When was the first time you had anything to do with a

[GOPAPA]

Voltswagen Bug ? I never owned one ,,but a guy years ago was wanting to give me one for carpenter work he needed done on his house as a tree clipped the corner off of it.. I think it was a 67
Here is a photo of the first ones to arrive new in my area I lived at in Portland Oregon That year was even before my time of knowing what one was.. .and I wonder what people thought as we had just got done fighting the very people who made this car.. ?

photo from 1953

[Keith Seymore]

Well - it's been almost 50 years.

My wife's first car, and the first car I ever painted. '65 model IIRC. No heater, no radio. Only gage was a speedo and a gas gage.

It was so rusty that the bumpers would fall off. Her dad wouldn't let her drive it without bumpers so I would weld 'em back on. People would be standing around, chatting, and put their foot on the bumper and down it'd go. I'd yell "hey! I just put that back on there!"

I'm still finding red overspray on stuff. I'm surprised my dad didn't kill me for painting that in his back garage.

K

[Boog]

My dad was a car salesman from the 50's on so I got to see and ride in all kinds of cars including early 60's VWs. Then when I was approaching driving age he and I built my 1st car, a Manx style dune buggy on a VW pan. We don't have sand dunes in Arkansas but I had an awful lot of fun in that car on the streets.

[DeadheadNM]

Thirty years. I drove a 72 bug that I bought for $500 in the early 90s. It was a reliable ride and I did all the maintenance myself. The springs were exposed on the driver seat - I added a cushion to sit on. Volkswagen interiors had a distinctive smell, not sure if it was the vinyl used for the upholstery or maybe the filling used for the seats.

[Stocker]

In a couple months or so, it will be 57 years ago. I bought a '62 Bug from a friend in 1967. Everyone said it's underpowered and the engine was understressed, so drive it foot to the floor and shift when the speedometer tells you. A few months later it had good compression in one cylinder, about 12-15 pounds in two cylinders, and the fourth was totally dead. It was very hard to start on cold mornings (gee, I wonder why?). Heater & defroster were virtually nonexistent. But with snow tires on the back, it would go just about anywhere. If you could tolerate the frozen interior. One time along the Columbia River, struggling to maintain 45-50 mph against a strong gusting headwind, it actually shot from the right lane into the left lane, while I held the steering wheel straight. I know a lot of people love their Bugs, but that was the poorest excuse for an automobile that I ever drove.

[farmall]

My dad bought my mom a 66 squareback whe he left for Vietnam.
I learned how to drive in that. 2 engines and many clutch cables.
I have had my 72 914 for 25 years now.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Stocker

In a couple months or so, it will be 57 years ago. I bought a '62 Bug from a friend in 1967. Everyone said it's underpowered and the engine was understressed, so drive it foot to the floor and shift when the speedometer tells you. A few months later it had good compression in one cylinder, about 12-15 pounds in two cylinders, and the fourth was totally dead. It was very hard to start on cold mornings (gee, I wonder why?). Heater & defroster were virtually nonexistent. But with snow tires on the back, it would go just about anywhere. If you could tolerate the frozen interior. One time along the Columbia River, struggling to maintain 45-50 mph against a strong gusting headwind, it actually shot from the right lane into the left lane, while I held the steering wheel straight. I know a lot of people love their Bugs, but that was the poorest excuse for an automobile that I ever drove.

That was a common problem. Cheapest fix was a 90# sack of concrete mix in the trunk!

[GOPAPA]

The Volkswagen Beetle was banned in the United States in 1977 due to its inability to meet safety and emissions standards.

I believe it was banned by the big car companies that wanted it off the market first and foremost ..just my opinion

[Gotenntitans]

I had two friends in high school who drove VW Bugs. I'm talking 1985-1987 here. Dave's was mustard yellow and Joe's was dark chocolate brown. I remember riding in both at one time or another........awfully small, but fairly agile little cars.

The yellow one blew an engine and probably never moved again. The brown one stayed on the road a long time.

Then, I met this ole crazy girl in 1988 (wife since 1991) whose parents had two of them. Mother-in-law drove an orange one, very clean cared for little car. Father-in-law drove a black one as his work vehicle. It was a beater.

I remember my Uncle Milton & Aunt Bobbie drove an orange VW Bus all through the '70's. They had 5 kids........I remember them showing up at Grandma's at holiday & at summer time. They lived in North Arkansas in West Fork and Grandma lived in South Arkansas in Bearden. It's about a 5 hour trip.......maybe longer in that beetle bus.

[Shifty One]

I had a 69 Baja bug, and it kept breaking accelerator cables. It happened 1/2 mile away from my step-brothers house that I walked to. We jumped in his truck, and drove down to fix it, and it was stolen in less than 20 minutes, never to be seen again.

[57taskforce]

I’ve never messed with them, but The company I’m getting ready to leave used them exclusively from the late 50s-late 60’s for getting around in the oil patch. They apparently would go anywhere necessary with the right tires on them. They’d put the oil and tools, etc. necessary for pumping the wells/wrenching on the locations in the trunk and have at it. I’ll have to see if I can round some pictures tomorrow.

[67C10Step]

My one and only brush with a the beetle was a buddy of mine had what was I believe a 1969 model with a baja kit on it. Big knobbys in the back with the turned up pipe like many of the time. Hold on, about to tell one of the most memorable stories of my misspent youth.

So, it's mid 1980's and arcades, cruising, and hanging out in parking lots was at its peak in the area I grew up in. At the end of the parking lot of the local arcade was a hill affectionatly known as Dope Hill as all the stoners would hang around up there and blaze up. The hill sloped gently up the back so most any vehicle could get up there but the front was rather steep and was very popular for the 4x4 crowd to try to climb in their jacked up trucks. The problem was the rather deep and short ditch at the bottom that would catch a trucks rear bumper.
So, my buddy and I were cruising around in the bug with the moon roof cranked open and enjoying being young and alive. A group of 4-5 trucks were up on Dope Hill and my buddy looked at me with the look on his face I had grown to know well. I just grabbed on and wondered what was coming next. We hit that ditch at a high enough rate of speed that when we cleared the top of Dope Hill all four wheels were off the ground and we landed pretty much in the middle of those 4x4's. To add insult to injury, my buddy did a couple of donuts and left in a cloud of dust. I was laughing so hard it hurt and still makes me smile to this day about 40 years later.