The Flying Fickled Finger of Fate.....and VWs
There are times in our lives when we fall into situations that are life
altering. Mine was the day my Dad took me to see the first Herbie movie at
our local theater. I think it was a Sunday in 1969 and I was six years
old. We jumped into Dad's white '67 Beetle and drove the four blocks to
the now closed Norwest Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. At the time, Dad was
a travelling insurance salesman, who, out of practicality, drove a
beetle.
This was no ordinary beetle though...a few years earlier he
had taken it in for its' usual 3 month oil change. Normally, he would have
had this routine maintenance done at the dealer, but a new local sports car shop
had opened up nearby, and Dad had his eye on this really cool looking Porsche in
the lot. Having the maintenance done there, was the perfect excuse to have
a look at the Porsche even though he knew he couldn’t afford it. The
Porsche was cool to look at, the maintenance was done on the beetle, and
initially, the service experience was good...until the little green light came
on! The mechanic had not fully tightened the sump plate nuts. The
oil leaked out, the engine promptly seized, and Dad had no choice but to return
it to the shop. The shop owner took full responsibility for the mistake
and agreed to supply him with a rebuild at no charge. Having noticed Dad
admiring the 356 in the lot earlier, the owner had an idea he thought might just
interest him. For a few dollars out of Dad's pocket, they would install a
3,000 mile Porsche super 90 engine in the beetle! They had acquired a
wrecked super 90 a few days earlier. Dad accepted the offer and happily
drove off in his new "hot rod" beetle. Those were the days! And, by
the way, Dad learned to do his own service from then on.
This was
the car that delivered us to the Herbie movie. The excitement of the movie,
combined with having the fastest beetle in Detroit was just too much for us
both. After the movie Dad asked me to buckle in, and pulled up right in
front of the theater. The engine roared, the tires squealed and the movie
goers cheered, and we raced home with huge smiles!
The "Disney Magic" had
worked...my fate was sealed from that day on. Dad drove the '66 for many
years, proudly surprising the Detroit muscle each chance he
got.
Next came the '71 Super Beetle. Dad had heard they had
one at the local dealer, so we ventured over out of curiosity. He ordered
one on the spot...an "egg yolk yeller" Super Beetle had found a home at the
Ellis's. Though Dad loved the '66, the 71 had much better heat, was more
comfortable and had "sport suspension". He sold the '66 for a song and
drove the new car reliably for seven or eight years, continuing to do his own
service. Well, after I finished drivers training, Dad offered me the '71
to drive in exchange for painting the garage. But, no, I had my eye on
this really cool '71 Camaro (red/white stripes, 402 big block, 4 speed) and was
saving the $700.00 needed to purchase it. I carefully and politely
rejected the offer and explained my plans to have a cool car of my own.
Somehow that old "Disney Magic" had faded by adolescence. I painted the
garage; got $70.00 and my parents sold the Beetle for $600.00. Having
finally saved the money for the Camaro, I rushed to the neighbors to buy
it. But it was gone...traded just that morning for a baby grand
piano! I wandered home with a mixture of discouragement on missing out on
the cool car and anger at myself for passing up the awesome deal on Dad's
Beetle.
After years of driving many cars of questionable quality, I once again
stumbled on fate. A friend had gotten himself into a Baja Beetle project
that he couldn't handle, and wanted to sell the car....cheap! He had
purchased it with a pinto engine conversion and could not keep the transmission
mounts from ripping out due to engine weight. I had to have it. I
fabricated a trans. strap to it after seeing one advertised in HVW's and was
finally a VW owner! Over the years, since that Baja, there has always been
some sort of air cooled VW in my driveway.
'66 Baja with a caved in
passenger side. This car served me well for 2 years and 20,000
miles.
'74 Super Beetle. This car was a present from my soon to be
Father in-law. It was one of those “get it out of my garage” deals. I drove it
for 3 complete summers.
"68 sedan. I purchased this solid but
beat up car for 700.00, Drove it for a while, and sold it to a guy that sadly
turned it into a Baha.
'67 sedan. My first restoration, performed completely in my gravel
driveway. I really cut my teeth on that car. I learned how to, how
not to, and what parts work with what year and about QUALITY
parts.
'73 auto stick sedan. Freebie, and sold for parts. I
hate Auto-sticks!
'56 European sunroof sedan. This is a sad story.
I bought this really cool oval that I found sitting in a field, but when I got
it home, it was discovered that it was just a rusty oval sunroof body sitting on
a 66 pan. I sadly cut it up and sold off the car in pieces.
'57
sedan. This was my second restoration, done the right way! This
Beetle was a beautiful Agave green with red leatherette, 36 hp, and all
original. I sold this car after 5 years of ownership to a well qualified
woman owner. She takes impeccable care of it to this day.
 
