Ol' Ralph Bennett's Volkswagen

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flyboy2610

flyboy2610

Loveably weird
Ol' Ralph Bennett's Volkswagen

For you young-un's, 3 things to know about a Volkswagen Beetle:
1: To put it in reverse, pull the gear shift over towards you, PUSH straight down on the gearshift lever, then pull it back. If you don't know where it is, you ain't never gonna find it!
2: They are air cooled cars with the engine in back. There is no radiator.
3: The heater is controlled by a knob located on the floor between the front seats.
Now, enjoy the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0s9144hn5I
 
Funny story, loved it!
I used to have seven of the wee beasties in various states of "customization"
 
Rico said:
Funny story, loved it!
I used to have seven of the wee beasties in various states of "customization"
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Very funny! Brings back this memory!

My very first car was a 1959 VW. It did actually have a sunroof in it that didn't leak in the rain. Not that it mattered, as the rest of the car did. To connect the gas pedal to the throttle cable, I had a bent piece of steel rod, shaped like a Z, to fit thru the loop on the throttle cable, and into the back of the pedal. Crude, but it worked.

Of course, no heat, or radio, or windows that rolled up or down, or gas gauge.:( I used a stick that had been marked with slices cut out of the bark, to indicate 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 tank. Had to take the stick, open the "trunk", then take the gas cap off of the tank, and put that stick down into the take to see what the gas level was. I was able to keep it full most of the time as I could put some really cheap gas in it for $0.27 a gallon. $2.70 could fill that thing up!:p

I loved driving that old thing as I found out there was something really special about it, (that my parents didn't), when I got it. Instead of the original 1200cc engine in it, the original owner had put a 1960'ish 2.2L Porsche engine and 4 speed tranny in it!:eek: It would top the speedometer out at 95, (that was as high as it went), and I would still have 1-2" of accelerator left! 0-60 time was 4.0 seconds! I beat many a muscle car with it in high school!:D

One day, the car bent a valve, and thats when the folks found out about the engine and I lost it. It wasn't because they thought the car was too hot or anything,:rolleyes: they couldn't afford the repair bill.:eek: Instead I got my brother's 1965 Mustang w/289 V-8! I got to drive it until my dad bought me my first truly new car, a 1972 VW super beetle.
 


Ha! a 72 superbeetle was my first car! I bought it used (obviously) in 1993. Put $10Gs into it, custom paint, wheels, motor etc. Drove it til it was sideswiped by a drunk driver (in a POS K car) in 1998. I took the insurance money and bought a 1984 Jetta GLi to fix up...a car that's still in my care. Love that car!

seansjetta032.jpg


I bought a damaged 69 VW powered dune buggy to fix up, (and use my 72's old motor) but doubt I'll own another aircooled VW beetle. as you get older, the creature comforts (read:heat) are more obviously a necessity...

"Pre-smashed" look of the dune buggy, hope to resurrect...

jesse-2.png
 
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Delivered pizzas in a '68. Around town, start and stop, the pies threw off more heat than the heater . . . cruising the highway, it could roast you out of there.
 
My current VW, #14 in a long list that includes A/C and W/C (my very first car was a '72 Super Beetle), first one new, bought off the showroom floor with 6 miles on it. The state says it's not road legal anymore, can't see why, but it sure is fun:

NASA-2010-Nats02.JPG


Wanna see my VW tat? :D
 


My first car was a 90 jetta GL, and my second was a 90 jetta GLI, both german made small bumper cars. I loved the crap out of them, but I was constantly fixing crap on them and got burned out on the whole modded/fun street car scene. My new dd is boring to drive in comparison but it's nice having a newish reliable car that I can depend on.
 
fiend540 said:
My first car was a 90 jetta GL, and my second was a 90 jetta GLI, both german made small bumper cars. I loved the crap out of them, but I was constantly fixing crap on them and got burned out on the whole modded/fun street car scene. My new dd is boring to drive in comparison but it's nice having a newish reliable car that I can depend on.
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Well I still drive a 1990 2-door Jetta that I modded with non-power steering, a GTI engine ECU, GTI tranny etc...

Its a real PITA now, too much of a good thing I guess. the car is really tired and unless I have an epiphany, will be divorcing myself from it in the spring. You really can't daily drive a mod-ded car...I wasn't thinking, cuz 2" exhaust, no resonator, short ratio tranny and non-power steering kicks the crap out of your mind and body on the commute...:(

my wife drives a 2000 Jetta, it'll be my daily next, then we'll get a Charger or something bigger to fit two baby seats...:rolleyes:
 
The early ones had lots of electrical issues in the fuse panel IIRC. My friends had to occasionally kick the dash to get stuff working again. The manuals talked about valve adjustments every 3000 miles but I doubt if many really did that.
 
Wow, I didn't know that was on YouTube! I've been a fan of Wendy Bagwell and the Sonliters since I first heard them back in the early 70's. I have most of their records, including the one with this story on it, but my stereo went belly-up and I haven't gotten around to getting it fixed. So it was nice to be able to listen to this again.
 
Charles Smiley said:
The early ones had lots of electrical issues in the fuse panel IIRC. My friends had to occasionally kick the dash to get stuff working again. The manuals talked about valve adjustments every 3000 miles but I doubt if many really did that.
Click to expand...

The back of the fuse panel was open to the trunk, and once the tar-paper trunk liner was garbage, whatever you threw in the trunk usually messed up the wiring on the backside of the fuse block...very bad idea. Things changed when the Superbeetles came out, the fuse block was relocated inside the cabin...
 
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