VW Bug - Classic Bee Sting

Went to my first Bug Show in almost 9 years over Memorial day weekend, Bugorama and the drag races out @ Sacramento raceway. Wow, I have forgotten how cool people were at these events! I usually meet nice people, but these people, Xtra nice. They even offered ice to my girl when she got stung by a bee upon entering the show ~ it was her first, almost her last (she's allergic) one show she'll remember I'm sure. Luckily we got her ice from the hot dog stand almost immediately after the incident. I sucked the venom out. Who knows if it did anything, I'd like to think it tasted sweet and that people were confused when they saw me biting her arm in line to get a chicken sandwich.

I had an opportunity to do a little research. We hit the swap meets and the show area, watched the drags (crikey, some fast ones out there...and some slow ones). I think the highlight of my day was the opportunity meeting with John and Doug Berg.

Doug is the legacy of Gene Berg, an aircooled legend and pioneer. He's also one of 2 other brothers still helping to run the business their father started. Actually, they are the business with their engineering, fabricating and overall aircooled industry seasoning.

I was drawn to a nice little, simple, classic blue, VW bug...DRAG ROCKET STREET MACHINE MONSTER, that looked mellow, painted nicely, setup pretty well, clean on the outside but looking closer underneath the car, inside the car, IT WAS A SERIOUS BEAST! HELL YEAH. I hadn't even noticed the sponsor stickers all over it, saying "Gene Berg" this, "CLAUD BERG" that!... just that it had a GB Five Speed in it.(sticker towards the front)

I too have a GB 5 speed kit. I'm still trying to work some kinks out of the system so i get excited when I come across other end users. These buggers aren't cheap so it's hard to find em installed and usability tested.

The owner, John, was nice and took a second to speak with me from his busy hustle to get the tenacious bug on the trailer. Thanks mang! He looked at my girlfriends bee sting, made a face then helped me understand more about his trans axle and why it was special...oops that sounded kinda strange, but you get the idea.

Anyhow, he pointed me in the direction of Doug Berg who spent more time explaining how this new 5 Speed Prototype Series was more robust and dependable than the previous series I have in my car. It was called the the Berg 5 Busbox, some of you may have already heard of it. Built for the bus using a bussy trans, but obviously fit able in the Type 1 while only demanding a slight bit more clearance at the nose cone than the previous type 1 series 5 speed kit. Nothing a big hammer, some Gatorade and a little muscle couldn't take care of! Just do it!

I like that Doug was just as old school lookin' as many of the peeps I had met over the years in the aircooled scene. I think he owns sunnys from the mid 70's, but so does everyone right now, just not as authentic as his. Really nice guy, easy to speak with, patient and needed a haircut...bad, but a really nice guy, did I say that already? I look forward to speaking with him more. In the mean time check out John's portrait above in the reflection of his own ride. Thanks for the intro John, it made my day!...well that and my girl didn't croak from her bee sting. I think bees are cute, but my girl doesn't.

The Berg 5 Busbox has a removable section sandwiched between the nose cone and the main housing. This section self contains all the necessary gears in a more consolidated fashion than previous Type 1 Berg 5 speed conversion kits and is a bit easier to remove for maintenance. Perhaps one of the more exciting thing Doug prides himself with and the new 5 Speed Busbox is the ability to use a larger and more robust Ring and Pinion. The common 4:12 ring and pinion, 3:88, 4:37, and 4:86 also alternatives, show signs of failure due to their lack of surface area in these 5 speed applications according to Doug. I believe Mowgli's trans was starting to make noise before I gave him a long term rest after college. Apparently ring and pinion failure was a shortcoming in the older series 5 speed conversions. Doug Berg has done his best to address this issues in the most recent Busbox 5 Speed conversions applicable to both IRS and swing axle setups all whilst bringing more functionality to the table.

