Well, close enough anyway. A vintage VW is never really finished...
But, like everything else: nothing comes easy, and the devil is in the dee-tails. There were a few loose ends that needed tidying up before Bug was a real car again.
For example: the windshield.
Bug had suffered the indignity of a cracked and clouded windshield for years, and it was time to clear her vision.
Just a blur most of the time, the illustrious Gypsie (Ray) stops by to lend a much needed hand
A Chinese windshield, an American rubber seal, on a German car. Yet somehow it fits, sometimes.
Installed! It can be tricky getting the seal to do what you want, but with patience and a little help it can be done. And it does look quite a bit better. How nice that the wipers work again too.
And then:
A new hood seal
New door seals
And new rear defroster vents. That old plastic can get as brittle as powder after the first 40 years.
Running out of bits to install, it is time to make sure Bug is still running right. She has sat for a good 4 months, and Volkwagens get cranky if they don't get driven. They really do, I'm not just being quaint.
When I parked her, Bug was fully dialed in and running like a top. I didn't worry too much.
Meanwhile, a few hours later, Bug has her timing reset, a starter connection fixed, and the carburetor re-adjusted. What the hell, these were all fine just a few months before. I'm tellin ya they really do get cranky.
But eventually
Bug is running like a top again. We zip around the neighborhood and get a tankful of new gas.
Check out that fancy accessory rain gutter! Comes in handy in the flooded Northwest.
Of course this means Bug needs her first real bath after the rebirth. It is as classic a custom as roller derby and Coke.
I enlist cute help to wash the old webs and crumbs already forming on Bug's new shine. Spiders never sleep either, just like rust.
Thank you, cutie!
Bug is back!
And what an experience this has been, it really has shown me that a functional restoration can be completed within a reasonable amount of time, assuming one has a ton of help and buckets of tenacity. There are so many unknowns into the depths of a project like this, but one must plow on. "Perseverance Furthers" reminds old John Muir from those old greasy pages. There is no telling what the future holds for this pretty yellow gal, but I sure hope it's as sunny as her glowing face. "May the rest of your days be collision free!", is all I can ask.
Bug is now for sale, and it's now time to move on to other things.
Thank you for reading! Please contact me if you'd like to give faithful Bug a good home.
Until then:
Happy trails!
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