Yesterday I drove the Bug for the first time in eight years.  It went underwater during the Hurricane Harvey flood.  It did float for about an hour before going under, however.  That was a testament to German Engineering.  In fact, the VW Bugs were advertised to float on water back in the day.  I did not believe that until I saw mine floating as the water rose in the flood.  After the house was rebuilt and we recovered from everything else, the last project was to get the Bug running again.  I tore down the engine and decided that, due to its age and the fact that it had spent four days underwater, I decided to build a new engine from scratch. The only part I reused is the fan shroud.  I cleaned that up, painted it gloss black, and sent it to my nephew Jake, who painted the Big Dog Garage logo on the shroud.  Everything else is new. It took me about two years to collect the parts and build the engine, given the limited time I have to spend in the garage. 

The Bug was ready for the first test drive.  Jennifer rode with me to video the event.  I backed out onto the street, then drove forward, testing the gears.  All worked perfectly.  The Bug did creak and groan as I drove, working out the surface rusted suspension.  I tested the brakes, one tire locked up while the other three wondered why that tire responded to the brake pressure. We drove the circumference of our neighborhood which is about a mile.  We made it back home and parked it in the garage so I could continue working on making it roadworthy.

Test drives of a new build are like nothing else.  Knowing that I built the engine from a new bare block, or in the air-cooled world, a new case, it was life, breathing new life into an old car. 

We plan to finish the paint to semi-gloss black and take the Bug to car shows to let kids draw on it with chalk.  This new life of the Bug is now known as Chalk Bug.  In two weeks, we are trailering it to Kileen, Texas, for a church block party in an underprivileged part of town and let the kids draw all over the Bug.  I will continue to repair and fabricate what it needed to make the Bug street worthy.

Next up in Big Dog Garage: LS Swap into the 1953 Chevy Wagon.  I look forward to rebuilding the car that has been in my family since new.  In fact, this is the first car I recall riding in as a toddler.  I saw the chrome on the dash and have been a car nut ever since.