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Just Add TLC - Owner: Matthew Edgecombe

My Volkswagen is a 1973 1303 Super Beetle in Alaska Blue. I brought it as my first car in 2017 and after looking at a fair amount of Beetles. At the first sight of seeing this Beetle I knew I had to have it from that moment. I brought the VW with the intention of using it to get to work and college. I drove it as my daily driver for three years without any problems. In the mean time I also brought a Golf MK6 giving me the time to give the Beetle some much needed TLC.

When the Beetle was in the garage for a check over, it was advised that the heater channels needed some serious work, so my dad and I took the car off the road and started doing what needed to be done. As these things go, the job soon grew and before I knew it, we were doing a full restoration. We split the body from the pan and restored all of the floor pans first. Then went on to doing metal work on the body, including the heater channels.

I am fortunate that I do automotive restorations as a full time job. I had the body at my work place and did all the body preparation and paint work. Once back from the paint shop we started fitting it all back together and looking into upgrades we could do for a bit better driving experience. Such as disc brakes, new Porsche 996 seats and upgraded the engine from a standard 1300cc to a 1600cc twin carb. I'm super happy with the way it turned out and have attended many VW shows in my 1303!

A Gift from Grandma - Owner: Matthew Light

SB: When did you first become interested in VWs?
ML: I grew up going for rides in this car! The car was primary used by grandmother a few times a week to go grocery shopping. As a child she would take me with her. I sat up front holding the grab handle and loving every minute! My parents also had two standard Beetles. Late 60's Bugs with rust paint spots all over lol. All I remember about those were the spots and that one was painted flat tan, the other was blue.
SB: How many VWs have you owned?
ML: 4 in total. I inherited this Bug in 1995 it was my first VW. Later I purchased a 1996 VR6 Passat wagon. I bought a 1957 Beetle in 2020 but later sold it after finding a different Oval project. I'm currently working on that project, a 1957 Euro ragtop Bug. It's a complete project. Most of the metal work on body is done and it's awaiting paint, in the meantime I'm working on the engine and chassis. Still a ways to go on that one.
SB: Where did you find your VW?
ML: Luckily it found me! One day as my grandmother was aging and not able to drive anymore and my Grandfather presented me with the car! They were great people and did so much for me. I always made an attempt to help them around their house as they got older and they appreciated that.

SB: What were your plans for it?
ML: Some time in the 90's when I was in my 20's I thought it would be cool to do a bunch of bolt on horsepower. I got dual 40 Kadrons and put a Gene Berg Header and dual exhaust on it, however, I didn't build the engine and it never ran great. This was before the internet and I didn't have a lot of knowledge on the subject or VW mentors so it ran like crap. Unfortunately I let it sit for a while around this time. My interest was more in old Harley's and the car sat for several years. Then in 2019 I took the Bug to Freccia Brothers in Greenwich CT to get it back on the road.
SB: What did you do to it? Restoration and mechanically?
ML: Mice had taken up residence in the car after sitting for 10 years or so, Freccia brothers cleaned up the mess and wiring that had been chewed through, which was pretty extensive. The brakes needed freshening up and the engine got overhauled. I had a bad cylinder, which was replaced and a rebuild. We swapped the car to electronic ignition and smaller dual carbs. It's been running like a top since then. I just went in and adjusted the valves last weekend and the only adjustment I had to make was cylinder 3 intake and it was just barely too tight.. can't say enough about how great Frank and Dave are down at Freccia Brothers. They've helped me a lot and are always available to chat when I've had issues with my Bugs. These days I just do my best to drive the car as much as I can, change the oil regularly and I use a zinc additive with 30W oil.
SB: What still needs to be done?
ML: The car is not perfect cosmetically with many small dings but they don't bother me, however I do have one larger dent in the passenger rear fender I want to fix. Other than that I would just have the paint buffed up by someone who knows more than me.

