Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas from pre67vw

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Cream Ale Wins Gansett Contest

Cream Ale it is! I can't wait.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Bugspotting: Fever Pitch(2005)

 

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Fever Pitch is a 2005 film starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore(a personal favorite). Jimmy Fallon plays a teacher and is a die hard Red Sox fan who falls for a up and coming female executive played by of course Drew Barrymore. The Volkswagen Beetle in question driven by Jimmy Fallon and is seen through at different parts of the film. According to the IMCDb.org it is a 1976 Volkswagen Beetle, though I think it’s wrong because after 1974 Beetles had the enlarged elephant foot taillights and from what I could see the one used here had the earlier version which was smaller. It’s a small point but it was still a nice surprise to spot it.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Engine Stand Bracket



Just received the VW engine stand bracket from Ebay (Courtesy of VW Alley). It fit's right on my engine stand I got from Harbor Freight. I'll need to drill a few (1/2") holes to use a pin to hold it in place. Then I'll still need a hoist to lift it up. Would love to get motor off the floor soon!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Steve Jobs and his VW

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Steve Wozniak and Steve Job’s in the mid 70’s

Steve Job’s is stepping down from Apple. Little do most of us know that Apple came from a Volkswagen. To start up Apple Steve Job’s reportedly sold his Volkswagen Microbus for a $1000. Add in Steve Wozniak’s Texas Instruments calculator and we now have Apple Corporation.

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It got me wondering just where did this VW end up. Has anyone ever tried to find it? Kind of Like Papa John’s founder John Schnatter finding his original Camaro he sold to start his restaurant empire a couple of years back. How much would this VW be worth today one has to wonder. I tried do some research on it but found nothing. If someone knows something let me know.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Vintage VW Commercial: Cowboy’s and Beetle’s!

Here’s an interesting vintage Volkswagen Beetle commercial that feature’s a Bug rounding up some cattle. Is their anything a VW Beetle can’t do?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Punch Buggy: In Arnold Lane with Pink Floyd

Most recently spotted a vintage Beetle in Pink Floyd’s first promotional video called “Arnold Lane” . This was first released in 1967 and was written by Pink Floyds original frontman Syd Barrett. A nice little tune about a transvestite who steals women’s undergarments. Well I digress, we find our vintage Beetle about 31 seconds into the video with a couple of band members standing up through the soft top.

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It looks to be Syd Barrett with a mannequin, used to represent “Arnold Layne” I imagine. No idea who the Volkswagen belonged to.

 

This was in the band’s early psychedelic years with Syd Barrett. This was long before they became the mega rock stars in the mid-70’s. Shine on you crazy diamond!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Super Beetle Report: Engine out!

Yesterday I finally hunkered down pulling out the engine of our 71 Super Beetle. It took some effort for sure. Though supposedly these are easier then your typical engine removal it still wasn’t that easy. Being my first time I took it step by step so it actually took a few hours to do. A special thanks to the Bug Me Video series which I took notes from and guided me along the way. I felt like a took a big step in the whole restoration process. Now I just have to figure out what the next step is.

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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Volks Vair Show 2011

I was finally able to hit a VW show this past weekend. This was the Volks Vair Annual show at Herbert Candies Mansion in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts on Saturday August 6, 2011.Even with the thick cloud cover it was a pleasant day overall.This show features a mixture of air-cooled Volkswagens and Chevrolet Corvairs. Enjoy the pictures!

Volks-Vair Show 2011

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Pleasure Chest

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

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You can see more of my pictures on Flickr.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Punch Buggy: Better off Dead & Goodfellas

My Beetle addiction is growing stronger. I’m even spotting them in movies like a couple I watched over the weekend. First was the mob classic “Goodfellas” which I see a VW Bug passing by in the background as we see Tommy Devito(played by Joe Pesci) getting into another car thinking their going make him a “made” man when really going to his own death.

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Next one was movie more on the lighter side of life called “Better off Dead” starring John Cusack. This movie is more well known for the “Better off Dead Camaro” driven later in the film. We spot a VW convertible being driven by Lane Myer’s(John Cusack) science teacher with Beth whom he had broken up with earlier in the film.

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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Friday, July 15, 2011

Vintage VW Commercial: Sing it Frank!

Here’s one with both the classic and newer Beetle(the “Old” New Beetle that is with a new version soon coming).

Bug Show videos

Here’s a couple Bug show video’s from Chris Vallone of Classic VW Bugs. These remind me of two things: 1. I’ve so far missed every Bug show within striking distance this season(One of which was the second video in Litchfield,CT). 2. I need to get going on our Bug. Thanks Chris for the reminder and great videos.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Nice 72 Super Beetle up for grabs

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Here’s a nice 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle convertible for sale locally(Rhode Island). I found this one via Craigslist. Inspected and ready to roll. Nice way to cruise around this summer.Asking for $5500 – Contact through link above.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Bug Spotting

Here’s a VW Bug I spotted while out on an errand. Looks to be a 73/74 or later Standard Bug judging by the taillights. It was kind odd that it was parked by itself in a shopping plaza parking lot in Providence, Rhode Island. All I can figure is it belonged to someone working in the shopping plaza. Not in bad condition overall. It’s not a show winner but it’s pretty decent shape without any major blemishes.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Vintage VW Ad: VW Beetle with 84 MPG!

 

 

I thought this one would be with everyone concerned about gas mileage these days. This is the famous “Honest 25 MPG” Volkswagen Beetle commercial from the gas crisis era of the 1970’s. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

100,000th Beetle on Ebay

 

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It’s actually the the 100,000 produced in the Emden, Germany Volkswagen factory. It’s a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle that is now being offered on Ebay in original condition. Meaning it needs some work. The full story can be read on the Ebay listing here. One question would be would you leave it in original condition or restore it?

