(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
What's
your name, and your VW Beetle's name?
My name is TJ Maher, and my Beetle
is named Whisper.
When did you get your VW Beetle?
August 20th, 2002
Tell
us what custom work you've done to your Beetle.
Well, let's see. WHISPER is two toned,
in 1973 VW Super Beetle Biscay Blue, and 2002 VW Cool White. The wheels are '02
VW Cool White, with 1968 era VW Chrome Hubcaps. I have a 1959 era Wolfsburg
Seven Color Crest on the front hood. I have the Blue/White European VW Emblems
on the front and back hoods (the front one is flat like the 2002 era...the back
one is thicker...I am not sure what year that it is from...I know I like the
difference in the two...)...And I have the old MEEP MEEP horn installed.
In the inside, I have black seat belts in the front, which make them look just
like the ones the old Beetles had. I have lit up the Bud Vase with blue
LED's...I have a VW palm tree in the vase...I have a digital compass on the
dash...My floor mats are black with red NB logos on them.
The stereo is a stock AM/FM/TAPE/CD Changer unit. The engine is clean, but
stock.
Why
did you do a retro look on your Bug?
I was trying to capture the look of my
1973 VW SUPER BEETLE (DAS BUG) that was two toned. In that case, the Biscay Blue
was the original color, and the VW Pastel White was painted on the sides and
wheels.
And, for sentimental reasons as well, since I got married on July 24th, 1993,
and the car my wife and I drove off in was DAS BUG.
So, flash forward to June 24, 2003. WHISPER got rear ended, and sent into a SUV
in the front. Considerable damage was done. So much so, that the only fender not
replaced was the passenger rear. BOTH bumpers, gone. Hood, gone. Three fenders
gone. (and that was just the exterior!)
So, faced with a lengthy repair, and a car that refused to die, I decided to get
the two tone paint job. It brings me back to DAS BUG, which had been done two
tone in the first place to reflect the two tones of the late fifties and early
sixties. I always loved the way Beetles looked two toned...As it is, it helps
WHISPER live up to her name...
a WHISPER of things past...
Tell
us the story of how your Bug came to be like it is. Purchase, customizing, etc.
I went into ESSERMAN VW in NORTH MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, to get a Bentley service manual for my 1977 VW BUS, TUNES. They
were out of the manuals...So as I was leaving, I noticed this WHITE New Beetle
sitting in the lot. This meant a lot to me. My very first car was a 1968 White
Beetle... I walked over to her, and noticed, manual windows! Oh boy! Even though
I was not immersed in New Beetles's
at the time, I had heard about the trouble with the electric windows...so a
Beetle with manual windows intrigued me. A sales man came out, and suggested a
test drive.
So I test drove the car. It had two miles on it. I drove it two more miles. And
was hooked. It just had this sound that reminded me of the healthy growl that
DAS BUG had. Six hours later, I had WHISPER.
I was going to leave her stock for a year, but early on had a hic-up. It turns
out that WHISPER had somehow got a 2003 hubcap on one wheel. I noticed that the
other three did not match, so I went back to the dealer, thinking he would
replace the odd one...Instead, he got three other hubcaps from a 2003, and put
them on WHISPER. Already, a mod. But the rest I was going to leave alone.
That all changed a bit earlier than I planned on. And the rest of it has been
told with the last question.
What
is your favorite thing about owning and driving your retro Bug?
Well, I love the fact that by being
RETRO, it makes my Beetle stand out. I love things that are not, how you say,
normal. And a two toned car, especially a New
Beetle with old style hubcaps, it
really stands out. And when I honk my horn at other Beetles (both air and water
cooled), and they hear that old MEEP MEEP come out from her...they do double
takes. The smiles and nods I get from folks of all ages are also worth it...
I have had so many people comment on the car. Funny, but when WHISPER was just
plain old white, I got the occasional punch buggy and smile, but for the most
part, it just faded into the background (maybe too much. Maybe that is why I got
rear ended...) But in RETROSTYLE, the Bug stand out from the crowd. I hear that
VW is considering doing some two tones soon. I kinda hope not. Or at least, I
hope it is not quite like mine.
