We came across Bennie, standing for three months because of starting troubles. We lined up a second buy and drove 4 hours from Barberton to Pretoria. Got to Bennie and checked him out, he was nearly perfect and for 11k it was a steal if we got it started. A new battery later he was up and running, the second bug overheated on the way to our meeting place and we had only one car to show for the day. We headed back almost 300 km at full speed Bennie had no problems. Back home we started to look for my Bug, I was more determined than ever to find my car. My dad helped a lot as my work could not allow me to take off to go to Pretoria every time. One day I heard that my Dad has gone to get my Beetle. Excitedly we waited for their return but unfortunately at 7 at night the call came through they where standing at the side of the road just outside Pretoria and my Dad was threatening to set my 12k car on fire
6 am the next morning they got home....The highway to hell begins...
The story began when they went to look at yet another car that was only held together with a miracle and body putty. The back up was Ertjie (Advertised as such) and they decided to go buy it. They drove away and she was lacking in power, she was advertised as a 1100 but the power was far less than that and she kept dying at the traffic lights. Pulling over they phoned the mechanic we are using that knew beetles like the back of his hand. He told them to check the coil wires. Indeed they where switched, putting them in the right place they pulled away. Like a bat out of hell she ran in the fast lane of the highway forcing a few cars to give right of way to the green monster. There was even a thumbs up form a surprised BMW driver (In your face lol) Just outside of Pretoria she started to make such a racket that my dad pulled over in fear of seizing the engine. That is when we got the phone call...
A few days later I got to visit my stricken bug. If there ever was a E.R Car edition this would be the perfect episode. Turning the corner there she was bum in the air and her heart in pieces. The mechanic comically said "Here she is" spreading his arms to show me the engine in pieces on the working table. I was thinking positive thoughts as he started to talk about what needed to be done.
The list...
The first problem was that she had pulled four studs. Then the reason for this was that all the seals where replaced with bathroom silicone
I forgot where he said the wooden blocks came from. The ring on the heads where put on upside down and hammered into place where they did not fit. The oil was filled with shavings and silicone bits, it was more like a abrasive than a lubricant. Because of the brilliant wiring the coil had burn out. There where various other small things, any normal person would start to loose hope but my respect for this humble bug only grew with each problem mentioned. She was sick to the core and she still ran like stink. She showed me she was more than just a piece of metal and moving parts, she had guts and determination a spirit that could not be broken even on her last legs. So the repairs began, stripping the engine and cleaning every nook and cranny. An oil transfusion later we got her started for the first time...It's alive...
I stood there as she roared into live (I mean it, she is loud and proud). While working on her we came to understand her miracle power. She was actually a 1600. I took her home and drove her for two days she has shown yet another problem. After weeks of nursing her back to health she did this to me. We took her back and a few days later she was back in my hands for two days again before returning to hospital
It went on for about a month like that.I am looking at her now, she drives like a dream and moves like stink again (Still can't believe she is just 1600) When I drive her I always smile, damn it I even look forward to driving to work. How many people can say that? She still has her little quirks that still needs to be sorted and there are a few cosmetic problems that need to be sorted.As I look at her I can't help but think that a car does have a soul/personality. Ertjie is where she came from. A Danville babe with a don't give me
kind of attitude. Give her grief and she will bite back(I have two scars to prove it). Also hates being called babes, it's "My geliefde Ertjie" anything else and she will give you crap all the way home lol. A beetle is not just a car, it's a lifestyle or at least that is what I heard. For myself it's not a lifestyle it's my dream and my nightmare. She is my Ertjie, my demon car of Danville and I am loving every second of it...