SB: Future plans for it?
ML: Just to keep it and drive it. As I had said this car was driven by my grandmother Jane, who was a wonderful person. We even named our daughter after her and I have a set of CT license plates from 1971 that start in JL, so I want to get those plates cleared as Year of Manufacture plates by our department of motor vehicles. I would love to pass this car along to my daughter some day.
SB: Do you drive it year round? Is it your daily driver?
ML: I garage the car once they start putting the salt on the roads here in winter. The car does have heat so I do drive it as late into the season as possible. I've put close to 40k miles on it since I've owned it. I drove the car to my wedding and I love to take family drives with it nowadays.
SB: What does owning a Vintage VW means to you?
ML: I love the history of the VW Bug and especially the history of my car within my family. It means a lot to me to keep this car alive and running. I also really love the local VW community and it's been a pleasure getting to know them at shows and rides and hearing about their cars. There's nothing quite like riding in a line of Vintage Volkswagens in a fall foliage ride or rally.

2 Girls and a Geezer Garage - Owner: Cherie Scholz

When I was about 10 or 11 my brother started restoring a 1972 Super Beetle. I always loved his car and we jokingly called it the Atomic Cheeto. It had an awesome Neon Orange slick paint job. We were body shop brats growing up, as our parents own a body shop on the north side of Amarillo, TX. called Quality Paint and Body. Dad has been doing body work for 40 something years. I was a kid when the "New Beetles" came out and I thought they were so cool, and my dad told me he would buy me one when I was old enough to drive. Well long story short, my parents got divorced and I never got my Beetle. Well at least until I was old enough to buy one for myself. So in 2018 I finally bought my own Beetle. A 1971 Super Beetle that my kids call Charlotte.

I didn't care what she looked like, I was just so excited to have her. She ran but didn't have brakes and the wiring was a complete mess. So we did a brake job in the back shed at my house and got her moving and stopping again. The next thing was wiring. As we started working on the wiring my dad told me, "You might as well fix that hole in the floor pan since you have the carpet out." Even though my plan was never to fully restore Charlotte the right way. But like my dad says, "Where are you going to stop?" Charlotte needed a lot of work! So we started sanding and sanding and sanding. We worked on her at my dad's shop on Sundays for about 3 years. My sister and I started taking pictures and we would make videos of our father teaching us about his trade. We started a Tik Tok channel called "2 Girls and a Geezer Garage."

We have had so much fun with our projects. Starting out I just wanted a fun VW to drive, but ended up with so much more! I have a new found respect for the work my dad has done his whole life, and I will forever cherish the memories we put into Charlotte. I didn't realize that we were a Volkswagen family, but we are! I also have a 1973 Bay Window Bus project for the future and my brother has a 1963 Double Cab and the Atomic Cheeto, that Neon Orange Super Beetle from when we were kids. My dad is currently working on restoring a 1969 Convertible Beetle and it looks like he will never slow down. I finally got my "New Beetle" and I drive my 2013 VW convertible every day."

The $1 Super Beetle - Owner: Mike Goode

I've been into Volkswagens since about the age of 4, when my dad purchased a well used 1968 Beetle for my mom, which became her daily driver from 1979 through 1986. When I started driving, my first car was a VW! My dad helped me by purchasing a 1956 Beetle, followed by a 1964 Sunroof Sedan, which was my car for part of high school. I followed this with quite a few more VWs. My parents were both influential in my Volkswagen hobby beginnings! When it came time for my younger brother Dan to start driving, we found a very worn out 1973 Super Beetle in nearby Evanston, Illinois. The gentleman that we purchased this car from was going to turn it into a VW powered trike, but luckily we saved it from that fate. We installed a cheap rebuilt engine and it became Dan's daily driver throughout high school, college, and beyond. He is not a car person, but came to appreciate the VWs reliability, durability, and personality. After over a decade of every day use in the Midwest, including being street parked in Chicago for most of that time, the car was extremely rusty, although it still ran well. I was worried about Dan's safety because of the extensive rust. If he ever got into an accident there was little in the way of structural integrity left. I asked him to sell it to me, which he did for $1.00!

