When I purchased my first 1966 beetle I had blind faith in it, right out of the dealers lot! That was a huge mistake on my part for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t know the vehicles history, and more importantly, I didn’t know anything about Volkswagen Beetle maintenance.
Trust and faith are somewhat similar:
Trust is the belief in the reliability, ability, or strength of someone or something. So when I put the key in my car and turn the key in the ignition I trust that the current will flow to the starter, and my car will start. Faith is even stronger, it is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. That’s where I was with my 1966 – Complete and utter trust.
As an 18-year-old owner of a used beetle, I just thought she would run along forever as long as I changed the oil. Things changed radically after the first few weeks when I had to replace the re-tred tires and a week later, the entire front end.
Later that winter it was the starter, and then the wiper motor. All my money went into the car, thinking everytime that this would be the last repair. Then, certainly I could get on with enjoying my beetle.
However, then the “not knowing” beetle maintenance reached out and grabbed me by the throat. My wonderful trustworthy beetles engine blew due to a tight valve. I knew nothing about valve adjustments. I learned a lot in the next few weeks as I took out an additional loan to have my engine rebuilt.
Tom, from Tom’s Barn, an awesome VW repair shop in Madison, educated me on the proper maintenance procedures.
Once the beetle was repaired, I had great “Faith” in its ability to get me anywhere I needed to go. Not just because it had a new engine, new front end, new starter, wiper motor, etc… but because I knew now how to take mechanically take care of it. Most everything I learned came from John Muir’s book on Volkswagen repair. If you don’t have this, I highly recommend you purchase it!
I didn’t worry anymore about my bug mechanically and for once I could just enjoy the beetle. Even after the ’66 was totaled and I ended up with a 1972 Super Beetle, all that knowledge was applied to the new bug. I am happy to say that I trusted that 1972 implicitly over the four years I owned it. I “got religion” around it’s maintenance, and it ran like a top. Unfortunately, the frame head rotted out due to the Wisconsin winters, and the car was no longer road worthy. Sadly, that was the end of the ’72.
There is nothing more important than oil changes and valve adjustments. They are the lifeblood of the beetle. Treat her well and you will be able to have complete faith in her. If you want to see how I perform my valve adjustment, check out the “Valve Adjustment Procedure ” tab on the main site at www.1966vwbeetle.com/.
Now I don’t have blind faith in my ’66, because I know that faith is dependent on me, and how I take care of my beetle. I’m older and wiser now…I hope!
