumes would kill your brain cells. And circa 1985, it kaboshed what should have been a really good date with a very cute girl when she sliced her leg open on the passenger's side rust. Doh!

Posted by: jakeman at August 25, 2013 01:15 PM (fbMnQ)

145 My, those little Jap Little Leaguers are assholes. When I was pitching, I'd have beaned 'em for yelling from the dugout like that. Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at August 25, 2013 04:58 PM (/dv33) All Star tournaments in Florida as a kid. The teams from...South Florida...were always interesting. VERY vocal.

Posted by: BCochran1981 - Credible Hulk at August 25, 2013 01:16 PM (GEICT)

146 A friend and myself bought a '67 VW convertible that was chopped up to be a half assed dune buggy. We bought it to drive from Camp Pendleton to New York. We made it to Denver.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at August 25, 2013 01:16 PM (aOnaK)

147 Look what I found on CL in Louisiana. Heh.  A frankenstein but pretty cool...  has a vid walk-around on YouToob too..

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/4022681331.html

VW single-cab truck 1971

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 01:16 PM (/jHWN)

148 Don't run down the Thing--I always wanted one of those.  And yes, it should be painted sand brown with iron crosses on the side....

Posted by: Jenk at August 25, 2013 01:17 PM (8xKUx)

149 It used a lot of gas but at least it was slow.

lol!!!

Posted by: Peaches at August 25, 2013 01:17 PM (8lmkt)

150 Learned to drive in a '73 Ford LTD and a '73 Ford F250 supercab pickup. Both were green. We called the LTD the "tank". Mount a 90 mm cannon on the top and it could take on any Soviet or American tank then in production. Always wanted to rent it out to a Vietnamese family of 12; and they'd still have room for grandma!

Posted by: The Man from Athens at August 25, 2013 01:18 PM (RXQ2T)

151

We made it to Denver.

 

 

I'd call that a success.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:18 PM (y0sTd)

152 My favorite car was a 1966 Chrysler Newport 2 door.  My dad found it in Gulfport MS.  No rust.  A real classic.  Brought it back to MN.  What a cruiser.  The thing was 22 feet long.  You could fit 7 college men in it and the trunk slept 3.  I cried when I blew it up. 

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at August 25, 2013 01:18 PM (jucos)

153 Jenk, got deep pockets?

http://www.oldbug.com/schwim1.htm

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:19 PM (LZKqg)

154 Great classic car post, Purp. You never see restored rebuilt buses the way you do Mustangs and Chargers. The few times I see one of these on the road, I think "Shit. How's the hell is that thing still running?"

Posted by: L, elle at August 25, 2013 01:20 PM (0PiQ4)

155 145 Hitting players is no longer done even in the majors.Pity,because guys stand and admire heir homeruns like assholes.In theold day the next AB one would whistle by their ear,or plunk them in the middle of the back.

Posted by: steevy at August 25, 2013 01:20 PM (9XBK2)

156 Fucking movie The Butler number 1 for the second week in a row.Fuck that fat racist bitch Oprah.

Posted by: steevy at August 25, 2013 01:22 PM (9XBK2)

157 No heat and no defrost.

You gotta take the accordion tubes from the heater boxes to the body's heat channels off to take the engine out.

For some reason, when people do that, they always manage to lose them and they never get put back on.  90% of air cooled VW I've ever owned or worked on had those accordion tubes missing or not hooked up and just dangling.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 01:22 PM (2BHYC)

158 155 145 Hitting players is no longer done even in the majors.Pity,because guys stand and admire heir homeruns like assholes.In theold day the next AB one would whistle by their ear,or plunk them in the middle of the back. Posted by: steevy at August 25, 2013 05:20 PM (9XBK2) It happens rarely in the bigs. Much more prevalent in the minors/indie leagues/college. Too much money involved in the bigs.

Posted by: BCochran1981 - Credible Hulk at August 25, 2013 01:22 PM (GEICT)

159 155 Of course they still play bean ball.  Washington and Atlanta had a series a couple weeks ago that was beanballtastic.  Players and managers tossed.  It was awesome.

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at August 25, 2013 01:23 PM (jucos)

160 I drove air cooled VWs for almost 15 years before I bought my first new car. I had a 64 bug (6 volt, 1200cc motor), a 71 Super, and a weird combo 68 1/2 year bug with no IRS.
I don't miss the near constant maintenance, but do miss the cheap parts.
I will get one when I get older, and make it into the car I've always wanted: mid engine Subaru WRX motor, double wishbone suspension all the way around, 1+2 seating, huge meats and brakes, and lots more.

Posted by: Mark at August 25, 2013 01:23 PM (s9Ylx)

161
   Never mind the tech advances in the new cars, driving one of the oldies is just sheer enjoyment.

   They haven't had the personality engineered out of them, leaving them bland transportation modules.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 25, 2013 01:23 PM (SAMxH)

162 I had a '69 single cab truck and a '65 17 window bus. I wish I had more time for remembrance now, but am busy. I had them back before they were expensive, but I wouldn't compete in today's traffic with them. That '69 truck was scarce even back then, because of the 'chicken tax' which killed the VW truck in this country after about 1961. The chicken tax is also the reason that all Japanese trucks had their beds bolted on in this country as it only applied to 'fully assembled' trucks.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 25, 2013 01:23 PM (zCsn3)

163

Fucking movie The Butler number 1 for the second week in a row.Fuck that fat racist bitch Oprah.

