TheSamba.com :: View topic - Cross country 1961 beetle (Warning:long story)

Mon May 18, 2009 2:52 am

Hello Everyone,
I would like to take some time to share my experience and show that if planned properly you can drive an old beetle across the country. For me this was truly a family affair which required the help of everyone close to me. Without their kind assistance I would probably never have made it out of the state. To all of you I am forever grateful. I would also like to thank Steve at VW Performance in Phoenix. He is not only a Master of his trade but one of the most generous people I have met in this industry (or any other for that matter.)Anyone involved in the VW community would be doing themselves and their vehicle a favor by being in his presence. So….On with my story!

Thanks to my father I have been involved in VW’s since birth, so this is really just the latest chapter in a large dusty book that I call life. This particular chapter starts with my brother Jimmy and his wife Jessica acquiring a 1961 beetle off of eBay a few years ago. I happened to be visiting them in Phoenix at the time when he found out he had the winning bid. Of course we took my ‘59 beetle to see his new baby. I remember thinking “OH Jimmy what have you gotten yourself into?” Well he obviously knew more about picking out a restoration candidate than I did. After I made a few trips to Phoenix (and a few more cans of spray paint and beer than I would like to admit) we had that car looking and running great. Not long after that I ended up moving to Phoenix and was in need of a vehicle to make the long drive to work every day. He kindly lent me the ol’ 61 complete with all 40 horses. I can proudly say that it never let me down.

Fast forward a bit. My brother and his wife have a baby on the way and another baby in the garage (the former being an adorable baby boy and the latter being a very nice Porsche 914!). His beloved 61 needed a new home, so it was put up for sale here on The Samba. I was also looking for a new home in Ohio. After seeing the prices for a moving truck and the expense of driving it across the country my Mom came upon the idea that I should just buy the beetle instead and drive that home. The plan was hatched and I hurried to my brothers house to see what he thought, but unfortunately I arrived at the exact same time as another potential buyer. Only this buyer had money in hand. A deal was struck. I was disappointed but explained the plan to my brother, he quickly called the new owner and told him of the situation. The gentlemen kindly allowed my brother to sell the car to me instead. What a good guy!

At this point I now have three cars, the new ‘61, a ‘61 parts car (that I owned previously) and the ‘59 I mentioned earlier. My goal was to keep the best of all of the parts and bolt it all to one good car. I had about two months and not a lot of money. The original 40hp ran like a top and probably could have made it cross country but wouldn’t have been ideally suited for the daily driving I would be doing once in Ohio. So the decision was made to rebuild the 1600DP that had resided in my 59 since high school. My Dad liked to call this motor “The Lindbergh engine” because of its reliability in the face of neglect that included a lack of even the most basic maintenance (I still swear that that engine would run with no gas!) I formulated a plan of attack centered on a bulletproof engine. A stock 1600 DP built with the best quality parts and the highest level of workmanship, a motor that goes beyond stock but only in the details. So I knew that I needed the help of the best, and I found it in Steve at VW performance. It was to have a counterbalanced crank rotated by balanced pistons, cylinders and rods. The stock heads were CC matched and given new Stainless Steel valves. Everything was measured and worked over in a way normally only reserved for high performance motors. Nothing was left to chance. Steve sacrificed his weekend and charitably allowed me exclusive use of his facilities and knowledge. The long block was my masterpiece.

The transmission on the other hand was a different story. I had a late model swing axle 67 transmission in the parts car. And I foolishly decided to use it even though it was unproven. I went over it as best as I could. It received a new shifter busing, new boots, new fulcrum gear, and a quick visual inspection by the great folks at Arizona Transaxle Exchange. It was a gamble that only partially paid off. It still whines and occasionally pops out of gear, but how can you complain about something that pushed you 2300 miles across the country?

