Comment on Hemmings Find of the Day – 1959 Volkswagen Beetle by Howard Arbiture

I also love the VW stories. Not many cars affected as many people as the Bug. My favorite VW story, was my buddy in, and long after HS, bought a ’58 Bug for $50 bucks. He made his own “short throw” shifter, and had adapters for wide Ford wheels and tires on the back. He would puke the motor on a regular basis, always #3 exhaust valve under the oil cooler, revised, I think, on later motors.. We had it down to a science, jack up the back, use a hydraulic jack, undid the 4 bolts on the bell housing, couple cables, and if winter, drag the motor into his mom’s kitchen( which she wasn’t too fond of, but was gone all day, so we had to work quick). Pulled the head and the “wholly piston”, off to Larry’s Junkyard, he always had a PILE of VW motors, found a 36 hp, grabbed a head and used piston, cleaned out the pieces from the crankcase ( the screen will do the rest) we were cruisin’ that very night.