dune buggies and hotVWs December 2023

Oh boy, I used to think it was just a few years ago, but ever since I turned 18 and got my driver’s license, I’ve been surrounded by VWs almost every day for nearly 35 years now. I just can’t believe that I’m still doing the same thing I love. I am sure that there are many enthusiasts reading this column who have followed a longer path than mine and have owned numerous Volkswagens. In my “VW life”, I’ve owned seven air-cooled cars in total: five Beetles (‘75 1200L, ‘70 1200 Standard, ‘63 Convertible, ‘65 Sedan, ‘58 Sedan), a ‘71 Bay Window Bus, and an Intermeccanica Roadster – a replica of the 1959-only Porsche 356 Convertible D. Currently, I enjoy two air-cooled vehicles: the ‘58 Bug and the Intermeccanica Roadster.…

Auto Out, Stick In Hi Jon, I’m wondering if there’s a way to convert the Autostick transmission to a regular manual stick shift transmission in my 1968 Bug. What parts do I need besides the obvious 4-speed transmission? Thanks. John Carter Long Beach, CA John, besides the transmission itself, you will need a few items from a standard stick shift Bug. The shift rod is different, so you’ll need one from that same year Bug along with any Bug shifter. Of course you will need a new pedal cluster, and that can be from any ’66 to ’79 Beetle with stick. Pretty much all the belly pans I’ve seen have the clutch cable tube already in there. I have heard of some that were missing the tube. So, if you…

It’s kind of a hard lyric, but it’s true especially in the air-cooled VW world, because most of the people in vintage, Cal Look and the Bus world are baby boomers! And this means a lot of us are leaving this world and heading to who knows what. Now, I’m not discounting what the afterlife holds based on your faith. I’m just thinking, when it comes to your VWs, you can’t take them with you! Speaking of baby boomers, a lot of my friends are exactly that and someone wise said nobody gets out of here alive. I’m not trying to be macabre or fatalistic, nor am I questioning anyone’s faith. It’s just that over the last years or so, I’ve lost a lot of good, cool, and dear friends,…

The other day, I was in the workshop, disassembling my 2276cc Type 3 engine, when my son Janik swung by. While I was removing a head he asked me: “Dad, where did you learn all that? How do you know what to do? You are a journalist, not a mechanic.” True. I took a pause. Usually, you don’t think about when you learn something and who taught you. You just know things, when you are older. When I started with air-cooled Volkswagens, I really had no clue about what I was doing. I have been a car guy my whole life, but in the beginning (as a kid) I was more fascinated by car design than mechanics. I always wanted to be a car designer, that was my dream job.…

It’s been a few years since we checked out Barnum’s Annual Bug & Buggy Show and Swap Meet, so we decided to hit the road and head into the thumb (of Michigan, that is). Herman and Stephanie Barnum, of Barnum’s Auto Salvage Yard and Bug Barn fame, always host a wonderful charity car show. Barnum’s was started in 1969 with all makes of vehicles, but they eventually developed a large concentration of Volkswagens. Herman took over the business from his father in 1982, and they now have over 100 Volkswagens (both air and water) amongst all the other cars sitting on their large lot. Herman then took it one step further and opened Barnum’s Bug Barn next door to the salvage yard, in the barn behind his house. While the…

I will admit that often in my column I look back at what I’ve done in the VW scene in the past and wax nostalgic about it. While my eyes are always focused on what is ahead and the projects currently in the shop, I have the walls plastered with memories out there. Parts and trinkets from different cars, framed magazine articles and photos of the many machines that have passed through my hands, and where I have been, always around me. Visitors to “The Lab”, what I affectionately call my garage, see and enjoy the history that lines the space and it can be a great conversation starter. It’s rare that I keep a car for long as I enjoy the process of resurrecting these old vehicles a bit…