Man, I hate writing these posts. I'm glad to help, of course, but I hate that there's still people out there stealing beloved vintage cars. Lately, we've seen a lot of old Beetles stolen — I got lucky, of course, but let's see if we can help again. This one is a teal blue '66, stolen from Hawthorne, CA.
Here's what the owner, who goes by Graysky over at theSamba, had to say:
My car is gone.
I feel like I have lost a family member. My 1966 was stolen from the parking lot of the school my wife works at in Hawthorne CA yesterday. The school surveillance camera shows a grainy video of the two men who stole it. They were good. It took less than two minutes and it was gone. I am still in shock. Sometimes I hate the world we live in.
My car is gone.
We didn't have the car for very long. We bought it a little over two years ago as a Cal Look and I have spent the last few years bringing it back to stock. I'm not much of a mechanic so I let people who know what they are doing take care of that end of it.
My car is gone.
I am mourning the loss of the car as a whole, but also some of the little things that brought me such joy - finding original 66 only door panels and replacing the generic ones that were in the car when I bought it. Replacing the crappy aftermarket bumpers whose edges would give me paper cuts with German ones, buying the chrome buckles and making my own useless seat hold down strap, having my seats reupholstered in the one year only 66 pattern and in the process getting rid of the Ford Mustang vinyl that was on the seats previously, finding and installing NOS SB19 SB20 SB21 headlight glass, even dealing with the incompetence of the DMV while I endured the YOM license plate process I can look back on and shake my head but still smile.
My car is gone.
I know in my head that it is truly gone and that I will never see it again, it is off to some other part of the world either whole or in a thousand parts taken away by people too lazy to do the work themselves, too lazy to spend the time in a labor of love, too cheap to spend their own money to get the car they want, but my heart holds out hope that somehow by miracle it will be recovered. But I know it won't be.
My car is gone.
So now I am left to wonder what next? Am I up for trying to find another bug and begin the process all over again? If I decide not to can I live with the jealousy I now feel when I see another VW on the road? Am I willing to put love into another car and risk someone else stripping it away from me again? This will take some time for the hurt to go away, for my mind to clear so I can make a rational decision, but I wanted to share my story here on the samba with perhaps the only people who can truly understand my grief and relate to what I am going through.
Thanks for listening, and feel free to talk me into getting another VW.
My car is gone.
Buddy, I know the feeling. This '66 is in really lovely shape, and '66 may be my personal favorite VW year, too. The '66s had a number of one-year only details that may make it easier to spot— '1300' on the engine lid, flat hubcaps on 5-lug rims with narrow cooling slots, and a 1-year only 50 HP 1300 engine. This particular one seems to have its front indicators shaved off, and an amber bulb in the headlight housing acting as the turn signal. This wasn't stock, so it's a detail that may help.
I'll keep an eye out, of course, and I know our terrific Jalopnik community will as well.
Let's find that Beetle!
Lovely '66 VW Beetle Stolen From Hawthorne, CA