 

Steevy, don't hold it in,   it's not good for you.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:24 PM (0HooB)

164

You gotta take the accordion tubes from the heater boxes to the body's heat channels off to take the engine out.

___________

Couldn't.  The channels for the heat and defrost were completely rusted out. 

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at August 25, 2013 01:25 PM (jucos)

165 My first car was a 74 Vega GT. 4 speed with black vinyl seats and no AC. Went through a quart of oil every two weeks and when it rained, the water dripped in around the fuse box onto my foot on the clutch.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 25, 2013 01:25 PM (jNNPU)

166 Game thread up now

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 01:25 PM (lZvxr)

167 Or perhaps interested in 1955-1960 VW Type 14 Karmann Ghias?
http://www.kglowlightregistry.com/

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:26 PM (LZKqg)

168 I kept mine alive with the old book "How to Keep Your VW Alive" by John Muir. Anyone remember it?

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 25, 2013 01:26 PM (zCsn3)

169 You never see restored rebuilt buses the way you do Mustangs and Chargers. The few times I see one of these on the road, I think "Shit. How's the hell is that thing still running?"

Posted by: L, elle at August 25, 2013 05:20 PM


A restored bus- be it 11, 13, or 21-window, but especially the 21-window, will bring over 60k these days.  There are many places that specialize in restoring them, especially in CA and OR.  Even cheapo ones are bringing over 10k.  Most of the ones I see are campers tho- I've been looking for a standard 'van' (bug, or Corvair van) for years, but they seem to get snapped up by stupid yuppies paying WAY too much for them.  Oh well- they'll die, their kids won't appreciate them and they'll get trashed and then resold.  Then restored.  Again.

Oh, if you like old-car stuff, and are not looking at Jay Leno's garage videos on U-tube, you gots problems.

Posted by: Mr Wolf at August 25, 2013 01:27 PM (UIAT6)

170 Game thread  up, eh?  If I played, I'd be there, but as it is, I can't decipher anything they're talking about.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:27 PM (0HooB)

171 Oh, and poor me. My first car was a 1966 Simca 1000. Worst crash test video in history....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=resYntidpbM

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 25, 2013 01:28 PM (zCsn3)

172 The best car I ever owned was a 1970 Olds 98. I got it for a song just before they phased out leaded gas. It would run like shit on anything other than Sunoco 260. That's 102 octane leaded gas. For a car the size of medium aircraft carrier, she could get up on her hind legs and GO.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at August 25, 2013 01:28 PM (aOnaK)

173 163 I let it out all the time but I'm still filled with hate and rage.

Posted by: steevy at August 25, 2013 01:29 PM (9XBK2)

174 Muir's book is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written.  And the amazingly crazy artwork kept the humor quotient up.

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:29 PM (LZKqg)

175 The most horrifying car wreck I've ever seen was a mid 60's VW Bug versus a 67' XR7 Cougar. North of Candlestick park near the old Paul ave. exit on hwy 101.

Posted by: 13times at August 25, 2013 01:29 PM (fGPLK)

176 "Shit. How's the hell is that thing still running?"

You can still get all the necessary sheet metal engine/trans/suspension/glass parts and stuff to pretty much do a ground up restoration on anything from ~61' onward.  Earlier models can be problematic due to a different steering gear that's made from unobtanium these days

Even gutted no engine/trans/glass rustbuckets that need everything and a ton of body work are going for ~$1,000 these days because they can be restored. 

67' and earlier are highly prized in CA because they're exempt from all CARB requirements and can be hotrodded with wild abandon.  Later models people have a "stock" engine they install for their emission check day, then swap out for the hotrod one when they get home.


Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 01:31 PM (2BHYC)

177

I let it out all the time but I'm still filled with hate and rage.

 

Same here. I wrote a nice post  to slit your wrists  to   just this morning.

 

*looks around*  Don't tell AllenG.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:31 PM (0HooB)

178
My parents had one for years, yeah we got passed alot, but it was plenty roomy for 5 kids so family vacations were bearable.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at August 25, 2013 01:32 PM (lnFK0)

179

Muir's book is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written.

 

 

amen.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:32 PM (y0sTd)

180 Nope, looked it up. The convertible was the Sunliner. Search for Starliner, there's a pic of one just like the guy had. What a beauty. Posted by: Meremortal at August 25, 2013 04:41 PM
=========================================================

Yep.  My brother had a 1960 Sunliner white with blue interior. He went through cars like a kid with cookies. Before that he had a 55 turquoise and white Ford Fairlane Victoria with a Y block V8 .   The best car he had he paid cash for.  It was a 1966 Stingray convertible with a 427/390.  I loved loved that car.   You'd cry if I told you what happened to it.
My  first car was a silver 1960 Ford Galaxie. Then I had a 65 Chevy Impala SS,  then an AMX, and then a Javelin.  After that it was all family sedans...sigh. Oh except for a little Honda CRX.  That car could really scoot.

