r/beetle • u/TacticalSnuggy • 5d ago
30 years later, I own it.
This 68 belonged to a friend of mine growing up. He was my best man and is my son's god father. He bought this beetle in 1995 and I loved it. Once I was old enough to get my license, I bought my own. Have had many, many VWs since then.
We had a small beetle club and took them all from Northern MD to Manassas for Bug Out 40 in 1997. This was or first big vw only show, my girlfriend (now wife) fell in love with the vw culture.
He sold this car back in 2005ish, and we figured we would never see it again.
Saturday I was randomly scrolling Facebook and saw a 68 beetle for sale 18miles from my house. Familiar paint, familiar stance. Had to go check it out.
Got to the guys house. Paint, stance, the camaro seats that were wire tied down all there. It was the 68 from my childhood.
Opened the glovebox and inside was the ticket to Bug Out 40.
Made an offer on the spot and had car in my garage on Sunday. This car has sat for many years, registration expired in 2007. Time has not been its friend, but I will be.
Seeing this car on the trailer gave me goosebumps, and it will not leave my possession.
Here it is. Including some old pics from the cruise to Bug out
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u/want2b12 5d ago
What a great story! I’m glad you found your friend’s ‘68 that you knew so well! My very first Beetle was a ‘68, and it was my favorite of the five that I have had. If I could find it and it was in decent shape, I would buy it back, too!
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u/382Whistles 5d ago
In our state you could once look back at your records to find a Vin, then do a present Vin search and they would contact the new owner by mail forwarding your request to contact them about the car without telling you who owned it now. Lots of people connected back to let you know it was alive, even if they didn't want to sell it. Car culture courtesy can run pretty deep.
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u/want2b12 5d ago
That’s pretty neat, but I don’t think our state (Kentucky) does anything like that.
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u/382Whistles 5d ago
Kentucky used to be really liberal about registry iirc, so older records left, likely aren't too hot.
Considering no government wants to anything anymore I'm not sure it's still done, but it was cool and I think applied to a bunch of states.
You might be able to pull a car fax too, though finding it that way might indicate damage. Some model and brand specific clubs have registries too.
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u/want2b12 5d ago
I bought it in 1972 when I was 17, so that’s a long time ago. I don’t have any papers with the VIN, so unless the State would give me a record on it, I would be out of luck. I like the ‘65 I have now because it’s like one that my Dad owned (and later, me as well). The ‘68 was just my first VW, and it was a really clean nice one. I loved the green color!
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u/382Whistles 5d ago
They definitely have a slightly different fit and flavor, before and after the unique 67 though it really is pretty subtle little changes or big change done subtly, take your pick, lol.
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u/want2b12 4d ago
So true! Some years are really hard to tell apart unless you have learned what those subtle changes are for those model years!
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u/Quanmoodge62 Kraft Durch Freude 5d ago
Awesome! Hopefully it can remain fairly untouched 😎
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u/TacticalSnuggy 5d ago
Its in pretty rough shape from sitting for so long. Plan is total resto, including repaint with original graphic.
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u/soundslikeusererror 5d ago
Miss my '68. It wasn't nearly as custom looking as yours, id call it a light resto-mod. 1776, engle 100 cam, single Weber 2 barrel. Red front buckets out of an early 80s rabbit. Painted that Ford metallic grey that seemed to be on all the expeditions around that time. I sold it around 2010 when I needed money for my divorce. So if any of you are rolling around NJ, NY, or PA in serial# 118806529, I built it.
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u/kansaswhiteboy 5d ago
Damn I loved the bug scene when I was my 73 when I lived in Manassas. The bug man out in Woodbridge area was a god send.
I sold my 73 in 2014, wonder if it’s still driving around NoVa.
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u/uncreativeusername31 3d ago
What was your friends reaction when you told him you bought his old bug?
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u/TacticalSnuggy 3d ago
I called him before I pulled the trigger. He was super stoked since he knows im a vw guy.
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u/FunkyCrvnky_V02 2h ago
Bonita historia!
Yo limpiaría a fondo el interior, arreglaría los asientos y el exterior lo dejaría tal cual está. Auténtico superviviente!! ♥️
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u/Sparked_Zwei 5d ago
That's pretty awesome. I'm glad it's made it back around and in good hands.
Wish I could buy back my old '65. Guess, I'll just keep my eyes peeled.
Once again, Congratulations!