Time for a mid-summer break. This post has nothing to do with consulting, other than my consulting gigs paid for a beautiful ’71 VW convertible last year – posted here with picture.

That post prompted several comments from former VW owners. When a long time friend responded with his “VW Recollections” I responded with this. If you are a former VW owner, you may enjoy it too… Peace from Uncle Daryl — an old VW hippie. 

My VW Recollections
July 2020

Due to personal economic conditions (my dad died when I was 14 and funds were meager,) I did not own a car until my senior year in college. But approaching graduation, I realized I would soon need transportation. Of course, some of this was driven by my chasing a skirt in Minnesota while going to school 400 miles away in Lincoln, Nebraska.

So in November of 1967, I bought a 1966 Beetle. A friend had one and sang its praises. Mine was bright red (fit in with “Big Red” Nebraska) with pop-out rear windows that I came to appreciate for the “VW A/C.” It had a 6 volt system which later became problematic.

In April 1968, I decided to visit my now fiancé Mary. A friend had a brother in Minnesota, so we decided to make a weekend trip, sharing the cost of gas. As it turned out, the midwest was having a “gas war” (remember those), and I think we averaged 15 cents per gallon (normally 35 cents per gallon). Thanks to the VW gas mileage, we made the 800 mile round trip for under $5.

We got married in June 1968, a week after my graduation with a brand new engineering degree. I had a little bit saved up, so we took a honeymoon to the Black Hills and Colorado. Mary had never been west, and I was excited about sharing the Rocky Mountains. But the first exotic stop was the Badlands, which she fixated on. We still make side trips to the Badlands when passing through South Dakota. 

I wasn’t sure how the VW was going to perform in the mountains, but it worked OK. The real challenge was Mary, who became giddy with altitude sickness on Trail Ridge Road at about 11,000 feet. It was like she was on a cheap drunk, so we hightailed it down to 5000 feet. Within a few days, she adjusted, and we later took the cog railway to Pikes Peak — wasn’t going to try driving it.

Ready to return to Nebraska, we were down to under $5 with no credit card. But I calculated we would be fine if we drove straight though the night. At a gas fill-up in mid-Nebraska, however, the car wold not start. But not to panic — the VW could be jump started.

Unfortunately for Mary, she had never done this, so my brand new bride ended up pushing the car while I popped the clutch. Although she never admitted it, I’m pretty sure she was starting to wonder about her decision to marry me.

We made it to my mother’s place in Omaha, not stopping again even when filling the gas. Turns out there was a loose connection to the starter solenoid that was common with the 6V systems. That problem becomes significant later.

 Our next stop was Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where I started my engineering career with Collins Radio. The VW served us well (and economically) as we made alternate trips to Minnesota and Nebraska to visit family. Five hours to either destination. Driving Interstate 80 across Iowa was always a challenge though — 70 down the hills but 50 up the hills, and worse if there was a headwind.

Soon after we were married, we moved Mary’s cedar chest from Minnesota to Iowa. It filled the VW back seat and blocked the rear window. In some small-town in Iowa, the local cop pulled us over, I suspect to ticket us. I blurted out that we were just married (actually several months prior) and moving some furniture.

Thinking we were on our honeymoon, the old cop put his ticket book away, and said “You kids go on, and please drive safe.” I told Mary I’ll be using the line about being newly married for the next 50 years or more.

One day when out for a Sunday drive after a rain, we decided to take a short cut. The sign “Mud Road” should have been a warning, but what the heck — we had a VW and it had already proved it could go in the snow. So down the muddy hill we went, but heading up the next hill became a challenge. I’m happy to report we did make it to the top, but another ten feet and we might still be stuck in Iowa. Never took the “Mud Road” challenge again.

A year later I ran across a nice used Dodge Charger, so we retired the Beetle. Talk about going from one extreme to the other — the Charger had a 383/4 barrel/4 speed – a real muscle car. I wasn’t so much into muscle cars, but the the price was right and it was in great condition. Shortly after, Mary got pregnant and had we known that the Charger might never have been. But it was fun to drive too. 

The VW went to my brother. He slid into something on the ice, and the front hood was never the same, and leaked air no matter how much we tried to fix it. This was important as a few years later I got it back as a second car. By that time, we had moved to Minnesota, had two children, and Mary needed a car.

All went well with the VW until the infamous starter acted up. Actually, it had acted up several times, but the fix was simple — scoot under the car, pull the connection and reseat, and all was well. No big deal.

Bill Kimmel (my late business partner) and I shared not only a cubicle, but also a phone. One day the phone rang, he answered, and handed it to me with the warning, “Its your wife… and she sounds pissed…”

Her message to me in very measured terms was, “I’m at the corner of University and Victoria — the car is stalled — I have two hungry children in the back seat — come get me NOW!” Yes, she was pissed.

That night, we bought a new Dodge Omni, one of my very few new cars. It was built on the VW Rabbit platform, but was basically a piece of junk. The WV parts were good, but the Dodge parts were not — broken window cranks, broken gearshift, broken door latches, and more.

In the meantime, our retired next door neighbors inquired about buying the VW. I did not want them to buy it, warning them that it at its age it needed tinkering to keep it going. But they insisted, so they bought it. They had it several years before they moved — never had a problem — and often thanked me for selling them the “fun little car.” 

I’ve long suspected, like Herbie, it was mad at me for replacing it twice with Dodges. But I did talk nice to it when I saw it — it was the great little car of my youth.

So now the story about the ’71 convertible. Perhaps the ’66 finally forgave me and was channeling karma, as it was apparently meant to be.

Last July I flew to Arizona from Minnesota (where we spend summers thanks to our location independence) for a meeting and to check on the house. Was only there for a few days, so rather than take a cab I decided to rent a car. You could pick any car, and a lonely VW “New Beetle” beckoned. I’d never driven one — a bit different than the ’66 but what fun.

On the way home, I stopped for some milk and grub. I ended up parking next to the ’71, which had a for sale sign. No, I thought, I’m only here for a few days.

But I walked out behind the owner, and we struck up a conversation. The ’71 was an Arizona car (no rust) that his wife had babied for 20 years. They were downsizing for retirement, and she decided to sell. I asked the price, took the phone number, and asked where he lived — about six blocks from me. So I checked the price (it was good) and called him back, and took it for a drive.   

The next day I was the proud owner of a ’71 VW convertible. Definitely karma, right down to the bright candy apple red color. 

I typically take it for a spin once a week. It runs great while bringing back memories. Even better – it is a “classic car” so it is exempt from pollution checks and the insurance and tags are cheap. And it is going up in price. Like the original ’66 VW, it just keeps on giving.

https://jumptoconsulting.com/check-out-the-new-ride/ 

PS – Hope you enjoyed this little break. Stay tuned as we return to our regular programming on how to start/build/operate a small consulting practice.

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