In the midst of the assembly my parents flew all the way from Ohio to join the fray. As I mentioned earlier my Dad is a longtime VW mechanic. The plan was for him to fly out and assist me in assembly and in driving the car back to Ohio. We had to complete this task in his allotted vacation time of two weeks. This haste led to at least one foolish mistake. On the first shake-down run to test the transmission (with the old 40hp installed) I was in such a hurry to drive the car that I forgot to secure an axle nut with a cotter pin. A lap around the neighborhood proved disastrous when the left rear wheel feel off, damaging the brake drum! Luckily there were no injuries excepting the bruises to my pride. The vow was made by my father and me to not let this happen again. From now on this would be treated as a mission planned by NASA (probably a bad example at this point…but you know) we cleaned up our act and our garage and pushed forward. There was no part of the car left untouched. Carefully with the guidance of my father’s expert hands, my brothers persistence, and the unwavering support of my mother, sisters and even a little help from my nephews I saw my vision come into reality. Even the speedometer was restored and wound back to zero. It was truly a new start.
Behind me was a seat packed with everything I own, and the whole state of Arizona. Ahead of me was a speaker playing “she caught the katy” by the Blues Brothers and about 2300 miles.

I spent a few years in Albuquerque so it was a logical choice for a first stop. My old friend Yvette being the sweetheart she is put us up and even feed us. The next morning brought a short visit to kooblekars (where I used to work) and a quick oil change. Then shortly after leaving Albuquerque I noticed the brakes feeling spongier. A quick inspection at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico showed that the barbed plastic piece between the reservoir and the master cylinder had broken off. Fighting a lack of adequate facilities and a strong wind the decision was made to press on to the next town and stay for the night. This proved to be an unwise decision given our timing. No parts house was open at this point in the day and the town we stayed in had no resources available to us. In fact we made a majority of the way though Texas (400 miles) before we found the parts and facilities to repair the non-existent brakes (a feat in its own right!)

We repaired the brakes at an abandoned service station off of old rt. 66 in Mclean Texas called “Bell Chevron.” I snapped a few pics which I entitled “The final service call.” Up the road was a great steak house and A LOT of wind. We pushed through Oklahoma, Missouri (or misery as my bro calls it), Illinois, Indiana, and finally home. OHIO…OHIEEEEOOO the land of corn stalks and alien abductions ….birthplace of aviation…”At least we're not West Virginia!” yep I was home at last. And I couldn’t be happier.
Thanks to everyone reading this far,
If you have a similar experience please post it here, thank you for reading my story,
Derek
pics to follow

Mon May 18, 2009 5:46 am

That's a very cool story. Thanks!

And that is definitely the Steve Hollingsworth I know. 8)

A few years ago, I bought an engineless 63 in PH and towed it back to Colorado to put into running condition. After installing my engine and getting everything road-worthy I found that it needed a transmission. It was drivable, but not by much. Steve had built the tranny in my KG, so I called him up and plans were made.

Steve built me the fresh tranny ahead of time and I limped the car to PH on a Friday. Steve and I spent a few hours Saturday morning swapping transmissions and I drove it home the next day.

I've know Steve since he lived in San Jose CA. I have quite a few Steve stories. 8)

Max

Mon May 18, 2009 9:57 am

Great story Derek! Thank you so much for sharing. Please post pics so we can visualize your experience.

Mon May 18, 2009 1:57 pm

that is a great story. the way you tell it is funny. i like it.
here are some pics of the car when i got it a few years ago.

Mon May 18, 2009 2:12 pm

I've been meaning to add pictures to this post, but Im away from the house at the moment. I will post the ones I have available here and add to them shortly.
this is right after Jimmy bought the car

The "plant"

He wants to be just like his uncle :wink:
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Mon May 18, 2009 2:14 pm

Ha Ha jimmy, you beat me to it! Do you have any more good pics?

Tue May 19, 2009 3:59 am

here ya go i found two more. i havnt added a whole lot of pics on the new computer yet.

derek in the car with my bus in the background

the 59 and the 61 nose to nose before you got rid of the 59