I believe I was just beginning to hear some noises before Mowgli was put to bed for a bit. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get Doug to work with me ($) since I forked out for that 5 speed in my broke college days and want to upgrade again! Thanks Doug! we like you. :)

I think the Folts axle setup on this ride needs some mentioning too. Apparently much stronger than stock. This axle conversion is an option designed and fabricated by Dave Folts. Sure looks like a smart design. Look at that joint!, no, that one...over there.

Personally, I'd like to know more about the long term effectiveness, longevity in a streetcar application with lots of supporting data, these things aren't cheap! - not cheaply made either.

According to forums out there, use of thicker trans side plates, sealed bearings and U joints, facilitate a tougher solution overall and more protection against side loading on the differential.

I plan to maintain running a dependable streetcar with the occasional quick starts. Whatever designs help facilitate this, I'm game for.

There's such a mashup of old/new technology, old school technique with modern application, modern application with the nostalgic appeal, you can hardly go wrong with an aircooled application, especially with so many guru's in the midst. I know guys like Jake Raby love their type IV engines as they're yet another testament to the aircooled evolution, a mashup of mad science and modern technology. There's so many ways to have fun, engineer and build for fun. So many peeps are willing to give you the time of day like Chico from Chico Performance who bothered to email me his cell number to talk in person instead of email about a possible engine build. (Hope he's not mad, I decided to support my local shop, "Viking" during these trying times instead) Anyhow, its both the industry, the culture and the appeal of pushing things a step further that drive and support the love I have for the aircooled industry. This is what makes Mowgli what he is, regardless what state of battered up he may be in.

Unsuspecting girls - Visual Appeal

Well don't get to hung up on looks, my aircooled VW bug's gone through many phases. I don't think it would fool many unsuspecting college girls now...bummer. ;) It's OK though, I've got a good one for the moment. Any girl that will hold your deck lid and retrofit, has got to be a keeper. She also makes sock puppets.

I thought I'd post some picks of Mowgli at the height of aesthetic prowess. Then a few that show other stages of life...and yes, I realize its standard practice to name your car with a woman's name so you can say,"she" etc, etc...BUT, it was named by someone else, so not up to me. I accept this. Besides, this bug has balls, it ain't no she...and I don't Ride him, I drive him...like a mother $#@!. Also yes Mowgli, from the Jungle book. Cute but tenacious. VW heritage... the rugged terrain, it all fits pretty well I think.

Here's Mowgli, the aircooled VW bug at its best.

Shod in some of my own cosmetic enhancements, I ditched the front skinny Cal look tires it came with for these meaty AVS series Yokohama's. No more under steer in the canyons! Yea! more aggressive looking but narrow and tall enough to grab gas mileage.

Not quite as wide as the 50 series tires some like to run when going wider, I compromised using the artist eye as a tool, a best guess and a 55 series profile squeezed onto 4.5" Porsche steelies for a total of AV1-55 185/55/ZR15. If you go too fast, I presume you'd want a stiffer side wall and appropriate rim width. For the time being, I love the way it looks and the ride is smoother than it was before not to mention more grip.

The rear wheels, also in matching tread pattern run 60 series tires for a total of AV1-60 205/60/ZR15. These are wrapped on 5.5 inch Porsche steelies.

It took me a few junk yard Michelin's before I found the Yokohama's being sold on Tire Rack. I
bought them on clearance, so I don't know that Ill be able to find them again. I'll drive em till they're bald (it'll take years) then figure out the next plan.

Yes, these AVS rubbers have lower tread wear rating, but hell, the car only weighs like what, 20 Lbs?...so the wear works out roughly similar to the same tire on heavier cars. No biggie.

OK enough of that shiny BS. (It is nice though, maybe one day again...)

Here's what happens with some serious driving, a failed E brake, a really really strong bush, a tow hitch, and I'm sure I left out a few other boo boos. Sorry Mowgli, I cant keep an eye on you all the time, you need to learn how to take care of yourself! Crikey.