Posted by: Deanna at August 25, 2013 01:33 PM (+9kd8)

181

My first car was Grandma's  old '56 Chevy  Bel-Air 4-door. 265 Power Pack engine with an oil bath air cleaner, dual exhaust and a PowerSlide 2-speed transmission.  Have no idea what the rear gear ratio  was, but I could go almost all the way through a quarter mile in low gear.

 

No power steering or brakes (which were drums   anyway). Solid steel dash. Gas cap door hidden behind the left taillight. No seat belts. Named it The Bondo Bullet.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at August 25, 2013 01:37 PM (0HooB)

182 Actually, not true. The best car I ever owned is the one I drive now. It's a 2007 Toyota Yaris. It starts when I turn the key and it goes where I point it. Every. Single. Time. And it's a chick magnet.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at August 25, 2013 01:39 PM (aOnaK)

183 CARB is so appropriately named.  Look at how it has throttled California.

Posted by: Chelsea Puma (+SmuD) at August 25, 2013 01:39 PM (LZKqg)

184 Muir's book is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written.

Yep.  its way more than a car repair manual, although it can be used for that too if you want.

Its that book that taught me to really listen to a vehicle and learn the language it was trying to speak to you in.  All mechanical systems speak to you constantly.  Few people are willing to bother trying to listen to what they're trying to say.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 01:39 PM (2BHYC)

185 Nowhere near THAT deep--considering my next major project is physically relocating (back to the sticks) I'll probably have to settle for a reliable late model car that won't break down in the middle of nowhere and will leave me with enough money to consider my first mortgage.  Fantasies are nice, but reality gets in the way and has an ugly tendency to insist on having it's way....

Posted by: Jenk at August 25, 2013 01:42 PM (8xKUx)

186 Thomas Friedman is a loathsome turd .Of course,you know that,but it's good to be reminded. http://tinyurl.com/n3sm5qt

Posted by: steevy at August 25, 2013 01:43 PM (9XBK2)

187 My Galaxie has been telling me to put new springs and brakes on her all summer.  Would have them done by now but for the fuel and power steering pumps.  They were a bit more persistent.

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 01:44 PM (y0sTd)

188 This is so nice, reading remembrances of first cars and such.

My Daddy took me fishing one weekend, and once we got off the major roads, said "Now it's your turn."  I, as a twelve year old, said "What?".  He told me I was going to learn how to drive.  I had never thought about driving before, really, so it was kind of 'wow' moment for me!  I know it was a chevy station wagon with three on the tree, but I had no idea what it entailed.  We switched places, and he was very patient, but holy hell, was I nervous.  He told me what to do, let me go a little ways, and then laid his head back, and said " You got this gal, you know where we are going, so imma gonna nap."  I kept thinking ' oh, crap', imma gonna crash us', but I guess, daddy was watching me while I was "driving"...  hahaha, good times, the best of times!  I got us to the fishing spot safe and sound and woke me dad 'pretending to sleep' up.  I was so fricking proud, and Daddy told me he was proud of me too.

My first car, bought by my ownself was a '79 Pinto!  Ack.  I was 24 years old.  But the previous owner who had bought it new put a "custom" on that sucker and it was badder than bad, for a Pinto I guess.  Didn't cost me much and it could haul ass when challenged.  Bad point, it had friggin black interior in the New Mexico desert.  When I left there, I made a nice little chunk of change for it.

(Sorry for the wall of text.  Ppppleasssssssss, don't send me to the barrel).


Posted by: jem at August 25, 2013 01:45 PM (fM4kr)

189 If the Muir book y'all are talking about is the old How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive the guy I roomed with when I first moved here had that book.  I thought that was a humorous book.


We rebuilt that car and then he was coming home from a bar one night and went off the edge of the road in a curve next to a freshly plowed field.  That thing rolled about 50 times.


It was no longer alive.  

Posted by: Vic at August 25, 2013 01:46 PM (lZvxr)

190 165 My first car was a 74 Vega GT. 4 speed with black vinyl seats and no AC. Went through a quart of oil every two weeks and when it rained, the water dripped in around the fuse box onto my foot on the clutch. Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 25, 2013 05:25 PM (jNNPU) I bought a new one in '73...my first new car....I think that's when the term POS was coined.

Posted by: BignJames at August 25, 2013 01:48 PM (j7iSn)

191 Mine wizzenshaft ist kaput.

Posted by: King Obi of Austria at August 25, 2013 01:49 PM (6xhLc)

192 If the Muir book y'all are talking about is the old How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive the guy I roomed with when I first moved here had that book. I thought that was a humorous book.


Not surprisingly, many of its editions are available on Amazon, some of them spiral bound which would be useful if you used it to actually work on a VW.

Posted by: Retread at August 25, 2013 01:50 PM (Oz+LZ)

193 Posted by: jem at August 25, 2013 05:45 PM

I learned to drive in my father's Austin-Healey 3000. The Driver Ed teacher at my high school hated me: I didn't know it wasn't considered Good Form to power the school's '65 Chevy out of corners. I always wanted to get it into oversteer mode, but he wouldn't let me.

Taking my driving test in the Healey was also fun....

Posted by: MrScribbler at August 25, 2013 01:57 PM (kaGpp)

194 Eh, now talk about car wrecks--this is where those old Detroit cars from the 1960s came in handy.  I was in Illinois at the time and driving a '69 Impala; I worked the night shift and went home in the morning.  I stopped for gas and as I was pulling out of the station was hit by a towtruck.  Well geez--sunlight glare and a damned pale yellow truck.  What could possibly go wrong there?

