What I saw at the VW Drag Day at Irwindale Speedway March 2013

Drag racing is one of the events that never fail to draw a crowd of spectators here in southern California. The thrill of the speed, the loud roar of monster engines, the blast of humongous exhausts and the experience of witnessing real acceleration….while watching the beautiful women walk around in their skimpy wear.

Last March 17th at 5:20am, I drove to Irwindale Speedway at the city of Irwindale to attend the Hot VW Drag Day event. While driving towards Irwindale, I saw strings of vintage VWs also heading to where I was going. After I exited the freeway, I started to smell burning oil and gasoline which alarmed me. But I immediately found the source of it and it was from a 64 VW bug that was driving ahead of me. They don’t call those things “oil and gas drippers” for nothing.

When I arrived at the Speedway, there were already two very long lines of VWs waiting for the main gate of the parking lot to open. During the 30 minutes that I was waiting for the line to move, I started checking out the trailers full of parts being pulled by trucks. I spotted in one of the trailers a 36 HP motor and asked the driver how much he wants for it. He said $250 but if nobody buys it by the end of the day, he will let it go for $150. He told me that the motor had been sitting in his garage for 8 years and wants to get rid of it. Though I was a bit interested with the 36 HP, it did not fall under my wish list and so I just decided to skip the deal.

All of a sudden, one VW after another that are in the line started starting their engines. The gate is now open. As always, there are some VWs who had some difficulty starting their engines. They tried to start one bug by pushing-starting it but the bug refused to start. They finally just parked it on the side for repairs because it was holding back a long line of waiting VWs behind it.

I was almost to the main entrance when I noticed the silver early Porsche convertible next to me. I asked the owner if his car is for sale. He said, “I’ll sell it at the right price”. (That line is almost a cliché). I asked how much. He replied, “Lots of money”. When I tried to find out if he had a price in mind, he told me to make an offer. Instead of trying to extract an amount from the guy, I asked him how many pre-67 buses equals the value of his Porsche 356 speedster. He lifted 10 fingers. I though, “This guy’s nuts!”. I don’t even know if his Porsche is a factory made or just a replica. I know that companies like Beck, Intermeccanica and other kit car companies produce Porsche 356s kit cars that sells for substantially lower amounts. I even saw one for $11,000. The real factory made Porsche 356s are the ones that bring in beaucoup cash.

Like always, the trick in buying rare items is to be next to a truck or trailer once they park their vehicle. I always peek through the pile of junks and boxes to spot a familiar rare item. If everything in the pile is just common junk, I would immediately move to the next trailer/trailer. Of course not every rare item is snatched because many of them are priced like gold bullions.

I have a short shopping list and the items in it are: Doghouse shroud, fan, upper & lower ducts, snap-on body hammers and rare license plates. I bought a fan for $5. There was a chrome doghouse shroud that is almost brand new being sold for $20. I was about to buy it when I felt that it might not have a perfect fit compared to the factory shroud and so I skipped it. Going down two aisles, I saw two factory made doghouses being sold by one of the guys I know. He wants $50 per shroud. Heck no! I tried to tell him that his price is way above everybody’s shroud. He did not want to budge on his price. I walked to another guy selling parts nearby and found a factory doghouse shroud complete with a generator, fan, upper & lower ducts plus a coil, all for $20 only! Sold!

I spotted a reverse light that has a red lens. I haggled with the owner and we settled for $8. I gave him a $20 bill but he said he does not have any change. I told him to reserve it while I get change for him. When I came back, he sold it already. Oh man! He is a cool guy so I did not make a big deal out of it.

There is a seller that specializes in rare old tail lights and license plates. I pointed to a single 1951 CA license plate that he was selling and asked for the price. He said it is for $130. Over priced! At the end of the next aisle, I came to another seller that was selling old license plate frames and a few old license plates. I picked up a beautiful vintage license frame with a single 1951 California license plate in it. I asked the seller for the price and he said that the frame is $130 and the license plate is $30. I knew then that $30 was cheap for a license plate but I figured that I might be able to shave off a few dollars still off of the price. I asked the seller if I can buy just the license plate from him for $25. He hesitated a bit but I used an old negotiating line by saying, “Come on, man. Make me feel that I am getting a good deal!” It worked like a charm and I got the rare 1951 plate for $25. SCORE!!!

