BajaBug1

After being rear-ended and rebuilt two years later, this is how it changed. Following the California Bug trend, I dropped the front end, added small front tires, replaced the bumpers with nerf bars, shaved off the chrome body trim, and peeled the accents from the window rubber. The front was about 5" above the pavement. The motor was still a stock 1200cc (rated at 40 horsepower) but the car moved briskly, thanks in part to my heavy right foot and a willingness to frequently replace the clutch.

I bought it for $500 in the summer of 1978, between my junior and senior years of high school. Dad and I stripped it down and restored in the back yard. New wheels, new tires, new brakes, new chrome trim and bumpers, seat covers and carpet from Tijuana, and bodywork and paint by us. Aside from a header exhaust, it was about as stock as we could do. It ran great. Dad filled the ten-gallon tank with five dollars and said he'd buy the first tankful but the rest were up to me. Thanks to some favors by others, and a lot of hard work, we did the entire project for under $2000.

Years of use, neglect, and crash-damage finally took their toll. Even though further enhancements had been done, such as '65 Mustang turn signals, the paint was badly oxidized, and two fenders and the hood no longer matched. The bug was beat. Here it is, parked on the very same spot in 1984, looking like crap. It needed a fair amount of cash for a restoration, or for the same amount I could try something different...

I did a little research (no Internet at the time) and bought a fiberglass Baja Bug kit, along with big tires and wheels, plus suspension components. To make it even more challenging, I did a minor rebuild of the motor, bumping it up to 1400cc and adding a mild cam. I took a week's vacation from work, bought as many parts as I could beforehand, and it all began on Saturday morning. I had nine days to get everything done or figure out how to get to work on Monday without a car.

Although I'd never cut up a car so nice today, I happily went at it back then. It didn't take long to strip down, and judging by the angle of the rear wheels, I'd guess the engine's already out. Safety gear at the time consisted of T-shirt, shorts, and Vans deck shoes.

Dad's garage didn't have a SawzAll, but his compressor and air chisel worked just as well cutting thru the sheet metal. Getting to this point only took a couple of hours. Getting it back together and roadworthy would require non-stop 12-hour days. Anyone who's ever taken on a project like this can understand all the little steps and parts and details that have to be done, and how sometimes it seems like it'll never get finished.

No bumpers or paint (yet), but here's what it looked like after just four days. The suspension's been raised, with new shocks and new brakes, and the huge wheels and tires are fitted. The engine was still being rebuilt and lots of little details were still on the list, but it already has a good stance.

The Baja Bug was fully operational at the end of the nine day build I let a cheap body shop spray on a coat of beige, then used rattlecans to create the desert camouflage paint over that. Since it was a German car, I went with German Army markings as used by the Afrika Corps in WWII. As you can see, ground clearance was not a problem, and the beefed-up motor made a difference. It was fun out in the Mojave desert and the perfect road warrior for Southern California freeways.

When I sold it a few years later, the new owner promptly painted it dark primer gray. Just as promptly someone stole it, stripped it, and dumped it. Here's how it looked weeks later in an impound yard awaiting auction. It was missing the motor, headlights, stereo, seats, and steering wheel, but still had the Mustang turn signals. A salvage yard bought it for $400, a mere $100 less than I'd paid for it just nine years earlier. It was a great car and I've always been sorry it ended up this way.