Letha and her husband, Tommy, originally purchased their new Volkswagen Beetle on
July 18, 1967 in San Diego, California. They lived 8 miles from the Mexican Border.
The Beetle was imported from Germany, directly to Tijuana, Mexico, then sent to a
dealership in National City, San Diego County, California.
The car, L282 Lotus White with Red Interior, lived at the same address in the same
garage for 47 years until my wife, Jane, and I bought her on November 2, 2013. We
moved her to Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Letha and Tommy paid great attention to making sure that anyone who performed work
on the car stayed true to the authenticity and originality of the car. This accounts for the fact that our Beetle still has matching numbers and the original, although now rebuilt, engine.
Letha was a teacher of Spanish and frequented the San Diego Naval Base. The car
still has its Naval Base access sticker on the front bumper and a military blanket in the luggage compartment. The car is in great shape considering that the speedometer shows 183k original miles. Letha provided us with complete documentation – original loan papers and all of the registration cards and receipts for work performed.
She had turned down several prospective buyers since they were looking at the car with the intention of converting it into a Baha Bug or a hot rod. We told Letha that we were interested in preserving the car just as it had been delivered from the factory. I told her that we were going to do a couple of detail items and then show the car as-is at a couple of coffee shop car gatherings. She was very happy to hear this and wanted me to send pictures since she always had wanted to show the car herself.
Letha currently is 85 years old and has all her wits about her. Although she recently had suffered a stroke and had returned home but 5 days earlier, she was right back at it, negotiating the sale and telling us stories of the car’s history while her daughter, Cher, and son-in-law, Mike, looked on. It was a pleasure to have time to sit with Letha and her family to talk about the car and family history.
Letha’s love for her car really sank in for Jane and me when it was time to sign the
papers and depart. We saw the emotion welling up in Letha’s eyes at letting “Her Baby”– as she always referred to the car–go.
As the car continues its travels, I really want it to be a tribute to the Original 1967 Beetle, and to Letha and their history together. I feel very blessed to have found such an original car with such a great story.
Thank you, 1967beetle.com, for your dedication, and thank you, oldbug.com, where we
found the listing.
Thanks, Letha, for sharing your ’67 with 1967beetle.com.
Comments are closed.
Jay,
Another fantastic ’67 documented. Thank you so much for all your efforts.
Dear Readers…I just received notice of Letha’s passing. Clyde tells us:
“Letha passed away June 5th. I feel so blessed that we were able to pay tribute to Letha and her husband
Tommy via the 1967beetle.com community and Letha was able to
participate.”
What a blessing to Letha and to her husband that Clyde and Jane LaGue have taken the Wheel from Letha as they continue to conserve this much loved vehicle.
May God bless Tommy, Letha’s husband, during this very sad time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Tommy!
jay
Jay, etc.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families. 1967beetle.com is very honored to have taken part and connected us all.
Nice 67 in from a great City (San Diego) to another of my favorite places, PV! Enjoy this car and I can see my old house in the pictures from PV. HA! Great story and glad to see you will keep her in all her original glory.
Great story and super great history!
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
Thank you, Clyde and Jane, for allowing us enjoy your continuing story. And, we are so proud of Letha and her husband, Tommy, for conserving another great example of an “unmolested” 1967 Beetle! I only wish that we had been able to post all of the excellent photos. But…stay with us–I’m sure that we’ll hear more from the LaGues! jay
Really great work, Jay!
By the way.. Is that side mounted antenna a dealer option?
Eric…I have seen this antenna situation a couple of times before. Notice that the original factory block-off plug is mounted in the location provided by the factory. Maybe Letha can shed some light on this. 1967 marked the first year that the factory provided the antenna mounting hole. Previous antenna kits were provided through the USA contractors–Bendix, Motorola and ?. This appears to be one of those. jay
Big Thank You Jay and Eric
Thank You for all the time and dedication you spend
providing information and a single location to focus on
the great attributes of the 1967 beetle. I have learned so
much valuable information from your site and all the
articles and information you provide. Cant wait to print
and laminate the article from your web site as a piece
of history to travel along with the car.
I too had been wondering about the antenna thinking it was not necessarily original but once again I learn something I didnt know – the radio is a Motorola so maybe it was a US contractor installation.