[itsnotanova]

I had 4 air cooled Volkswagen before I was even 16. 73 bug, 72 bug, 69 Ghia and a 914 and none of them ever ran. I ended up trading for a running 72 after I turned 16. I got back into them in the 90's and had a 68 bug, 73 SB and 70 Baja. I bought the 68 while I was living in Reno. One evening while cruising down town the car died and I instantly could smell wires burning. I saw this one wire under the dash start turning bright red. The car started filling up with smoke and I thought to myself "that's a lot of smoke for one wire". As soon as I thought that, I hear this rush of flames behind me. I turn around and flames were shooting out from under the back seat. That's where the battery is stored. I jump out and run into a casino. I yell at the top of my lungs "I NEED A FIRE EXTINGUISHER!!". The whole casino goes silent and everyone stares at me for 5 second. And like on cue, everybody goes back to gambling like nothing ever happen. I run back outside and by this time there's a huge crowd watching my car burn. People start asking whose car is that and I just melt in the crowd like it's not mine. Someone finally runs up and puts it out. The police and fire department show up and that's when I cower over and take ownership for the smoldering pile not far from the sign that reads "Biggest Little City". The cops are telling me I need to get it out of there before they tow it. I call my friends who have been drinking to get a rope and come tow me home. I think the cops knew we were all under the influence but didn't care. They just wanted that car out of there. So we start towing the car home with this tiny rope. As we start getting some speed, all the extinguisher spray starts blowing in my face. It partially blinds me and I get close to hitting other cars. People are yelling at me and flipping the bird but we manage to get it to our house. The next day I go out and examine the damage. The seats are nothing but springs, the windshield is completely bubbled and pitch black, headliner is gone, the dash knobs are semi melted and dropping down, the cluster glass is cracked and covered in soot. I stripped the interior and took a garden hose to it. The more I cleaned, the more I realized the car actually didn't get too damaged. I replaced the windshield, threw some seats in and spliced some wiring by the regulator. Not a month after that I drove it from Reno to central Pennsylvania were I started going to college. I drove that car for a whole semester with no problems. It sure would stink like burnt plastic when it was hot though. I miss the old air cooled Volkswagens. The new generation bug was a chic's car. I won't miss it
Just remembered I also owned a 62 and a fiberglass dune buggy too