Early and Late

I didn't know it before we got Gertie, but apparently 1971 was a split year for Type IIIs.

And it turns out that Gertrude is an early 1971.

Before it got sold, this 1971 sat not far from our house, along my bike route to work.

The baby blue one is a late 1971. From my cursory examination of the data, one of the easiest ways to tell them apart is that the "Volkswagen" script is horizontal on 1971s, but is slanted on 1971½s. Also, '71½s didn't come with pop-out windows as standard equipment. The blue Squareback's hubcaps are incorrect, by the way.

Another subtle clue: on Gertie, the knob that you use to reset the trip meter is chrome and hard to remove. On late '71s, it's black and easier to remove.

Huhn.

The Social Ladder

I got a chuckle out of this tidbit from Big Blue's blog the other day:

Part of my amusement probably is because I've occasionally constructed a similar scale in my head which isn't very different from this one.

The major change I would make though would be to eliminate Eurovans from the list altogether. Eurovans belong on a list of VW campers about as much as pineapples or claw-footed bathtubs do.

A Sunday's nap with Gertie

Today we spent Esmé's nap time with Gertie. We managed to accomplish quite a bit, even though it may not seem like much. Gertie's so photogenic, hence the excessive number of pictures.

We haven't been driving Gertie the past couple weeks. She has a bum window that needs some fixin' before she'll be on the road again. We're hoping to get the part we need off one of Mitch's previous ACVWs when we're back in Nebraska. This shot nicely shows the contrast between the original yellow under the window seal and the rattle can yellow exterior.

My sister requested more photos of the dash awhile back, so here you go Lisa.  I love how clean and simple Gertie's dash is. And her original color is so nice and buttery. Above (clockwise from top left) is the window wiper control, the ashtray, the two knobs that control the fresh air vents, the fresh air vents, and a black plug that does nothing except fill what would otherwise be a hole in the dash. (It's the blank for what would've been the gas heater control, had Gertie been sold in Canada or to a Yank who'd requested it as an option.) The original AM radio is below, and the light switch looking thingy on the left is the rear defrost which more than likely doesn't work.

The fresh air vents are a nice example of the simple German construction I love in our ACVWs. The two knobs control the air flow through the passenger and driver side fresh air vents, which consist of one round vent in the dash and fresh air at the base of the windshield. Two of the vents weren't working when we got Gertie because a duct under the dash wasn't hooked up. I fixed it a few weeks ago while Gertie, E, and I waited in a parking lot for Mitch to run an errand. It works splendidly now, and I'm super happy I get to help Mitch work on our cars, even if it's just the smaller stuff for now.

Mitch was more than happy to let me help with this little project. We needed to get the speedometer out of the dash in order to have the odometer repaired. Mitch isn't such a terribly huge guy, but 6 feet is more height than what easily fits under the dash of a Squareback, let me tell you. I have the photos to prove it, but he looks so miserable and uncomfortable squished under there I don't really want to post photos of it. It's sort of painful to watch. I was so squished (and impatient) that Melissa actually did the vast majority of the work; she's being modest. We started by taking out the clock (formerly in the right opening) so we could get at the speedometer (formerly in the center opening) more easily. It took more than a few hours on a few different occasions, but we finally got them out and we didn't even break anything. Gertie's steering wheel is pretty fantastic too. I like hers a lot more than the "newer" Squarebacks' steering wheels.

Here's an example of the dash wires we had to work around and through to get at the speedometer. We were a bit nervous that we'd accidentally pull out a bunch of wires, but we didn't.

We spent some time cleaning the tail lights today too. They were pretty gross, as I'm sure you can imagine if you remember this.

She looks kinda nekkid (but shiny) without her tail light lenses.

Gertie hasn't had a proper lens over front left marker light ever since the crash. Remember how sad she looked? 

It's nice to see Mitch relaxed. But there was no swearing at previous owners or cursing at bolts today, so in my estimation that's relaxed.

Apparently, the blinker housing parts are somewhat of a pain to find. We are still feeling pretty darn happy about the free parts we scored. Mitch spent some time taking the blinker housing off the Fastbask's front fender.

Mitch hammered out Gertie's fender just enough so he could replace the blinker and lens. 

It's not a perfect fix, but it's a bit of a safer ride than it was. You know, after we repair and replace the window.

