i seem to have hit a wall... theres so many proper venus and routes i have to go through to get this little bugger on the road! first, theres the financial aspect... i have to register the car and last i checked, my dad said he owed $304 when he tried to file a non-op on it, but who knows what its at now especially since i need to file it as operational. okay, so if i register the bug, do i need insurance BEFORE i register it? if so, im paying insurance for 2 cars??? crazy. then once i register it, i found a shop in lakeside that carries my engine, refurbished, for $600 with a 6 month warranty or $1070 installed with a 12 month warranty... if i sell my chevy(which i need to do but its difficult without having a car) i can pay for the engine and all repairs needed to get the bug running. problem is how to sell my car and turn around and fix the bug and have it able to drive that day... seeing as i wont have a vehicle.... ugh....

step 1: figure out how to open the hood....

I recently inherited a 1973 super beetle from my dad. He inherited it from my Grannie Annie, who recieved it as a gift from my Grandpa off the floor at the dealership. She named it Spotty. Family owned for 37 years and counting.

I've only just begun.... the beetle is in my storage unit now, after a hair-pulling chain of events to get it there. So now I have in my possession this bug that doesnt run, I've never driven it, I know absolutely NOTHING about cars.... and yet, I love it! I like to sit in the car for what seems like hours... my mind is clear and i cant help but smile. I decided to poke around, maybe try to get accustomed to her, but that in itself seemed an arduous task. I couldnt figure out how to open the hood!! I searched and searched and after about 30 minutes I reached for the owner's manual in the glove box. Low and behold... the lever was in the glove box! A lever! How cool. I release the trunk and run around to the front of the car, excited, push the button, and lift the hood...ta da! Im staring at trunk space and an empty gas can bungeed to the side. I felt dumb. The engine is in the back.

At that point I decided I needed to buy a book. I got "How to keep your Volkswagen alive" by John Muir. The book is FANTASTIC, dummy style drawings, a breakdown of how everything works, etc. Its difficult! Its not only like learning a new language, but learning how an entire machine works. Hopefully its not too difficult to navigate around in when I get my hands on it. I imagine with engine grease gunk it'll be difficult. We shall see! For now my head is cluttered with drawings of transmissions, nuts, bolts, differentials, pistons, etc.....