[KensRedZed]

Very nice looking fleet! Not everyone has a "fleet of bugs".

I've noticed the phrase mentioned and debated several times "Everyone loves a Beetle". The saying is true. It's just that for some there's a typo. Some people prefer to say "Everyone loves a Beatle. John, Paul, George, or Ringo".

Back in the early 70's there was a TV commercial for the VW Beetle where a guy was driving down a street late at night in a yellow Beetle with his windows open yelling "2-cents a mile!" over and over... That's how much gas it took to go one mile in a VW back then. I still refuse to admit that I'm getting old.

Nothing whistles like an early stock VW Beetle muffler.

 

[KensRedZed]

Any economy car built on a 2-cent platform should only impress your wallet, and several cases of beer along with your groceries.

While you may not like them personally. VW sold a lot of Beetles. You can't argue with public opinion and expect to win against those numbers. There's no such thing as a wrong colour just because you don't like it.

The first 12 Beetles came to Canada back in the 1952. Rumour has it that the interviewer said on the radio that he would eat his hat if they sold all of them. He had to eat his hat, in public. Must have been a bit chewy yes?

If you want a worse car to drive than a Beetle in my opinion. A Lada is worse, followed closely by a Citroen 2CV. Famous American activist, Ralph Nader would claim a Chevrolet Corvair was the worst car on the planet. Everyone is entitiled to an opinion.

 

[KensRedZed]

My memory is failing me. My very first car was a 1972 Pontiac Firenza (Re-branded Vauxhaul company that went bankrupt).

The 1972 and 1973 Pontiac Firenza was publicly known as the absolute worst Canadian lemon of it's decade. The public tried to start a class-action law-suit on that car. You'll see a lot worse cars than Beetles if you look just a little harder. No one took out a class-action law-suit on any early Beetles... Even though they had no heat in the winter.

 

[KensRedZed]

I apologize to Trisha for the minor redirect from the VW Beetle. It deserves it place in history as being engineered quite well for it's time. It had 15" inch wheels with low rolling restistance long before many other manufacturers. The spare tire was the windshield washer pump... brilliant!

Hello RikoRocket. The Pontiac Firenza was only available as a fastback in Canada. We didn't see the Viva model here. It was only offered to Canada in 1972 and 1973. You could get an upgrade to a 2L engine in the SL model. The late model Firenza that was marketed by Oldsmobile in the 80's was not built on the Vauxhaul platform anymore.

All early Canadian Firenza's had the exact same 3-problems.

1) Total brake failure from a faulty master cylinder.

2) Vapour-lock to the carburators leaving you stranded anywhere you turned the car off for 30-minutes until it cleared itself. Never take a 5-minute run to the store. It will end up 35-minutes long.

3) Fires caused by faulty wires making contact with sharp edges under the dashboard.

Our family bought a second one because we didn't learn anything from the first one burning down to the ground in front of my aunt's house.

The second one ended up as my first car. Oh Yay!!

 

[KensRedZed]

I used to work for a custom car shop rebuilding V8 race engines. The craziest thing from that shop was a Beetle with a small block Chevy V8 (327 c.I.d.). It took up the entire back seat. Custom frame work etc... Not your average "grocery getter". It had no problems with heat in the winter.

Kind of like a 1/32 Beetle running on a 40k Boxer/King motor.

 

[KensRedZed]

Beautiful looking car! Nice paint work!

The car I'm referring to was driven on the street. It could have pulled up beside you at a red light.

 

[KensRedZed]

Several years after the Pinto's one-off incident that was made world famous by the death of a child. A famous car magazine found that many model Ford cars manufactured didn't pass the rear-collision test because the gas cap was at the rear of the car. Many beloved old Mustangs didn't pass the test for that very reason. It's not rocket science. But they never cancelled the Mustang for some reason. Go figure.

I was sitting at the parts counter as a kid (1980) when a nice fella shows up in a 1969 sky-blue Beetle that sat perfectly on Center-Line wheels and Pirelli's. You knew from the sound that this was no ordinary Beetle. It had huge, custom bulges on the bonnet hiding twin 2-barrel Weber carbs. The guy walks in and orders a cam that's way too much for most people. Before I stick my foot in my mouth I asked where he works? He's a General Motors engineer that has the job of making their engines produce more horsepower. I knew right then this guy knew WAY more than me. He pulls time slips from his pocket from a local 1/4 mile track and shows me two. The first was 12.5 seconds naturally aspirated. The second was 11.5 seconds with a bottle of Nitro... At which point they kicked his car off the track because he didn't have a roll-cage and you're not allowed to run under 12-seconds without one.

That Beetle was one of the fastest street cars I've ever seen without slicks. The key point here is "without slicks".

Keep up the good Beetle work Trisha!

 

[KensRedZed]

Trisha. This should make you smile. I found this Beetle crawling through the grass. So I scooped it up, put it in a jar and brought it home.

My first Beetle. It needs clear-coat yet.

 

[KensRedZed]

Try keeping a few cheap ping-pong balls (or anything plastic) to test your paint before it goes on the body. It may save a lot of time. I test all new colours unfamiliar to me before going on a car.

 

[KensRedZed]

Not very often do I need to wear my sunglasses to look at a black car. But I think you finally did it Trisha.

Nice finish!!!

 

[KensRedZed]

Thanks a million Trisha. They will be installed later tonight. Tomorrow night is the Cobra's first race.

If my cars shined like yours? I would probably be tempted to let everyone pass me and just putt-putt around so as not to scratch them.

 

[KensRedZed]

Looks great Trisha!

So long as all the sixes... I mean nines all go the right way.

 

[KensRedZed]

Once you feel the grip of a urethane tire. It's hard to use anything else.

Nice. A Beetle in flight. It's a beautiful thing of nature!

 

[KensRedZed]

Trisha, you remind me a bit of the president of Remmington shavers. In one of the TV commercials he said "I like the shaver so much? I bought the company!".

You should really consider buying Airfix. It would be cheaper in the long run rather than buying all of their VW Beetles one at a time.

 

[KensRedZed]

Corn flakes with a hint of lemon? I would have never thought of that.

 

[KensRedZed]

Thank you very kindly Trisha.

I'll try and resist the temptation to put lemon on my corn flakes.

The cop car is kind of ugly in my opinion. It makes it look a bit more sinister. I am learning that threads with popular cars live on. Threads with less popular cars fade away quickly. The 1959 Ford Fairlane was not one of Fords most popular designs. They sold a lot more Mustangs for some reason.

That thread will fade away quickly.

But the chase-race is now a reality!!!

 

[KensRedZed]

Uncle Bonkers? Electric telephone? Is there an analog version?

My internet modem is so old... The first page of the trouble shooting section asks "Is the string on your side of the can, tight?"

 

[KensRedZed]

There's Beatle-Mania. And then there's Beetle-Mania. It's quite possible you may joyfully and willingly suffer from the latter, Trisha.

 

[KensRedZed]

I can't take my slot car shop with me on vacation. But I can take a few bodies and a couple of spray cans to the cottage (a rental). My wife encourages me to go nuts and have fun. I stand outside with a light breeze of clean air blowing off the lake and paint a car or two.

I hope you have a great vacation Trisha!

 

[KensRedZed]

You are too kind, Steve. It was just a spur of the moment photo at the end of a great vacation. Trisha has a lot more cool pics with a million VW's, and very cool artwork.

Trisha recently asked me to post a multi-car photo of all the latest cars I've been working on. The request has been fulfilled. No one said they had to be filled with parts.

The photo was merely to inspire Trisha to take a body and can of paint along just in case...