Different clubs took their usual spots in the show. Most are quite territorial in their spots and they would send advance parties to the show to cordon a certain spot in the show area for them to park their cars for display.

I was hoping to buy myself an event T-shirt as a souvenir but I did not find one whose design is worth the money.

After a review of the safety and race rules, the drag race finally started. I went to the fence about half way on the race track to watch the race. I saw one of my friends who parked his bus near the fence to watch the show. He is one of the few Asians I personally know who has a deep fascination with vintage VWs. The parking spots along the fence near the race track is highly sought after spot because you can watch the races while selling your junk. People would go to Irwindale speedway as early as 3:30am just to be one of the first in line at the gate.

While watching the races, my cell phone rang. I regret answering it because it was my wife who was wondering where I was. When I told her that I was at the drag race at Irwindale, she said, “Really….”, with a tone indicating that she is not buying it. Fortunately, a pair of Ghias loudly zoomed by on the race track confirming my story as authentic. She then asked me, “Can you please come home now and replace the brake pads in my Toyota?”. I replied, “You want me to leave in the middle of the drag race event? Are you serious?”. Then she said, “Your daughter and I are planning to drive to the mall using the Toyota”. I relented and said, “Alright then,. I am heading home now. Darn *&%# stupid brakes!”…

The story of how I found my first VW bus.

Today, I would like to share with you guys the story of how I found my 1966 VW bus. You have to forgive me for the lengthy story that you are about to read but I found it necessary to also narrate how my love affair with vintage VWs migrated from bugs to buses. Hopefully none of you will doze away while reading my story. So, here goes…

One of the guys I know who is an ardent VW hobbyist is Bob (Not his real name to protect his identity and privacy.). Back in 2009, Bob asked me if I want to buy his 1967 Westfalia bus for $11,000. Bob have owned the bus for a few years and wants to sell it. Bob is one of those guys who is very shrewd and sometimes can be unethical or unfair when it comes to making deals. Because of this, I do business with him with extreme caution using a 10-foot pole.

The story of how Bob acquired his bus dates back about 7 years ago. Bob was doing some repair work on someone’s Volkswagen bug when he spotted the 1967 Westy parked inside one of the neighbor’s garage. He asked the owner if he is willing to sell the bus but the owner said that he was not interested in parting ways with his bus. Being a persistent person, Bob visited the bus owner every 5 months just to check if the owner has changed his mind. After 3 years of visiting the owner, Bob’s persistence paid off because the owner agreed to sell the bus to Bob for $7000.

I still remember the afternoon when Bob drove his 67 Westy to my house to show off his find. He was overly ecstatic, like a kid who just met Mickey Mouse at Disneyland for the first time. When I asked where the side tent was, Bob said that the owner promised to give it to him on a later date. I asked him if he already gave the former owner the full amount of $7000. When Bob said that he did, I told him that was not a wise move because it does not obligate the owner to handover the tent. Bob brushed off my concern but he later admitted that I was right because he never got the tent and the former owner avoided meeting him whenever he calls. I guess Bob got too excited in owning the Westy that he threw caution out the window.

After owning the bus a few years, Bob said that he was having some financial problems and wanted to sell his 67 Westy. Since he wanted to keep the Westy local, he offered it to me for $11,000. Though it was a good vehicle, there was a small rust hole on one of the rear corners which kind of bothered me.

One rainy evening, I was surprised to receive a call from Bob who asked me if he could come over my house. I said, “ok” but was a bit puzzled as to why he would want to visit me on an evening when rain was coming down in sheets. After 10 minutes, Bob appeared in front of my house a bit wet from the rain. His face registered stress. I asked him what’s going on? He just went straight to the point and asked me if I am willing to buy his bus for $9,000. Though that is a very good price for a 67 Westfalia, that rust hole in the rear corner still bothered me. I told Bob that I won’t be able to buy his bus. I saw disappointment filled his face. To make up for it, I served him dinner and we just talked over about VWs over a cup of coffee.

A week later, Bob asked me if I could drive his 1965 single cab bus, which he filled with old VW parts, and he will follow me in his 1967 Westy. Our destination was the OCTO (Orange County Transporter Organization) swap meet at Huntington Beach. The following day, Bob came by my house at 4:30am and we headed towards the swap meet. It was my first time to drive a pre-1967 VW bus and it felt different….Superbly different. It was at that moment two blocks away from my house when I said to myself, “I have got to own one of these machines”.

