Cars Cars And More Cars

No ... don't get too excited, I am not jumping into the car collector world. Believe it or not this is a family owned car lot downtown and all of these cars are for sale. Last Saturday my friend that owns the bike shop couldn't leave work and wanted me to go down to check out a Ford Expedition for him. It had the 7.3L diesel and could be a replacement for his Ford truck he wants to sell that has the same engine. So while I waited for the owner to get back to the car lot, I took a look around.

I was able to leave the car lot without pulling out my checkbook which I had left at home, maybe on purpose. Then I get a text from my friend in Phoenix. She is wanting to upgrade her mountain bike to this Yeti ... that is what a $5,600 mountain bike looks like. NO .... I am not interested in buying any bikes and in fact I might put one of my old road bikes up for sale on Facebook.

I had sold my 1960 Double Door Panel van last week to a VW collector in Tucson. But 3 days before he was to pick it up, I shut the drivers door after driving around town and heard a nut drop to the bottom of my steel door. That long mechanism also dropped to the bottom of the door. So Sunday morning I pulled out my trusty Volkswagen Workshop Manual and put that door handle mechanism back together. Not bad for me, who is dangerous with just a screwdriver ... 20 minutes and it was like new again.

I wanted to take a short ride Sunday afternoon in the hot sun. No bike clothing, just a ballcap, cargo shorts and a T-shirt on my mountain bike. I rode out to the hospital where I had my hip replaced in September 2019 and was back home the day after. Strava is a free app for those that walk, jog, hike, bike .. check it out.

With a pretty  successful weekend it was time to celebrate with a pizza ... half was put away for lunch on Monday.

I saw this last July on a website called Old Bug there you will see the writeup about this car and the detail the builder put into it. I didn't buy it last July because the week before I had bought the 1964 VW Double Door Panel van. I thought it had sold when the ad disappeared and I told my friend "if that ever shows back up for sale online I am buying it.

Well the other night I was on Facebook checking out my news feed which does NOT include anything political or news .. sports yes but that is all. I follow OldBug on there and he had posted this car for sale. I called him within minutes of seeing the ad and bought it. It is modeled after the WWII German 82 E Beetle they used along with the Kubelwagen. More of a tribute to the car than a replica. That is a 1956 VW beetle body. Take a look at all the photos and how it was put together click here. 

It wasnt quite 7pm on Tuesday night when the truck and trailer pulled up in front of the house. Of course Henry, Walter and Stella rushed to the window to see the new vehicle. That is higher off ground than a regular vw bug by design and one reason I bought it. That will be handy when driving it around the forest roads, dirt roads down through Hereford and crossing river beds up on Montezuma Pass. The front axle is adjustable and came from a VW Thing. It has 15" wheels and all terrain truck tires.

The VW key is really from 1956, same ignition in the car although the builder did rebuild the ignition. With a million twists on the older key, I had a spare made Wednesday morning just in case. That other key is newer and goes to the padlock on the roof rack to keep the towbar from disappearing.

Yes, the Huffy bike was part of the deal and car. I raised the seat and took off around the neighborhood. From my childhood days I remembered with this one speed bike I had to pedal backward to use the brakes.

Spare gas cap and I was happy to see the label from the paint can so I have a reference for some touchup paint .... although the can in the photo below should work okay.

Since Dave made his own 1943 steel tail lights, the stock 1956 model were now spares, painted to match the car. A fire extinguisher is always a good thing to have in a VW bus or bug. That bracket you see is for mounting any bicycle I have. Take off the front wheel and the forks will fit into that bracket, with the rest of the bike on the long board toward the dash. 

Touch up paint ??? Looks like it.

Pretty basic dash ... glove box far right, then an ash tray that should hold a cigar, radio block off plate and a modern speedo with a built in gas gauge. Those are leather seats by the way.

While waiting for the car I did get online and translate all the german words into english.

Wednesday morning early, like as soon as the MVD opened, I called and registered the car. I uploaded my title to their website and my account, then had a temporary plate and registration. I bought a tank full of gas and headed to The 50's Diner for some breakfast to keep my cholesterol at 165 (yes true). I wanted to see how she handled on the highway. A 1600cc engine in back so keeping up with traffic is not a problem.

For the first time ever I added a cup of their "409 chili" for breakfast ... meaning hot hot hot chili with slices of jalapeño hidden under all that cheese.

Back home safely, it does have seatbelts installed. By the end of the day with a few more trips around town, I parked it out of view up to the side of the driveway. The only place available at my house.

I'm heading out today in it, after two nights of rain, to get some photos off road. The hounds and the dog will be able to fit in this. The passenger seat comes out like you saw if you clicked the link for photos with a full lenght board (cot) where they can lay down. Stella will fit in the back with no problem. I couldn't believe looking at my 10-day forecast today, there is snow predicted in a few days when the overnight temps drops into the low 20s. That will a true test of the 82E bug.

I will post again this weekend with photos of the hounds and a dog.

Wet grounds and sunny skies this morning in the 'Wild West'.