I got off work yesterday at 9:00am and met a friend at one of the Hot August Nights venues. We were in heaven looking at all the street rods, restored cars, preservation cars and just cruising the booth areas. But my friend had to go back to Sacramento at 11:30am so we didn't get a lot of time to do that...

Well, hell. I have my hand stamped. I might as well go home and pick up Nicho my kid who is 15 and see if he wants to spend the day hopping around to the different venues. He was jazzed, which surprised me as he hasn't shown much interest in cars except to forward me Craigslist ads for bizarre cars that he would like to drive.

We started the afternoon with a trip to the Barret-Jackson Auction at the Civic Center. I pointed out to him all of the different cars that I had owned in my life and he thought that was pretty cool. The only actual auction we watched though was for an early 60's Bug with the Wolfsburg roof rack, ski rack, and period correct picnic stuff. It sold for $15K. All of a sudden, Nicho's interest in VW's is peeked. He had me take his picture with every Bus, and Bug we came across. Now, instead of a 72 Mercedes, (that might have been cool) which was his first choice, he wants a Bug...

Daddy is smiling... McMark, looks like we will be building another TypeIV!

Beetles make great first cars, that's what I had!

great first car.
Make sure you have disk brakes and you might want to consider the first motor to be stock....

Skill level is key especially with no air bags....

When you get to much in the rear of a beetle, they do not handle like a 911, the handle worse...

But, good luck, my eldest and I built a beetle from a POS...
I found a paper he had written in High School, years later, that was titled, "the most important part of my life" and it was all about building the car with me, his father....

That was really cool to read, considering I had to drag him out of bed on the weekends to finish welding etc.

Great cars to teach the basics...welding, tuneup, brakes etc.

rich

If I can get a whole week my T4 powered beetle should be on the road.
Problem is getting the week to myself.... I may have to go MIA

A word of advice from a retired tech and shop owner with bug experience beginning in 1960. While there are a lot of cheap parts out there, mostly crap, owning and maintaining even a stock T1 can be a financial challenge. Bone stock nice ones with few previous owners, in good to very good condition, can easily bring $8-10K and up. I remember when we could do a complete rebuild, out the door, retail, for a grand (1979, 1980). A decent quality long block now wholesales for $2200-2500, and you still have to buy and install all the externals which were included in that rebuild. Forget Bernie Bergman, forget GEX, forget all those guys that advertise in the VW mags, they're all junk. The cars are OLD! They're nearly ALL worn out. You can buy a very nice Rabbit (A1) GTI for the same money as an nice old bug, and they're still simple to work on. They run 2-3 times as long with regular maintenance, and they're FAR less likely to self destruct. BTW, I know of a pretty nice two owner '66 bug if you're still interested. Around $8K.

The Cap'n

...If you got "Ducats"...Who cares(fat wallet)....
If you're trying to be Cheap "beware!"("ode" to P-Car):

Thanks for the advice guys but I thought it was pretty well known that I worked at Dune Buggy supply in Minnesota as a kid and young adult. I know my way around a Bug...

As far as a Rabbit, he likes what he likes... For now it's a Bug...

16 years ago when I bought this place the wife was running a '71 SB bug I picked up for $1000+ $500 parts and one used engine with a top end job, so another $500. I had to throw in a used trans one time and a few sets of tires. Other than many holes patched I didn't do much to it.

Died of terminal rust...but lasted 11 years.
Not a single one of my watercooled VW's have ever been that cheap.

I did buy a scirocco for $600 once, but it had a radiator so it was a POS.
I didn't hold on to it very long.