When we arrived at the OCTO swap meet, Bob immediately posted a big ‘for sale’ sign on the windshield of his Westy and wrote--$12,000. I was surprised because many bus owners came by and asked, “Why are you selling this bus so low?” We were expecting a buyer to pounce on the deal at any minute but nothing happened. There were many lookers and “I’ll-think-it-over” buyers, but no serious offers. We were already packing up to leave when a European guy came over and asked if he could test drive the bus. He drove it for a short distance around the parking lot and seemed quite interested. He took Bob’s phone number and then left.

The following day, Bob called me and told me that he finally sold the bus and the buyer is the European guy. There was a little bit of haggling and they settled at $11,500. Bob did not take a down payment and waited for the buyer to come by with the whole amount.

When the European buyer finally came by, Bob, for some weird reason, decided to put back the selling price to $12,000. Bob became adamant that his original price be met before he would sign the title of his Westy. The buyer became furious questioning Bob’s business integrity saying, “We made a gentleman’s deal”! Bob simply disregarded the original agreement and told the buyer that if he wants to buy the Westy, he will have to pay the full amount. The buyer did not have a choice and had to angrily pay the additional $500.

Everyday after that bus show at Huntington Beach, I had been on a hunt for my bus. A month after Bob sold his Westy, I was checking the internet late one evening when I spotted a 1966 VW Riviera bus for sale in Oregon. I am not going to reveal the price of the bus but it was a good one. One thing I noticed is that the advertisement had just been sitting in the internet for about 30 minutes. I called the phone number posted on the ad and a guy answered the phone. I think his name is John. He introduced himself as the friend of the owner who was then visiting a relative in another state. I asked John how many people have called regarding the bus and he said that I was the second one. The first call came from a guy living in Rhode Island but the guy wants to take off $2000 from the price to cover for the shipping cost that he will incur to ship the bus to him.

I studied the pictures of the 1966 bus carefully and they looked good. I don’t know if you guys ever experienced something like this but when I saw the picture of the bus, it immediately spoke to me like it wants to come home with me. It was then that I closed my eyes and told John, “OK, I will buy the bus. Can you please remove the advertisement now?” John gladly took the ad off while I was on the line and assured me that the bus is mine.

The reason why I asked to have the advertisement taken down is to make sure that nobody else sees the bus and bids higher than the selling price. I have learned this important move from a bad experience where I lost a good deal on a 1962 VW bus. Well, that’s another story that I will share on another article.

The following day, I spoke to the owner of the bus over the phone and I told her that I will bring in the whole amount when I picked up the bus. The bus is at John’s house located at a town called “The Dalles” in the state of Oregon.

I called Avis rental car and reserved a small car for 4 days. The last thing I need in this trip is a travel mechanic and no one else is available except Bob. For some reason, Bob just happen to drop by my house that afternoon looking depressed. He was fired from his job a few weeks earlier and is struggling to pay his bills. I offered him $100 to be my travel mechanic for 3 days which he gladly accepted.

Before the sun rose from the east the following day, Bob and I picked up the rental car at John Wayne airport Avis office. We immediately pointed the nose of the vehicle north towards Oregon. Fortunately, it was the start of the spring season and we saw a sea of colorful wild flowers decorating meadows and hills along the way. We took a wrong turn somewhere near San Francisco which caused us an annoying 1 hour delay to our trip.

It was already late in the afternoon when we got to the mountainous area near the California-Oregon border when we spotted what looked like a Volkswagen junkyard along the freeway. I instinctively exited the freeway to have a closer look on what we just saw. We found a small building and decided to knock on the front door. An old man answered the door and we asked permission if we could check out the place. Upon learning that we were VW hobbyists, the man gladly welcomed us. We were surprised to see a splitty inside the building. The son of the old man was then sanding the body of the bus to remove the layer of paint to expose its original paint which I think was turquoise or grey. At the end of the building was a shiny 1964 bug that is fully restored.

