People fall into complicated relationships
and get embroiled in a lot of troubles they cannot free themselves from. I am
afraid I am in a similar situation. This is my de profundis confession about an
enduring romance with a shapely thing that has gone on for seven years now.
Some hang ups are difficult to explain. In
my case, there are only few things that I have cherished in life and these are
usually old, antiquated items. Among them is a weird (in today’s standards) but
lovable car, the Volkswagen Beetle. I had owned three in my previous life and currently,
I am in possession of one. Some people find it strange that one can seem so fixated
with one particular car make as if it is a big anomaly or an illicit affair. Admittedly,
things can get to that level when guys become obsessed with activities and things
that make the wife feel like a widow such as too much obsession with golf, biking,
internet games, gadgets, pet dogs, fighting cocks, to name a few. For that matter,
an unrestrained attachment to a car can level up to a home wrecker too.
It is easy to fall in love with a modern
car with all its power, comforts and amenities. Just keeping it stock makes most
car owners happy. Still, there are those who would not be satisfied with anything stock and would start modifying their new car
as early as the first day they owned it. Working on a modern car is easy. There
are available after market body kits, parts, accessories, audio and engine set-ups everywhere and
you can transform your car to suit your taste practically within a day.
It’s
the other way around when you get into the task of rebuilding an old school car
like a Beetle. You can get bogged down chasing genuine parts and accessories. But
your small successes with an old car can give you a higher level of
satisfaction. For me, it is that and more. It is like a déjà vu on the car I had
in the past that I did not have the time and resources to give proper care and attention
to. This time around, I am making up for something I was not able to do before.
I can now do wonderful things to the car that I never thought possible then.
Recently, however, a prospective buyer
expressed much interest in the car. He was assuring me rather profusely that
he would take care of it like how I have been doing. The guy used to live in
Manila but he had recently moved to Mindanao. And he would like to make Zamboanga
the car’s new home. As shipping costs would be prohibitive, he was thinking of driving
the car all the way from Manila to Zamboanga by RORO (roll on roll off) route.
The trip would take seven days and cover thousands of kilometers of driving overland
and sailing on board ships over deep waters and high seas. Although it has not
left my garage farther than 10 kilometers away in the last 7 years, I thought
the car can be good for a long trip given a thorough engine tune up.
What I was
concerned about was whether the buyer would be able to find someone willing to
drive a Beetle on a cross country trip. He was to send a representative to cut the
deal. I already had my reservations at that point in time. To my relief, the representative
did not come on the date he said he would. Probably the guy had realized or was
prevailed upon by saner minds that a RORO trip would be an unspeakable ordeal for
both the driver and the car.
A stock Beetle cannot match the riding comfort, handling convenience, or interior amenities of a modern car but given some tweaking it can be as comfortable if not better. It bears so much history that an owner can take pride of. The Beetle had its
heyday until the 60s and the 70s. It was the vehicle of choice of most people. More
than 21 million Beetles were manufactured over the period from 1945 to 1974,
more than any car model at the time it stopped production. It was the perfect car
for the counter culture and free spirit of the sixties. Bugs were a delight to
see in bright, plain or two-tone paint, flowery or psychedelic colors and various
body styles – stock, California look, Baja, streeter, modified, full race, etc.
One memorable icon of the sixties was a Beetle with a body constructed out of wrought
iron. Back in the day, a dear departed friend had a violet colored 1965 model Beetle
which he drove around with attitude of a rock star. Seeing some bugs cruisin’ the road
these days brings back nostalgia of the romantic past when Beetles crowded the
roads and highways.
My first car was a 1969 VW Beetle which I acquired
in the mid 80s. It was about 15 years old at the time, a very young age for a
woman but too old for a car. But the car was designed to last true to the
reputation of anything made in Germany. When I saw it for the first time, it looked
radiant in passion orange but at close look, the paint had seen better time. I bought it on the spot. My
brother saw it and he was likewise inspired to buy his own bug. It was my daily
driver and except for a couple of times it conked out without warning (due to electrical problem), it brought us to places we normally go to and was
generally reliable.
I did let go of that Beetle after a couple
of years to a colleague and acquired the 1302 Beetle of a friend’s brother. That
colleague and I were both vying to buy the 1302. I offered to him my car at a
lower price so that I would be the one to bid on the 1302 and he gave way. The 1302
was the progenitor of the Super Beetle (the 1303), the model to die for during
its time. I grabbed the opportunity of owning the second best model. With a
“new” second-hand Beetle, life and career got more exciting even in the
drudgery of a 9-5 office routine. I drove the 1302 daily to work and elsewhere.
We had a lot on interesting times together. It was a mute participant during the
tumult of the people power demonstrations I actively took part of during the 80s. It was the official protest vehicle of our group. It shuttled up to 6 people during
our sorties to the rally sites in Ayala Avenue and Edsa. I vividly recall how
we set our foot on the threshold
of history when we joined the motley crowd at Camp Crame gate in Edsa the night
JPE and FVR declared their revolt from the Marcos regime.
