So What Did Happen to Good 'ol Number 53?

[PCX150Rider]

Years ago I had a '69 Beige VW Bug. Bought it used. Had a blast of fun with the thing. Another car I wish I never sold. But reality is what it is. Here's the rundown on what happened to Herbie. . ..



Still have the VHS tapes though. . .and a DVD.

[fish]

Friend of mine in the southwest was a major collector of all things VW Beetle. He owned one of the orig. Herbies....it was the culmination of his decades of collecting.
He passed away several yrs ago - perhaps his widow still owns it.
He dispalyed it at VW shows.
Another friend in Frankfurt, Germany is perhaps the major authority on the earliest VW Transportera.
Before discovering scooters - vintage VWs was a hobby of mine.
Fish

[gn2]

Herbie retired from the movie business to spend more time with his gorgeous wife, a slinky fox called Karen Karmann-Ghia.
Together they raised a family, this is their elder son wearing the trademark family insignia:

[PCX150Rider]

the trademark family insignia:

Awesome pic!

I remember seeing one of those special edition VWs at my local dealership a few years ago. It was only on the lot about a week. I'm surprised it lasted that long. Somebody from out of town must have bought it because I never see it around my area. For that matter I almost never see one on the road at all.

[Mel46]

I have had multiple VW Bugs through the years. All of my kids remember at least one of them, though usually not the same one. In 1971 I had a 1969 model. In 1981 I had a 1971 superbeetle. I loved both, and so did my kids. In 1971 my oldest daughter was almost 3 years old, and she remembers our trip across the United States in it. In 1981 my youngest daughter was 3 1/2 years old and remembers running around town in my Super Beetle. Now the girls talk about their adventures like they did it together. :-) ...The boys don't remember much, if any of it. I guess boys have different priorities.

[PCX150Rider]

Sounds like you and Fish would remember the Sapphire AM radios they came with too. I ended up putting an FM converter in my glove box and hooking it up to the radio and antenna.

Damn good time with that Bug. I replaced a gas tank and exhaust system in it myself. When I traded it in for a '73 used Ford LTD the number 3 cylinder was starting to loosen up. Ratta tat tat.

I remember the windshield wiper wash was driven by the air pressure from the spare tire that sat right in front of the gas tank.

[Mel46]

I rode in a friend's old old beetle that didn't even have a gas gauge. I was really glad that mine had one.

[WhiteNoise]

I truly miss my '71 VW Superbeetle. It was the first VW Bug with a clutch free semi automatic trans w/floor shift. Lift foot off gas pedal then shift into next (each) gear. Like riding an old 3 speed bicycle. Stop peddling before shifting - up or down.

I could talk at length about that bug and the Great times I had whilst owning it. I google them every so often thinking I may buy one again.
Todays Bugs are nice. I test drove a turbo when they entered the scene again, not bad. Sadly the write-ups are still below average. Oh, but one Tempts me still.

So what brand FM converter did you hook up PCX150Rider? Oh wait, let me guess.....hmmm, was it a Lafayette Electronics model? You remember them? Lafayette was Big (back then).

[relic]

Had a 1958 Karman Ghia and rode it hard. My first car, the lights were iffy and the heater worse, six volt system and would pack an ice scraper to clear the headlights and the condensation off the the inside of the windshield when it got cold. By the time I had finished with it the hydraulic brakes had failed and would use the handbrake and the passenger door would fly open every once in so often making a hard right. Had a lot of fun with that unit.

[WhiteNoise]

Another VW I liked that an uncle owned, the Karmen Ghia!
Fun back in the day hey relic! Would not be the same fun(?) today. But aye, those were the days!

The Sheriff's '77 Pontiac LeMans


Smokey & the Bandit in Hot Pursuit of ...you...know...who!
It still ran!!

image.jpeg (69.81 KiB) Viewed 25481 times

[PCX150Rider]

Had a 1958 Karman Ghia and rode it hard.

I only got to ride in a Ghia a couple of times. I had thought about buying one though many a time. . .when I would have gotten old enough to drive and make enough money. . .and then they stopped producing/importing them here. That being said my Dad had a '59 VW Bug. . .Blue. . .I really enjoyed that car. . .only 36HP I think. Fortunately my Dad survived an accident getting hit from behind during a Winter storm coming home from work that totaled the car. Once it got slammed from behind it got pushed around and slammed again several times and hit one more time by the guy that him in the first place. The clown tried to get out of cue and pass a long line and when he discovered he had nowhere to go he must have lost control and the rest was history. The front and rear of the car appeared flattened when he took me to the auto dealership it was towed to so I could see it a few days later. . .the driver's seat was bent back flat like a lounge chair. Sure glad he pulled through that one. . .the snow helped to forgive a lot of what could have been more serious damage I think.

Some years later I bought a used '69 Beige VW Bug and had a great time with it. Traded it in years later for a used Ford.

[PCX150Rider]

So what brand FM converter did you hook up PCX150Rider? Oh wait, let me guess.....hmmm, was it a Lafayette Electronics model? You remember them? Lafayette was Big (back then).

That's a good question! I may still have it around here some place. It may have been a "Realistic". It had sort of a wood grain appearance on the front. I'll have to dig it out one of these days if it's still here.

Here's a link to a vintage one still for sale and it does look like what I remember.

https://www.ebay.com/i/162941315075?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Lafayette electronics. . .oh yes. . .another blast from the past.