Cars from my childhood - Post 2

1965 Volkswagen Beetle

The car looked exactly like this, down to the whitewall tires. The interior was also that bare. I do love that Wolfsburg emblem on the steering wheel.

I was not going to feature this car yet because I thought it should be in another section, but I figured that given the big part that this VW played in my life, it deserves more than one post.

This was the very first car my Dad bought and while I remember Dad driving it occassionally, its my Mom driving that is etched in my mind forever. For the longest time, this was the car Mom drove to bring me to school in Ateneo.

Except for the color, and the wheels, this was how the car looked like when it was relatively new.

Since we lived in Cubao that time, our route was to bring my sisters to Holy Spirit School in Lantana then on to Ateneo. I entered Ateneo in 1969 and road conditions then were totally different. Because our house was on E. Rodriguez (which was Espana Extension then), we could either take Aurora Boulevard all the way to Katipunan or New York then Ermin Garcia then onto Aurora. I believe we already came out in Ortanez then since the other corner, the one with Carag lumber, was already one way. Not sure though. Traffic was unheard of then and even without airconditioning, it was a comfy ride to and from school.

I also distinctly remember there were two ways we would get our bags in the car. We either put them in the front trunk, or in the luggage space behind the rear seats. Since our bags had wheels, the upholstery there was marked by the passage of the wheels. Seeing these marks in later years brings back strong feelings of nostalgia.

Our VW was originally blue and it had two tone, gray upholstery. Sometime later, my Dad would paint it steel gray and reupholster it in red vinyl. I also remember that the heaters used to work pretty well while the exhaust was stock. Mechanically, nothing was changed until the mid 80s.

So for more than two decades, the car was powered by the original 40 hp single port, single carb engine that was completely stock, both inside and outside except for the battery which was converted from 6 volts to 12 volts due to some battery issues. All in all, it was a pretty reliable workhorse that 

even made it to Baguio, via Kennon several times in its life.

This was the color of the car for the longest time

I also remember a couple of occasions where the car was flooded since my Mom was a kind of daredevil who was not intimidated at all by flood waters. I know there was one hilarious occasion where the car was floating, a tribute to its floor pan integrity. Then there was also a time, after the heater ducts were disabled, where water entered the car and we had to put our feet up.

With my Mom behind the wheel, that car just went ahead and tackled terrain that left other cars in the dust. You see my Mom is quite a sporty driver and drove quite briskly. It was never dangerous and it was more of an entertaining ride. This was why in later years, when she asked my why I drove so fast, I would remind of all her escapades and that was the end of the discussion.

One especially fun experience which happened repeatedly for a few years was when she discovered the CP Garcia shortcut to Ateneo. I am not sure why we passed there but maybe it was because it would be the shortest way to my grandmothers house. OR she just loved the rally style driving she could do there. 

You see, for a long time, CP Garcia was a dirt road from Katipunan, until the entrance to the housing. In fact, if I remember correctly, even from there, it was still a gravel road until the University main road. I can still remember of the tires furiously churning through those stones. But when the road turned to dirt, Mom would promptly go into rally driver mode, sliding the car through the dirt. It was really like a rally stage with tall grass left and right. While it was fun when it was dry, it was downright exhilirating when the rainy season came where the rear of the car would be sliding left and right with Mom furiously counter steering through it. She was really a good driver and a lot of my driving today, I attribute to her because I was always her copilot in that car. 

To this day, I occassionally dream of that road because it was quite unforgettable. That little VW just took the terrain in stride and it handled pretty well considering that VWs were notorious for oversteering. In fact, we passed there later, with the same road conditions, in my uncles 1974 Corolla SL and I don’t remember it being as much fun as the VW. Maybe it was because it had aircon and a radio which the Beetle never had, so Mom was more relaxed in driving.

That car would continue to serve as our school transport when a driver took us to school when Mom started working. And all throughout those times, rain or shine, that car reliably brought us to school and back safely.

I miss this car and I am still hoping to locate it and restore it, no matter what the condition. Just in case, a reader might have seen it, the plate number was NTX-946. It would probably be junked now but with all those precious memories, I would really love to be able to bring that car back home.

Except for the antenna, the blacked out wheels and the rack, this was how the car looked like in later years until it was repainted.