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Sat Sep 28, 2002 12:05 pm

since i asked the question i think i'll start first, im just curious to see what made everyone get into the volkswagen hobby.

when i was a little kid, i was in mexico visiting family, one of my uncles had a lil white bug and i could remember being inside going along the country side over there just listening to the way it sounded, there is something about the way a bug sounds that i really enjoy, of course being a kid and watching the lovebug also probably did something to my imagination and i've really been in love with bugs ever sense. hopefully i get some feedback

Sat Sep 28, 2002 2:16 pm

I've been into VWs for around 15yrs, or since I was about 2, when my aunt got her first car, a Beetle. I don't know why but I took a liking to Bugs and it has grown from there. Sadly, she totaled the VW when I was about 2 1/2-3yrs old but I've made up for it in the VWs I've saved.
I agree that there's just something about that sound, nothing beats an aircooled VW. Nothing.

Sat Sep 28, 2002 2:56 pm

Got into Beetles as a kid with all the Herbie movies. Got my first bug('69) at either 11 or 12. Saw a guy's '66 21-window(he's now a good friend of mine) a few years later, and decided that i had to get me one of them, so I got a '66 13-window, and it's just been downhill(into the bliss of having a vw addiction) since then. And yelabug71, i've got a friend with a '58 bug that nothing can beat, it's got a Bergman 2332 and a transmission to match.

Andrew
'58 Panel Bus
'60 European Beetle
'67 Deluxe Bus

Sat Sep 28, 2002 3:17 pm

I was 11 years old and my mother had a business meating in Phoenix Az. I didnt even know there was a "VW scene". We went to Metro Center, a local mall, and we were leaving I saw a funny looking stationwagon parked in the back of the parking lot. It was lowered and I thought to myself "that is the coolest thing I have ever seen". As soon as I got home I started looking to find out what Kind of car it was. I had a paper roote and I would go out Sunday mornings and ride my bick around looking for the car. Like it was some endangered animal. I finaly figured it out, found one in someone front yard with weeds growning up through it. I knocked on the door and asked what the car was. "Is a VW squareback", she said. So now I had a mission in life. To own a squareback. By the time I was 13 I had bought my first car,with paper route money, and had torn it apart to see how it worked. I Never got it back together, but from that point on I was hooked. I went until I was 16 years old before I ever notice there was any kind of VW scene. All my friends thought I was crazy. They all wanted new cars and here I was tinkering with these little "egg beaters". I cant remeber not owning at least one VW since that time. 16 years later here we are. Im hooked for life. I have too much useless VW knowledge now to give it up. Plain and simple I just love these cars.

Sat Sep 28, 2002 6:04 pm

basically i was born into vw's
i was born in 1971 and my dad started working on them at a dealership in '69
my first words were volkswagen(pronouced boatswagen)
my dad worked on them at home too
since before i was born there have always
been vw's in our yard
as a kid my clubhouse was a old beetle behind the shop
my dad built a bug that he showed at the ivwa events in the late 80s and early 90's
today im building a 69 street legal drag bug

Sat Sep 28, 2002 8:51 pm

i bought my first bus when i was 17, it was f'in sweet she was a pretty 78 westy got it for 800, it offered alot of nice things like at 17 years old , a bed, a stove, fridge and sink. hell you can't go wrong carting that shit down whereever you go. then i bought a 74 super and traded the bus for an engine for it. while owning the beetle i decided it just wasn't roomy enough for me and my womyn bought me a volvo that sort of sucked, not being a vw so, one day i put the volvo up for sale and some dude came over and asked if we could trade cars he had a 7 passenger bus it was shatty but free so i said yes, and got a bus again. sold that later (to minimize on half shitty vehicles) for 400 bucks, then eventually sold the bug (because it didn't fit my family, two big ass dogs my womyn and me) so i bought an old shitty econoline that sucked then baught a sweet ass high roof vw, and thats what i have now.
(for the people that just read the last line) to sum it all up. convenience and size that's what i'd have to say. -CashUpFront

Sat Sep 28, 2002 10:00 pm

i saw herbie when i was a very little kid and just wanted one ever since. 2 years ago when i was 14 i bought my first beetle, a 65. still have it and love it

Sat Sep 28, 2002 10:39 pm

My first VW was a '77 (standard) Sunroof Beetle that was puchased for $1800. I always had a certain respect for VWs, and the price was definitely right. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about cars--let alone VWs.

It was your typical late model Beetle, painted over fender beading, fuel injection converted over to carburation, etc. I knew nothing about it, but I drove it to death and loved every minute of it. I later sold that and bought a '68, which was a deal that was too good to be true. It gave me plenty of mechanical headaches. In retrospect, though, I'm glad it did, because I cartainly learned a lot. It remains my daily driver to this day.

