I used to have a 1967 VW Beetle. I had it mostly restored, but traded for a pickup due to the fact that I bought a boat that I had no way of transporting.
Once I bought that old boat, it never did run right. It always leaked water through all the seals and I finally got so mad that I sold it for $50.00 with the trailer. It was a 1979 Sea Shark. She ran great, but again, never made a full day at the lake.
Since the day I sold that VW Beetle, I had been sick about it. As a single full time dad and working a full time job, I did not have the time or money to work on another project until about three weeks ago.
I was driving to Joplin, MO to visit my dad who is ill with stage III colorectal cancer. As I was driving, through Hot Springs Arkansas, I saw a 1979 VW Super Beetle Convertible. To my amazement, it had a for sale sign in the window. With no intentions of buying her, I pulled in and checked her out. She was in really good shape and ran good, but not great.
Needless to say, I called my father who loaned me the money and she was all mine. Then I realized that I don't know anyone in Hot Springs, Arkansas who knows how to really work on an Air Cooled VW motor. I started tinkering with her and realized there are some things I just don't know about.
A week after buying her, my father and mother drove down from Joplin. It was a beautiful Saturday and the day was going well. I ended up having a very bad migraine that night and figured, it must be a caffeine headache. I drove my little bug down to the gas station about four miles from the house.
I noticed a man walking down the street, who was dressed like he was an old mechanic. I do not know why, because I never stop and pick anyone up now days with all the crazies around the world, but I pulled over and hollered at him asking him if he needed a ride. He walked up to my window and said, "Can I use your phone? My bike ran out of gas up the road." I asked him how far he lived from here and he told me a couple miles.
I did the unbelievable, I asked him if he wanted me to take him to get his gas can and gas, then I would drop him off and drive back to his place and leave the gas tank by the front door. He told me I didn’t have to. I told him to get in.
As I was driving, he really didn't say much. I was a little nervous since I am 33 and built like a girl. We pulled up to what looked like a giant storage unit complex, except they have a large dock door and a little office. He gets out and says, "Come here, I have something you may want to see." I thought I may die, but I still followed him inside thinking he may live in there.
It turned out that he is a retired mechanic who restores all types of old VW's. He had multiple VW Beetles, a couple convertibles and a Bus.
Now I have a great new friend and an amazing story to tell about him. He looked over my car and told me a few things I never would have known. A week later, he was helping me work on the 1979 VW Super Beetle Convertible.
I am very lucky that the day I stopped to pick up a person to help them, he ended up paying it forward and helping me as well as teaching me about every aspect of the VW's.