'71 Westy
camper. I did a mechanical restoration to this ultra cool bus. It had
ultra-cool faded red patina, and no rust. I sold it on E-Bay, and still miss
it.
 
'67
sedan. Ruby Red, Old school Cal look, 2110 cc, Ida's, and BRM wheels. (My
current fun car) This is a solid 14 second street driven beetle. I will be doing
a narrowed front end and disc brakes this year.
'82
Vanagon Westy. Currently under construction.
'03 GTI
VR6. Totaled by a Suburban.
'06
Jetta GLI. My wife's car.
'07
Rabbit. My daily driver.
The hobby has been very good to me
over the years. I have been provided with not only reliable, quality
transportation, but a wide array of new friends, as these cars seem to attract
people who want to wave and smile or share their own VW stories...everyone seems
to have one. My enthusiasm turned to addiction after becoming a member of
the MVVC (Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club). A great bunch of people with
a common addiction dedicated to the preservation of the Volkswagen. After
a number of years in the club, while cleaning up after the annual Vintage
festival, I was approached by the club officers and an official of VWoA to ask
if I would be interested in working on and maintaining some vehicles in their
collection. I was honored and delighted and jumped at the chance. At
that time in my life I was making a living in the heating and cooling
trade. I was not a technician, just a hobbyist with a passion. It's
been over seven years since that day, and quite a few museum pieces have been
restored / repaired. Then, at the ripe old age of 42, I succumbed to my
"midlife crisis" and turned my hobby into my full-time profession. Since
then, I have been a technician at a few independent service facilities
specializing in vintage European restoration and repair. I feel that it
was a natural fate.
In 2005 I was again contacted by Volkswagen of
America Inc. to work as a support tech for an upcoming vintage VW cruise across
America. This was in commemoration of two 50th anniversaries; The
incorporation of Volkswagen of America, the début of the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
and Disneyland, and as a promotional tour for the Newest Love Bug Movie,
"Herbie: Fully Loaded". We would have a real "Herbie" movie car travelling with
us on the cruise and I would be driving a Touareg, hauling a 24 ft. trailer for
repair and retrieval of any disabled cruisers. I took a leave of absence
from my day job and joined the adventure. The trip is documented in the
DVD "Cruise across America, an Enthusiasts Documentary" and a must see for any
enthusiast.
 
In 2006 I
joined again with VWoA to attend and work at water cooled events from New Jersey
to Seattle.
This was another great summer, with a little different twist to
it. The watercooled crowd is much the same as us.
They are a group of people
getting together and sharing a common passion. Sound familiar?
 
In
the past year was asked to travel to Wolfsburg, Germany to be featured in an
upcoming article in Volkswagen Drivers Magazine. I was the "model
enthusiast" traveling to Autostadt on vacation. Accompanied by a writer,
photographer and art director I toured took pictures and soaked in all the
Autostadt has to offer. Look for a future article on this amazing
trip.
 
Fate has
now pulled me into the driveway of Airhead Parts as your on call tech. I
look forward to helping with any and all of your VW needs, questions,
installation problems, etc. Please feel free to call or post a tech question. If
I do not have the answer, I will make it a mission to get you the right one. I
will be working diligently to fill the website with tech advice, how-to articles
and interesting stories.
We also welcome any guest written stories or tech articles. Please send them
to scott@airheadparts.com
Here
at Airhead Parts we feel that quality and honest support in the key to happy
customers.
See you at the shows!
Bob Ellis |
