Don’t let the newsletter format throw you. It’s still us. Our Vdubber this month, drawn from club event attendance, is George N. of Olive Branch; a member since October, 2001. He is also an associate pastor at The Pentecostal Church in Memphis. Between his duties there and his family, he still finds time to attend some of our club functions. Membership in our club also allows him to minister in the church Group Ministry. It turns out that we are an important resource of information as they form interest groups in his church. So George is glad that we are here.

Turning to the VW side of this story, George had to choose one of his four VWs to feature here. You see, George owns 3 1967 bugs (a convertible, a sunroof, and a sedan) and a sandrail! It must be much easier to keep things straight if you just have one vintage to concentrate on; plus all those spare parts “hand me downs!” Yeh! Gotta love it!

George says his ‘vert is “Red with primer spots.” We have all been there. Right? He was surprised to find it about 10 years ago in the Commercial Appeal want ads. Was this an attempt to buy up all the ‘67s? It was his daily driver for the next 3 years. At that point, it was either the congested byways or the green house effect that forced him to find something with air conditioning. Not as fun to drive, but he no longer needed a second shower and change of clothes when he arrived at work. His beloved ‘vert was rewarded for its service by being allowed to spend most of its time in the shade and shelter of his garage; with the promise of a make over someday.

Ever reliable, it always cranks up easily when he gets it out for some exercise and attention. Yup, he still gets the waves, smiles, and personal VW stories from other folks on the street. Seems like everybody has owned a bug or known somebody who did. Of course, convertibles are even neater. It has had 3 previous owners, all of whom he has met. One of them pulled into his driveway one day and asked to look at his convertible. After talking VWs for a while, the man said, “I used to own this one.” Turns out he was the one who had done most of the work and paint on the car. George wishes it still had the dual-carbureted 1832cc engine the guy was running in it.

Better days lie ahead for the convertible, though. The owner, who came by, also showed George where all the bondo filler was, since restoration is on the horizon. George is preparing to go the Resto Custom look and has been collecting the parts to do so. He would like, perhaps, a 1776cc engine and already has the 5-spoke wheels. Oh, yeh! That gets my stamp of approval! Good luck with the resto’, George. Give us a holler if we can be of help. Glad to have you in our club.