The truck hit me just behind the driver's side door and knocked the car off of the road and back into the gas station.  I later examined the door and discovered that, had the car not been as solid as it was, I probably would have lost at least one leg below the knee.

As it was, the impact shattered the driver's side window and sprayed glass all over the place.  After I shook off the impact I noticed that some of the flying glass had cut my cheek.  No big deal--I've actually cut myself worse shaving.  Note to self--sober up before shaving.

As a teenager before I fell in love with military style vehicles I wanted a Corvette.  Considering that the body of that car was made out of fiberglass I'd really hate to be in an accident in one....

Posted by: Jenk at August 25, 2013 01:58 PM (8xKUx)

195 Mine wizzenshaft ist kaput.

Not mine.

Posted by: Toni Weiner at August 25, 2013 01:59 PM (Dwehj)

196 I bought a new one in '73...my first new car....I think that's when the term POS was coined.

Posted by: BignJames

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heh! I bought a 76GT about 5 years later cause it was all I could afford as PFC. Drove it all over Tennessee while I was in school, then from Millington, TN to Fort Worth, TX to Camp Pendleton, CA before the engine wore out. Sold it for scrap and bought a motorcycle.

 

As long as I kept oil in the back seat it was good to go. POS would be a kind moniker.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 25, 2013 02:00 PM (A9hpr)

197 The Vega was before people figured out high-Silicon aluminum.  Porsche eventually got it right and made it work

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 02:03 PM (2BHYC)

198 They all have a dual pistons internally and operate the wheels FL-RR, and FR-LR in an "X" shape. Lose one piston seal, and the other still leaves you with two braking wheels.

With an old single master, you lost all four wheels, and were left only with a hand brake

Posted by: Chelsea Purp at August 25, 2013 04:10 PM (2BHYC)


But that was true of a '57 model in just about anything. Split hydraulic systems didn't become commonplace until the mid '60s.



My favorite VW kombi experience? Bought a '60, I think it was, for a hundred dollars, because, according to the seller, it had a seized engine. Sure enough, it could not be turned over. But I spotted soot marks on the generator, and close inspection revealed that the generator had slung its windings out of the armature, and wedged itself solid. So I gave the guy his money, went home, and came back with a well-charged six-volt battery, and some needle-nose pliers. I sat for 20 minutes or so, pulling strands of scorched wire out of the generator, and making a little heap on the ground. Once the now-gutted generator could turn freely, so did the engine. I installed the battery, fired it up, and drove away. The look on the guy's face as I drove off, was priceless.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 25, 2013 02:06 PM (8Fl6F)

199 The Vega was before people figured out high-Silicon aluminum. Porsche eventually got it right and made it work

Chevy replaced the engine in mine at 22k miles, with no prompting from me. I got 70k miles out of the second engine and would have gotten more but for the accident that totaled the poor thing.

Posted by: Retread at August 25, 2013 02:11 PM (Oz+LZ)

200 >>> 2 door, 2 tone 1957 Ford with a 289...."

Shouldn't that have come with a 260?

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 04:30 PM (y0sTd)


IIRC, the '57 Ford would have had a Y-block V8, 272, 292, or 312 cu. in. Or a six cylinder.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 25, 2013 02:13 PM (8Fl6F)

201 I predict that over the next twenty years the price of rods and any other vintage car to plummet, you're seeing it already. Very few under fifty years old have any interest in it. Someone upthread mentioned a Model A pickup, I have an unrestored AA pickup that I don't think even pays to restore. I doubt I'd get my money out of it.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 25, 2013 02:14 PM (APJIX)

202 Posted by: MrScribbler at August 25, 2013 05:57 PM (kaGpp)

Hahahaha!  This is a good thang!

Posted by: jem at August 25, 2013 02:16 PM (fM4kr)

203 When I was stationed in Germany I had a series of VW bugs, although only one registration and set of plates.  I bought the first one from a guy who was rotating out of the country and I noticed later that the paperwork did not match the VIN stamped on the frame.  I had a good relationship with the guy who ran the salvage yard on base so when one with a better engine or body came in, I had an opportunity to swap stuff.  The salvage yard was just going to sell it as scrap anyway so as long as they had the same weight of metal, everybody was happy.  I got to where I could jack a bug up with a hydraulic jack, put jack stands under the the rear axles and have the engine out in a half hour or less.  About the same amount of time to put in a different engine.

I had one engine throw a rod through the top and I had to drive it that way for a week before I could get a new engine.  I would pour oil into the hole and it would spray oil back over the engine compartment almost as fast.  Another time the throttle cable broke and I had to move the choke cable over on the carburetor and drive like that until I could get a new throttle cable.

Most of the bodies were old enough that they did not have gas gauges.  There was a reserve.  You drove until the engine started sputtering and then opened the reserve tap and knew it was time to get gas soon.  You had to make sure to remember to close the tap after filling the gas tank or when the engine sputtered you were SOL.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at August 25, 2013 02:18 PM (31Nrp)

204 "IIRC, the '57 Ford would have had a Y-block V8, 272, 292, or 312 cu. in."

