Well,
ever since I first saw the ultimate off-road vehicle, the Hummer, I knew that I was going
to have one. That was until I realized how expensive they were. Giving up that
dream, I worked with my Isuzu Trooper(s). A few years later I saw the Hummbug on the cover of Kitcar magazine. I fell in love with
it. I decided to figure out a way to get one. That meant lots of research on
kitcars and several hours a week reading the newsgroups. I decided that I wanted to
either build a car from scratch, or get a 66' or later (ball joint front end). As
it turns out the 66 is perfect for what I want. It has the swing axle rear
end which I am told has more travel without doing drastic modifications, and if has the
ball joint front end, which I am told also has more travel. Plus the 66' didn't have
the little 1200cc "Put Put Put" VW engine.
Next I had to save enough money to get the body. That took about a year. I
then found a 66 VW Beetle in the paper, and ordered the body.
2-25-98 - So far, I stripped the body from the pan, and am waiting for the body to
arrive by truck. I am about the have the brakes redone, and a patch welded into
place in the pan, but aside from that I am ready to mount the body.
4-20-98 - The pan is now ready to have the body installed. I have new 15x8
wheels, entirely new brakes, and other miscellaneous parts have been either fixed or
replaced.
5-15-98 - The body showed up about two weeks ago. "Woohoo." This
thing is very cool. The body is incredibly strong and it looks like it will last a
long time. I believe that I am going to paint it olive drab. Hopefully it will
be painted this weekend.
