Auntie Gayle
I've been into VW's since I was 14-15 years old and had the
premonition that I would get my Mom's '71 Bug when I got old enough to drive. I quickly found all of the VW
people around my neighborhood and talked with them about their projects and what they were doing to them and
attempted to watch and learn as much as possible. In high school, one of my best friends also got a bug from his parents when he turned
16.
His was Baby Blue '72, Hammered, with pink wheels. Hey, it was the '80's, what do you expect!! We both
eventually sold our bugs, I owned another VW or two before I bought Jack in college,
but Mark while always partial to VW's, got out of the hobby. Since then Mark and I have gone different directions as life takes you. He has a wonderful family
and while he hadn't owned a VW in years, somehow , his son can't tell a Chevy from a Ford, or a BMW from a
Mercedes, but raising his kids up right, Anthony shrieks "BUG" anytime he sees one on TV or just driving down
the road. Mark and I are still good friends and have always enjoyed
talking VW's and
cars in general anytime
we get together. About mid-way through 2002, I got an email from Mark. Seems he got a phone call we had both
been anticipating for since he sold his '72. His Aunt Gayle wanted him to have her '67 Baby Blue Bug. She knew
he would take care of it and bring it back to it's former glory. These are the pics Mark sent me in that email asking me what I thought about it and the damage on the passenger side. I thought the damage was
manageable and could be repaired without an enormous cost. My view of repairable is a bit
skewed as I live in Southern Ca. and know a lot of very good
body men and have been known to take on a project or two myself. Mark spoke
with a few people up in Northern Ca. where he is and the cost for the repairs would end up being more than
the car would be worth all finished. Mark's struggle with this car went on
for a while as he had become attached to the idea of owning a bug again.
(He had been bitten.)
After speaking with the body men up there, he was so discouraged with the
work needed for this project to be what he wanted out of it, he even tossed out
the idea of just giving me the car as I would take it on as a project/driver.
Well, being the VW freak that I am, I liked this idea and counter his offer.
"How about I find you a good solid So. Cal car?" While he liked this idea,
his Aunt didn't look real favorable on the idea as she wanted the car to stay in
the family and if Mark didn't want it, she would take it back and hold onto it.
When I got that phone call, I didn't really think anything more about the '67
and focused on finding him a car anyway. He and I were sending each other
pics of cars we found on the net, and I was still more than willing to take my
camera out and go shoot pics of anything he found in my area. More than
anything it was fun to talk VW's with my old friend.
Somewhere along Mark and
I sending pics and adds from all around California to each other and talking for
hours on the phone every few nights, he was ready to buy and his aunt had
changed her mind. He had decided to come down for the SV2's Familienfest show
in August, so the clock was ticking as he wanted to take his new ride home with
him. Well when the time came, Mark came down with our friends ERIC
CASTRO and JIMMY LOBAO and they towed down
my new '67 and towed home his new '64. We had a great weekend and at one
point Mark looked at his old '67 and sarcastically said, "You're going to make
me regret giving that one up aren't you?" We both smiled and I knew I'd
have to make this one whole again.
Note: I also went to High
School with Jimmy and knew Eric during this time. Eric called me the other
day, whining that they weren't referred to in the vehicle write up so I included
their names as they were forced to be involved in a great VW weekend.
Mark
sent me a link to his personal site and a link to his '64 bug page. Check
out those 70's front turn signals. Beauty!!!
Mark's '64
In July of 2006 I came across the following Craigslist ad:
67 vw parts car - $200
With the following pictures.
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As the body on my 67 was hit hard on the passanger B pillar, I liked this as
an option for replacing the body instead of trying to workout the B pillar,
and I would end up with a bunch of extra parts to sell off and pay for the new
body.
I've been into VW's since I was 14-15 years old and had the
premonition that I would get my Mom's '71 Bug when I got old enough to drive. I quickly found all of the VW
people around my neighborhood and talked with them about their projects and what they were doing to them and
attempted to watch and learn as much as possible. In high school, one of my best friends also got a bug from his parents when he turned
16.
His was Baby Blue '72, Hammered, with pink wheels. Hey, it was the '80's, what do you expect!! We both
eventually sold our bugs, I owned another VW or two before I bought Jack in college,
but Mark while always partial to VW's, got out of the hobby. Since then Mark and I have gone different directions as life takes you. He has a wonderful family
and while he hadn't owned a VW in years, somehow , his son can't tell a Chevy from a Ford, or a BMW from a
Mercedes, but raising his kids up right, Anthony shrieks "BUG" anytime he sees one on TV or just driving down
the road. Mark and I are still good friends and have always enjoyed
talking VW's and
cars in general anytime
we get together. About mid-way through 2002, I got an email from Mark. Seems he got a phone call we had both
been anticipating for since he sold his '72. His Aunt Gayle wanted him to have her '67 Baby Blue Bug. She knew
he would take care of it and bring it back to it's former glory. These are the pics Mark sent me in that email asking me what I thought about it and the damage on the passenger side. I thought the damage was
manageable and could be repaired without an enormous cost. My view of repairable is a bit
skewed as I live in Southern Ca. and know a lot of very good
body men and have been known to take on a project or two myself. Mark spoke
with a few people up in Northern Ca. where he is and the cost for the repairs would end up being more than
the car would be worth all finished. Mark's struggle with this car went on
for a while as he had become attached to the idea of owning a bug again.
(He had been bitten.)