Like every bug or bus owner that we meet, it is always tempting to ask if their VWs are for sale. In this occasion, we popped the question. The old man told us, “Everything is for sale here at the right price”. I then asked, “Including that bus?” The old man nodded and said, “Yes, including that bus. But you will have to ask my son because that’s his bus”. The old man said that he is selling his bug for $9,000 and the bus for about $10,000 to $12,000. I cannot recall the exact amounts anymore because the incident happened a few years ago. Bob got a bit exacted (as he usually does) and wanted to make a deal with the bug. I asked Bob, “Did you bring that kind of cash with you?” He replied, “Not today but I can go back here on a later date and pay the guy”. I had to knock some sense into Bob and so I told him, “Dude, you lost your job, you are struggling to pay your bills and now you want to squeeze money out of your savings just to buy a bug that we just saw for the first time 30 minutes ago? Will you knock it off!”

I, on the other hand, am attracted to the bus inside that building. But I have to remind myself that there is a 1966 bus sitting in the state of Oregon waiting for my arrival. Though I was beginning to fall for the bus that is before me in that building, I also haveto wake myself up to the reality that I cannot afford to buy two buses in one day. It was Bob’s chance to retaliate by telling me to “Knock it off” also.

We went behind the building and there were old VW parts strewed all over the place and on piles. In the middle of the yard is another split window that has an engine but does not run. The owner said that they are selling that one for a substantially lower price. I think the price was about $3000(?) $4000(?), I forgot. The old man said that he can load the bus on his trailer and deliver it to Los Angeles for about $1100. Huh?!

We left the place with our wallets still intact. It took about a hundred miles before Bob was able to stop talking about the shiny 64 bug in that old building and what he would have profited by selling it in southern California.

We were already passed the Oregon-California border when I decided to look for a motel so that we can spend the night and get some sleep. Bob kept on insisting that we push forward. I told him that I was already exhausted and need some sleep. Besides, I need a hot shower after listening to Bob’s nonsense for 100 miles about the 64 bug.

Early the following day, I woke up with a terrible headache after only sleeping for 4.5 hours. The weather did not help lighten my mood because it was drizzling a little bit. Before hitting the freeway, we drove to a gas station. Small towns also have matching small gas stations and the one we found was manned by a two-man crew.

(In the state of California, majority of the gas stations pumps are self-serve. There are a few stations that still offer ‘full service’ option when pumping gas. The full service option charges more but you get to stay inside your vehicle and the attendant can even do a quick check of your engine if you wish them to do so.)

When I drove to the small gas station, one of the attendants waved me towards one of their pumps. After stopping next to the pump, I asked the attendant why they don’t have a self service option. The attendant explained to me that all gas stations in the state of Oregon only offer full service because it is the state law. I then asked if there was an additional charge for the service and the attendant said that there is no additional charge. After paying the attendant with my credit card, Bob asked me, “Should we give a tip?” I told Bob, “It was their bright idea of making this whole full service deal their law so I ain’t giving them a tip”.

As we pushed further north the weather became temperamental hitting us with heavy rain and wind. During the last 85 miles to our destination, the clouds opened up its bomb bays dosing us with storm-like downpour. When I finally arrived at my destination, I was met by a tall guy who looked like a lumber jack. Though his stature showed toughness, he was a very lively person to talk to.

After paying John the agreed price for the bus, Bob and I drove to the nearest parts store to change the engine oil of the bus. When we parked at the auto parts store, two guys approached us and started asking about the bus. One of them asked me if I am willing to sell the bus to him. I told the guy that I just bought it and it is currently not for sale. It’s been only 30 minutes since I bought the bus and I already have another person wanting to buy it from me.

During the first mile driving back to California, I became worried if the bus will survive the 1200 mile trip back home. I told Bob, who was following me carrying all the tools and spare parts, that I will not travel faster than 60 miles an hour since I am not sure on the condition of the engine. The engine sounded fine but I don’t know if there are hidden things that will break down in it. Rain battered us along the way and when evening came, the temperature started to plummet.

I don’t know what came over Bob but after we passed the city of Portland, Oregon, he started asking me if I am willing to sell him my bus. “Oh no, are you going to pester me about this all the way to California?”, I asked. Because of the small capacity of the gas tank of the pre-67 buses, I had to fill it with gas every 200 to 250 miles. During these short stops, Bob would try to make a deal with me. He would ask me, “Why don’t I trade my 1965 single cab with you plus cash. Do we have a deal?” I declined his offer. He then countered, “How about just cash in installments and you keep my 65 single cab as collateral?”...And this went on and on for 1200 miles. Almost drove me bananas!