He then purchased a used Passat to replace it for daily driving. The Super Beetle sat for several years as life got in the way, but I slowly collected parts for it. It should have been scrapped but I am a glutton for punishment, and while most folks are too intelligent to save a very shot Super Beetle, I was determined to restore it. The body received new heater channels, front and rear aprons, drivers side quarter panel, lower rear quarter panels, bumper mounts, shock mounts, rear luggage floor, lower front firewall, and plenty of other body work. I replaced the engine cover and rear fenders with ones I saved from a '71 Super I totaled years earlier. The car was repainted in a 1955 VW color, L213 Iceland Green. The chassis received new Wolfsburg West pan halves, and the brakes and suspension were rebuilt using Top Line Parts disc brakes front and rear, Top Line Parts adjustable struts, and all painted items were stripped and powder coated. A 1915cc engine was built using CB Performance internals, with powder coated tin, Berg and Vintage Speed accessories, CSP performance exhaust. This was mated to a Benco performance four-speed transaxle. International Conditioning Enterprises supplied the air conditioning system, and a Retrosounds radio was installed. I located NOS seats from a 1973 only Sports Bug, and had these and the door panels covered in Porsche Pasha upholstery by Riggs Brothers in St. Charles, IL, who also did the headliner installation.

I searched and collected many hard to find VW parts and accessories that were available at the dealer when new, including engine and trunk lights, Formula Vee shifter, Formula Vee steering wheel, clock, rear speaker, tool kit, trunk box, Formula Vee bag "Turtleback" wheels, and had new mats made by cocomats.com. Most of the work was done by Lance McDonald and Marty Salerno, with body and paint done by Vintage Werks in Marengo, IL, and help by my friends Chuck, Mike, Garrett, Josh, Jeff, and my son, Rhyse and my dad. Since completion, I have been putting some miles on the car. I am not afraid to drive it, but it has also appeared in Hot VWs magazine, has won several awards at some VW shows, and most recently took 3rd place in its class against all makes at the Chicago World of Wheels.

That Little Bug - Owner: Billy Starr

Back in 1973 my aunt was a secretary for AT&T. She needed a car that would be good on gas and had A/C to drive from Elon North Carolina to Greensboro North Carolina each day. She went to the local Volkswagen dealership and found a yellow Super Beetle. Instantly falling in love, she had to have the car. She didn't like the wheels that were on it, so she bought a set of American Racing rims and discarded the VW hubcaps. She also had the dealership install a new factory AM/FM radio. She would write notes in the car for the maintenance guys when she took the Bug in for service. This became her everyday car once she retired from AT&T and she drove my then teenage mom around all the time. She eventually decided to retire the little Bug and get something newer in the 80s. Around 1991 she decided to sell the Super Beetle to her neighbor for his two sons. The neighbors boys drove the snot out of this car. Boys being boys broke stuff of course, wore the seats out, and blew the engine up at one point. Their dad had the engine rebuilt and after the boys grew up and got their own cars and moved out, he kept the little Bug and drove it around until one day it just wouldn't start. He wasn't a mechanic. Had no idea what was wrong with the car, so he let it sit. After awhile he realized it wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon and pushed it to his backyard. He taped the seals up with duct-tape and put a very good car cover on it.

Fast forward to 2017 and my aunt called my mom to tell her that her neighbor of many years was moving to the beach. Mom asked if the Bug was going as well, my aunt told her that he wanted to sell it because his wife said it was not going with them. My mom jumped on the opportunity. My aunt had watched the little Bug rot away in her neighbors back yard year after year and thought it was too far gone and it wasn't worth anything but scrap. She told my mom that it was going to cost more than the little car was worth to get it back to what it used to be. My mom, my aunts neighbor along with my dad looked over the car. The tires were dry rotted and it still had the American Racing rims that my aunt put on many year earlier. There was some rust here and there and a little mold and mildew inside the car. Even though it was covered, it would blow off occasionally. Mom paid the neighbor for the little Bug and the next day she was on a roll back coming to my parents house. After delivery my dad got work. He has always been a Ford guy and had restored many Mustangs and even raced a few. The little Bug was new to him, but he is always up for a challenge. He knew that the brakes didn't work, he just didn't understand why it would have just stopped running.

