Posts Tagged vw
Posted on March 9, 2011 by jason
This weekend we went for a walk down the little seawall in Huanchaco and I decided I would take a photo of every vocho I saw. There are far more Veedubs in Peru than either Colombia or Ecuador, so I figured this would be an easy task. Little did I know that 20 minutes later, I would get tired and give up. There are just too many.
A few notes:
The girl is one of those Argentinian hippies we’ve been hearing about. And, yes, she’s cool. She sells corn-based jewelry from her bus. I’ve often heard people wonder aloud how it’s possible to wander the world by just selling bracelets. I still don’t have a good answer – you just can.
The graffiti bus is for sale and around $1000 USD. It’s an Argentinian model with Peruvian plates. And, a big sunflower is a good way to cover up a bad repair job after a major front end collision.
The beetle with the giant speakers on top (a la Blues Brothers) was part of a political rally.
Posted on January 6, 2011 by jason
We return to Ecuador today and, of course, we’re still trying to figure out how to strategically pack our bags and bring everything we think we may want to have with us for the foreseeable future. I’ve been on and off the scale 10 times trying rearrange each bag to an allowable weight.
Naturally, we had a long list of things to do before we returned to South America. We didn’t stress out over it too much, but it does almost feel like we are starting over. We’ve been living a relatively pampered life for the past several weeks. There is a bit of an energy barrier to overcome in order to return to life on the road.
As far as list goes, the more items we checked off, the more we added. We won’t finish the list, but at least Bode has a new (to him) wetsuit and 2 of us shouldn’t get Typhoid fever.
Since I’ve been struggling to find the correct brake pads on the trip, I also figured it was a good time to stock up on some spares while we’re back in the USA. Two sets should last a while. I have no idea how many more miles we have to go in South America, but I figure we should have more luck finding spares the farther south we go. Time will tell.
I also decided to get that extra solar panel I’ve been thinking about. They are difficult to find and expensive south of the US border, so it’s now or never. We had a single 50W panel and now we’ll have 50W more. Back when I bought the first panel, I worried whether or not 50 would be enough. If you are considering your own camper setup, I recommend a 100W. Minimum. The best prices are on eBay. Merry Christmas to me.
Now I just have to figure out how to get it on the plane.
Posted on December 16, 2010 by jason
One of the books in my stack was a book called Think Small. It’s a 1967 collection of old VW-themed cartoons with profiles and stories from the artists. It’s actually very well done – especially considering they were given out by the dealers.
This one has seen better days. It’s all there and the pages are in good shape – they just aren’t all bound into the book. Some even look like an insect has dined on the edges. It’s probably too rough to be a collectible, but if anyone out there would like to have it… just drop us a note and it’s yours.
“The ultimate luxury is simplicity.”
Leonardo da Vinci
It’s funny. Even though we own very few possessions, it still feels like we have too much stuff and we can still find things to purge.
Posted on December 15, 2010 by jason
When I went to move my old Ghia, I realized I left behind a big stack of ephemera.
Catalogs, magazines, random VW books and the like.
I don’t actually recall reading any of the magazine articles. And, looking at the front covers, I can’t believe I even purchased some of them without cringing from embarrassment. Do bikini girls really help sell car magazines?
The reality is that if you wanted to find rare VW parts in the pre-Google era, this is where you went. I don’t recall any of it now, but I think there was a time in my life when I could tell you exactly how much to pay for a piston set and where to buy it. Everyone that knows me can attest I’ve never been much of a gearhead – I just have a (very) soft spot for air-cooled VW’s.
Anyway, I’ve been going through the stack and if anyone out there wants some decade-old VW magazines or catalogs, just let me know. I honestly don’t know what anyone would do with a West Coast Metric catalog from 1996, but hey, you never know. Some are in great shape and some are not, but the price is right.
Posted on December 14, 2010 by jason
While we’re on the topic of Karmann Ghias, I may as well disclose my history of more VW nerdiness. Back in ’97 I decided to compile some of my then-Ghia obsession into a web site.
The thing is, I was on to other priorities not long after. Although it got a little attention at the time (featured in a British VW magazine I now forget) the site eventually disappeared when the servers died and that was the end of it.
Before we started this trip, we were in the process of purging all of our worldly possessions. In our basement was the dusty old box of computer stuff – including the floppy disc backups of all the HTML and images from the site. Floppys being the junk that they are, most had “read errors” and I could only partially restore the site (why, I still have no idea.) However, I was able to find some bits and pieces using the Internet WayBack Machine – an ambitious piece of internet archiving, if you ever need it.
Anyway, there it is if you are interested. The Factory Assembly section is neat if you look at nothing else. I really have no intention of doing much else with it other than just leaving it out there. Who knows. Maybe after our bus trip, we can do another one in our ’65 Ghia.