Sad End for the Road Warrior

Regular readers of this blog--and hundreds of people in the online ACVW community--are probably aware of Colin (aka amskeptic) who for years has travelled around the country in his trusty 1973 passenger bus tutoring owners (including us) on the ins and outs of their old VWs.

Unfortunately there was an accident yesterday and his bus, informally dubbed "Road Warrior" due to its 588,238 miles, has departed this Mortal Coil. A young lady in a Mitsubishi Eclipse hit him at somewhere between 60 and 65mph (with her foot still on the gas) on the High Plains of Eastern Colorado. Colin had gone into the shoulder and slowed down to 45-50. That's a closing speed of over 100mph.

Against those who would denounce old VWs as death traps, I am pleased to offer Exhibit A:

(photo courtesy Quadratrückseite)

Colin walked away with a scraped leg, swollen ankle, and stiff neck.

Bodes Well

Yet another crew tosses their hat into the "let's drive this old VW Bus all over the place" ring as Angela, Jason, and their son Bode have outfitted Red Beard, a 1971 Westy, for an extended road trip that will end when they "run out of money". Follow their adventures here. (Linked at right also.)

Holland Lake

A couple weekends ago we teamed up with our friends (see: Beavertail Hill camping) with the idea to camp at Lake Alva and maybe do some canoeing. 

Heading up MT 200 along the Blackfoot, it looked like rain. I was glad we'd installed these new super-ugly-but-amazingly functional Bosch "Evolution" wiper blades. No brackets to clog up with ice! It's like having a squeegee out there now.

It looked like we might miss the rain altogether, but just before Clearwater Junction, it was really pouring. But only for a minute, since we turned North while the rain kept on going East. 

Winter Camping Advantage no. 1: there's no such thing as a full campground in Winter. We got to Lake Alva early in the evening, but the campground was full. Where to go instead? We settled on Holland Lake, which also turned out to be full. Aargh! The campground host said we could camp in the day-use overflow parking, but couldn't have a fire. He also told us there were some spots opening up the next day.

So we honed in on a spot and hung around the parking lot until the occupants (finally) left. Luckily the rest of our crew understood our garbled cell phone message and found us that afternoon. We hauled the kiddos down to the water for some wading.

Tater Tot is still quite tentative about water sports. Her floatie-thing didn't see much use.

She likes the shore and we had fun throwing rocks. Above I'm helping her and Amelia make a little pond. 

Some horses escaped from a nearby corral and wandered through the campground. E liked them, but didn't want to get too close. She was impressed how "Mimi" (her name for Miriam) led them back to their home.

Ludwig and Meriweather (rescued from a Mennonite junkyard in Virginia).

There was some light rain that forced us to eat our burritos inside Ludwig that evening, but nothing terrible. It thundered all night long, which made me nostalgic for Nebraska.

The next morning we rented a canoe in an attempt to acclimate Esmé to the boating life but she clung fiercely to Melissa the whole time. We managed to stay on the water for maybe half an hour. At least she didn't have a fit, which gives us hope for the future. That afternoon we headed out. Those are the Mission Mountains in the distance.

Big Sky Country

Esmé finds enjoyment in the simplest of things. We used to worry a little too much about taking enough "things" to entertain her on our excursions. Her hands-down all-time favorite toy? Rocks. Her little pail and "dig-dig" (her word for shovel/trowel) provide countless hours of fun at home or the road.

We couldn't bear to wake her up so she slept another hour after we got home.

(miles 221,902-222,063)

Missoulaneous ACVWs

Sad rims, sad tires, cool stripe. I believe it's a '71, maybe a Super?

I was under the impression that Westies didn't come two-toned but this looks original so maybe I'm wrong.

A plain old passenger van.

I know it's not an ACVW or even a VW, but I like Gremlins*. I especially like yellow Gremlins. And yellow 4WD Gremlins with 3-inch lifts and roof racks are just about as cool as any ACVW. There, I said it.

After declaring my love for pinstripes a few posts back, I think this one might be a little much. Maybe not.

This thing makes me think "butterscotch-vanilla swirl". (It's a 1972, the oddest bay window year.)

Some of these photos might be a bit old, as evidenced by the snow. A 1971? 72? Beetle.

*I'm no AMC expert, so I'm not 100% sure this thing is a Gremlin and not a Concord or an Eagle or something. But it looks enough like a Gremlin for me.