My 1964 F-100 is the last of the Y-Blocks, I think Ford started phasing them out in cars around 1962 when they introduced the 289.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 25, 2013 02:20 PM (APJIX)

205 My first car was a '70 SS 396 Chevelle I bought when I was 16 from the wages from my summer job that summer

Posted by: DAve at August 25, 2013 02:21 PM (OksBo)

206 205 $600

Posted by: DAve at August 25, 2013 02:25 PM (OksBo)

207

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at August 25, 2013 06:18 PM (31Nrp)

 

 

Jackstands.

  Aren't you a dandy!

Posted by: garrett at August 25, 2013 02:27 PM (y0sTd)

208 And then there are near car wrecks.  I'm the oldest of three children, and my father tried to teach me how to drive in a stick-shift Dodge truck.  The shift was on the steering column, but of course before you could shift you had to manage your footwork on the clutch, which was on the floor.  After about three hours he got exasperated and said I was going to learn to drive an automatic shift car.

My mother always hated that truck and pushed my father to sell it as soon as possible; she absolutely refused to allow him to train my brother and sister on that truck.

That was in 1978.  Fast forward to 1985.  I did my hitch in the Army and fortunately for all concerned did not have to drive during those years.  Yeah, call me Toonces.  Ennyhoo, I ended up in Joliet (not the prison!) but my girlfriend at the time would occasionally go to Chicago.  She hated driving on the expressway, and sure enough I found out why--anyone who tells you that they were not almost killed on the Chicago expressways was never there.  It's Thunderdome without Tina Turner.

Soooo, what happened exactly?  Well, we got on the highway leading to the expressway and she pulled over.  "OK, now you drive".  I quickly got the hang of driving a stick shift car (an older Toyota Corolla), but once I got on the expressway I had to adjust to evasive maneuvering while paying attention to the engine and shifting accordingly.  Then we got to Chicago.

Chicago is a driver's nightmare to begin with; most cities are, although I must admit I had an easier time with Philadelphia.  But this is NOT the place to learn how to drive a stick shift vehicle.  By the time we got back home I was a nervous wreck.  It didn't help that it was her mother's car, and that she would have sued the crap outta me if there was as much as a scratch on the paint....

Posted by: Jenk at August 25, 2013 02:33 PM (8xKUx)

209 By the Time It Got to Woodstock, everybody was gone

http://tinyurl.com/k73ayal

Posted by: kbdabear at August 25, 2013 02:36 PM (/9IC1)

210 My 57' bus didn't have a rear bumper.  Without that to bother with, you could swap the clutch disk out in about 45 minutes flat and not have to jack anything up to get the engine out.

Carrying a spare working engine and swapping it at the side of the road was a real option with them.  It could be done faster than trying to fix something or get a tow.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 02:36 PM (2BHYC)

211 150 Learned to drive in a '73 Ford LTD and a '73 Ford F250 supercab pickup. Both were green. We called the LTD the "tank". Mount a 90 mm cannon on the top and it could take on any Soviet or American tank then in production.

Got my dad's LTD for my second car (after totalling the first).  Sucked for mileage, but since we could fit 8 in the beast, it was great for a college car.  All my dorm buddies chipped in for gas, so I didn't have to pay anything.

Posted by: RightWingProf at August 25, 2013 02:37 PM (E/o+q)

212 The only car I ever sold that I regretted was the Dodge Dart. Slant 6, easy as heck to maintain. I knew how to do it all, gap the plugs and the rotor, set the timing chain, carb, the whole bit.

My car today, I can't do anything. I open the hood and have no idea what half of the stuff I am at looking is.

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 02:41 PM (UIH3m)

213 My dad taught me to drive on a standard trans F250.  Learning on a standard is the way to go.  Its harder, but having that flexibility later in life is worth it since your vehicle choices are wide open.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 02:43 PM (2BHYC)

214 '58 Triumph TR3, knock off wheels, red, racing cam.  Sweetest car I ever owned.  Courted my first wife in it. 

Somebody had to sorta stick a leg out of it if you were parking on rural Pennsy roads.

Posted by: Trainer's looking to join a Militia. at August 25, 2013 02:47 PM (7EbAY)

215 My car today, I can't do anything. I open the hood and have no idea what half of the stuff I am at looking is.

My TDI diesel was kinda like that until I got the Bentley manual and VW factory repair DVD. 

Now there's no mysteries.  Everything is doable. It may be a massive day long PITA, even for VW factory trained techs (*cough* heater core job coming up next *cough*), and I may have to plan some special tool aquisitions before doing certain stuff, but none of it is in that dark scary unknown void anymore.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 02:49 PM (2BHYC)

216 I learned to drive a stick first in a used Jeep CJ5.  I thought I was good enough at it until I bought a '63 Chevy truck.  Wrong.  The clutch had about 10" of play in it ( it seemed) and the floor shifter had an enormous pattern.  The granny gear was so low, it was unusable...   I learned not to fill the gas tank up too much on it cause (behind the seat ) it would dribble out gas in the cab when I'd take turns.

That truck wore me out for at least a week as i learned to drive it..  I still remember the hopping,  the clutch would release about halfway up and the whole thing jerking around violently... of course unless I stalled it out.. which I did  few times..