The neighbor told him that he parked it one day and he went a couple of days later to start it up and nothing. So, dad gets a battery and turns the engine over. It turns freely, sounds healthy. Puzzled, he pulls the distributor and there it is! The points are completely burned up. A $7 part caused this VW to sit for almost 17 years. He ran to the parts store and got some points, hooked up a little gas can because the gas tank contents were unknown at the time.. and fired the little Bug up! The Bug ran so good, just as it did the day the neighbor had parked it. Dad began to restore the car, taking it apart panel by panel, fixing the rusty spots, ripping the interior out while saving what he could. About a week later the little Bug was back on the road. As a driving project, dad had restored it to factory condition with the American Racing rims polished and shiny. The little Bug now gleams in the sunlight in the country, just happy to have survived it's long journey. My obsession with Volkswagens began when I was a little kid. My sister's first car was a '66 Beetle. I loved this little car and riding around in it with her. She sold it to a lady up the street and when I was able to ask about them selling it back to me, it was gone. Although that one got away, the little yellow Bug will stay in the family and be cared for and enjoyed as long as I live.

Super Bug from 'Straya' - Owner: Evan Ademovic

G'day from Oz! This is my '72 1302 Super Beetle named "Bumblebee". When I'm not tinkering with him, Bumbles is puttering around NSW, driving around western Sydney and going for cruises to the beach with long boards strapped to his roof.

Bumblebee has a special little badge on his dashboard, showing that he's a Limited Edition "15 Millionth Collectors Bug". Which would be the only type of Special Edition Bug to be sold in Australia. The Canary Yellow paint is evidence of an older restoration, and yes he's got some rust here and there, but he's still a solid little beast.

Last year he took home a 1st place trophy for unmodified Volkswagen Beetles at the Aussie Volkswagen Nationals. Bumbles sees lots of smiles and waves, a few punches and cheers as the bright yellow 51 year old hunk of steel still rolls down the streets of 'Straya'. Being an Australian Beetle, it was the first year to have the high back seats and the last year with an unpadded dash. He's a fun little cruiser!

Bugzy - Owner: Chad Plaggemeyer

I bought this Super Beetle when I was 15, but convincing my dad to let me get it wasn't easy. My dad is an amazing amateur mechanic. I only say "amateur" because he isn't professional trained, but self taught and an amazing mechanic. Mom and dad have a hobby of restoring old cars, so I always grew up around classic cars.

So dad finally caved, and helped me fix everything on my newly purchased VW. It was nice bonding with him over the restoration process. I had my Super Beetle until I was 21. By this time I was married to a Navy Sailor and expecting our third child. I have no clue how I was going to fit three car seats into that Beetle, and I also knew that we were going to be moving 3,000 miles away in less than a year. It broke my heart, but I had to sell it.

It is mostly all original, but since then I have since added the 15 x 4.5" chrome Mangel wheels, 165R15 Radar Dimax classic whitewall tires, upper windshield screen, rear deck lid and did a dash board cover delete. I enjoy driving my Bug everyday and seeing all the looks and smiles it makes. I named my Super Beetle "Bugzy" and I can't imagine life without it.

The VW Lottery - Owner: Randi Legates

I have always loved Volkswagen Beetles since I was young. I used to go on vacation every year as a child to visit my Grandparents in Tucson Arizona. My Grandparents have always had VW's, everything from Bugs to Karmann Ghia's and more. When I was 8 years old in 1981, my grandma took me for a ride in her yellow Super Beetle and I fell in love with it.

They then had a flash flood in 1983 and lost everything, including the Bug that sadly got washed away. Since that day I have always wanted one. Then in March of 2023 I decided it was time to and buy one for a 50th birthday present to myself. I found my 1971 Super Beetle in Lansing Michigan and towed it home around 150 miles to Grand Rapids Michigan.