I've also had the privelege of owning a '63 Standard Bus, and now a '64 Double Cab.

Hopefully there will be more in store in my future!

Sun Sep 29, 2002 3:23 am

I guess we got a lake lot when I was ten, and one of the families out there had an old beetle that the kids were allowed to drive back and forth on the private road that connected our string of cabins. We had that lake lot into my twenties, and we were still using that same Beetle. Lots of fun out on the ice in winter. Anyways my older brother got a beetle when he was sixteen, I was thirteen. He brought home lots of volks mags and such. I learned to really drive on the streets in an 84 GTI rabbit, got a beetle at fifteen cheap from my other brothers friend. It was ready to go by the time I had my driver's license. Had an engine fire when I was seventeen. I used the insurance money to get a late 70's scirroco. Right after I got the scirrroco I was offered a ghia cheap, but I was committed (I still kick myself for that!). My brother with the beetle got rid of it and into type threes, and we wound up trading stuff and cars back and forth. I've owned at least one vw at anytime since I was fifteen, and up to five at once, sometimes without a driver. I'm adddicted , and I don't want help, unless its to find more for cheap. Thank you Everett! Ha Ha! I have two right now, and know of a crew that WILL be mine before spring, and still I cannot resist the siren call of the samba's classified ads. Jeremy

Sun Sep 29, 2002 1:25 pm

1968, I was 10, my Dad got my older sister a '63 bug. It had been fixed up nice and painted orange with black pin stripes and a "glitter bug" logo on the sides! Man, that was so cool! I was hooked! It took some time before I got my own VW, my first car was a '69 Firebird. In '78 I got my 1st VW, a '53 oval with semaphores! (sigh)It keep breaking down on me, and since I was always broke myself, I traded it for a '59 westy with safari's! It ran like a top and was about the uglyest thing on the road! LOL
Then I got a '63 11 window that was in pretty good condition! drove it to hell and back! I used to to deliver the mail back in the early (can I say that) '80's! (true)
Imade the mistake of getting a brand new pick-up in '85 and my poor VW just sat in the front yard, untill I sold it!
Well now I'm hooked again! I got a '66 bug this past July, and I'm having a ball!
Thanks to Everett, the Samba and all of you that have answered my questions directly and indirectly!
VW VW VW

Sun Sep 29, 2002 5:27 pm

my earliest memory of VWs was driving around my old neighborhood sitting on my sisters lap steering while she worked the pedals and shifted. looking back, i'm almost sure the 2 beetles we had were 67s. i also remember getting toted around with my mother driving. i would ride in the "cubby hole" behind the rear seat. i remember it being hot, noisy and my knees and elbows would get all rug burned. that must have been 1968 or 9. i must have been young cuz i can't believe i fit back there. i also had VW toys (still have some of them) tonkas, matchboxes, and corgis.

Sun Sep 29, 2002 7:10 pm

How did everyone get into VW's? well, i don't know about anyone else, but I usually open the door and climb in right foot first, unless it is the passenger side, and then it is left foot first... or unless i have taken the doors off my thing, in which case, i delete the "open the door" part. I'd like to buy a safari window bus, just to see if i could get in through the front.
Seriously, got hooked when i was 9. My best friend's brother had built a pan buggy, with a "roll cage" made of cast off lead pipe. Damn thing must have weighed 3 tons. He then bought a V-8 AMC Gremlin (?!) and handed the buggy down to us. We had a blast thrashing through the fields and gravel pits in it, until the torsion tube broke free from the overworked and rusted out pan. From there, moved to a 75 Beetle when i was 16 (worst investment ever) and then through busses, ghias, an early split window shell, and now I own a Thing, and a cabriolet. My new wife is hooked too... she is looking for a beetle to move into the garage when the Thing hits the road... this week. (fingers crossed)

Sun Sep 29, 2002 8:05 pm

bljones, love that response.

Andrew
'58 Panel Bus
'60 European Beetle
'67 Deluxe Bus

Mon Sep 30, 2002 6:18 am

I wanted a 4-seater convertible to drive my teenage daughters around, and guess what? They think it's too showy, like driving a limo. So now I'm thinking, well, if they don't want to ride in it, maybe I want something else...like a 21 window split with a ragtop. Ooo, ooo, ooo! I've been bitten.

Mon Sep 30, 2002 8:35 am

Well lets see -- I remember back in 1979 riding in one of my father's friends 79 Beetle. We had broken down in one of our non-vw old cars, and he came to pick us up. Wow! Then about two years later in 81, we were visiting cousins in ElPaso and the eldest had a 60's era bug - which he let me drive by turning the wheel while sitting on his lap. Was hooked ever since - but didnt actualy GET a vw until I was 24.

