Gidget & Levi
Model:
1966 Beetle
Name:
The name Levi came from the color, something that kind of matched the blue, something that fit the car, something a little nostalgic.
Color:
Sea Blue
Mileage:
85,000+
Motors:
Original engine.
Owned since:
2020
Owners:
Three: A gentleman who was fixing it up as a daily driver for his daughter’s sixteenth birthday, but was then uncomfortable with where the gas tank is located. Then the family in Texas—his wife bought it for him as a birthday gift. Then me.
Location:
Maryland
Favorite driving song:
The sound of the engine and having the windows down.
Levi originated in Texas. Believe it or not, I purchased him during Covid. I saw him listed on a website through Facebook at a ridiculously low price. My favorite year of Beetles is 1966. My first Beetle was a ’66, and when I saw this one and the price, I was floored. So I gave the guy a call. He spoke some broken English and said he had had several people who wanted to pay for it, hire a transport to come and pick it up, never see it or drive it. He wanted someone that was actually willing to go down to Texas and look at the car, drive the car, and meet him in person. I was willing to do that even though it was Covid. So I flew down and his family picked me up at the airport—we’re perfect strangers and they took me to their house. They have two kids and had just adopted a kitten. We had pizza and quickly became friends.
The next day I drove it and I was in love with it. I said, “Yes, I will definitely take it.” His wife said, “Well, how do you feel about the glass?” Because it’s original it is pitted in some places. I said, “The glass is fine. It doesn’t bother me in the least bit.” So we made the deal, I paid them and hired a transport to ship it home.
​
The car is all original, the six-volt has not been converted. It’s just a really good car. I think I got really lucky. There were little things that needed cleaning up, a couple mechanical things, but there’s no rust, the pans are fine. If you look at the engine bay, it’s not pretty, because it’s original. It still has the original cardboard that goes around the engine. I put the white walls on because I thought it accented the blue color best. My brother and I built the roof rack and put it on together. I learned how to plastic dip the sides so it doesn’t scratch the paint.
I did have to buy a new carburetor. We were at a VW show in Virginia and we bought a used carb from a vendor there, and then we bought an extra one just in case. They were super cheap: I think I paid $25 for the carb. It had some dings in the weather stripping so my friend Jonathan and I replaced that. It was super easy. When we go to car shows, everyone has these nice souped-up engines, dual carbs and all chromed out, and then you have my little six-volt that’s greasy and oily, but it still keeps putting along.
​
My brother’s first car was a VW Super Beetle, and my uncles always did drag racing. They had really beefed-up cars like Mustangs. So I was always around automobiles. Our dad taught us how to fix cars and work on cars, and I knew that if I wanted a vintage car, a Beetle would be in my price range, whereas a really awesome Mustang GT would not.
​​We get yearly bonuses at work, I saved for three years and then in 2003, I started looking. I found my first ’66 Beetle in the newspaper in Hagerstown, Maryland. After hanging around my brother and some friends that had Volkswagens, I knew what to look for, what questions to ask. I had it for eleven years and it never really ran, mostly because it’s hard to find an air-cooled mechanic.
​
There were a lot of times I would drive it to work and I would come outside at the end of the day and it would not start. Luckily I worked at a college and I would see students walking by and be like, “Hey, can you come over and just give me a push?” I would have it in second and just pop it to get it home. I did that a lot. I was really sad to sell that car. I got divorced and it was not a happy ending to that story. So Levi here is the replacement.
​​Our dad had a Beetle, which he bought to kind of hang out with me and my brother. It wasn’t running when he passed away, so I took it and had some work done to it. One day my brother and I were at breakfast and he’s like, “I really miss driving a Beetle, I really miss driving a stick.” He had bought a newer GTI. I thought about it and a couple days later I called him. I said, “Do you want Dad’s Beetle?” And he’s like, “Let me ask the wife.” I knew my sister-in-law would say yes.
​
I also have a ‘66 SO42 camper. It’s also all original and named Luna. And I have a 2014 GSR limited production, number 408 out of 3,500. I live in the city so I have to rent three garages to store them in. They’re all within walking distance and I just pick which one I want to drive today.
​
​​In 2017, I was wondering, How do I get people in the community to come together? So three of us started a VW club. We now have over four hundred members. We started hosting a trunk-or-treat event: We have all the air-cooled Volkswagens park on the brick sidewalks of downtown, decorate our Volkswagens for Halloween and have buckets of candy out for the kids. Any money that we collect, after our expenses, I donate to the Frederick Humane Society.
​
It’s fun to see the little kids, let them sit in the car and get their pictures taken. Sometimes the parents are more thrilled than the kids. I remember a World War II vet, he just kept walking by, admiring my car. So I asked, “Do you want to get in it?” And he just lit up. He was so nice and so sweet. I think that’s what I enjoy most, the happiness that it brings others.
​​​​We definitely keep the VW love going by being in the community. Everyone’s so friendly and helpful. If you need a part, you break down, you don’t know what you’re doing, there is always someone there you can ask. If you look at my cell phone, I’ll have people’s first name, then I’ll have the year and the color of their car. My friend Paul, it says “Paul VW blue,” then “Mick red 66.” That’s how they’re in there. “Jonathan green camper.” This way I can keep track of who’s who and which car is theirs. I feel like it’s my extended family.
This is a great Levi story: I found a fifty-third anniversary of Herbie the Love Bug event in Daytona. For fifty bucks, you could drive your Volkswagen on the Daytona racetrack. Deno (of Deno’s Garage, Westminster) went with me. He had a newer Jeep, and we towed Levi down. We drove Levi on the Daytona racetrack! Three laps. You can’t go faster than 55—they wouldn’t let you—but we went in heats, and got to go through the tunnel. All the blinking lights, all the emergency vehicles were there. It’s like you were in an actual race at Daytona. That is one of my best memories so far with Levi. Who can say they drove their vintage car on the Daytona racetrack? Not many people.
​​The Beetle never goes out of style. It’s the most recognizable car—everyone knows what it is. With the vintage car shows, an important part is trying to educate the younger community. At one show, a dad was with his two sons and he said, “So, where do you think the engine is on a VW Beetle?” They’re thinking it’s the front end of the car, and he’s like, “Let’s walk to the back of the car.” One of the little boy’s faces lit up. He was like, “What!? It’s in the back?” He’d never seen it before.
​
I’ve parked Levi at shows next to brand-new $120,000 Corvettes, and Levi will bring home a trophy. I’ll never get rid of this car, although my friend Jonathan keeps trying to buy him. I said “You’re more than welcome to drive it, but I’m not giving him up.”