I sold it, and we moved all over the place, thanks to the Navy. But that VW was always in the back of my mind. Fast forward 17 years later, and I finally looked up the person I sold it to... and they still had it! It had been sitting for 15 years and looked just awful. Both my parents were my super heroes, they stepped up and got right to work on it. A little while later t looked like new again! I feel like I won the VW lottery.

Bumblebee - Owners: Nathan & Beth

I have been a VW Beetle fan since I was a child. When I started high school I began saving my money to buy a car, just like most teenagers. I was in marching band and I had a few older friends that already owned a Bug. This fanned the flame for me to find one. On April 1992, I bought my Bug; a 1971 Super Beetle that I named Bumblebee. I bought it from an elderly man, which had it in a shed for 5 years, for $850. If I remember correctly, he was the first owner and his son was the second owner. The irony was that I did not know how to drive a manual transmission. My Dad had to drive it home. For a few months it sat on the driveway because it did not have seat belts, horn, brakes, and it had the typical rusted out spots in the floor pans. Needless to say it needed a lot of work. I took it to a man, that my dad knew, that use to be a mechanic for Volkswagen when the Beetle was on the showroom floor. He got it road worthy and I was able to drive it at the beginning of my senior year of high school. From that moment on Bumblebee and I were inseparable. After graduating high school we stayed together through five years of college.

Both of us made it through with only a few bumps and bruises. After graduating college in 1998 I got a teaching job. Unfortunately, Bumblebee couldn't handle all the driving I had to do. I had to retire her and get another car. Sadly, she sat on my parent's driveway for a few years waiting for me to return. Let's fast forward to May 2003. One day, as I was visiting my parents, I went out to Bumblebee and wanted to drive her around the neighborhood. Sadly, the engine smoked horribly, the driver side front brake was frozen. I had her towed it to a VW mechanic and his diagnosis was painful. The fuel pump had broken and flooded the engine with gas. He told me I needed another engine. Most people would have junked her or sold her part by part. Not me. At that point I decided it was time to restore her. I had her towed to my wife's parent's house. Her father has a large array of mechanics tools and a large backyard. Every weekend that we visited her parents I was in the backyard, sometimes in the rain, taking off parts. Little by little I would bring parts back to Nashville. It took me about three years worth of weekends to get everything back to Nashville. Obviously, this project was more of a labor of love and not a car show deadline project.

As often as I was able I would be down in the garage rebuilding, repairing, restoring, or replacing whatever needed; which turned out to be pretty near everything. Oh, something I didn't mention, I have had no formal teaching on restoring a car, especially at this depth. At the time I had enough mechanical knowledge to properly maintain automobiles and do minor repairs. My philosophy is: "If it's already broken what worse can I do? "Let's fast forward, again, to 2013. I was gaining ground with the restoration so I self-imposed a deadline; to finish the restoration between my birthday (June 9) and Father's Day (June 16th).

Well, on Father's Day Sunday June 16, 2013, I was able to drive Bumblebee out of the garage with 99% of the car complete. After 10 years of blood, sweat, and frustration I was reconnected with Bumblebee. I use any reason to drive her even if it meant driving to get the mail. Sometimes, just driving her around is reason enough. As with all car projects there will always be upgrades, tweaks, and adjustments. It really never ends. It is just more fun to be able to drive it AND work on it. Bumblebee and I have gone on several road trips to car shows and local cruise-ins.

The one trip that we love to do the most is meeting up with other VW enthusiasts and travel up and down the Tail of the Dragon (Highway 129 in Tennessee). The event is called "Bugging the Dragon" every June. As a matter of fact, we are getting prepared to go again. I could not have done the restoration without the enormous support and help from all my friends and family. But my biggest supporter and and encouragement comes from my wife, Beth. I thank God she is also a gear head, like me. Bumblebee is a 1971 Super Beetle who's actual birth date is 12/1970. Her original color is L12D and she is basically stock except for a few additional gauges, wheels, and a 2180cc engine with a center-mount 2-barrel Dellorto DRLA 40 carb.