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Original Story thanks to Bring A Trailer

Friday, May 20, 2011

Vintage Beetle Commercial of the Week

 

Alright I don’t normally have this feature but maybe I should. The advertising of the VW Beetle was just as popular as the car itself. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

$43K for a 1973 Super Beetle Restoration!?

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I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that figure. Yes that’s how much the restoration cost for the above 1973 VW Super Beetle Cabriolet. It is currently for sale by the owner and can be contacted through the Bring a Trailer website. The current asking price is at $23,500. The meticulous restoration was done by Motorworks Restorations located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You can see extensive photos of the the restoration here. They certainly did an awesome job on it. Although it’s not unusual for restorations of earlier Bugs, later ones(especially Super Beetles) don’t usually get as much attention.

Monday, May 9, 2011

James Bond in VW Beetle?

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I’m in the middle of enjoying the James Bond flick “Quantum of Solace” when when James Bond gets picked up(driven by a beautiful woman of course) in a beat up VW Beetle and makes a getaway. I researched it and found out it’s a 1997 Beetle built in Mexico. I found this out through the IMCDB(Internet Movie Cars Data Base) which even the owner of the vehicle chimes in on the message board. It’s only used quick for one scene. Just never thought of James Bond making a getaway in a Bug.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Cruise Night Beauties

Having a night off I decided to hit a local cruise night in Cumberland, Rhode Island. This one is hosted by the Rhode Island Chevy Owner’s Association but all makes and models are welcome. Being a VW enthusiast I was on the lookout for them. I was not disappointed.

Fully Loaded VW

Herbie Fully Loaded

This “Herbie” influenced Super Beetle was the first I came across. I spotted this on a previous occasion at a different cruise night For those that don’t know this version of Herbie was influenced by the last movie “Herbie: Fully Loaded” starring Lindsay Lohan( before meltdown). On the outside it looks to be in very good condition. The interior is in what I would call a “lived in” condition. Not bad overall and gives me a good example of what to shoot for with our Super Beetle.

Beetle Convertible

Beetle Convertible

This baby blue Super Beetle convertible is another I’ve seen before. This one just seems to have “fun to drive” written all over it. It’s in very nice condition and I love the “stance” the wheels give it.

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

This 1967 Volkswagen Beetle is an incredible sight. It is in showroom condition and is very sharp. It was originally a California car and was brought to the area by current owner and restored to present condition. A lot of work and eye for detail certainly went into this ride.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Updated: I’ve seen this one before

Update June 11,2011: Here is the Craigslist ad for this wonderful car.

1966 Volkswagen Beetle

My brother-in-law recently sent me this picture of this 1966 VW Bug for sale in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. After looking at it some more it looked somewhat familiar. So I looked through my Flickr collection and low and behold I did see this before at a cruise night in 2008.

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I can’t tell you much more about the car itself. The going price is $5500 if your interested. I wish I could make an offer but I’m a bit strapped. I hope it finds a nice home.

 

Saturday, April 30, 2011

First Bug Show of the year

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The Connecticut Volkswagen Association’s 21st Annual Dust-Off is tomorrow at Mansfield Hollow State Park, Mansfield, Connecticut. This will be my fist all VW show and It should be interesting. I’m looking forward to the event and hope it will inspire, motivate and generally get me off my keester to do some more work on our Bug. I believe the weather should be agreeable for a good showing. You can get more info about the show through Connecticut Volkswagen Association's website here.  I’ll be sure and post some photo’s of the visit here soon afterwards.

Beetle Stories from the New York International Auto Show



Looks sporty enough. Maybe after my 71 is restored I'll consider one of these. I like it better than the 2nd generation Beetle which kind of gained the reputation of a "chicks" car(no offense gals!).

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Vintage Racing Beetle Needs New Home

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Here is a 1973 VW Super Beetle with an interesting history. It raced in the SCCA from the 1970’s to the early 90’s. Was also featured in magazine articles and advertisements. Unfortunately is now in need of restoration and repair. I certainly feel this would be an awesome restoration project given the history of this car. If I was financially able to take it I would. I hope someone else can do it justice. Here is the Ebay ad and the original article from the website Bring A Trailer.

Some quality time with the Beetle

Finally this weekend I was able to spend some quality time with our Beetle. My goal in this session was to to at least have the rear fender removed. I was able to reach this goal I’m happy to say, but not without some trouble. Although it may be routine to those who have removed a fender from a VW Beetle it was new to me. In case you don’t know my goal is to replace the heater channels in my 71 Super Beetle. I first have to remove the fenders and bumpers to access all areas to do this.

 

Here is the rear bumper finally removed. Many of the bolts were so rusted that they broke. One I had to grind off. I’m still debating whether to try and save these bumpers or try and save them. Bothe the front and rear bumpers are beat up and would need straightening out. May just be easier and save time to buy new ones, or good used ones, we’ll see how it goes.

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Someone in the history of this bug welded both rear bumper brackets to the body. I wasn’t to happy with these people at the time as I had to grind off the welds in a tight spot. You can also note the original red paint. After some effort and cursing I was able to cut them off.IMG_0618

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Next up was the taillight assembly. It was relatively straight forward. I found it interesting that the wires for light were numbered individually to aid in reassembly. How considerate of those German engineers.

Fender Off

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Last but not least I was able to finally get the rear fender off. The bolts were a combination of 12-13 mm for some reason. This was both good and bad. With the fender off I notice more areas that need attention unfortunately.

Both of these areas are going to need attention as far as rust repair. Well I that’s it for now in my next installment I’ll be going over removing the front bumper and fender. Thanks for coming by.