Eric Shoemaker

Mary Ellen Tousineau’s L639 Zenith Blue ’67 Vert

12.28.2016 12 Comments

Mary recently became a new customer of Lane Russell. After looking over a few photos, I knew this was a gem we’ve seen before. As it turns out, our good pal Mark Massey over at Old VWS had restored her. A good ’67 Beetle never gets past Jay and I. This ’67 is an example of doing it right. Kudos to Mark for paying close attention to the small details that matter; the details that make the ’67 the “best year vintage VW.”

Hello, 1967beetle.com.
I thought I would take the time to tell you my story concerning the 1967 Beetle. When I was a little girl I fell in love with cars. I was only 5 years old and I could Tell you every make and model. It was much easier then. Any work on a car From changing oil to changing flat tires I was with my dad wanting to learn about.

By the time I reached adulthood, I knew exactly what I wanted. I 1966 was working by then for a retailer in data processing. I had my heart set on a SS 396 Burgundy Chevelle Convertible. I went car shopping alone. I can home with one of those yellow sheets with an out the door price. It was around $3800, Which I thought was’t bad. My dad said Flatly no it was too much. So I began to look for other options. I checked out the Mustangs…..I wasn’t a fan. I finally ended up at HILLTOP VOLKSWAGEN in Virginia Beach.

In that day I had to order to get what I wanted. I loved The Zenith Blue color so I ordered It in a convertible. It arrived probably in January. It was very cold. They took it to Pembrooke Mall. It was there a couple of weeks Before I even knew it had arrived. Finally the day came and we went to pick her up. My dad asked if I would like for him to drive her home, since it was a manual and I was rusty.I declined of course and that is when the love affair began. I had a ball with friends going all over Virginia Beach to the beach, to party and of course to work. The year of 1968 was a major change for me. My fiancee’ came back from Vietnam and we were soon married. We had an issue with the governor sticking. I would put it in neutral pull over and flip it back. At times it wouldn’t crank and we would push it off and pop the clutch. He grew weary of the antics and pushed me to trade her. We did and I have regretted it ever since. The 70 Duster was junk and my regrets grew.

’67 Volkswagen Beetle Snow Day

12.19.2016 4 Comments

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Our good friend, Tim Mossman from across the pond shared a few photos from his first ’67 Beetle snow day drive. In his own words.

The snow warning was issued, but I wanted to play. I baby my Beetle and to avoid driving in the rain. But snow? Not sure whether to venture out in the 67, I fired off an e-mail to the mighty Jay Salser of 1967beetle.com and he assured me I would be fine!

Happy Holidays from 1967beetle and Lane Russell.

Are My Vintage VW Front Fenders German?

12.07.2016 25 Comments

Are My Fenders German?

Not a week goes by here at 1967beetle.com without someone sending photos of their vintage pride and joy, fresh from bodywork and paint. More times than not, their car has an aftermarket front fender. If you didn’t know, the ’67 Beetle front fenders (German) are another one of those fantastic one year only items. If you look at the vintage market, you’ll see plenty of folks claiming, “high end restoration.” However, (sadly) people often use cheap parts for max profit. The power is being able to tell the difference. I’d like to explain how can you tell if you’re dealing with genuine German VW metal. Let’s discuss below, with photos to help illustrate how simple the difference really is. I’d love to know how many readers actually go outside and look at their cars after reading this.

Turn signal holes
This is by far one of the easiest ways to distinguish the real deal from aftermarket. On the right we have a genuine German VW fender. If you remove your top turn signal assembly, the hole punched should be round. On the top of the hole, if you looked close enough you’d also see that the fender is stamped with a VW logo mark. Over time, these are often worn away. However, they are there from the factory. Also, the metal of German fenders is much thicker. On the left, we have an aftermarket fender with a goofy oblong hole. Why the folks making these did not use proper tooling to produce something that matches an OE fender is beyond me.

Are My Fenders German?

L282 Lotus White ’67 Beetle

11.27.2016 18 Comments

s-l1600-7 Hello, ’67 Beetle community. In between typing original VW part numbers into a growing database, I wanted to share this L282 Lotus White ’67 Beetle Jay and I were discussing earlier today. One one hand, it looks to be very original; however there are some small things we noticed. (Aside from what appears to be a LOT of rust.)

What do you see? Anything that stands out? This car is currently for sale, however not officially here. Sometimes, I curate when something is interesting enough to have a cup of coffee (iced) over.

SOLD – Chris Vallone’s L510 Java Green ’67 Beetle

11.17.2016 2 Comments

Hello, ’67 Beetle community.
As we mentioned in an earlier thread, our good friend Chris Vallone over at Classic VW Bugs in NY has just finished restoring a ’67 Beetle. (Over 80 photos!) This car is a gem and just sold! Here’s a short video of it heading to TX. Congrats, Chris.

This car was found in North NJ in mid 2012. It’s rock solid, and needed very little body work. This is a numbers matching Body, Chassis, Motor, ’67 Beetle.