As the old story goes, you never know what you’ll find where. John found his 1956 Volkswagen while working on the Trans Alaska Pipeline.
The unique shape of these Volkswagens earned them the name VW Beetle and are often referred to as a “Bug”.
John paid $150 for his VW and stored the car for twenty years until he finally restored it in 2004.
He was a member of the Alaska VW Car Club and enjoyed taking it to many car shows.
He has now relocated to Southern Utah and 2013 was his first time taking the car to Reno.
The candy red and light tan two-tone shows off the car very well.
The ride height of the car has been lowered and it has slightly fancier wheels then it had in 1956.
The rear bonnet has been made to stand out from the body to allow for better cooling of the mildly modified air-cooled engine.
The early VWs did not have a heater or gauges. Interior heaters typically use the coolant from the engine for heat. The VW engines were air cooled.
No coolant, no heat.
These VWs had a lever the driver could operate with their right foot to get a gallon of gas from a reserve,
if the reserve had been filled at the gas station.
John’s car is what some consider the last of the classic VW with the small rear window and taillights.
The 1956 VWs had a small rear window and small taillights, but in 1958 the rear window and windshield were enlarged.
In later years the taillights were also enlarged.
I know they enjoyed cruising around Reno in their “Bug” and we enjoyed seeing it.
