Until a few years ago, if someone said, "Volkswagen," you assumed they meant the air-cooled Beetle. If they meant some other Volkswagen, they would say "Passat" or "Golf." The recent success of the so-called New Beetle has at last ended this linguistic peculiarity. However, millions of drivers in America alone still love and maintain their old Beetles. Parts are surprisingly easy to get and the cars themselves, being bone simple, are easy to keep running as long as you do the maintenance (getting them to run right, well, that's another story).
I have a 1966 Beetle whose once and future color is Ruby Red, although it was owned for awhile in the 'eighties by a student of Maryland University who painted it Aggie Maroon (is that the color of the Terrapins?). It is in many ways a typical Volkswagen, with the original engine long gone and replaced by one made from parts of several engines, although the design has been kept very stock, the only change being the use of 1500 cc cylinders, heads, etc, instead of the original 1300 cc ones. In addition, the car has a Bocar carb instead of a Solex, and a .009 distributor instead of the vacuum advance model; however, these were offered as dealer options when the car was new, so I don't think of them as unauthentic, just non-stock. I love the .009, and will probably keep it, but I'm not so crazy about the Bocar and will eventually replace it with a Solex.
During the coming months I hope to have this car repainted, some rust damage repaired, and the interior redone. I am stopping short of a body-off restoration for two reasons; one, the car is in fair condition and is not in urgent need of one, and two, I have a small child and don't have time for it right now. Of course, in twenty-five years, when I do have time (and if I live that long), the parts will be much harder to get...I will post pictures of the car here, and you can judge for yourself whether the shop did a good job or not. When I got the car I had to do a lot of mechanical work, first to get it to pass inspection, then to make it run acceptably. For example, before I could adjust the valves (crucial maintenance for the air-cooled VW), I had to replace six out of the eight adjustment sets. It runs ok now, but it could be better. When the time comes and I have to rebuild the engine there are a lot of little things I can straighten out (like that damned Bocar). I'll be switched if I'll convert it to twelve volts while I can still get six volt parts, though...
Of course, not all people restore their Beetles to stock specifications. Many companies are still in business making high-performance parts for the air-cooled Volkswagen-an amazing number, in fact, given that no new cars have been sold in this country for going on twenty-five years now. But my favorite Volkswagen owners are the Herbie-heads: people who restore mid-sixties vintage Volkswagens to look like Herbie from the Disney Love Bug movies!
I am fortunate in that I come from a very mechanically inclined family. When I was a child we only took a car to a mechanic if it needed major engine work; everything else we did ourselves. Even so, I had to develop a different mode of thinking to work on my Beetle. Parts are lighter, and there is less room for error; also, the car itself has so much charm you feel guilty about doing things the easy way instead of the right way. Several good technical manuals are still easy to find for the air-cooled Volkswagen. The Bentley manuals are the most precise, and are generally regarded as the ultimate technical reference. John Muir's book, "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" is a better place for the beginner to start. In fact, if you have no prior mechanical experience with Beetles, I highly recommend having both books. Read the Muir book cover to cover, like a novel, to get a feel for the car, how it works, and what it needs from you (this book, written in the 'seventies, is a product of its time, so be prepared for sex, drugs, and spirituality to be mentioned casually). Then use the Bentley manual for more exact technical information.
The best place for technical help on the Web I have found is the Wall at Volkswebbin'. Pay particular attention to the advice of Eric D., Darby, Larry, Der Bugmeister, and the guy who runs 1800vw.com; they know what their doing.
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