Appy Road

Last years Bug show at Volks-Fair 2017

Soon after buying my Bug I of course had to check out Volks-Fair 2017 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts hosted by Heberts Candies. My Bug still wasn't up to the hour ride yet but it didn't stop be from going up there. I thought I'd share some photos from then. My apologies for belated post. Enjoy the pictures.

Back from Vacation

I recently came back from vacation. My girlfriend and I took a long drive from Massachusetts to Northern Virginia. to visit an old high school friend we hadn't seen in decades. Coincidently it was also the first major heatwave to hit the region. Despite this we visited a bunch historic sites and caught up with our classmate.

Of course this tore me away from my beloved Bug who has been starving for attention. I did miss it and took it out for a short drive when I finally came home. I sense it missed me as much as I missed her. Even in a short drive around the neighborhood manages bring a smile to my face. I'm sure the Bug would smile too if it could.

My goal in the next coming weeks is to finish patching a couple of rust holes and troubleshooting the horn and fuel gauge and finally go for that illusive state inspection sticker. My timeline is to get it by August 19 so I can bring it to a local VW show in nearby Cumberland, Rhode Island called VW's on the Hill. I went to it last year but the Bug wasn't ready. It gives me a goal to shoot for.

Drive safe out there.

11 Months....

Boy have I slacked in posting here since buying my Bug. You'd think I'd be posting VW stuff all the time after driving home with my orange Bug last summer. Today I check the blog and realized it's almost been a year since my last posting. I feel a bit ashamed I haven't shared whats happened over the past year. 

 

The first car wash last summer.

At first driving home was the initial excitement at my set of wheels.  My brother loved it. To my mother it was just an old car. Her big concern was that her sister was killed in one in 70's. Not much I could do about that I guess. It certainly got a lot of looks and comments when I went out. Almost every time I've gone out it's gotten comments from people. It's usually "What year is it?" or "I had one of those" or some variant. It certainly gets attention and smiles. 

I spent the next month or so cleaning, assessing and repairing what I could do myself. Then my daily driver needed attention to pass state inspection which tore into my time, energy and money that I'd rather be lavishing on the Beetle. Then I got back with my girlfriend, who had ditched me earlier just before summer started, which inevitably took my time and energy elsewhere. We did attend one VW show in the late summer and made an amusing observation that I had found my people as I blended in with the crowd there. I'm happy to be among my people.

Back in the Bug again

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. Since then I've become a Bug owner once again. I'm not sure where to start. It's a bright orange 1974 Volkswagen Bug. I wasn't sure about the color at first but I've grown to love it. It had been sitting since around 2004. It was being sold by a friend of the actual owner. 

The orange VW has just over 112000 miles and rough but drivable condition. The it ran very rough and had a tough time idling. Over the last six weeks I've been working on stuff to get it at least in state inspection ready. The body was solid but had dings, scratches and one minor dent on the trunk. The paint was oxidized and dull from sitting around. Other than some rust through behind the driver side floor pan the rest were in good shape. 

After some thought I plunked down the cash for it and it was mine. I was a bit rusty driving a standard but I made it home. Then the adventure begins......