As global warming got severe, I traded the 1302
with the air-conditioned car of my brother, a Dodge Colt, which he was about to
dispose. The 1302 was subsequently sold to another Beetle enthusiast. I drove a
non-Beetle for some time. Some years later, I heard that the Beetle of the
father-in-law of a friend was going to be junked. Such a tragic end for a
Beetle hit a soft spot in me. I could not stand that a Beetle could just be cut
up and fed to a metal foundry to be transformed to a few steel bars. I decided
to buy the car and started a project of converting it to a Baja bug. Working on
it during my free time and with the help of a backyard body repair man, the
project Baja bug took form slowly and painstakingly. The Baja bug was a looker
even as it was not completely done yet. A friend took interest and bought it.
Although I lost some money in the deal, I felt better that the car would be leading
a useful life with its new owner. After
that, I did not think that I would own a Beetle again.
Many years and several cars later (one
Daewoo, one Honda, a Toyota and two Mistubishis), my interest on VWs was somehow
rekindled. Sometime in 2007, I wandered into a bug-in, a car show exclusively
for VWs, at the Fort Bonifacio Marines parade grounds. I was awed by the biggest
display of VWs I ever saw in various levels of rebuild, mainly Beetles, Buses
(Kombis), Karman Ghias, Fastbacks, Notchbacks, Brazilias, Things, and even a
few Porches, most of them restored to mint condition as if they just moved out
of the assembly line. I spent hours just strolling around and admiring the
cars.
That urged me to start a hunting expedition
for a Beetle that I can rebuild myself. My first prospect was a bug eye model (similar
to Herbie in the film the Love Bug) that I went to see at Filinvest Subdivision
in Quezon City but the seller’s asking price was out of my range. Undaunted, I kept
on looking and found one near Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City and immediately haggled
with the owner to purchase it. As fate would have it, it was the same model as
my first Beetle, a 1969 made in Germany model, but it was in bad shape. After
money changed hands, I drove it out on the road and soon realized the extent of
the work to be done on the car.
I did not have guts to drive it home, not
only because the brakes were faulty, but also because I did not inform my wife
that I was buying a Beetle. So like a secret mistress I “hid” it first to the
car shop of a friend and left it there for a few days. When I finally got it home, I started a
part-by-part rebuild of the car in my garage sourcing good surplus parts from
vendors during car shows sponsored by different VW clubs every so often. The
rest of the parts were bought from VW auto parts stores along Araneta Avenue,
Quezon City (EGT and Ayala). I was hoarding
parts that I had no need for yet. I also collected dozens of Hot VWs
& Dune Buggies magazines which gave me ideas on how to improve a VW, what are
the period correct style and parts and accessories for different car models, and
also some technical know-how. I learned too that any VW parts can be ordered
from the US through the internet.
One of the first things that I rushed to do
was to have the car repainted from white to passion orange, the same color as
my first Beetle. I had the faulty front drum brakes replaced with a set of disc
brakes. I retained the car body’s classic look with mild modifications like shaved body trimmings and front fender signal lights. I got rid of the ill-fitting
front seats (from a Japanese car) installed by the previous owner and sourced a
pair of original VW seats, replaced the cheap Momo steering wheel with an
original VW steering wheel. I went for a more modern mechanical set up. I had the
front and rear suspension lowered to fit the car with a set of Porche-style
7x17 wheels and low profile radial tires, the interiors reupholstered with original-design
and materials, the suspension restored, the electricals rewired, and the engine
tuned up. All the works needed were done
cost no object.
It was not a hassle-free undertaking though.
With countless weekends, holidays, days and nights spent on the car, it has
been very tiring work. I had a lot of frustrations and got into quarrels some
times, first with a no-good car painter and then with some mechanics who not
only did lousy repair jobs and but also charged me also for parts they did not replace.
Not to mention, bruised knuckles, back pains, and stress from rare auto parts
chase. Yet fatigue would soon be soothed every time I rest to look at the car
and admire what I was able to do. I would get inside the car and sit quietly
and still and my joy would be complete. The ultimate satisfaction comes when I
drive the car out and people crane their neck to look at it and when admiration
is spontaneously expressed by total strangers with a thumbs up sign.
Everything said and done, I realize that if I were
to let this bug go now, I would not be able to resist a situation when I had to
rescue another abandoned bug and begin a restoration project anew. I am also not
sure if the person who would buy the car could take care of it like I do even
if he would be willing to swear by his honor that he would not let it end up in
a steel foundry. I thought that it would be better for the car to stay with the
family to be bequeathed to a family member who can take care of it and preserve
it as a family heirloom and, possibly, start a tradition of passing that
responsibility from generation to generation.
