COVVC - Members' Cars

COVVC MEMBERS' CARS
Here are a few stories of our members and their cherished VW's.

1961 Beetle ("Gertrude") - Mark & Debi Garrett

Paul, Pam, Emily, Gwen and Caroline Smith's '59 Beetle

The Grangers with their wild Thing

1952 Split Window Beetle - George Daggett

1956 Karmann Ghia - Aaron Kennison

1970 Custom Cal-Look Bug - Bill & Nancy Clark

1985 Cabriolet - Steve & Sandy Farmer

1972 Super Beetle - Steve & Sandy Farmer

1968 Karmann Ghia - Brian & Linda Ream

Jon Mark Hall's '68 Vert and '70 Autostick

1998 New Beetle - Ryan Lane

1957 Beetle - Jason Hinds

1965 Beetle Cabriolet - Karma & Don Wuertz

1966 Beetle ("Murray") - Mike Roecker

1961 BEETLE "GERTRUDE" OWNED BY MARK AND DEBI GARRETT Back to Top

This is Gertrude. She is a frumpy old German gal, but she also has lots of class! Gertrude was my father's car for many years. He lived in North Carolina and worked at the VW dealership (Henderson VW), and restored her there in 1974. The paint that she has today is that same paint, of course with lots of lovin' to keep it looking that way! She has never been in an accident, and all of her body panels are original. All of the accessories are original NOS pieces, with the exception of the fender skirts, which are fiberglass reproductions, but very well done I must say! Gertrude gets driven between one to two thousand miles a year, depending on how many car shows we attend! She also enjoys Sunday drives in the country, with the occasional stop for ice cream!

PAUL, PAM, EMILY, GWEN AND CAROLINE SMITH'S '59 BEETLE Back to Top

This is our 1959 Beetle we recently restored. It has just over 90,000 original miles and is a great driver. We have owned it for almost 6 years now and enjoy riding around in it every summer. It has also become one of the favorite toys in the garage for "driving" to the market or the zoo for our daughter, Emily and her sister, Gwen. Just recently our youngest daughter, Caroline, has decided to join in on the action and give the other two a run for their money. They would spend the whole afternoon "driving" around in it, listening to the AM radio, or hiding behind the back seat if they could. This last year our '59 participated in a local parade and also represented vintage VW's at the promotional opening of "Herbie Fully Loaded" in our hometown. If you see us out and about in the '59, definitely say "HI!"

1974 TYPE 181 "THING" OWNED BY THE GRANGER FAMILY Back to Top

Bill, Dorothy, and Victor "The Man" Granger are the very proud owners of this exquisite 1974 Thing. The Grangers have been long-time members of our club, and Bill was Vice President for a number of years. Without fail, if there is a VW event that the Grangers make it to, their Thing gets quite a bit of attention. They enjoy their ride as often as possible.

1952 SPLIT WINDOW BEETLE OWNED BY GEORGE DAGGETT Back to Top

Member George Daggett is the proud owner of this lovely '52 split window beetle. As with any 40+ year-old vehicle, it has quite a story, as described here.

1952 VW Standard Sedan
Color...L90 Sand Carbon Glasurit paint
Manufactured...July 7th 1952 Left factory on...July 16th 1952
Destination... VW-Distributing Co., New York City., NY Hoffman Dist. Broadway at 62nd Street
Price Std. Sedan.. .$1280 (heater included) Options...Chrome bumpers, door handles.
Telefunken radio, parcel tray, roof rack, fog lights

Standard Features

16"wheels, mechanical brakes, 25HP engine, non-synchronized transmission, seats adjust w/wing nuts, no vent wing windows, semaphore turn signals

Present History

Owners of car from 1952 till 1981 unknown.
February 1981 Davis Motors VW, OH sold to Gordon Wills a mechanic at Scottford VW' in Youngstown, OH for $20
Sold to William Grimm, another mechanic at Scottford VW from Lisbon, OH on 2/25/81 for $10
Sold to Dennis Hobday owner of Custom Coachworks in Fort Wayne, IN. Body restoration done in 1989-1990.
Sold to present owner George Daggett, Winchester, IN in 1996. This car is driven to all events Total mileage for 1997 was 3,255 miles. (NO TRAILER QUEEN)