Posted by: Chelsea Yip at August 25, 2013 02:49 PM (/jHWN)

217 There was an accident years ago on Rt 50 near Gilberts Corner in Western Northern Virginia involving a 1970 VW convertible. The fuel tank had lost its integrity and the piece of cardboard separating the passenger compartment from the rear of the instrument panel and passenger compartment just wasn't up to the task. Young college kid didn't make it home, when they extenguished the fire he was still upright in the seat. My old Loudoun Times Mirror reporter friend says it was the most horrific accident he could remember. The later Super Beetle in '71 separated the passenger compartment from the fuel tank with solid steel.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 25, 2013 02:50 PM (zxBmi)

218 I courted my wife in a bright red '67 VW Convertible. She didn't stand a chance!

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 25, 2013 02:51 PM (zxBmi)

219 Learned to drive on a 68 Mustang That's right

Posted by: Thunderb at August 25, 2013 02:55 PM (zOTsN)

220 Learned to drive a stick in a 65 Bus. Learned how to replace exhaust valves,(infamous No 3 cyl) etc.

Posted by: JimK at August 25, 2013 02:57 PM (+R7VH)

221 mechanics actually know that VW did not have a transmission they had a transaxle (no driveshaft_

Posted by: occam at August 25, 2013 02:59 PM (8Gplw)

222 And oddly enough, my current vehicle is still running just fine. Except for the electronic doors and windows which at times (after 12 years of service) sometimes do not function at all. Meaning, there I am standing outside of my own car with bags of groceries to load in, pushing buttons on my key fob thingy and absolutely nothing happens. It is the single most infuriating thing I have ever experienced in any car I have ever owned.

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 03:01 PM (UIH3m)

223 My favorite vehicle from the good old days of youth was a '64 chevy straight six pickup.  The old girl burned a little bit of oil, but when the temperature hit minus 30 in the wintertime, it was the only thing in the neighborhood that would start reliably.

Posted by: Fritz at August 25, 2013 03:01 PM (KIHQS)

224 Heh. Hammer scores a hat tip.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at August 25, 2013 03:14 PM (aDwsi)

225 My favorite vehicle from the good old days of youth was a '64 chevy straight six pickup. The old girl burned a little bit of oil, but when the temperature hit minus 30 in the wintertime, it was the only thing in the neighborhood that would start reliably.
Posted by: Fritz
---------------

I had a 65 1/4 ton Chevy. 232 cu. in six, if memory serves.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at August 25, 2013 03:15 PM (aDwsi)

226 I hate those keyfob things.  Mine has one, but everything can be done with the mechanical key too.

When the battery died in it, the dealers wanted crazy money, so I pried it apart and lo and behold there was a standard hearing aid type battery in there and very replaceable under a clip like on computer motherboard batteries.

I have a friend that had a new Chrysler and the dealers wanted $300 to "fix" the dead battery in the fob.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 03:18 PM (2BHYC)

227

That would probably be 235  cu.  in. Hammer.

 

My first car was a 1951 Chevy 2-door hardtop, with Powerglide  tranny.  Not good for drag racing

Posted by: Ronster at August 25, 2013 03:19 PM (/MngQ)

228 Yeah, what usually happens is I open the drivers door with the key, the alarm sounds, I shut it off, then I start the car, and press the "unlock all doors" button.
That will open 2 out of 5 doors. I still will have 3 doors that will not open, including the hatch back, which is the most frustrating thing.
The car is a 2001 Ford Escape. I never thought the car would outlast the doors, but there it is.

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 03:23 PM (UIH3m)

229 A 2001 has a few years on it.  Check the symptom with some Google searches and see if its not something simple like old leaky vacuum hose operated locks.

Some are electrical, but a vacuum operated system was popular for a while too.  If electrical, it might just be a corroded connection on something that old, or a sticky solenoid you can free up with some WD and a few taps.

Doors/trim are usually a PITA to take apart without a repair manual to give the precise order.  Shit goes together like a Chinese puzzle.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 03:36 PM (2BHYC)

230 When the first door went, I took it in to the dealer. Wanted $700 to fix it, said he would have to torch the locks off.
Google says this is not an uncommon problem with this particular vehicle.
Meh. I am going to trade it in. Would prefer mechanical doors and windows but I doubt if you can even find those anymore.

Posted by: navybrat at August 25, 2013 03:39 PM (UIH3m)

231 Purp, you can say that again. I wanted to get to the window operating motor on a 92 Saturn. Figured the normal way is from the inside. Tried that and no go. Checked a manual and the access is from the outside. Have to take off the outer door skin. I said fook it.

Posted by: Ronster at August 25, 2013 03:42 PM (/MngQ)

232 I had a '78 cargo van that had the 2 litre injected engine. That was the last of the German made vans in that style. It too had 4 drums but the master cylinder was a wee bit better than the one you had, but not much. It had no windows aside from the front 3 and one on the hatch and 1 ton torsion bars which firmed it up a great deal. With good tires it handled rather well once one got used to the body roll and serious under-steer. I had installed high-backed Toyota seats in it and had fabbed up a kerosene heater that was connected to the vent ducting which afforded an excellent wind-shield defrost in seconds and toasty heat without the engine running. The gas heater actually worked too but I disconnected it for fear of it bursting into flames as they were wont to do. For some reason I cannot recall I sold it to one of my apprentices and he soon wrecked it on a narrow bridge. Damned shame. I really miss that van.

