1960 VW Bug Restored, Sold, and Bought Back 17 Years Later

[bryanvw61]

I thought I'd share this post in a couple "chapters" as both a cool story for my family, and a holy cow I'm actually one of those lost and found, never give up in finding your old car stories.


Chapter 1:

It was the mid 90s and my father and I decided we'd restore a Beetle or a Mustang, I was loving Baja Bugs, but just started to get into the Cal-Look style. We settled on buying this 1960 Indigo Blue Bug in the Summer of 1996. It had had a repaint at some point, new pans, and almost all it's original parts... apart. Honestly, it would be considered extremely solid by today's standards in New England, but at the time it was probably not the one to buy.

My father had owned a few and had worked at the VW dealership years prior, so we began the father/son process of restoring it. I look back now at today's restoration trends, and cringe at things like replacing the rear H apron and ditching the original interior, but we immediately got to work on it, replacing the channels.

Once the car was solid, the plan was to rebuild the original 36, but my father's friend, who once worked for Roger Barr had a 40hp motor in his barn, so we grabbed it, rebuilt it, and that became the power plant.

With the car capable of making trips around the block, we continued to do the body work, stripping it down, and readying it for the ultimate rattle can 90s mini truck paint job, GM Bahama Blue. It was interesting to note that all the bumper holes and horn grilles had been welded up on the car the some point in it's life.

As we got the car back together, my father was excited to get some Chrome Mangels on it with the simple blade bumpers. The car started to exhibit some personality and we even modified seat tracks to fit the car with high backs out of a Karmann Ghia. We'd go on it get it registered my senior year in May of 1999, it was a great cruiser, but it always had some little gremlins and quirks. Nevertheless, we enjoyed taking it shows like Terryville and Litchfield.

Sadly, but understandably as an adult now, it was not my daily driver. I started to get deep into Watercooleds, and at the same time my father desired a Harley. Knowing I'd never use it commuting to college, I gave my father my blessings in selling the Bug.

To Be Continued....

[notchboy]

Ah.

Boy meets bug, boy fixes bug and falls in love. Boy loses bug.

The suspense is killing me. Will they now rekindle their love after 3 kids each and a couple nasty divorces? Tune in next week to find out.

Looking forward to the plot.
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[Bigjacksauto]

Nice car, great story
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/2778888602388847/?ref=share
1968 Beetle "Herbie" replica Father Son Project
1960 Beetle deluxe / Flint/Pebble Grey og 1200cc 36hp
1975 Westfalia bus sold
1967 SO 42 Westfalia Bus

(o\_!_/o)

[Helfen]

Funny what people call restored.

Restore: repair or renovate (a building, work of art, vehicle, etc.) so as to return it to its original condition.

[notchboy]

[Sharp64]

[Helfen]

[notchboy]

[pondoras box]

Come on let's not ruin a fun thread!

Please continue with your cool story and the old pics are great, you are lucky to have experienced a awesome time with your dad! Not everyone is that blessed.

But how do you keep a bunch of VW nuts in suspense, threads like this one!

Restoration threads are cool but I enjoy the story behind the car much more.
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Looking for anything from Hal Casey Motors out of Hamburg New York, from license plate surrounds to matchbooks.

1961 23 Window (Bobo)
1965 11 Window (Zelda)
1965 13 Window (Lucas)
1957 Oval ragtop
1988 Cabriolet VR6 conversion
Plus a lot of other rusty junk

[notchboy]

[my59]

Could have been daily driving that Volvo 1800S in that ad instead!
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[bryanvw61]

[Helfen]

[quote="bryanvw61"]

[Zundfolge1432]

Looking at the before and after pics I think it looks like a father and son project. Son wanted a Cal Look not a stock looking car and perhaps skill level and budget are to be considered as well. At the end of the day they took a parts car project and made it presentable, good job.

However the most important thing is not the car it’s the time spent with the old man, the memories, the many life lessons that get sorted out during a project. My dad is 92 now and we still remember things we did half a century ago. My Dad and I took on restoring a 1960 Sunbeam Rapier mark 3. Thanks for sharing a positive story.

[Busstom]

[quote="Helfen"]

[iowegian]

This thread brings back some memories for me, too. When my son was 15 (1991) he wanted to buy a Mustang. I talked him into a Beetle convertible----a $200 hulk that was somebody's parts car. He learned a lot, and I recalled some long forgotten skills from my youth working on VWs and 356s. That 'vert got finished and sold and the boy moved on to a Ghia. Later, he bought a Vanagon Syncro and repowered it with an Audi engine. He still drives the Vanagon to this day. My only regret is that we did not take more pictures of the projects.

[vwfreek61]

[quote="Helfen"]

[notchboy]

[quote="vwfreek61"]

[bryanvw61]

Chapter 2:

With my Bug headed down the road to promises of bigger and better things (why are we smiling?) and my MKIII on my mind, I went Full Watercooled, even working for my friends' parts business part time.

I'd still go to all the VW shows, and saw our bug's owner once early on, hearing that a couple gremlins were fixed and it was driving well... Sadly, that would be the last time I heard of it for a decade, always looking at every show for it, wondering what happened to it... But life moves on, so I'd find a girl, graduate college, and start my job teaching Tech Ed.

In 2005 a friend made me a great deal on a 66 Mustang Project he lost interest in. First I got the 6cyl auto going, but with a major oil leak, I took it all back apart, and put essentially what was a 93 Cobra drivetrain, 5 speed and all in the car. It was great to have a project again.

Meanwhile, we'd start our family, I'd continually modify my MKIII, and I'd still look for my bug at all the shows, hoping someday I could show my kids what dad and grandpa worked on.

Then on my oldest son's 5th birthday in 2013, coming home from the aquarium I decided we should stop at a cruise night. We pulled in and I saw it, from like 500 yards away, MY BUG, THAT'S MY BUG! "How do you know that's your bug?" Because it looks like the day we registered it still!

I'd talk with the owner, learn some of the recent history like trips to Maine and Lime Rock. We'd connect again at another show a few months later, this time with my father in tow, and we talked for awhile and remained in contact. I told him the standard, "If you ever sell it, give me the first chance to buy it back" but I was happy to hear all the adventures the car had been on, including the name Gurdie it had be given at some point. I was happy it ended up with someone who appreciated the car and the work we did on it.

However, the seed was planted, the Mustang was fun, it was ready for a plate, but it was not me, my interest in it and trying to make it perfect had stalled me (the Mustang crowd can be a little purist). I hemmed and hawed about selling it, but finally let it go when I fell in love with a new project.

To Be Continued...