Vintage Pics of VWs: Here's some from my family photo album.... any more???

[martin]

These were taken in 1968 on a family trip from the prairies (North of the Midwest) to near Niagara Falls Canada in our new 67 family mini-van (kombi) with the custom $500 interior kit. It's camping at my dad's sister's nice front yard much to the chagrin of my uncle, former Desert Fox interpreter in WW2 (nazi). Their family car was a bug, wonder what year it is? I'm the little guy going for the hike hunting waterfalls, as there are plenty around there.

[TRM]

Kewl thanks for sharing

[martin]

Two parents and four kids, no seatbelts, no power, plenty of hills, no air cond, but hey, we had Mad magazine! check out the shadow of that huge homemade roofrack!

[Dave Kawell]

Hey Martin,

That is so neat, thanks for sharing.  Always fun to look at happy times pictures !

Judy

[neil68]

I can identify with old VW memories:

Calgary to Anchorage:  Alaska Highway camping trip in the summer of 1966 with everything loaded on the Beetle...gravel washboard road the whole way back then...crooked as a dog's hind leg!!

Also, Calgary to Los Angeles via Death Valley:  Summer 1968, this time pulling the tent trailer...washed out road forced us to back track quite a ways!

[martin]

That's what I had in mind Neil, and I know you have more. Here's another that my dad sent me since I pointed out this thread to him, this is the van loaded up and ready to go vanning.

[Mitch Pullen]

cool pic's   now  some   MORE.!!!!!!..the old Honda? or Suzuki ?  motorcycle  is neat....tell your dad to keep sending them....and get on-line...and tell us some stories,,,,

[martin]

Here's one from an email of his:
After 20 years the original c/s broke in two.  I drove with it broken for another 120 km.  Then I replaced it; however, the seats for the bearing shells had worn so badly from the vibration that I had to shim them up with tin from Campbell Soup cans.  That engine drove on for another 9 years and I sold it for $700.  Sure got my money's worth out of that engine.
 
                                                                    Ha, they don't make them like that anymore, eh.  -Papa-


Guess where I learned that working on bug motors was fun?

[martin]

Here's another piece of an email from my dad (to his nephew who recently bought a 65 bug):

Good Sunday morning, Axel,
 
congratulations on finding the correct lid - super.  So strange, not to see any louvres; I wonder if the engine gets enough air when going 60 mph.  You mention the change-over year 1967;  I went through that with the '67 window van, the first year of 12 Volt.
 
I drove that van for 29 years until it literally fell apart; I kept driving even with the engine mounts rusted through and the engine supported by galvanized clothes line wires!  That van took the 6 of us camping from Niagara Falls to the Rockies!  We parked it in your Dundas driveway and camped on your front lawn, remember that?  I insulated the interior with fibreglas under the birch panelling, had seats that converted into beds, table with lamp, etc. etc.  I used it on a movie set as a mobile ACTRA office and had Donald Sutherland join us for coffee.  I should write a book about that van, eh.
 
                                                                                                    Enjoy your Sunday,  Otto

[bo]

sweet pics i love vintage pictures.


p.s. this is my 400th post !!!!!!!!! i have accomplished something

[Mitch Pullen]

neat e-mails, it's good  you can have something in common like v-dubs with  your dad...he's sounds like a great dad,,,tell him to start writing that book ....my dad is 77 now and was dianost with colon cancer..they  got alot of it ,,but at his age it's been heck on him...he also has pacemaker!! he's a tuff old dude though.!!!!...enjoy the days  while there  with us,,,it's heck  seeing your mom & pops get old.!!!!