During the trip, I became really worried when we reached the mountainous area of the Oregon-California border. I told Bob to watch the engine of the bus if I am trailing any smoke to indicate that the engine is overheating. I started to pray hard whenever I see the road turn to a steep climb. To my surprise, the bus was able to slowly climb up the mountain without a problem. It was already 2:30am when I told Bob that I can hardly keep my eyes open. I don’t know where we were at that point and so I called Bob in the cell phone and told him we need to pull over and find a safe place to park and sleep. We found this open area full of parked semi-trailer trucks. We decided to park there and catch a few hours of sleep. Bob slept inside the car while I slept inside the bus. I unfolded the bed and went to sleep. I woke up about 1.5 hours later with my whole body shivering from the cold. “Why is it so darn cold inside this bus?”, I thought. I opened the door and ice cold air hit my whole body. It was probably 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.6 Celsius) outside. I immediately closed the door and looked at the walls of the bus and realized that the walls did not have any insulation that is why it is acting like an ice box. Let me tell you, pissing outdoors in a 20 degree weather is a challenge because I can’t help shiver uncontrollably and I acted like a lawn sprinkler watering close to 180 degrees in front of me. We found out later that the place we stopped was located on top of a mountain area. No wonder it was freezing.

I slept inside the rental car instead and after a few hours of sleep, Bob and I continued our journey. The more we drove south to California, the more the weather improved. One of the things that I noticed whenever I fill the tank with gas is the gauge needle does not seem to go all the way to the “F” level. We were somewhere in Sacramento (the capital of California) when I checked the fuel gauge and the needle is almost to the empty level. Thinking that I still have some fuel left, I continued driving. I was talking to Bob over the phone on one of his attempts to hammer out a deal regarding my bus when all of a sudden, the engine of the bus cough and quit. To my horror I thought, “Oh no, this can’t be happening. Not in the middle of nowhere”. When I checked the engine, I noticed that bubbles came out of the fuel filter—I ran out of gas! I guess I need to trust the gas gauge to avoid this problem. Bob drove to the next town and brought back a can of gasoline.

When we finally arrived in Los Angeles, we hit heavy traffic, which is what LA is known for second to the high crime rate. When I got home, both Bob and I can’t believe that my bus survived the 1200-mile drive. It was a risky decision but our gamble paid off.

Three weeks after I bought my bus, the coupling in the shift rod broke. The one that was in it was still the original coupling. I drove the bus home from work on third gear. Fortunately, the coupling did not break during our trip back to California because we did not bring a spare coupling.

Are you still awake?

Below are the pictures that I took during our trip to Oregon.

You did WHAT???!!!

I am a bit hesitant in sharing this particular story to all of you because at a certain point in my story, a number of you will probably say, “YOU DID WHAT???!!!!

To make the subject of this story untraceable, I decided not to give too many specifics making it hard for the reader to zero in on the Volkswagen that I am referring to.

One uneventful day while I was lazily scanning the internet for vintage VWs, I spotted a pre-1967 VW bus that was just placed in the market a few minutes after I logged in. The first thing that caught my attention was the price—it was cheap! I viewed the pictures of the bus and discovered that the bus seemed to be in a very restorable state. The dashboard is untouched and possibly still has the original paint. The rust in it is not that bad and can easily be repaired. Roof is good and the floor area is complete.

I called the owner and a young fellow answered the phone. He said that he had the bus for a while now and does not really find a need to own it anymore. The engine needs a little work but it runs. At that point, I knew that I could buy this bus and immediately flip it for a good profit. But while I was talking to the owner, I discovered that the owner is a guy who is just starting on his own and probably is a college student. I asked him how much does he know on vintage VWs and he said that he only knows that they are cool cars. When I asked him if he did some repairs on his own on the bus, he replied, “I don’t know how to work on cars”. At that moment, a part of me is saying, “Just pay the guy and grab the bus”.

Though I wanted to make easy money on this one, my conscience is tapping my shoulder telling me, “Let this one go, man, and just do the right thing”. After making a smirk face with a few foot stompings, I said to myself, “Aw-shucks! I can’t believe I am going to do this!” 