Posted by: TrueNorthist at August 25, 2013 04:06 PM (3Aixx)

233 There was a well-known electronics designer for National Semiconductor , Bob Pease who was a fan of bugs and wrote a few articles.  He had barely retired and died after hitting a tree in one, possibly not belted in.


Posted by: bill sometimes bill from Canada at August 25, 2013 04:08 PM (8IbIJ)

234 I have to get a comment in about my first car. I did not get my license till I turned 19, but my pop got me a car at 15, a blue 69 chevelle. Some yokel thought it was a race car, had no hood latch had two chrome posts and chrome cotter pins to hold down the hood. It was a V8, but had a 2 speed slush-box automatic in it, and HIGH gear did not work and it had no exhaust after the Y-Pipe. I would drive it up and down the highway( doing 70) in low with no exhaust at age 15, its a wonder the state troopers ever let me have a license :-) I can even remember my first car with Power Brakes. God it tok a long time to get uses to gently pushing a brake pedal. I am sure I hit my head on the windshield a half dozen times when I started driving that car. Good times indeed I had 2 other cars back then before I got my license. A blue 66 buick skylark that got rear-ended and totaled by some executive after a long lunch. And another buick, a 67 special with a 300 V8 2 barrel carb that ran super smooth and got 28 mpg. That one went thru a garage going 45 in an alley when doing something inappropriate. I was sad

Posted by: Late_to_the_party at August 25, 2013 04:25 PM (Zz48T)

235

Saw one of these Kombis in England earlier this month. Problems with the engine and transmission were solved!  The fellow had put a Subaru boxer flat four and transmission in the back end of the Kombi.  I talked with the fellow because the exhaust didn't sound like any Kombi I'd ever been around before.

 

He said that there was a company out near Palmdale that made conversion kits where you could swap out the old 36 pony flat four and get a Subaru engine and transmission installed.  You go from 36 to 170 horsepower (which is what the current Subaru flat four makes) and you have a brand new bunch of real giddyup in yer Kombi.  Best part of it from the the owner's viewpoint was the vastly improved gas mileage.  He's getting something like 40 miles to the gallon. And since the English government takes 60% of the price at the pump for gasoline (we're talking maybe $10 plus per US gallon--although it's hard to compute since they sell it by the liter there), the improved gas mileage is a plus.  He'd done a nice job on the body as well.  I don't know how much Bondo was there, but the paint job looked good.

Posted by: Big Tony Wiener at August 25, 2013 04:34 PM (RZP0w)

236 People are push bug motors well over 250hp these days...reliably ;->

Pushing that kind of HP through a stock trans, you gotta beef the diff's spider gears and reinforce the diff's side covers or you'll blow it apart.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 04:47 PM (2BHYC)

237

Funny thing about the VW van of the 1960s is that the transmission turned backwards from the bug transmission. There were reports of people who replaced their van transmission with a bug transmission and ended up with four reverse gears and one forward gear.

 

With regards to oil leaks, the original bug flat four air cooled motor was an oil leak by design. Eight pushrod tubes. Sixteen pushrod tube seals. Oil cooler seals. Every bug leaked and sprayed oil. The inside of a bug hood was usually coated with oil. Same as the Corvair.

Posted by: Frankly at August 25, 2013 07:22 PM (1OtB0)

238

Additionally the VW van was a fire trap. The gas tank was above the engine. The fuel line into the carb connected to a piece of copper tube held into the carb by friction. They frequently vibrated loose and sprayed gas on a hot motor, which as I said was located under the gas tank.

 

Some friends lost everything they had when they were moving from Santa Fe to San Antonio. As they were standing on the side of I10 watching everything they owned go up in flames, someone stopped and asked them "Excuse me, is this the desert?". A surrealistic moment.

Posted by: Frankly at August 25, 2013 07:30 PM (1OtB0)

239 There were reports of people who replaced their van transmission with a bug transmissionand ended up with four reverse gears and one forward gear.

You could do that swap even with the earlier models having reduction gears at the wheel.

When transplanting a bug trans, all you had to do was take the side covers off the diff (one would have the ring gear) and exchange them, thus reversing the rotational direction of the diff's ring gear, transforming a bug trans into a bus trans.

The needed side cover swap mod was obvious if you spent a few seconds thinking about the diff-reduction gear geometry.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 08:42 PM (2BHYC)

240 With regards to oil leaks, the original bug flat four air cooled motor was an oil leak by design.

None I built ever leaked.  All tight as a drum never needing any oil between changes...but I never tried to cheap out and reuse a pushrod tube or seal either, and I never separated case halves with any tools that would damage the finely machined mating surfaces.

A new pushrod tube comes with the accordions expanded longer than they will be after the heads are torqued.  After torquing, they'll be positively pressing against the seals.

If you take a head off and fail to re-expand them or (better) use new one, and new seals, of course it will leak -- they won't be pushing against the seals the way they were designed to because some butcher fucked up assembling the engine.

It was not an engine that took well to iron block American iron butchers hacking on it.  Treat it as the finely machined jewel it actually was, and it would be reward you.  Abuse it and it would punish you.