1956 KARMANN GHIA OWNED BY AARON KENNISON Back to Top

Well it was a long time coming, but in June of 2001 this little car finally saw the open road once again. A seven-year odyssey had come to a new beginning. Starting with a wrecked car and $200, five years later this fine example of German coach building was new again. A couple years at VWoA didn't take that showroom-new condition away. Now, driven whenever the weather is fine, this Ghia shows off to all those who ask, "Hey, what kind of car is that???"

1970 CUSTOM CAL-LOOK BUG OWNED BY BILL & NANCY CLARK Back to Top

This car is a 5-year project. It is a body-off, ground up restoration. Everything nut and bolt, etc. is brand new. We have owned the car for ten years. Nancy drove it until it died 5 years ago. At that point Bill decided to undertake the project of complete restoration. The body was taken completely off the pan (they have pictures the whole way through the resto), new pan halves were placed, and every nut, bolt, rubber, etc. were replaced. It has a select-a-drop front end (5 inches of drop available but not practical for every day driving). It was Rhino-lined (it will never rust) and has a brand new (not rebuilt, all new 1600 motor with dual Webers), a custom dash with VDO gauges, console, Scat drag-fast shifter, custom seats, new headliner, glass, window and door rubbers (everything - too numerous to mention). As Nancy stated, "The best part of all is that my husband did everything himself (except for the Rhino-lining). It is white in color, all de-chromed, one-piece tinted windows, with black interior, California style bumpers (turn signals no longer on the front fenders) and earlier model tail-lights. It was finished in late July, mid August 2001. Since then I, the wife Nancy, have driven it to work very proudly on a daily basis. Although it is still being driven daily it will soon be stored for the winter (as soon as the snow flies). Who said VW's don't have heat??? This one will roast your buns!!! LOL. It is a real head turner and really awesome to drive! I'm very proud of our car, especially since the resto was not 'farmed out'".

1985 CABRIOLET OWNED BY STEVE & SANDY FARMER Back to Top

This is my second VW, purchased in 2000 with the idea of a fun driver. It has received a lot of work, tranny, paint, seats, brake conversion and love. We have shown it over the past several years. The first was at Volksfest and won first place in our class. Got us hooked. We drive the Cabby to all shows and have a very good time, great cars and greater people.

1972 SUPER BEETLE OWNED BY STEVE & SANDY FARMER Back to Top

Saved from the crusher (shown here in Ohio white). We have made mechanical repairs to make it safe to drive. Next will be my first attempt to paint a car.

1968 KARMANN GHIA OWNED BY BRIAN AND LINDA REAM Back to Top

Brian and Linda Ream from Mishawaka, Indiana sent in the following: “We are the second owners of a 92 point show car, a 1968 Karmann Ghia convertible. We bought it October 15, 2001, with 31,772 miles, original tires and only it's second muffler. It's Regatta Blue (blue/green). Chassis number 148028672, engine number H5006332. Linda and I belong to the Elkhart Vintage Auto Club in Elkhart, Indiana and have for eighteen years. We first saw this Ghia at their mall auto show in the late '80's. The owners only drove it to our club outing, due to failing health. In 1995 the owner passed away, and the widow couldn't drive a stick shift. Since then it was driven monthly by the widow's brother, on short trips, to keep it "fresh". In 1999 he could no longer drive it, and it sat covered and stored until October of 2001, when we bought it.

Interestingly, we bought the Ghia from them 33 years and two days to the day they had purchased it new in Elkhart, Indiana. The original owner kept all the paperwork and repair sheets until the late 80's, when the local VW dealer left town.

We bought an original Blaupunkt AM/FM radio from a fellow in Germany, but we're hesitant of drilling the fender for the antenna.

PS We owned a 1960 Ghia coupe in 1965 when we got married. Kids came - the car went... Now, the kids are gone, and a Ghia is back, 36 years later... memories return.”

