| Info: | Bitty Bug is owned by Rich Tegge. I did the body and paint work for Rich and he is assembling Bitty himself. Bitty has a unique story behind him which you can read first hand from Rich’s story below. I will post more photos as Rich sends them my way.
Here is the story. It was also published in the Bug Mail of Hot VWs of Sept 2010, page 12. Rich,
I grew up with a beetle, my Mom had a 1968 Savannah Beige Auto stick, she bought brand new. I was born in ’73 so my earliest memories include that bug. We moved to Florida in 1988, and left the bug behind. 20 years of Wisconsin winters and road salt had taken its toll. But, no matter what , beetle were in my blood.
I bought my 67 Beetle back in April 1990, in Sarasota, when I was 16. It was Lotus White; someone had replaced the 67 doors with a pair of red 68 doors, because he didn’t like the 67 door handles. He also replaced the low back seats with high back seats. He also replaced the steering wheel with a late model, four spoke wheel. I drove it for a little over 2 years. During that time I gave her a few bruises, had an engine fire, hit a fence pole. My parents moved back to Wisconsin, I brought my bug. I began disassembly for restoration in my parent’s large garage. But, I moved out, got an apartment, and a wife, and waited for the time I could get a garage, and bring her home. On 13 March, of 2000, my parents had their home foreclosed on, and failed to tell us, needless to say one day the movers came, and took everything, including my 67, as well as a 72 SB I stored there with a seized engine. I got a hold of the company that took my bugs; they said I needed to pay the $150 in towing fees to get the bugs back. I found a place to keep them, and was ready to pick them up when my Dad told me not to get them yet, because he was going to sue the bank for Grand Theft. A few months went by and I decided to get my car anyways, but the number was now disconnected. I tried to locate where they went but just like that, the cars we gone.
Over the next few years I owned a couple more bugs, a 74 standard, a 56 sunroof, and was restoring another 56, that I had to sell when I was laid off from my pilot job at United Airlines in 2008. On 14 March, 2010, ten years and one day from the loss of my Beetle, I got home from work late, sat down, fired up the laptop, and opened Craigslist. An ad caught my eye “67 and 73 Bug $600” I clicked on it, I said “Holy err ‘Cow’” My wife knew right away. There was pictures of my cars, I laughed and told my wife this guy got the year of the SB wrong. I went and picked my 67 the next day, although it sucked that I had to buy the car twice, even though I had the title. A friend said I showed up with the Sheriff, said the car was stolen 10 years ago, and just taken my car, since I had the title, I was just happy to get her back. The car was stored in a barn, it was still in great shape, but a lot of the small parts, which I had removed some 15 years earlier, were missing, as well as the rear fenders. It turned out that the company that removed the cars went out of business shortly after I talked to them. This other guy got them, and stored them for ten years, when yet another guy bought them, strip some parts, and put them on Craigslist a few days later, when I saw them.
You can also see Bitty featured on 1967beetle.com |