The Circle - Owner: Jesse Navarro

My mother bought this Super Beetle brand new in 1979 and she couldn't even drive a stick shift at the time, but she knew she had to have this VW! Only 900 of the Triple Black Epilogue Super Beetle were ever made, so we're lucky to own one. It was involved in a hit-and-run accident and sat in our garage undrivable for years, until my grandfather and I started rebuilding it, beginning with the complete interior. Unfortunately, he passed away during the project. One day when I was eagerly headed to my grandparents house after school, then I discovered that he had passed on his front lawn on the day we were to start the engine rebuild process. I didn't want to have anything to do with it for a while, because it brought back so many memories. But that's what drove me to complete the project later on in life, or at least to get it to the point where it is now.

It once again sat in in the garage since I was still in High School, I didn't have money, working a part-time job, and I was also in line to start College soon. Many, many more years it sat in our garage, collecting dust, and I dreamt of the day that I could turn that engine over and drive that Super Beetle for the very first time. My family and I were fortunate enough have our Volkswagen put into a Sonic Drive-In TV commercial that aired nationwide for over two years and were able to save the extra funds to bring it back to life. Which were surprisingly significantly less than I assumed they would be. It probably still needs a true rebuild, but it fires up and drives like new, and spits oil like an old VW should, lol! This Beetle will never leave the family and one day I hope to pass it on down, keeping it running and driving as long as I can. A couple fenders, a new convertible top, some Coker whitewalls, maybe a slight drop, and I think this bad boy would be complete!

Who knows, maybe I'll throw a fresh coat of paint on it, but I kind of dig the flat black look as is. Getting to drive the car all around town with my family in tow, and being able to take my mom for a ride in the car that she drove for the first time 44 years ago is really pretty amazing... the circle is complete.

"Hermann" - Owner: Carsten Grundel

I'm Carsten Grundel and I come from Rosrath, next to Cologne in Germany, and this is my 1970 Volkswagen 1302 LS Super Beetle. The options ordered on this VW were the sunroof, pop-out windows in the back and the "Gearshift" - semi-automatic transmission. The original color was L20D Clementine Orange, since the restoration, 22 years ago, it remains Coral Red. This is my second Beetle. The first I got as a graduation gift from my parents in 1993, a 1200 Standard Beetle colored Lofoten Green. I loved it very much but had to sell it just two years later. But at that time I promised myself, that I would own a Beetle again. It took me 23 years to deliver that promise. In 2017 I found my Super Beetle in a small village near Cologne. The former owner restored it in 2002 and after that drove it about 400 miles, then parked the Beetle in his big garage and nearly forgot about it.

We love our "Hermann" and care for him as much as we can. We just drive on sunny days and he has not seen any rain or snow in the last 25 years. "Herrmann" is a member of the family that drove us to our wedding in September 2023. We've given him some updates in appearance, safety and mechanics. We changed the alloy wheels from Lemmerz Sprintstar to Kronprinz KPZ, lowered the front about two inches, and gave him additional instruments for RPM, oil temperature and oil pressure. We restored and added a rare steering wheel from the 70s, called a Raid 1, with new leather and stitching in a matching car color. We finished the interior with Porsche 924 seats, restored and coated with new original Porsche leather and velour in black with orange-red stripes. The door, back side panels and backseat were changed to a similar trim. We added rare Italian turn indicators, a high flow exhaust, and a Blazecut fire extinguisher.

The last and possibly final update in was in the winter of 2021-22. The original AD engine and the semi-automatic gearbox got an update. Both were fully restored by specialists here in Germany. The engine increased in size from a 1600cc/50hp to a 1776cc with 65hp, for a little bit more fun and speed. The VW transmission specialist changed the 2nd gear to a larger one, so the maximum speed is now 155kmh or about 96mph. But top speed was not the real aim, we just wanted to go 120kph without going deaf. For engine protection we changed the internal oil cooler to an under floor oil cooler by Cagero. With an A1 appraisal we are very lucky and we hope that "Hermann" stays with us as long as possible.

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