The Bug Rescue Road Trip
In the evening hours of Friday, August 14th, I was scrolling through Facebook when a vintage red bug caught my attention. Trish and I have had our eye out for a red classic VW for a while, and this one was pretty sweet. It sent tingles down my spine within seconds of reading the listing. It was a 1959 ragtop with a beautiful paint job and a newer engine.
Our only desire for another VW was that it be red, because of billiard balls. Hefe has a yellow 1 ball for a gear shifter, and Stout has a blue 2. We wanted another classic to take the red 3. We'd considered a Baja bug and a nice Thing over the years, but never purchased anything.
I sent the Facebook Marketplace listing to Trish. She replied, "BUY it!"
I didn't waste any time messaging the seller and making an offer. He responded quickly; I sent him a deposit, and we made arrangements to meet in Phoenix, Arizona, in September. I saved the listing for posterity, and you can see our text conversation that sealed the deal at the bottom.
When I bought my '66 bus in 2004, my Dad and I drove it back from San Diego. When we bought our '90 Syncro in 2013, Trish and I drove it back from Sun Valley, Idaho. It seemed fitting that we drive this VW back from Phoenix.
Day 1: Fly to Phoenix, Drive an Hour to North Phoenix
On Tuesday, September 8th, my Dad flew into Denver to start our journey. The next morning, we had a flight to Phoenix, and we were on our way to rescue the bug!
My Dad and I met with the owner at his house, took a test drive, made the transaction, and were on our way. The previous owner took a video of us driving off into the sunset.
We drove it an hour to just north of Phoenix. It was 105°F and the swamp cooler in the passenger window kept my Dad nice and wet. 😅
We felt pretty good that first night. It was hot, but we planned to wake up early and drive through Flagstaff and higher elevations to solve that problem.
Day 2: Drive through Flagstaff to Cortez, Colorado
The day started at 5am when the bug wouldn't start. By 5:30, I'd killed the battery trying to start it. AAA showed up at 8, and we were at Wedge Vee Dub in Phoenix when they opened at 9. Thanks to Art (the tow truck driver) for his excellent recommendation and drop-off at Wedge.
They said the starting issue was caused by the points, which Big Willy promptly replaced with an electronic ignition. He also lowered the idle, put on a new belt, and got us road trip ready.
We left Phoenix around noon and were happy to find cooler weather in Flagstaff. We cruised all afternoon and had no issues.
At 44 miles from Cortez, Colorado, it started spitting and sputtering. It kept losing power, and we had to stop a couple of times. It seemed like bad gas, and when I shone my flashlight into the gas tank, I noticed it was a bit rusty. Fresh gas and a bottle of STP got us the last 10 miles.
We pulled up to the Retro Inn around 11pm.
Day 3: Drive along the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray, Colorado
We found someone to change our fuel filter early. Brian at Community Auto in Cortez hooked us up before noon. He also warned us that we had an Edelbrock fuel pump and that they often fail. He recommended replacing it with a Holley. He had a few used Edelbrocks in his shop, but wouldn't sell them to me because he didn't trust them.
When I shared this news with co-workers on Slack, one said: "Edelbroken won't get you home."
Cortez to Durango is 45 miles, and we made it 34. It started sputtering again after running great all morning. We knew we were fighting a losing battle. Because of Brian's warning, I suspected the fuel pump.
Serendipitously, we broke down at a liquor store (Hesperus Station) and had lunch while we waited for John from Jimbo's Towing to show up. He did, and he was delightful. He's into 1960s Ford trucks and has a '66 he's restored.
John took us to Durango and dropped us off at Premier Auto, a AAA-certified shop that used to be called Durango Small Car. They were the perfect shop for our VW, but once they saw it was a custom engine, they noted it was Friday afternoon, said it'd take too long to fix, and offered to have it done the next Tuesday or Wednesday.
My Dad's flight was Monday, so we had to pivot. A road trip doesn't end if you switch cars, so AJ from Premier recommended U-Haul, and we went for it. He gave me a ride to the whitewater rafting store that happened to rent U-Hauls, and I secured the last 20' truck and auto hauler to chauffeur the bug back to Denver.
The drive along the Million Dollar Highway was spectacular.
The day did not go as expected, but we were still on the road, and that's the #1 rule of road trips: keep going. ✌️
Day 4: Ouray to Home Sweet Home
We started the day by hitting the hot springs at our hotel, Box Canyon Lodge and Hot Springs.
Then we drove to Montrose, filled up on gas, and my Dad drove for a couple of hours.
We stopped in Poncha Springs for lunch and arrived back at the ranch around 5pm.
Epilogue: Driving It Home
The road trip was complete, but I still hadn't driven it home. I texted Scotty Bennett from Duntrune Motors, and he said to bring it in. My Dad and I used the U-Haul to drop it off before returning it. Scotty replaced the fuel lines/fuel pump, moved the pump up front, put it on its own switch (instead of the ignition switch), and got 'er purring smoothly. I drove it home the following Wednesday, a week after I'd bought it.
Now we have a Home Sweet Volkswagen Home! ❤️
And we don't mind red skies in the morning. 🔥😍
