I've loved VW like no other car manufacturer for as long as I can remember. You could say that it's because my folks drove a Dasher when I was a toddler, but I'm a bit of a mystic so I see something deeper than that. You see, from a young age I had a knack for understanding how things went together, and it was pretty frequent even at age 4 or 5 for me to be caught disassembling a radio or random electronic device. What I remember was not disassembling these things, but rather I was "making them better". That knack led from radios to computers, deeper into electronics and finally to engineering, and today I'm an audio engineer, specializing in design & consultation. I guess some kids grow up wanting to be firemen, I've just kept doing what I've always done - make things better.
So what's that got to do with my mystical reason for loving VW? I guess I'm saying that of all the stuff I've taken apart over the years, there are some things that you just can't make much better. Truth, there's a big one you can't improve on. We may like to think we can make truth better, (or wish it was) but we're usually wrong. I could give you my whole list of hippie buddhist crap, but what I'm saying here is that VW is something sacred. The engineering, what words can I use? The styling and character? Again, no thesaurus can describe how I feel when I look at one. Now some people (those who are still reading) are probably saying, well, my VW could be better. I disagree. Sure rebuilding my entire wiper system this week has been a chore, but to hold something in my hands that was made in the 60's, and all it needs is some bitty missing parts and a $12.00 switch from a salvage yard, and I've got wipers! At every turn as I change a gasket, or replace a bearing, I'm amazed at the simple beauty behind VW engineering. Ok, the cupholders on my GTI VR6 were shite, but still I loved that car like no others... till Lola.
Sorry for the diatribe, I won't be posting a lot of warm fuzzy stuff like this, but I felt like sharing. I was drawn to this particular model year when I started looking for my Type 1 project, can't explain why. If there are enough people out there to start a website for the 1966 Beetle then I guess it's worth making a proper introduction.
And yes, those are '68 front fenders.
Have a great weekend!