I was out spinning around town during lunch yesterday and noticed an old VW Bug. No, it was not one of the New Beetles with the cute looks and the little flower vase up front. It was one of the old bugs that you still see now and then. It was the same color, red, as one I once owned and it brought back a few memories.
The fall that I left home for college I sold a well maintained 1970 Pontiac GTO and purchased a 1970-1/2 VW Bug. It's hard to leave 8 cylinders and 4 barrels of pure power and go to something that you hope can make the hills of Pittsburgh at 55 mph, but I knew I could not afford the gas and operating cost of the GTO while in college. The bug had charm, quirks, and at times annoyed me to death, but it got me to graduation on time and through the courtship of my wife, so I do owe it a little homage. Here are a few of my memories:
- It developed an electrical short so that high beam head lights worked on one side of the car and low beams worked on the other side along with a few other lighting quirks. I could not figure out the problem and the local "European Car Specialist" could not, so he recommended a complete rewiring of the car which I could not afford, so I lived with it. The local police pulled me over a few times late in the evening coming home from work or seeing Denine, but eventually they just flashed the lights as I passed and let me go on. I'm sure they called me "Old One Eye".
- The gas tank which was in the trunk in front kept developing leaks and I could not find a replacement tank since it was a "half year" model (this was way before we could find anything in 2 seconds on Ebay!). I kept pulling it out and taking it to a body shop to have metal patches brazed on, but sometimes the torch would cause more pinholes which drove the welder nuts. The gas guage quit working during this process so I had to start figuring fuel consumption by "hours driven" which is not completely reliable. This lead to a few walks at inconvenient times since I refused to stoop to carrying a gas can inside the car.
- Lots of things could be repaired with simple little kits from the auto parts store. For instance, the fuel pump rebuild kit was a gasket, an flat piece of oval shaped rubber and an oddly shaped stick that extended into the bowels of the engine. It felt cool making these repairs.
- The forced air heat was almost nonexistent. This is not good for winter in Pittsburgh. On cold nights coming home from work I often iced the inside windshield because I could not drive fast enough between stop lights to keep the car defrosted.
- Things I could not fix myself included the brake lines which rotted out and had to be replaced and the body which began falling apart around me as the winter road salt took it's vengeance.
- It was great for parking in tight spots. I had a "private space" near school because I could squeeze in under a bridge buttress next to the river.
- You have to admit, the sound was distinctive and kind of cool. It almost felt perfect to be rolling along with the front windows down and the back windows vented when the weather was just right.
I asked Denine last night for her three favorite memories of The Bug. Here is what she said:
Hmm, let's see.
1. Knowing that my parents hated your noisy car and that you had
to catch it in gear when you left late at night so not to piss them
off...
2. The time we drove to church in the rain, me wearing a skirt
and water flying up through the hole in the floor board. I believe my
legs were soaked/we laughed about that one.
3. Making out in the very small back seat of the bug. No further comment. (Editors note: We were married!)
So there you have it. Good times. Good memories. Do I want another bug? Nope.
