A Tarnished Angel On A Side Street

3706This I saw over the last week along the street leading up to the Chez ZehnKatzen...

It is unclear what this Type I's destiny is to be. I've the feeling she's on teh way to some restoration. But she's looking good in her somewhat-rusty glory (and unless you're a real maintenance freak there is no such thing as a vintage VeeDub without rust).

There is this: the house it's parked beside loves VW's as much as I do but has the spare funds to restore them to the glory Gott intended: they have a Type II, split windscreen, and that baby is immaculate. So, certainly good things are in store for this one.

A couple of technical points: the windscreen is curved out, not flat, marking this as 1974 or after (and judging by the obvious wear and tear, which is equivalent to that of Olivia, my '72, it's proabably right around '74 or '75) and the tail light gems are what they call the 'elephant's foot' style, which was '73 and onwards.

Olivia's taillights are the cheerfully-nicknamed "tombstone" style, for what that's worth.

[vw] Sam and the Art of VW Maintenance: Running the Freeways and Highways

2552.

There is a certain spark to driving a 72 VW Beetle from here to Salem.

Having been born in Silverton and growing up in Salem and points proximate, there is the taste of memory, a little bitter with irony. As in, crossing Silverton Road at Lancaster Drive in Salem, and realizing that, some years ago, I did the same thing only my late father was at the wheel, and remarking to The Wife™ for perhaps the twelfth time "On Silverton Road in a VW! Doesn't that bring back the memories!"

Bill Trafton's work stood us in its stead. The four-banger boxer engine, powering away, drove us without complaint and without a hassle from Home Base to Mom and Pop's in Salem, and back again on the freeway.

Freeway driving was approached with no small bit of apprehension. But, as I learned to finesse the little rebuilt engine in the way it was wanting, it became second-nature.

Being a child who grew up during the 80s, 65 miles-per-hour is plenty fast enough anywho.

And, being a 1972-tech engine running on 2010 fuel (including biodiesel whether we want it or not), the fuel economy will be perhaps never what I want. But it closes on 20 mpg on the freeway, and I guess that's okay for now - on an engine that will be dependable for a little while.

Must remember to check the oil level. This is to be a weekly thing, now.

Technorati Tags: Sam and the Art of VW Maintenance, VW 1600, VW Beetle

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[VW] How Long Would You Wait To Recover YOUR Stolen VW Type 2?

2548.

Would you wait 36 years?

Submitted for your approval: Stolen in 1974 in Spokane, Washington; Recovered, 2010, Rancho Cucamonga, California.

For those less purist: the type 2 VW is what the rest of you all's call a VW Bus, VW Van or Microbus.

And so it goes.

Technorati Tags: Vee Dub, Volkswagen, Type 2, Microbus, strange

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