South of the Border

Good VW Bug parts are getting harder and harder to come by these days.  When I bought my first Bug, I remember always having the choice between the good but more expensive German parts or their much cheaper Mexican and Brazilian counterparts.  Lately, only parts from south of the border are available.  This means that quality and aesthetics have suffered greatly.  Ultimately, it's much more important to have mechanical parts that are dependable.  But, at the risk of sounding completely superficial, it's also important to have parts that are pretty.  Take, for instance, my gas gauge.  As you may have read, I've had issues with gas measurement for a long time, whether I didn't have a gauge at all (Bug #3), or it didn't work (#4), or it worked but the needle was broken so I couldn't tell what the stub was pointing at (#5).  #5 was really a shame.  Finally, one that worked, but that darned needle!  I searched for a long time for a German replacement, but I just couldn't get my hands on one.  Finally, I broke down and bought a cheesy Mexican after-market version.  The fact that a VW part says "gasolina" instead of "fuel" says it all.  Anyway, it didn't work right.  Debbie and the gang recalibrated it about four or five times, but the thing had a mind of its own.  So we decided to take it apart, along with the one w/ the broken needle, and create a composite.  Using the intact needle of one and the working body of the other, we could finally achieve success!  That was the idea, anyway, but our plan didn't work, and this Frankengauge is what I ended up with.  The needle is glued together, the backplate is the original worn one -- see scraping beneath the "1/2", and the foreground is obviously after market.  Well, it's ugly, but at least it works.  It also says "Urghhh."  No, not really.  I shouldn't run out of gas anymore, but I'm sure I'll find a way.