The reason why? Ironicly enough - my father thought they were dangerous. He used to take old beetles and build dirt buggies (what he called them) to race in the Baja 1000 (he only finished the course once - in 1968 with a 64 beetle he choped the nose top and rear off of and customized - but left the origional engine in - complete with oil bath - and came in 27th. We still have that racer - tho with a 1600 in it now).

Just got my first bus. A 78 Westy (Named Willy) that I found parked since 91 behind a house down the street. Bought for the unbelieable price of $250. My mom asked if I could get my money back (lol). Since funds are short - and I want to USE this thing - it's going to sport a camo-pant job, with stone fleck painted interior (the cheap veneer sp is falling off).

TTYL

Mon Sep 30, 2002 2:21 pm

I grew up in the mid-west and the only thing I remember seeing out there were bugs and they were few and far between. In my teen years, my family moved out here to the Phoenix area and the first thing I noticed was the staggering numbers of Bugs. It seemed there was at least one at every stop light. Then I started seeing all these other types of VW's and I became obsessed with Buses. they were so quirky and strange looking that I wanted one so bad but I couldn't afford it.

The obsession kind of faded some for awhile and I moved out of state for a couple of years to the last place you would expect to find a Bus still alive, Maine. When I came back to AZ, I got a good job and decided It was time to get one.

My first Bus was a '72 DLX that I got really cheap. It was in great shape too. All it needed was two new heads for it's 1800 type 4 engine. It was later hit by a Geo and was destroyed. I used the insurance money to buy a '67 13 window. It was ok but it was missing nearly all the dlx accessories. And with all the repairs it needed, it was putting me in the poor house. So I sold it and bought my current Bus, a '66 13 window that has all the dlx accessories and runs really well. It's pretty crusty but it feels great to drive. Now I'm kind of searching for a pre-62 panel, preferably double door.

Mon Sep 30, 2002 2:25 pm

I'll put my 2 cents in..

A friend of mine in High School was into VW's cause his parents always owned one, well while out cruising the country side one day off the road he spotted a 61 ragtop..we walked up to the house and the owner wasn't there but his neighbor told us to feel free to look around, well as we rounded the corner of the house there were about 40 VW's, and I saw an Oval Window with semaphores...and I was hooked, it was the coolest fuckin car I had ever seen..and I told him, HEY I want one of those, "I wonder if they make a ragtop one" Well guess what I bought myself with my graduation money...a 56 ragtop...the only thing is (and I thought it was cool) it was a bright peach, with graphics, procar interior, 1600 sp) this was in 94' I restored that car from the ground up..you can find pics of it in the gallery..I owned it up until about 2 years ago when I found my new dream car a 51 split window..which I am building on now..I have owned many many VW's, always 57' and earlier and to be HONEST I have only driven ONE, yes ONE big window bug (60 euro) that was a friend of mines....always ovals, and now splits, I owned one bus..a 66 camper, that was fun, but I sold it for something a lil more reliable..and that way I could focus on my split bucket..

Mon Sep 30, 2002 2:26 pm

Oh and the worst fuckin part is...I HAVE NO FUCKIN IDEA WHERE THAT PLACE IS NOW..I'VE SPENT MANY MANY MANY HOURS LOOKING FOR IT AGAIN....

Tue Oct 01, 2002 8:09 am

Well when I was a kid my Dad always owned VW's. a 58 bug, a 60 panel, a 61 panel, a 65 kombi and a 65 bug. My dad only owned VW because they were chaep and inexspensive. So I have always wanted a bug, when it came down to buy my first car at 15 I wanted a bug. There was a 65 lowered and rattle can blue and white paint job. My dad would not buy me a lowered VW. So it came down to an automatic 70 square. My first 3 cars were squares, then I bought a 63 bug. Still own the 63 and have never again owned a T-3. But now I have been yeaning for a pre 66 square(wide 5).

Wed Oct 02, 2002 8:08 am

It all started when I was 12 with the 4H money and mom and pops needing a car. A buddy of my pop's had a 65 baja that needed some work. Picked it up with a 1915 for 700.00. I found out that another one of his freinds had a 65 not running and got it for 50.00. by the time i was barely 14 i picked up a 70 sunroof. Kept that and bought other bugs, busses, campers, a Bradley GT kit car, Type 3's a couple of them. Now I have a 64 bug, 60 bug, and 58 ghia. Altogether I have had around 30 or so cars go thru my hands at some point in time in the last 15 or so years. Anyone have a Double cab for trade!!!! Finally got a house to keep the cars and parts around and a garage to work on them, it makes it so nice! One of these days i am going to buy each of my boys a early rag for them to work on when these damned cars are too much money to buy outright.