And here we are today, I want to rebuild him. Only using time I couldn't afford to waste in the past, (my only mode of transportation) technology, (that might not have been available back then) and to do it right, not necessarily using the cheap solution if the value of functionality is there. Areas that were problematic in the past are gonna get tossed and improved upon.

VW bug - Mowgli is born: The History

Air cooled technology, so many memories, and so many $#@!curse words, so many miles and so much knowledge. It seemed the more i drove the more i learned, the more questions I had and the more knowledge i looked for. I was emotionally attached from the start and at times cursing towards a royal pain in the ass. I was just out of high school and had very little money but I never gave up. I would go on to learn the VW Bug and German engineering is a true testament to great design, engineering and hidden potential. Inspired greater than ever anticipated, myself and those around me have become fans for life. My air cooled endeavor was born Hallows Eve of 1991.

In my short baby years, I drove pops 1968 bug. Here's a pic of a 1968 with the big ugly bumpers, upright headlights and candy ass wheel cover fake chrome rings. I guess you know how i feel about it. :) My father's paint looked nothing like this. I hated it and so did my friends.(they made sure to let me know)HEY! shut up bitches, at least there's no space between my front teeth!

Dad's bug looked like a rusted,oxidized, bubble afterthought, the paint was pealing to the primer. It smelled like burning oil, oil drenched soil and smoked while randomly honking when you turned corners...say for example, in the middle of an intersection. I'd be like, "Hey, hi...yeah i know, don't look at me! (everyone's looking of course)... it's normal,(I'd try and convince myself) everything's cool, it always does this...you know... the dying goose sound... its a horn... OK fine! curse word all yall! I'm a broke college student with no $ to fix it!"... then I'd drive on hoping i didn't have the same experience in about 20 yards.

My Old schooler definitely couldn't stand next to the other yuppie commuters in the school parking lot (...this is what kids did in their 30k BMW's when they drove the entire mile from their house to the school, commute... in their "beater car"...that their parent bought them.) My parents DID provide me with a car, i never should have complained. The car I was driving was truly an authentic beater. My pops drove it many years after purchasing it new in '68 for 1200 bucks @ Volkswagen. Deep down i was kind of proud of it...in a timid sort of way. Besides, those other peeps had NOTHING on me. Hell, my car stopped in a zigzag and left skid marks on the ground! yeah bitches!... I bet other peoples cars couldn't do that...under normal braking circumstances when you weren't trying too hard.

As time went on and i realized id be stuck with the thing. I did manage to find my own "cool" in the car...and ohhhh yes, there were some good fun stories too, like the time in the blizzard and the 360 spins. ...or the time I was a kid and got to shift using my left hand while dad drove us up to Tahoe with a broken arm... on old school tires that were bald...and there's more!... but those are other stories. Ironically, I believe these are some of the reasons I've stayed loyal to Vdubs over the years, all the great stories, and near death experiences. (I'm exaggerating)

Then there was Volkswagen Bug 2.0.

A noise I couldn't quite put a finger on caught my attention in the college parking lot. It sounded familiar only, I knew the sound as a high frequency, pathetic, bubble like whimper, spitting through two narrow pipes the circumference of a number 2 pencil with a few bangs here and there when you let off the gas pedal...i couldn't quite place it. The sound i heard in this moment was the same except...it growled and set off car alarms.

I turned around to meet eye to air cooled VW bug. Now this is what 'dubin should be all about. Bright red seduction with the appearance of something simply put, I just had to have. This beautifully restored Cal Looker would be mine even if I had to skip all my classes, fail out of college and sell crack on the side walk. If I had to own a bug (at this point in time i brainwashed myself into believing the only car id ever want to own was this bug now in front of my eyes in the college parking lot... i mean my father owned one, i knew then and there I should too...it could be one of those things that runs in the family) It had to be this one, because it was cooler than, "the other blistering blue smoking one" i was driving at present. I could see clearly how it would improve my quality of life in that very moment.


