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Spotlight - June 2003 Jim Tyler  |
My interest in Volkswagens goes all the way back to my teen years in Southern Illinois in the late 50's. The nearest Volkswagen dealer, Shank's Motors was 16 miles away in Terre Haute, IN. I spent many hours visiting the dealership and drooling over the beetle but just could not come up with the funds it required to purchase one. I think they cost around $1,200. There was a waiting list and you had to have a $200 down payment. Shank's is still the Volkswagen dealer in Terre Haute. I never bought one but did own two of other air cooled cars, a 62 Corvair Monza coupe and a new 65 Corvair Corsa convertible. Finally, it was 1980 and the Beetle was gone. I still had not owned one. The local VW dealer still had a few new 1979 Beetle convertibles for sale. I decided I wanted one because it was the only factory convertible that could be purchased in the country. I thought it would be a car that would hold its value or even increase in value. I had enjoyed my Corvair convertible and wanted another one. The domestic manufacturers had discontinued the convertible body style in 1975 with the exception of the 1976 Cadillac Elorado. The new 1979 VW convertible cost around $7500 new. The dealer was going to locate me a red one but happened to have a used chrome yellow 1978 with low miles for $5,000. I bought it instead. It was a fun car but the Bosch fuel injection left a lot to be desired. I kept the car for five years and sold it for what I paid for it. My VW interest was once again rekindled with my youngest daughter. She did not have any interest in my Corvette but did like the VW bugs and buses. We talked about buying an old one for a couple of years but never did. Then one day she told me that Blackhawk Motors in Rock Island had new old Volkswagens for sale. We went to look at them and decided they were too pricey. I told her if they ever got below a certain price, we would buy one. We watched the cars for two years. Slowly one by one they went away as the prices declined. One day I received an excited phone call from my daughter informing me that the last VW beetle at Blackhawk was priced below my figure. We went to Blackhawk; made them an offer and they accepted it. This was the day before the Bug Fest in Effingham in June 2000. We headed out the next morning to the Bug Fest. She played with the car that summer and then returned to college in the fall. I have tried to make the Beetle look retro. I replaced all bolt on parts that were painted with chrome or aluminum parts. This list included the bumpers, head light bezels, door handles, trunk handle, outside mirrors, deck lid latch and the running board strip. I replaced the baby moons with VW logo hub caps and added VW script on the deck lid. I have also replaced the cheap radio with a nice Blaupunkt. Right now I am considering doing some interior work to brighten up the car inside. We have had a lot of fun with the car because many people think it is an old car in good condition. There have be occasions where people would argue with us about the age of the car. Once I sell the old Corvette I own right now" I am considering the purchase of an old Bug, Karman Ghia, Bus or Thing. |