"Ludwig"

Dennis Vierling

  
 
 
I’ve had VW’s for much of my life. My first Volkswagen was a 1971 Karman Ghia. Since that time I’ve owned a 1975 La Grand Beetle and a 1987 Jetta. I’ve always loved VW’s. After reluctantly trading in the Jetta for a more family oriented caravan, I went for more than ten years without a Volkswagen in the garage. Yet I missed them, especially the beetles. Finally I decided to find a vintage Volkswagen. At the time I was living in Tallahassee, Florida, but finding a beetle was not easy. Pickings were slim and while searching on the internet, I found a Volkswagen in nearby Georgia. It was a super beetle, which brought back happy memories of my ‘75 car. While others scoff at the Super Beetles, I’ve always had a great fondness for them. They handle well and have more storage space. When purchased in September, 2002 for $2,000 the car had sat outside under a tree on a farm in Thomasville, Georgia and had not been driven in five years.

There was little documentation on my 1973 Super Beetle. The car was manufactured in Germany and was originally painted a Sumatra green. There was evidence that the bug had been in at least one accident. Nor was the engine original. From information provided by the previous owner, there was a crude attempt at restoring the car in the early 1990’s. The vehicle was repainted a turquoise color, and the original headliner and side panels were ripped out and replaced by a carpet-like fabric. New bumpers and mirrors in the “Cal look” were added.

At the time of purchase the tires were dry rotted, the speedometer, fuel gauge, mirrors, turn signals, horn and radio were all inoperable. While the car was drivable, it was unreliable. The brakes needed replacement and chronic engine problems caused the vehicle to stall out six times in three months. Because of excessive towing, AAA warned the new owner that he was abusing his membership. After having the car spend more time in various repair shops than in the garage, a decision was made to have the vehicle undergo a through restoration.

In January, 2003 the car was driven to Doc’s Auto in Tallahassee, Florida, where the Super Beetle was gradually disassembled. During the months that followed, various replacement parts were ordered from a variety of sources such as Wolfsburg West, West Coast Metric, Coker Tire, Bugcity and Mid-America. Hard to find items were obtained off of E-Bay. The metal work and paint job was done at Maaco. I opted to have the car painted a cheerful Biscay Blue.

In April, 2004 Doc’s Auto abruptly closed its doors and went out of business. I was in a state of shock. At that time the restoration was still far from completion. The disassembled vehicle laid in pieces, with the body separate from the chassis. After a frantic scramble, three trucks and a flatbed were found to remove the Volkswagen to a facility that could complete the restoration. The car was taken to Preferred Paint and Auto Body in Tallahassee. The business was owned by Carl & Marcia Huey.

After an inventory, Carl discovered that many parts of the car (both original and purchased during the restoration) were missing or lost. To complicate matters, Karman Ghia parts were mixed in as well. To replace the lost items a 1972 Super Beetle was purchased from a salvage yard. This “donor car” provided the back window and many other small parts such as nuts and bolts. In August, 2004 another “donor car,” a 1974 Super Beetle, was purchased to provide the missing wire harness. Other missing items were reordered from manufacturers and salvage yards.
On August 12th the engine was turned on. But the engine lacked power. In December, 2004 Carl sent the car to Furrin’s Auto. There mechanics discovered the engine had not been correctly assembled by Doc’s Auto. Parts were missing or incorrectly installed on the engine. By the beginning of February these problems had been fixed. On March 3, 2005 the car’s carpeting was installed by Hattie’s Upholstery, who also adjusted the headliner and padding.

The costs of restoring the Volkswagen kept escalating, far exceeding my original estimate. Because of that, I decided to name the restored 1973 super beetle “Ludwig” in honor the mad 19th Century king of Bavaria. The king was considered crazy to have spent so much money building castles. And my wife Elena felt that I was equally mad to spend so much time and money on an old vehicle. Yet having restored and saved this vintage Volkswagen was worth the long wait and cost.

“Ludwig” is a now beloved member of my family. When we moved in 2005 to Greensboro, North Carolina, one of the reasons we bought our current home was that it had a one car garage perfect for our Super Beetle. The days of “Ludwig” sitting abandoned under a tree are long since over. Now the car is pampered and my wife and I enjoy driving the car on weekends. Our 15 year old son Max is catching the VW fever. He is talking about getting either a Karman Ghia or a Thing when he turns 16. It seems that VW’s will be staying in my family for a long time to come!
 

 

        To have your Story posted here, email your information to   GoodOleVolks@bellsouth.net 

      

 

    

02/15/2007