Entries by rob

This beautiful 1962 VW Bug with sliding sunroof was spotted at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, Califonia. What a car.  It had the black Wolfsburg Crest and all.

Here is 1967 Standard Model Microbus. This bus seems to have the original paint. The body is very straight. Notice the jailbars in the back. The standard model Microbus did not have the top skylight windows or the sliding sunroof.

This beautiful 1963 VW Bug Ragtop was spotted in the parking lot at Target. My assumption is that it is a 63 because there is no Wolfsburg crest on the hood. This VW bug has been thouroughly restored. It has:

- New paint
- New ragtop sunroof
- Whitewall tires

Notice that the decklid looks like it is from a '64 or '65 bug, as it has a place for a pushbutton instead of a "T" handle. Clean, straight, rust-free German bug body parts are harder and harder to find.

Here is a shot of a nice late model Karmann Ghia convertible. This car was parked in front of West Coast VW; on 4th St.; in Long Beach, CA.

Here is a 1967 VW Bug that was spotted in a Home Depot parking lot. The paint is in rough shape, but the body appears clean. If a car like this proves to be rust free, it would be a good restoration project. The 1967 model bug is a one year only car. Find one like this while you can.

Here is a nice looking 1965 VW Bug with a metal sunroof. This car was spotted in Long Beach, California. This is the typr of car I would look for if I were in the market for a 1960's VW Bug.

This postcard was sent to me by a friend. It shows an early VW Bug and VW Bus (deluxe) out in the desert.

This 1961 VW Bug was owned by VW Chronicles Contributing Editor, Giana. The photo was dated 1994. I remember that she bought the car in Duarte. That is a city just northeast of Los Angeles. We had to use a flat-bed trailer to get the car to Bellflower (just southeast of LA). This was one of those VW bugs that was used for a chicken coup or something, and then resuscitated by an enterprising teenager. I think she paid less than $1000 for the car. It was grey and white two-tone primer, and the artwork was added by Giana, my wife Trish, and my neighbor and his little girl.

Several people have asked about the oval window VW bug in the site logo.  I shot that in July, 1992, in Longview Washington.  There is/was a VW bug parts place there called Averee's (I'm not sure about the spelling) that advertised "500 wrecked VW's."  The photo is of an oval window bug that was parked in the parking lot.

The 1957 VW Bus I bought when I was 19 was not a good looking car. It was primer black, full of rust holes, and had not interior other than the front seat. A sheet of plywood covered the sliding sunroof hole. It was a 23 window deluxe microbus, but for a naive teenager, it was way too much project to restore (this was 1987).

The closest I have come to getting killed in a VW was in this bus. I had the steering go out on the freeway, while I was going around a curve. I turned the wheel, but the bus kept going straight. It was the transition road from the 605 south to 91 east in southern California. The wheels glanced off of the curb dividing the transition road from four lanes of traffic. This turned the bus toward the shoulder, but I had two lanes to cross to get there. I had brakes and used them, but I almost hit a black Mercedes sedan.

The bus stopped perpendicular to the shoulder, and the Mercedes driver stopped like he wanted to fight. He cooled down when I explained the situation. What had happened is the "L" shaped arm that connects the steering box to the tie rods had snapped in two. I still have one of the pieces in my garage. It is the only part of that bus that I still own. To add insult to injury, someone broke into the car, and stole a cooler full of steaks (I was on my way to a BBQ).

I got the chance to go to Bill and Steve's in Downey to pick up a windshield for a friend's 1963 VW bug.  It was the first time I had been to a VW bug parts shop in five years.  My friend, a contributor to this site, was having a leaky seal replaced, and I figured her VW bug was like all of the VW bugs I have owned.  The glass "lights up" in oncoming traffic.  I had already been contracted to drop off the new seal and trim, and she agreed that if the old glass is out, it should stay out.  You need to see if you drive a 1963 VW bug.

I was surprised at how close I guessed to the actual price.  I was thinking it would be about $40.00.  It was $42.00.  I think Bill and Steve's has always been the best overall shop for VW bug parts, VW bus parts, and Karmann Ghia parts.  I have been buying VW parts from them since 1986.

I sold the 1965 VW bus to use as part of the down payment on the house
we own. It was hard to part with, but it was necessary. I sold this bus
along with all of my VW bus parts over the Internet, to a guy in Florida. This was the summer of 1999. I
put up a small web-site with a description of the bus and some photos.
It took almost a year, but I finally found a willing buyer.

After speaking over the phone a couple of times, we made arrangements for
the test drive. The guy loved the car, and gave me a money order
for $4000.00 on the spot. We signed the paperwork, and he was on
his way. The new owner and his wife drove the bus to Florida, and
then had it restored.



Here is a Link to the site I used.

I am the proud owner of an 1963 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupe. I am the
second owner of this original California car. I have owned the car for
seven years. It is currently disassembled and in my garage. I began
restoring it in 1997.

I mothballed the project in 1999, when my wife and I purchased the
house we had been renting for the previous six years. We have since had
three kids, and added a second floor to the house. I am ready to
rebuild the garage, but the Ghia needs to get finished first.
I plan to pull the car out to do a few things to it this summer. My
oldest boy is five, and loves to help with most chores.

I also have owned several other early VW's. They Include:

• Two 1963 Bugs/Beetles


• A 1957 Microbus


• A 1965 7 door Sundial Camper


• Two 1963 Karmann Ghias


• A 1962 Beetle that was stolen after full restoration.