Posted on December 12, 2010 by jason
Just in case anyone doubted my vintage VW cred (i.e. lack of sanity)… I’ve been storing a 1965 Karmann Ghia in Texas for the past 11 years.
I think I bought it back in ’96 from the 2nd owner. It was always garaged and only driven on Sundays to church by a little old lady, has all the receipts, etc. It’s actually in need of restoration, but still almost all original. The interior has disintegrated, but the body is straight and solid – rare for a Texas VW. Otherwise there’s no particular reason I’ve been holding on to it for so long – it’s just easier to keep it.
At the time, I was on a major Karmann Ghia bender and driving a basket-case ’71 convertible Ghia. I bought this one (with a blown engine) as the next project and future daily driver. I couldn’t help myself for only $600. I rebuilt the engine just prior to making the decision to move to California, and was only able to drive it to where it currently sits. We didn’t know how long we would be gone, so we just parked it in a safe spot (free, of course) and it still sits there today. It’s gathered quite a bit of dust, completely rotten tires and a mystery hood dent that was easily popped out. Otherwise, it’s just as I left it 11 years ago.
Over the years, I’ve made a few trips back to check on it. This time, I was requested to move it over a few feet to make more space in the garage. So, there I am rolling it over on a floor jack this weekend. Literally the first time it’s been touched in years.
If I store it once an then store it again, does that count as restoring it?
Up until a few years ago, I actually had another Karmann Ghia in storage. One of the best years – a 1958 coupe. Most people don’t know they changed the body style in ’59. Anyway, it was beyond a basket case, but I got it for free. It was being used as a deer blind and my buddy Dave knew the guy with the land. After a few phone calls, we got permission to just go pick it up. I had some friends with a trailer (thanks again Steve and Tom) and all four of us muscled the rusting bullet-hole-filled work of art onto the trailer. It later got moved to Steve’s dad’s farm until the barn started to collapse around it – and Steve’s ’58 rag top Beetle. Not having too many options, we sold both of them as a pair to a totally stoked VW nut who is probably still telling the story of his big “barn find.”
Posted on March 25, 2010 by jason
Sunday morning we packed up the bus and headed over to the show. The main street to the town square was closed and we took a detour and started following all the other VWs. They must know where to go.
By the time we got close, we realized we were in line to register and we couldn’t really turn around. Oh well, at least we would get a good place to park and a T-shirt, we thought. And, it’s a good thing we washed the bus.
We were directed through big crowds right into the center of the town square. We did get a good parking spot next to all the other buses, but it was clear that there was no way we were leaving until it was all completely over. Oh well. A good excuse to test out the solar-powered fridge (it worked great!)
The show was fun. There were more Safaris (Things) than I have ever seen in one place and they were all in stellar condition. Of course, tons and tons of Vochos (Bugs) of all variations. Massive sound systems was a common theme. Lot’s of custom cars, a swap meet and tons of VW lovers everywhere. There was no discriminating here and there were plenty of water-cooled VW’s too. If you wanted to show off your customized Jetta, there was a place for you too.
One guy (Juan) drove his water-cooled VW taxi 10 hours from Mexico City and entered it in the show. A regular taxi – not a show car fake taxi – just a taxi that he drives every day. If there was a category for it, I hope he won.
There weren’t too many trailer queens (there were some) and it was mostly just regular folks showing off their cars. This was their one car that they drive every day and love. It makes for a different atmosphere and probably more fun than a bunch of guys obsessing over obscure VW manufacturing minutia or trying to keep people from leaving fingerprints on their show car. Of course, there was probably some of that too, but it was all in Spanish.
We just hung out all day and met some great folks and made more contacts in Mexico. We managed to communicate with just about everyone, but we really need to learn more Spanish. We were also interviewed for a Guadalajara TV show. If anyone sees it on TV or finds it online, please let us know. The minute the interview ended, I couldn’t remember anything I said. I hope it wasn’t too bad.
Late in the afternoon, we were still hanging around and talking to some folks when someone came running up to us. “You won! You won! Go! Go! Go!” There was a guy talking on the P.A. the whole time, but we couldn’t understand any of it. Not knowing what to do (and having everything we own in the car) we asked the people we just met to watch our stuff and ran up to the gazebo. On the way, I passed Alfredo from PV who was on his was to find us too.
First place for Westfalia!
Another guy we met, Juan (another Juan,) leaned over and told me to stick around a while longer. A bit later I thought I heard my name again and something about driving all over the Americas. I looked around dumbfounded and was waved up on stage again.
First place in “Especial!”
I couldn’t really understand what the special category was, but I’m guessing it was for driving the farthest to get to the show or craziest trip or something like that.
I’ve been fortunate enough to win a few awards for miscellaneous forgettable things over the years, but never… never have I gotten to pose with scantily-clad women after receiving an award.
I will remember this one for a long time!
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