It's time...

Just over 20 years ago, I bought my first car on my own. I had already wrecked my first 2 cars, but that's another story altogether. I had been searching for a convertible bug, but everything was either too expensive, or completely rusted out. But then...

I found it, and it was love at first sight. And, after spending $3,500 of my hard-earned cash, that love didn't come cheap! Turqouise with a bit of sparkle, a shiny black vinyl top, and cloth seats (my wife calls it microfiber?) - I was so proud to be driving that car on the road. I took better care of that car than any car I owned before or since.

Outside of the usual bug issues, it was a great car for a long time. After our 1st child was born, it was really clear that a 71 bug was not made with car seats in mind. We got through that, but then it broke down at the wrong time and it was suddenly time to "grow up" and get something a little more dependable - and with bigger seatbelts. I still drove it for awhile, but then it stopped running, and I stopped caring, and it ended up sitting out in the weather on my in-laws property for the past 5 years.

5 years, and a lot of sun, and a lot of rain - well, you'll see the pictures in a minute.

About 3 weeks ago, my wife surprised me with this idea - let's fix up the bug and start driving it to save money on gas, and then our oldest can start driving it when she turns 16. What? Hmm - and then the vision hit me! My car, that car I loved so much 20 years ago, can we really bring it back? A couple of nights staying up into the wee hours reading VW restoration sites, a couple of books ordered from Amazon, a car cover ordered (why didn't I think of that 5 years ago?) - and the project was on!

Here's a shot of the bug in better days. I've got photos around from those 1st years somewhere...