Subtle yet suave, packin' a bit more power (1641cc) dual carburetors with velocity stacks (36mm Dellorto's) a stout look and just the right amount of attitude, begged me to grab the power shifter and drive the hell out of it.

Ironically, after convincing the guy to sell it to me, "everyone" said, "it'll catch fire, it'll smoke, it'll break, they're dangerous, etc..." I guess at this point I knew these were um..."possibilities" (based on prior experience of course) yet brainwashed and blinded, I suppose I just didn't care. I was juiced to own my own ride and none the less, a classic 1965 VW Cal Look Bug. Seriously though, I couldn't see how I wouldn't love it, the paint looked so nice. Later on when I got stuck in an intersection with my buddy's father in the car (a pissed off 6'5" retired police officer with a handle bar mustache and Dirty Harry 44 Smith & Wesson) I still didn't care, I was in love...and if it broke, I'd learn (somehow) to fix it...intersection or not. Plus, it was nothing compared to driving that 68 honker. :)

Originally purchased for the sellers wife who never drove it, he sold it to me after some cute college kid, "it's my first car commmooooon!" bargaining. Apparently this isn't the best way to bargain. I admit I paid more than I should have but that's old news now. Oh and I wont mention that it was rear ended the day before I agreed to buy it. CRIKEY!(crushed deck lid and minor-ish bruised rear clip) He had it fixed and I still bought it. I was addicted to the velocity stacks on the carbs.

The individual my seller purchased from lived in the East Bay. Many years later I'd cross paths with him locally, closer to my home, farther from his. He recognized the bullet style license plate bolts he'd left on the car years and one driver earlier. He also remembered the plate.I kept the spiked bolts for sentimental reasons but they also described my displeased attitude towards the 68 Honker and appealed to the mayhem I was about to get into.

Anyhow, I happened to catch him stalking my car one day outside of Subway. I struck up friendly conversation after threatening to kick his ass if he didn't back away. As it turns out, he was responsible for the bugs first restoration and the fresh looking paint I was lucky to have with my purchase. Thank god for that! Later I learned how expensive paint can be.

There are 3 ways to paint a vehicle, the cheap way, the right way and somewhere in between. This is something you learn from experience (I have very little experience, but the little I had was a PAIN IN THE ASS!...I think it sucked up a year of my life)
What I did learn ~ it's all in the prep work. Later in life, around the time my paint job was authenticated, I did a forced mentor ship with an auto body shop in the East Bay after wrecking my motorcycle. I begged them to teach me, not only to learn because I enjoy picking up useful skills, really so I could save $$, I mean how hard could it be???...uh pretty intensive I found out.(to do it right) Here's my bike project, it turned out pretty well

Anyhow, at the time I was convinced mine was done right. Many years later, closer to present day, I'd authenticate my previous interpretation of the paint job on my ride as, "somewhere in between". It was no ice cream paint job, well in some places it was, only in between the areas it wasn't. Oh well, it got positive comments for a while when it mattered the most I guess. (Mainly college, where unsuspecting girls got in my car thinking it was cute and innocent. Then BAM I'd take em for a ride. All the vibration and noise threw them for an exciting loop, got them disoriented...the rest, private.) hint: See the window sign in the background of the red bug pic above...just kidding, was'nt that serious. The good ole days, got to love em. I mean s**t, it still gets comments, but just not the same positive type.

The guy in the parking lot went on to reveal the history on the first seller, who was the son of a woman living in the Santa Cruz mountains. The son's mother purchased the car in 1965, the year the vehicle was manufactured at VW in Germany. Original color, red. (original VW color name, I dunno...what is it?) OEM paint can still be seen here and there in covered areas.

So as it turns out, I would be the 4th owner of this historic 1965 air cooled Volkswagen bug, AKA Mowgli. (named by one of the aforementioned)...and that was the beginning.