Hello and thank-you for visiting my website. This website is about
my 1975 LaGrande bug "Max". And about 1975 and up Fuel-Injected Bugs both Sedan and Convertible.
I bought "Max" back in February of 2002. I previously owned
a 1973 Super Bug, my first car. It was not in the best condition cosmetically. For years I had had my heart set
on a "SunBug". Then while surfing the net I found a website that had all of the "Special Edition" Bugs of the 1970's.
There was a LaGrande bug and it was almost identical to a Sunbug except it had Fuel-Injection and Rack and Pinion steering.
I HAD to have one. I searched Ebay and found one in California. It had a partial restoration and was Metallic
Silver (not a stock color, but oh well). Well I was outbid at the last minute, and well, that was that. Then a
few months later I was again searching Ebay, and I found Max. He was in North Carolina and exactly what I wanted.
So I emailed the seller and got information on Max. The seller had bought him a year earlier from a guy in California.
Well I wanted this bug, and there happened to be a "Buy It Now" icon, and well the rest is history!
Shipping/Arrival
The next step was finding a way to ship Max from N.C to Oregon.
I used D.A.S Auto Shippers, and about 900 dollars later Max was delivered to Portland. Portland is a few hours
from me, but I figured it would be the most direct/cheapest route. So I rented a car and drove to Portland. Got
to Portland, dropped the car off at PDX and took a taxi to the pick up location. I was so excited I could hardly stand
it. When I got there I signed the papers and they went out back to get "Max". Anticipation was rising and
when they pulled around to the front I wasn't disappointed!
I was, however a bit upset when I realized the previous owner
had removed the plates from the car. And I had a several hour drive ahead of me on I-5. And I figured I would
get pulled over, so I asked where the nearest DMV was and was on my way. Unfortunately when I got to the DMV it was
closed. I was told Portland DMV's are not open on Mondays. So needless to say I was upset. And fast realizing
that I was in a REALLY bad and old part of town (there was an OLD Mcdonalds building, you know, the kind that is shaped like
an arch). So I headed back to the freeway and crossed my fingers.
The Drive Home
The car was louder than my other bug (after inspection I found the
exhaust system to be rusted out) and the accelerator pedal was a bit sticky. And when pressed, the brake pedal went
further down to the floor than I would have liked. So I'm motoring down I-5, trying to stay in front of semi-trucks
(to hide my plateless bug), and things are going okay. Unfortunately a few miles up the road, I encountered the remnants
of a huge wreck, complete with about 6 state trooper cars. Well I just knew they were going to spot me and my trip would
be costlier than I had anticipated. (The thought never occured to me that they had their hands full..sigh). A
few more miles and I saw the "Albany" exit and a "DMV" sign under that. So I exited the I-5 and headed into Albany.
Found the DMV, got a temporary permit (I could have just bought my plates then, but I didn't think I had enough money on me.
Guess I should have checked inside my wallet instead of assuming I had shoved all of my cash in my coat pocket.) and was on
my way.
The rest of the trip was uneventful (and rather boring as the
radio didn't work, which was just as well. I spent the whole trip straining to hear any noise from the engine that would
signal impending disaster). Needless to say I made it home safely. The next morning I was up with the sun (rain)
and went outside to inspect my purchase. There were some cosmetic blemishes but nothing big, and I only paid $2,500
for him. Which I thought was a bargain. The floor pan under the battery was rusted out so badly that
the bottom of the battery was visible from under the car. The doorbuzzer did not work (something that would
have to be fixed as I am always locking my keys in the car), and the rear bumper brackets were so loose that the bumper
looked like it was smiling. The odometer didn't work, the fresh air fan only worked on low speed, there was alot of
slop in the gearshift (bushing was gone) and at times it was hard to get the car in second gear (it wanted to go into 4th).
Also, the car had been repainted a few shades off from the original Hellas Metallic Gold, as the color of the interior metal
was different than that of the exterior.
Other than that the car as in good condition. And the
Sunroof worked great (I couldn't wait to try it out). Overall I was very pleased with my purchase. I FINALLY
had my dream bug!
The First Week
My first week driving "Max" to work was more eventful than I would
have liked. One of the headlights was burned out, and I intended to fix it as soon as I got some time. Well coming
home from work one night (yep you guessed it), I saw a policeman pullout from a side street and start following me.
I was only two blocks from my apartment, so I thought maybe he would leave me alone. Hah! He followed me into
my driveway and pulled up right on my rear and turned on his flashing lights. Now, at the time I lived in a triplex,
so of course all of my neighbors looked outside to see what all the pretty red and blue flashing lights were all about.
I recieved a warning and the officer was on his merry way. Needless to say I changed the headlight the next day before
work.
A few days later, I stopped off at a natural foods market near my
apartment to pick up a few things for lunch. I was running late and hurried in and out. Except that when
I got out to my car, the keys were in the ignition and the doors were locked. Great. I was going to call in to
work to tell them I would be late. Problem was, I was working for a small natural foods market that was in competition
with the one I was stranded at. (They had better sandwiches than we did). So, I ended up using the oil dipstick
to pry open the latch on my vent window so I could unlock my door. unfortunately I chipped the paint, and was NOT very
happy. So I arrive at work 10 minutes late.
Now, we were suppose to park on the street, and at certain times
it was near impossible to find a spot, and even in a Bug, my parallel parking skills are so so. I found a spot that
I THOUGHT I could squeeze into. Well, I misjudged, and my front left fender ended up temporarily hung up on the bumper
of the Suburban parked in front of me. Devastated because I dinged and chipped the paint in two places on my new bug,
I said ^&*^*& and parked in the store parking lot.
Currently
The pictures of Max you see on this website were taken March 29 2003.
Max is my daily driver and trip car. Over the last year I have done the following:
>Replaced steering shaft-U-joint assembly
>Replaced the Master Cylinder
>Replaced shiftrod bushing (3 times and it has recently started to get
sloppy again)
>Replaced Auxilary Air Valve
>Replaced door switches and dome light (they were missing)
>Reconnected the door buzzer wiring
>Replaced the radio antenna (it was missing)
>Added a LeBra
>Added a Dual Cup Holder Center Console
>Replaced Accelerator Cable
>Reconnected wiring to Rear Window Defogger
>Reconnected wiring to Emergency Brake Warning Light
>Reconnected EGR Warning Light
>Replaced Rear Bumper Rubber Strip (was missing)
>Replaced Rear Bumper Plasitc End Caps
>Engine Tune Up
>Replaced Plastic Nut Covers/Hub Covers on all four rims
>Replaced Speedometer with later model MPH/KH
>Replaced DoubleRelay
>Replaced Fresh Air Fan
>Installed a stock Cigarette Lighter
>Replaced Fuse Box Cover
>Replaced #1 cylinder fuel injector
>Replaced all of the fuel lines
>Replaced all of the vacuum lines in the engine compartment
Parts to be replaced/added
>Rebuild Brakes/Drums Front and Rear
>Replace Front Struts
>Replaced Fuse Box Cover
>Replace Heat Exchangers/Exhaust System
>Rebuild Engine
