The “HandMe-Down” Beetle

This 1962 VW Bug Has Passed Through Four Generations Of Women In the Same Family.

Great Grandmother Fern J. Gass purchased this car in the summer of 1962 from the VW dealership in Columbia, Missouri (John Riddick Motors, Inc.). Great Grandma Gass lived in Mexico, Missouri. She didn’t drive much in the winter but loved to drive in good weather and made many trips to rural Philadelphia, Missouri, to visit my grandmother.

Grandmother Mary Fern (Gass) Wagner inherited the car when Great Grandmother Fern Gass passed away in October 1971. Mary Fern used the car as her daily driver for approximately 15 years.

In the early ’70s my father rebuilt the engine, brakes and front suspension, and my grandmother and grandfather used it on a long trip. They drove to San Antonio to visit my great aunt, then to Roswell, New Mexico, to examine some land that they owned. They encountered no problems with the little VW and were very pleased with the gas mileage.

Hard Times for the VW

“The Bug” as the car was affectionately called, always “slept” in a carport until the early 1970s but then had to “sleep” outside until the late 1980s because a garage was no longer available.

In fact, the Bug spent several years in the barn lot at grandmother’s farm… unused and forlorn. It was at that point that mother obtained the Bug from Grandmother Mary Fern. Mother drove the Bug once in a while but did not use it as her daily driver.

Dad tried to sell it in 1990 for $375 but the first guy that came to look at it took a test drive and claimed the clutch was slipping. Dad saw that he was not letting his foot completely off of the clutch pedal and that’s what caused the clutch to slip. This irritated dad and he put the VW in a carport and decided to tell future callers that the VW was no longer for sale.

Later dad put the VW is an old shed and poured oil down the carburetor while running the engine at high throttle. Every year or so dad turned the engine a couple of revolutions by hand to prevent it from “sticking.”

Getting Back On the Road

The VW remained in the shed until mom gave the car to me in 2004. Dad pulled it out of the carport in 2007 and had it running again in a few weeks after replacing all the brake components (shoes, cylinders, rubber and steel lines) and cleaning and sealing the gas tank. The float in the gas tank had to be replaced because it had completely dissolved in the old gasoline.

My father gave the Bug (which is also known as “Miss Fern”) its first re-paint in 2009 and mother installed a new interior. The car had a lot of dents but only surface rust. Dad replaced the fenders because they had a lot of rock dents from driving on gravel roads and some splits. Also the passenger side running board had to be replaced but the driver’s side is still original. The floorboards were still solid even under the battery, which is very unusual for a VW.

The Bug’s Family Tree

Now, a quick summary of the car’s owners (four generations of women):

1. Fern Gass—Purchased the bug in 1962. She died in 1971 at age 76.

2. Mary Fern (Gass) Wagner—Stopped driving circa 1980.

3. Ann (Wagner) W i d e m a n — D r o v e occasionally; then the car was stored in a carport in 1990.

4. Gail Ann Wideman— Obtained the car in 2004 and kept it in the same carport until 2007 when it was moved to the Wideman farm and her father began the restoration process.

An Overview of the Car’s History

1. The original owner (not a member of our family) had the car for only a few months before deciding that it was too small for his family.

2. Fern, then a widow, purchased the VW in 1962 when the original owner traded it for a larger car.

3. While Mary Fern was driving, the Bug sustained damage when a truck lost its front wheel and the wheel hit the VW’s left front fender. That fender had to be replaced.

4. Grandma Mary Fern and Grandpa Ray drove the car to San Antonio, Texas, then to Roswell, New Mexico, then back home in 1973 with no problems.

5. Mother (Ann Wagner Wideman) obtained the car in the late ’80s.

6. When Dad began the restoration process the Bug still had the original running boards and the only rust-through was under the rubber on the right-hand running board. The left-hand running board is still being used. There was no rust in the floor even under the battery. Both sides of the floor have now been coated with POR 15.

7. Dad (Allan Wideman) got the Bug running again in 2007, restored it mechanically, gave it a paint job in 2009 and mom replaced the interior so it would be ready for me to drive. (I used it to learn to drive a manual shift when mom first got it. I may need some more practice now.)

Now for Some Questions We’re Often Asked About Our Bug

Is the car all original?

No, but we have all of the original parts. The transmission started jumping out of 4th and we replaced the transaxle with one out of a ’67. We used the ’62 axles because the ’67’s are longer. While we had the transaxle out we installed a completely rebuilt 1600cc single-port engine. Dad thought we needed more power than the original 1200cc produced. The original engine is still good and complete but along with the difference in engine power between the original and the replacement, our car is a very early ’62 and had the stale air heater. Dad wanted us to have the fresh air heater from the later models. (The older system was called a “stale air” heater because some of the same air that was used to cool the engine cylinders and heads was also used to heat the passenger compartment and that air carried an oily smell.)

We only drive the car in good weather and only need a little heat from time to time and we want as much cool air as possible to go over the number 3 cylinder.

We also changed the Bug over to 12 volts.

What did you do to change to a 12-volt system?

A 12-volt flywheel (the flywheel for a 6-volt system is smaller).

A 12-volt starter.

A voltage drop for the windshield wipers.

All 12-volt bulbs and flasher for the signal lights.

Ignition points were replaced with a Pertronix electronic unit.

The car still has a 6-volt horn.

The radio isn’t hooked up.

Have you changed the brakes?

No, they’ve been rebuilt but the system is all stock.

How’s the window glass?

It’s original except we had to replace the windshield. Grandmother lived on a gravel road and a rock kicked up by another car hit the windshield, causing a big chip.

How about the car’s cooling tin?

From a ’68 engine. It doesn’t have the later-version “doghouse” oil cooler.

During the restoration was any work “farmed out?”

No, dad, mom and I did all the work. The car has not been to a non-family shop for anything since the early ’70s.

Has the exterior color been changed?

The new paint was matched to the original. The color is Turquoise code L-380. Dad used a base coat with clear coat. The dash was not repainted, it is still original.

What is the gas mileage?

Upper 20s to low 30s depending on the wind.

We use 91 octane ethanol-free gas when we can get it. The compression is higher than stock.

Does this engine have more power than the original?

Yes, it has more power that dad’s ’73 or ’74 that had the dual port engines.