Vintage VW Cars
by: Desiree
Sonny Reign is a 1971 VW Super Beetle who was only days away from the metal shredder. The name, Sonny Reign, came from the name of a song by a little band out of New York City, Johnny Society.
The first time I ever gave any serious consideration to buying a Beetle at all was when my best friend took me for a ride in a light blue ’71 Super Beetle he lovingly called Cloudy. His tales of VW driving kept me in stitches. I quickly decided that I wanted one and began my search into finding one I could afford.
I began by going to strangers houses whenever I saw a Beetle sitting in their driveway and asking where they got them and if they wanted to sell them. This led me to a guy named Jack.
Jack was into Bugs. At his shop, there was a pretty white ’79 convertible outside with a for sale sign on it. I told him what I was trying to do and he gave me a tour of his place and explained what he did with Bugs. He showed me another bug he was selling, but just as with the convertible, it was too expensive for my skinny little pocket book.
Out in the back was a multitude of Bug and Ghia bodies as well as other “projects”. Jack then pointed me in the direction of a little red/orange bug. As he talked to me about it, he showed me its condition – it didn’t have an engine but the transmission was still in it and it seemed to work. There were no seats except the front seats and the poor little creature was just a mess.
Jack said that if I wanted that one, he would put an engine in it and sell it to me for $1200. So, I gave it some serious thought. When we talked about it again he said he would sell it to me for less and let me work on it at his shop until I got it running (this included him putting an engine in it). More thinking……. my brain began to hurt.
In the meantime, I consulted with my best friend and his dad. They offered to go with me to have a look at it.
We all loaded up and went to Jack’s. Jack gave them the grand tour and told them how he was going to get rid of all that stuff in the back, including some Karmann Ghias. In the end, they bought the Ghias, all four of them and some other stuff and talked me out of the bug, saying I would be biting off more than I could chew. So, I listened to them and told Jack I would not take the car.
Out at the farm, the Karmann Ghias were being transported and lined up. What a sight that was! I was waiting for the last load to come in and could see the van coming up the road. As they pulled into the driveway, what was on the trailer? That forlorn little car, Sonny Reign.
I was so excited to see it! Sonny was unloaded at the back of the farm. It was explained to me that Jack said he would sell the little car to them for 200 dollars otherwise it was going to the metal shredder at the local wrecking yard the next day.
It was then that they decided to take it along with the rest of the junk back to the farm. So it was agreed upon that if I wanted the car, I could buy it for the 200 dollars they had paid and they would help me get it in shape to drive.
Hence, the work began…
Desiree is an artist living in beautiful Taos New Mexico, and as her love for Sonny Reign shows – a true air-cooled kid at heart. Visit her blog Quiet Eloquence for a peek inside her passion for the pencil.