With a deep sigh, I told the owner, “You know, you seemed like a cool young guy and I don’t want to take advantage of you. I think you are making a big mistake in selling your bus cheap.” The owner was a bit surprise on what I just said and wondered if I am just doing a weird negotiation strategy on him. I told him that I could pay his asking price right now and be done with it but I would be bothered by my conscience if I do it. I asked him if he knows the website “thesamba.com”. He said he never heard of it and did not know it existed. I explained to him the advantages of placing his bus in that website because he will expose his bus to serious VW buyers.

During our conversation, the owner kept on trying to figure out if there was a ‘catch’ on what I was doing. I assured the owner that he has nothing to lose and would thank me if he follows my suggestion. I asked him to pull out his bus off the market because his phone was then being bombarded with calls from other buyers who are all fighting to get through the line.

I suggested to the owner that he invest on getting the engine of his bus running and also fined tuned because this way his bus becomes more attractive to vintage VW buyers in thesamba. I also recommended to the owner that he wait until the month of April before he places his bus on thesamba because it is my personal observation that the vintage VW bus market heats up shortly before or after the “Bug-in 38” show which is scheduled on April 28^th at the city of Irwindale. If you are a VW fanatic, you don’t want to miss out on the Bug-in show!

I know some of you are now saying, “Have you freakin’ lost your mind? Letting go of a sure profit is absolute lunacy. What the heck did you do that for, man?!”

Well, I have mixed feelings about what I did. I would be lying to you if I told you that I don’t feel the pain of the loss profit. But there are special times when softening one’s heart for the benefit of another human being that deserves the gain provides me a better quality of sleep when the evening comes……. (oh, shut up! No bonehead is going to believe that crap!)

Good night, guys.

And the VW hunt continues….

VW 61-63 bus middle seat with a rusty leg

I spotted this guy selling a 1961-63 bus middle seat. On close examination, the condition of the grab handles and cushion springs seemed to be fine. Alignment of the backrest flip with the rest of the backrest seemed alright. The metal frame of the springs on the seat cushion is a bit rusty but is not that bad. I asked the owner of the seat if I could lift his seat so that I could check the legs and the bottom part of the seat. He gave his consent. When I lifted the seat, I immediately spotted a major problem area—one of the legs is rusted out.

The owner tried to point out that the problem is a “quick fix” and all I need to do is to weld a portion of a metal tube to replace the rusted part. I don’t know if the owner knows it but the strength integrity of the metal leg has been compromised by the rust. For the leg to take a load and last for a long time, a metal rod has to be inserted in it that extends the whole length of the base of the leg plus part of both ends of the angles of the leg.

I am guessing that this seat was pulled out from a bus that had sat immobile for quite some time. It is possible that rain water got into the bus causing a water puddle to build around that particular leg of the middle seat causing it to rust out.

If the condition of the seat is better with no rust issues and also the cover is decent, I would say that the value would be somewhere close to the asking price of the seller. It is true that middle seats are hard vintage VW bus items to come by but condition heavily dictates the value of any rare item.

I would love to own this middle seat but only at a reasonable price. Hopefully the seller adjusts his price to a reasonable amount that truly reflects the condition of his seat.

Myron's old VW junkyard

Years ago when I was just starting to get into the vintage VW hobby, I had a chance to visit an old guy who used to own a VW shop and he operated it for years. His name is Myron and first opened his shop back in the 1950’s (I think) and he was quite successful with his business. He did every thing: assemble/restore VW engines, body work, electrical, complete VW restoration, etc. He was well known because of his skill. But as he got older, his health began to fail. He had high blood pressure and other ailments that kept him dependent on medicines.

The operation of Myron’s business began to slow down as newer cars started to dominate the market. To afford rent, Myron moved to a smaller shop that had only one bay with no hydraulic jack. He hired other mechanics to work in his shop but most of them would work for a short period of time and move to other shops.

The first time I met Myron, I went to his small shop and he was seated behind a table holding a cane. Myron was happy to see me and during our conversation, he kept on cracking jokes about his experience in the Volkswagen business during his good ol’ days. In his shop, he had, what I think, is a 1965 notchback that had just been fully painted in black and has an 1835cc engine with dual Kadrons.