1968 VERT AND 1970 AUTOSTICK OWNED BY JON MARK HALL Back to Top

The ’70 was a restoration project. Floor pans, heat channels, etc… The ’68 ‘vert was a 30th wedding anniversary present for my wife. Found it on eBay in St. Louis, MO.

1998 NEW BEETLE OWNED BY RYAN LANE Back to Top

I got my 1998 New Beetle in June of 2001 as a gift from my mom. I knew I wanted to customize it, but never really knew which way I wanted to go with it. That was until I joined the website newbeetle.org and met fellow club member Aaron Bruckelmeyer through that website. At the time Aaron had a 1999 New Beetle the same color as mine. He started going with the retro look on his New Beetle which became my inspiration. I've had a lot of help along the way between Aaron, my best friend Josh Whightsel and my mom Lavaka Garver; without their love and support, I would have never gotten the car to the point it's at today. The car is still not finished, it's only just beginning. The car has a two-tone paint job in its near future, many more car shows in its future.

1957 BEETLE "GRIMACE" OWNED BY JASON HINDS Back to Top

There's actually a funny story to this car. After getting a big promotion at work, my wife encouraged me to finally go get that Beetle that I had been waiting for since I got rid of my last one (10+ years). I had already been searching the Samba for some decent rides that were also relatively cheap (hard to find unless you live on the west coast). I happened to find a clean '62 in Tennessee for a great price.

I called the guy, and I liked what I heard about the car. So on a moment's notice, we took off for TN and picked up the car. Well, 3 weeks later I happened to find this sweet '57 near Indianapolis (again on the Samba) - the price was ridiculously low, so I put out some feelers to see how she would respond about buying the car. Much to my amazement, she was totally cool with me buying the '57, assuming I could get rid of the '62 (my wife must really love me!). Well, that turned out to be no problem at all, since my next-door neighbor took the '62 off my hands. So I took off for Indiana to get this custom '57, which I named "Grimace".

So now I have Grimace in my garage, and I'm still able to break my knuckles working on the '62. I couldn't be happier!

1965 BEETLE CABRIOLET OWNED BY KARMA AND DON WUERTZ Back to Top

Our pride and joy is a 1965 Beetle Cabriolet Model 151 which was produced in Wolfsburg, Germany on December 11,1964. Its arrival in the US was at Baltimore, MD on December 21, 1964 and was sold in Chillicothe, Ohio. We have owned the car since January 25, 1996 and have had a complete frame-off restoration done. We have the original owners' manual and the service record. The car now has 83,000 miles on it. It has a 40hp engine and has been maintained in stock condition. During the nice weather months in Ohio we drive it often and enjoy it very much. The photo was taken here in Delaware in front of the Delaware Arts Castle [which originally was built as a home] which we felt would make a fine background for a German car.

1966 BEETLE ("MURRAY") OWNED BY MIKE ROECKER Back to Top

My Uncle Bill was the third owner of this ruby red Bug. He's 88 years young, a WWII bomber pilot, experimental aircraft hobbyist and VW lover. He picked up this little gem back in 1993 while on a sales call not too far from Boone, Iowa where the Beetle grew up. He putted around his little town near Rockford, Illinois then tucked the car away in his barn in 2003 where it sat until I trailered it to Cleveland, Ohio this past May. When he signed the title over to me I noticed that he signed it William M. Roecker. When I asked him what the "M" stood for, he said "Murray", the same as my middle name and the maiden name of his Mom and my Grandmother Grace. I thought it was appropriate to name the car Murray in his honor. He seems to get a kick out of it. I got Murray on the road for the first time in the middle of July after rebuilding the brakes, repainting the rims, rebuilding the carburetor, replacing the battery, troubleshooting the brake lights, replacing the floor mats, replacing the muffler and finally getting the horn to beep! It was a real thrill to hear the engine turn over for the first time and run through all the gears. I haven't been able to work on a car since I was in my teens and 20's, how fun it has been to get my hands into the guts of a car again, especially a Beetle. I look forward to getting Murray to a COVVC event sometime soon.

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Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club
655-B Providence Avenue, Columbus, OH 43214-4903