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Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:11 pm

Hey everyone. I'm new and I thought I'd post a picture of my 1959 Original Herbie the Love Bug for everyone to see.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:19 pm

Real nice. I hate it when people make a herbie and do something completely wrong, like have bumpers with no overriders. Of course, the real herbie was a 1963, but yours still looks great.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:33 pm

When you say "original Disney Herbie" are you saying that it was actually used in one of the old movies? or that it is a vintage vw?

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:36 pm

Mine is a REAL Herbie movie car. Disney used 1958 thru 1967 Beetles to be Herbie. they even used a couple ovals and super. Each car was updated or backdated to match a 63. My car was a second unit stunt car and still shows many battle scars from filming the movie. Such as roll bar holes, camera mount front seat back, plexiglass rear window from a roll over during production, holes in the front end from a moveable headlight mechanism. And most importantly the California pink slip from Walt Disney Studios. Empi built 6 Herbies for Disney in 1969, Disney possibly may have outsouced for 4 more cars. So far only 4 of the original "Love Bug" cars have been found and documented. There are roughly around 22 original Herbie's are documented.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:40 pm

Wow...that it is pretty cool. I didn't know that they used different year bugs, and made them look like 63's. I saw an original Herbie movie car once, but it was totally trashed out. Yours looks awesome :)

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:44 pm

Mine was restored about 10 years ago by a VW restoration shop in W. Palm Beach, Fla. The owner had 9 original Herbies at one time or another, and mine was the one he restored for his personal use.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:36 pm

the herbie films were responsible for my obsession, & to own one of the originals would be so cool, do you know what herbie film yours appeared in? also...it looks great!

Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:59 pm

Mine was used in "The Love Bug"1969 and "Herbie Rides Again" 1974 as a dream sequence car for a nightmare scene that was cut from the final release of the movie.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:16 pm

Looks good. Thats pretty cool that you own a piece of automobile and movie history.

Sat Jan 24, 2004 1:40 am

Why are you bumping this???

Sat Jan 24, 2004 11:08 am

If I remember right, they used a Super Beetle for Herbie in "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" for a couple of scenes. In the showroom where they start the video that explains the road race course and the curtains close, Herbie "sees" that Lancia drive by outside and raises himself up to peek out; you can see the hydraulically-operated strut suspension underneath. They used this same car in another scene as well. When the showroom scene first began and Herbie rolls in, the car is a '65 or '66, judging by the large windows and driver's side parked wipers. I think there's a Herbie site or two that explains the different years of cars they used in the movies. It mentioned something about the car that skipped across the pond in the first movie being an Oval that was converted into a '63 'look a like', but since they had dummies inside the car and lifted it across the pond using cranes and cables it was basically a gutted out car. Interesting stuff! Too bad they butchered an Oval, though...

Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:07 pm

Hey Bugnut68,

You solved a real mystery for me! A few years back there was an article about Herbie beetles in VW Trends-- it showed a picture of that Herbie skipping across the pond. I was sure it was an oval-window because of its low windshield. After that I always suspected they used any-old-beetles for their stunt cars and modified them to look right. You've proved me correct!

Thanks! -Paul

Sun Jan 25, 2004 11:18 am

The Herbie used to skip across the pond was actually a fiberglass bodied beetle. They seem to have used that car for several different scenes.

Sun Jan 25, 2004 11:48 am

I forgot about the fiberglass bodied Bug they used! It looks like the mold must have been based on an Oval though, judging by the smallw indows. I think in the Herbie Goes Bananas movie there were a couple Ovals used for some of those Bull Fight scenes...

Wed Jan 28, 2004 12:22 pm

I know where 4 of the bull fight Herbies are. One is the car that did the wheel stand when the bull ran under him, that car is currently under restoration in Ohio. The 4 wheel steering car is also under restoration in Missouri. And the last 2 are owned by The Real Source in Illinois one is restored and the other under restoration both will have the rust look paint scheme, these cars are the one that takes a bow at the end of the fight, and the second was fitted with a third front wheel in the middle for making tight corners (similar to a bump and go car). Another Bananas Herbie is in Florida being restored, and that is the one and only floating Herbie that went through the Panama Cannal.

Wed Jan 28, 2004 2:04 pm

Damn I feel young in here. There is some serious Herbie knowledge going down. Gimme more! :D

Thu Jan 29, 2004 9:02 am

What else would you like to know?

Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:07 am

Well didn't herbie have an nemises that was another black bug too or am I way off?

Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:11 am

This guy, whats up with him.

Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:32 am

why don't you take a picture of the pink and post it