After the visit, he told me that he has a small VW junkyard where he keeps “his junk”. I went to the place and saw what could be one of the very few existing vintage VW junkyards in southern California. Since Myron had a hard time walking, his daughter accompanied me while we walked around the place. One of the jewels in the junkyard was Myron’s original parts delivery truck which was a late 1950s single cab that still has Myron’s VW shop name painted on it. I asked Myron’s daughter if the single cab is for sale and she said she wants $6000 for it. Back then, that was a large amount because I can buy a single cab for about $5000 that is running. Though I thought the price was a bit high back then, had I bought Myron's single cab, it would have been worth about $12,000 now in southern California. That would have been a perfect relic in my collection.

As I continue to walk around the junk yard, I spotted a double cab pre-67 double cab. Myron’s daughter wants $3500 for that. I got excited for a moment because $3500 seemed affordable. But, when I checked inside the bus, I was disappointed because Myron installed a roll cage inside the cab. I passed on that double cab and pointed to a 1971 bus and asked for the price. She wanted $1500 for that. Since I was hunting for a pre-67 split window bus, I was not too interested to checking out bay window buses.

I was able to visit the junk yard a few more times but eventually Myron’s daughter sold everything to European buyers and local restorers because the rent of the yard was just becoming expensive.

Myron’s health deteriorated and eventually he passed away peacefully. I met a few of Myron’s close friends who told me that they visited Myron at the hospital shortly before he passed away. Myron is a legend now and will always be remembered by the pioneer VW hobbyists in southern California.

The rusty 15-window bus for restoration

Last year, I dropped by a body shop whose owner claimed that they specialize in vintage car restoration. They are not well known in the area and so I do not know the quality of their workmanship. Inside their shop I spotted a 15-window VW bus. I think the owner of the shop said that it is a 1965 bus. They are getting ready to restore it and the shop owner said that the bus owner gave them $14,000 to fully restore the bus. While I was checking the bus, I just wondered how much did the owner pay for the bus.  According to the shop owner, it was bought from another state and was shipped to California for restoration. Oh boy, this is one big project, I must say.

One week later, one of my friends came by the same auto body shop and saw that the bus had been sand blasted. When my friend looked closely on the condition of the body of the bus, it had wrinkles all over its body. I am guessing that the restorers used a regular sand blasting material instead of other softer materials like walnut or whatever other material that would not be too harsh on thin metal. I don’t know if the shop eventually covered up all the surface wrinkles with bundo.

I never found out how the bus came out but I am hoping that it is now rolling on the streets like it used to during its heyday. 

Let the 2013 vintage VW frenzy begin.

It is the first month of the year and for many car restorers, it is time to prepare for the upcoming huge vintage car events of 2013. A frenzy of activities is brewing on every vintage vehicle club wanting to show their latest creations or restorations. Rarity and the quality restoration craftsmanship share the top spot when it comes to the value of the vintage vehicle.

Though vintage car restoration is an exciting and educational activity, it also has its sad and dark spots. All the things that I am writing in this article is extracted from my very own experience and observation. I do not claim to be an expert in this field but I want to share with you what are my thoughts and beliefs in this area. Some of these beliefs are identical to those of my friends who are also involved in the restoration of rare vintage Volkswagen cars. Oh, my mistake—It is not a car. It’s a Volkswagen!

Every December while every other person in the continent of the U.S. catches a flu or fever, I dread a different type of fever virus—The VW bug and bus virus. This is a different type of “bug” because it infects both the body and the checkbook of a restorer. I say this because it is during the month of December when I feel the strong urge to purchase a rare VW bus or bug.

I have observed that during the months of November thru January, some old folks who own vintage VWs would start having the urge to sell their bugs or buses because they do not see the point of keeping it anymore or they just need the money. They would look at their VW and say, “I had fun with it for so long and now it is time for someone else to have fun with it and give it a good home”. For vintage vehicle lovers, the previous sentence is music to our ears. A number of these old owners do not know the real value of their vehicle causing them to price is way below the market value. 

Since vintage cars are no longer in production, it becomes obvious that the supply can become a problem in meeting the demand. In the case of Volkswagens, the demand far exceeds the supply. This is a factor that drives the prices up every time the year rolls over because the supply will continue to decline as the ones with less rust and repair becomes depleted.

The high demand for these old cars is fueled by a large number of car enthusiasts who are fiercely competing against each other as to who will grab the best deals out there. This competition keeps everybody glued on the internet and newspaper. There are shops that actually pay people to hunt down collectable cars everyday in the internet and get leads to the whereabouts of potential VW projects.

