Here she is, our 1967 VW Beetle. Two words describe it best: Design. Icon.
I think it was no accident that John chose a '67, an auspicious year in so many ways—Summer of Love, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, my birth year, the Doors' debut album was released, Elvis and Priscilla got hitched, Pink Floyd released their debut album, and these were just a few highlights. Did I mention that I was born in 1967? It was a fucked up year, too, with an Arab-Israeli war, the Shah of Iran coming to power, constant protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War, and the Apollo I disaster. But, I digress. For Beetles, 1967 marked the year that head rests were added to the driver's and front passenger's seats. Neat, huh?
We bought this beaut from a nineteen-year-old kid whose parents gave it to him for his sixteenth birthday. They found it for sale while on vacation in Tennessee and drove it back to Minnesota. A fair amount of work has been done on it, including, I think, some engine reconditioning. The car runs well and is in pretty good shape for a forty-year-old, though there's still plenty of tinkering to be done.
On the drive back to St. Paul, John was ahead of us by a half mile so the boys and I would look for him whenever there was a curve in the road or a hill. At one point I told Simon he was looking at his first car, to which he shook his head fiercely and said, "I'm thinking about something medium, painted black with orange flames, yellow flames, blue flames, and white flames." Ah, to dream.
When we arrived home, John related how much fun he had driving the bug and about how he received a lot of waves, smiles, and thumbs up from people he passed. Heck, when we were on Mississippi River Blvd, even I saw the guy on the sexy Orbea nearly fall off as he twisted for a second look. John had to thaw himself before he could do anything else, such as clear out a garage stall to park the car. Apparently the bug has no heat. So it's not really a winter car. But, it also doesn't really run when the temperature is over 80 degrees. So it's not really a summer car either.
I'm jonesin' for a ride, but seat belts need to be installed first. For now, the bug seats one.
See more photos here.
1 comment:
That is such an awesome car! It's going to be so cool when you get it all restored. My dad bought a '66 Mustang last summer. It's the same year/body style that he had when I was born. He's restoring it to give to the kids when they are driving age. He had the interior completely redone last fall. It is fun to drive a classic car. You get a lot of recognition for it.
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