SonofHerbie here...

sonofherbie · Post by **sonofherbie** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:50 pm

Hi from southwest Virginia! It all started when I was a kid on Long Island, NY. My four cousins all drove old Beetles; some really cool ones in the mix. Always wanted one, almost bought a '63 around 1980, but it didn't feel right at the time.

Anyway, in 2002 I got a promotion, and needed a new car. Decided to treat myself to a New Beetle. Had it picked out in my head...dark blue metallic with a beige interior (I'm pretty conservative). My then-five year old son had other ideas. He saw a Double Yellow Color Concept, with the matching yellow heated leather seats and rims with yellow inserts. Pretty flashy for me, but, as he said, "Dad, you HAVE TO get this one!!" I've put 90,000 miles on it in the past five years. Other than maintenance, the only thing it has needed was one fuel injector replaced, 100% covered by the warranty. People are always stopping me to talk about the Bug they used to have.

Then, last March, I found a 1966 Beetle, pretty complete, in running condition, with a pretty straight body. After a month of begging and bribing, my dear wife relented, and I handed over a check for $1600 to a local fella who had too many other projects on his plate.

To date, after one year, I have replaced the front directional assemblies, taillight lenses, front end, clutch cable, and master cylinder. I've also restored the headlight buckets, installed Wolfsburg seatbelts up front, and compounded the entire body (repainted black sometime long before I bought it). Currently, I'm refinishing the wheels and dash board. (Some previous owner had spray painted the rims silver with lots of runs. The dash appears to have been repainted multiple times, with the paint so thick it has cracked all over.)

My next major job will be the interior. The headliner is shot, the seats are black with a tear in the rear seat, and the door panels/rear quarter panels are white and peeling off the backing, assumably from moisture damage. What a mess...

In the next couple of weeks, I'm hoping to make my '66 Beetle's debut at one of our weekly VW club meetings (Good Ole Volks out of Greensboro, NC). I'm not very technology-savvy, but I'll see if I can convince my DOW to post some pics.

Post by **jmartini** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:19 am

Congrats on your 66 - sounds like you have your weekends full for now

I have a NB Convertible, a 2005 model and love it - maybe the best handling car I have ever owned but not as much fun to drive as the 66 of course! I'm sure we'd all love to see the pictures of your restoration, so when you get a chance put them out here and we can all enjoy them. Welcome to the forum! John

fourcylinder · Post by **fourcylinder** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:31 am

Welcome sonofherbie - looking forward to seeing some pictures of your project! Congratulations on the purchase - you picked the right year!

sonofherbie · Post by **sonofherbie** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 6:18 pm

San Antonio, huh? I did some time there back in '82 at Lackland AFB. All I remember is some guy with a Smokey the Bear hat screaming in my face for six weeks. I hope the folks outside the gates are a little more mellow! A belated "thanks" for the welcome!

John

Post by **jmartini** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:41 am

Can't wait to see the pics and good luck with the debut - I am going to the first car show in my area this weekend and really looking forward to it!

sonofherbie · Post by **sonofherbie** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:40 am

Making lots of progress since the last time I posted! I actually registered my '66 for a car show this past Saturday, but a family emergency derailed my plans. First time for a show and all I have to show for it is my lost registration fee. Oh, well. I'll try to post some pics soon.