The thrill of the vintage vehicle hunt is the soul of the vintage fever that I am deeply infected with. Whenever I log in the internet, an urge in me is triggered to find out what old VW just entered the market. For you to grab the best buys, you have to be vigilant and patient in spotting the vehicle or parts of your dreams. And when you spot that elusive vehicle or part, you have to be quick in contacting the owner and be ready with your money.

The first big event this year in southern California is the January 13^th Pomona swap meet. It was my first time to visit the show and so I braved the freezing morning temperature by driving to Pomona at 5am on January 13^th. When I arrived at the Pomona Fairplex, the temperature in the area was 29 degrees Fahrenheit. A lot of people had little carts so that they can load up with parts. The crowd splits right after the main gate with a portion of it heading towards the Volkswagen area while the rest heads towards a larger section devoted to classic American cars. The race to grab the highly coveted parts occurs on the first 30 minutes of the show. In the VW section, the parts from the 1950’s are the first ones to be snatched.

Hard-to-find parts are the hottest items which are grabbed once the seller puts out his/her parts for sale. For buses from years 1960 thru 1967, the parts that are sellable are the glass windows, window frames, steering wheels, seats, knobs and anything that gets worn out and needs to be replaced. Pre-1967 Middle seats are a hard-to-find item and it takes luck and money to be able to purchase one which is still in good condition. Unfortunately, no middle seat was on sale during the swap meet.

When I started walking around, I immediately spotted items like pre-1956 license plates and old signs for sale. I was tempted to buy them but I had to tell myself that there are other things that have more priority in my purchase list. I was hunting for pre-67 bus windows, emergency knobs, middle seats, steering wheels, pre-61 bus back hatch and 1950’s bug body parts. Unfortunately, I did not find a lot and the ones that I found are priced so high that I just had to walk away.

When I went through the vendors for the classic American cars, I was just hunting for vintage items like old gas pumps and other unique items. One guy was selling this rusty radiator front grill that came off of an early 1950’s Chevrolet truck. I was thinking it would be a good wall decoration. When I asked the seller how much he wants for the grill, he said $350. But he shared with me that he bought it a couple of months ago from another vendor at Pomona swap meet and he feels that he made a mistake buying it because he paid $300. He told me he wants to get rid of it and offered it to me for $150. We were quite apart on the price because what I had in mind was only $40. I can’t believe that this guy actually paid a lot for the item. Well, I am not too familiar with the value of classic American cars and its parts and so I cannot gauge its value.

I walked around the Volkswagen car parking lot and was attracted to one pre-1961 VW bus that was bought by a Frenchman who is a known pre-67 bus buyer. When the bus was bought, it was painted blue. The Frenchman sanded it down to its original paint which is light green. While looking at the bus, I felt that owning a good 1959 or older bus will finally settle my craving for early buses. I am thinking also that if I don’t buy them now, in a couple of years, the prices of these old buses will rise beyond my reach.

I drove home with only one vintage item in my hand and most of my money still intact. In my quiet time, I started reflecting if my strong craving for owning vintage VWs and parts is really something I need to be worried about. There had been VW hobbyists who spent hefty amounts of money just to complete their VW projects. The sad thing about it is that many of these projects when completed have a value that is below the amount spent on restoring it. Unless the vehicle or part came from ultra rare vehicles like the early 1950s bugs and buses, restoring vehicle can be detrimental to your pocket.

Some believe that only 1 out of every 30 vintage car restorers actually make money doing his/her craft. It takes an astute individual with an above average mechanical and metal fabrication talent to be able to pull off projects that can bring in profits when the project vehicle is sold.

Though vintage vehicle restoration is fun and educational, it has its dark sides and it is these pitfalls that I have to pull back myself and reassess what is really important to me. I think my craving for vintage items can never be quenched because it will always crave for more and more. I need to stop at some point and tell myself that I should be happy for what I already possess. There is no point of joining the competition among other VW hobbyists who has rare parts and highly-sought-after Volkswagens. I guess the solution here is to starve the vintage VW virus that way it does not overwhelm me. 

This may sound crazy but I wonder if there a vintage vehicle anonymous group out there who meets and discusses ways on how to control their addiction?...I bet they meet at car shows and old auto swap meets.

Keep on buggin’ & bussin’