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 25, 2013 08:56 PM (2BHYC)

241 WOW............. UCSD.    My old home.   (-:

1968 VW bug.  

Posted by: Dustoff at August 26, 2013 05:18 AM (sG76x)

242 The best times of my life rolled out across America, Europe, Africa and the near East, in a VW bus. Abandoned the last one in a Barcelona rest area. Sold the Zodiac, bought a ticket to Munich, and nothing was ever as much fun again. Fare thee well old and trusty friend. Maybe there will be one waiting at the gates...

Posted by: and irresolute at August 26, 2013 05:47 AM (2qM95)

243 My copy of "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" is held together with duct tape.

Had a girlfriend in college with a '70 Bug that had cardboard for floor pans.  Being the only car between the two of us, I learned how to keep it running with that book.  Later bought a '67 Type 2 Bus for $400, and rebuilt/replaced almost everything.  "Bessie" was a good friend, and a great vehicle.

Later owned a '70 Type 3 Squareback with EFI for $75.  It had been sitting around too long, and was almost entirely rusted out.  Had to rebuild the entire fuel system due to gelled gasoline.  Ran great after that.

I also had '65 Bus that I converted to 12 volt, and a '66 Porsche 912.  The Porsche was way cool.  Almost bought a '65 Notchback, but didn't really have the money at the time.

Sold everything when I left Alabama.  I'm not sure life has ever been as good since.

Posted by: Vercingetorix at August 26, 2013 06:06 AM (Ik8Ue)

244 Every time I see one of those, I wish I had a rocket launcher.

Posted by: John the Libertarian at August 26, 2013 08:54 AM (/rhjC)

245 Look, those hippie-mobiles are crimes against vehicular design.  I left California back in 1985 and never looked back.  Every time I see one of those things, it is like a slap in the face and a return to pan handling, crime riddled illegal-welcoming mindlessness.  A trademark hippie, long, thin, gray pony tail, had the temerity to rent the old farm house from the equestrian center down the road.  Every time I passed him in the Eldo, he received my righteous indignation in the form of the freeway sign through the Cad's moon roof.  Luckily, he was gone in only a few months.  Stop romanticizing these tin cans.  They are anti-capitalist on every conceivable level.

Posted by: Mazzuchelli at August 26, 2013 09:09 AM (zAZNI)

246 John the Libertarian said it better.

Posted by: Mazzuchelli at August 26, 2013 09:10 AM (zAZNI)

247 Der VW Hippiepackwagen bewegt in die Geschichte Bücher

==>

Geschichtebücher (besser Deutsch)

Posted by: affenhauer at August 26, 2013 09:16 AM (kR7s3)

248

Some of the posters here are pathetic.  My first car was a '67 Chevy Camaro.  They don't come much better than a 327 small block in terms of cheap and easy.  Of course I had to upgrade to the 275HP model, headers, double hump heads, hood locks, mags, all the good stuff.  Ran 13.80s in the quarter, 100 MPH flat at Fremont.  Sold it for more than I paid for it.  Unlike some loser morons, my cars NEVER broke down.  Not once, and I thrashed it.  It had 74K on it when I bought it four years old.  When I sold the motor to one of my husband's  tow truck drivers, the motor was like new when they tore it down.  The hydraulic lifters had a tiny bit of varnish.  That was it.  He dumped it into a tiny Chevy II and turned it into a screamer. 

I also had  a '67 GTO, four speed 400 CID, hood tack.  Beautiful, wonderful car to drive but hard to get used to stabled with the Chevy's.  The motors used to be entirely different in concept.  You could drop headers on a Chevy and turn 13s in the quarter.  Do the same to a Pontiac and it might go slower.  To me Chevy's always hauled ass while Pontiacs hauled hay bales.  Would I love to have that goat back?  Hell, yes.

I had tons of beloved, road burning Cadillacs and one really special '67 Olds Starfire with a 425 CID momo.  That sucker turned 14 flat in the quarter and burned the little bias ply the entire distance down Fremont drag strip.  That was the last time I got to drive it.  My husband and his brothers took it away so they could play with it.  Savages.

Now THEM were the days.

My second car was my first Corvette, a '64 roadster.  I'm now on what I hope is not my last, a 2003 Z06, torch red. 

How's that for a VW bicarbonate?

 

 

Posted by: Mazzuchelli at August 26, 2013 09:24 AM (zAZNI)

249 I used to embarrass Corvettes at stoplights with my hotrodded bug.  A zillion HP don't mean squat if you can't get it to the ground

Posted by: Chelsea Purp[/i][/b][/u][/s] at August 26, 2013 05:45 PM (2BHYC)

250 First driver? Ford Jubilee tractor pulling a peanut trailer.
First on the (dirt) road? 56 Ford Fairlane V8 Fordomatic.
First on the highway? Chevy 1 1/2 ton hoghauler.
First car of my own? 64 Plymouth Valiant 273 V8/4spd.
First truck? 58 Chevy 3/4 ton.
Current driver? 2012 F250.
My daily beater? 63 Plymouth Valiant slant 6/ pushbutton auto. I know, I'm going backwards.

Posted by: EROWMER at August 28, 2013 05:10 PM (OONaw)

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