Well, I’ve joked about midlife crisis’ and buying a Corvette, but I finally did it. No, not a Corvette. My plan was to buy a winter car — some beater from the mid-90’s with a functioning heater and room for groceries. But while scanning for cheap cars I came across a Volkswagen Beetle. Not just any Beetle: a Baja Bug.
As a Southern California native, these modified V-dubs are part of my culture. I’ve helped so many friends work on VW’s in my younger years that I am totally familiar with the layout of the engine and basic maintenance despite having never owned one myself. That will come in handy since I’m now the proud owner of a 1970 Baja Bug.
This particular one is a mostly stock. The suspension is not modified and the engine is a standard 1600cc set-up with a factory Solex carburetor. The only thing that makes it a “midlife crisis car” is that my main need was a heater and space for groceries, yet the Beetle is famous for having a so-so heater. Also, while the Bug’s iconic shape is cool looking, that round shape gives less interior space than the econo-box hatchbacks of the 1990’s and beyond.
But hey, I wanted one of these since elementary school, and no cool adventure starts with “and so I bought this For Escort station wagon.” The Bug made it the 200 miles home from Phoenix at 70 mph, and even made it over the Mule Mountain Pass at a stellar 47 mph in 3rd gear. And even though the ducting is missing for the window defroster and the top vents, the floor vents brought in plenty of heat when the sun went down.
Kind of a serious plan
And in honesty, this wasn’t an entirely childish purchase to placate the memories of elementary-school-aged Johnny. I have future plans and — as distant as they may be — want to convert a Baja Bug into a poor man’s camper, then tour Mexico. If I were to remove the rear and passenger seats, I could build a flat wooden deck that would be my sleeping deck.
Under that would be storage space. A roof rack would hold the spare tire and other needs. The “frunk” (the trunk is in the front of these cars since the engine is in the back) could then hold tools and spare parts. Ka-pow, overlanding bliss. No need for a $150k rig that looks like a 1-car parade when it enters a Mexican town. No shiny paint and $500 off-road tires to make the local police see you as a reason to fish for a bribe.
It’s not exactly an “adult” idea to try and live out of a VW Beetle while exploring Mexico, but it’s not as crazy as living on a motorcycle and roaming the derelict trails of remote mountains. Either way, it is a plan for 2027 at the earliest, and the real point of buying this car is still to literally get groceries and have a heater. Both my motorcycles get better MPG and the Suzuki is even cheaper when it comes to spare parts and tires.
The Suzuki is not only cheaper to operate than a VW Bug, but it can get places a Bug can’t, and can be extracted more easily if it ends up somewhere it shouldn’t be.
The Suzuki is definitely the winner in economy, and in being easier to work on, but it does have the downside of not being weatherproof or bear proof when carrying food out in the woods. I can’t say that’s reason enough to use four wheels to explore things, but it makes an argument for shorter trips. It’s so much easier to pack, the stuff you do pack is safe from wind and weather, and you don’t have to bring as many clothes because there’s no need for riding gear, helmets, underlayers, and gloves.
It will be fun to brap around and explore some trails here in the South Arizona desert with the VW, and super-easy to throw stuff in the backseat for a 2-day trip. That will give me a hint as to what it might be like living with a 50-year-old car on a bigger trip. Most likely I already know the answer: it’s cool, but the DR650 is still going to get you more places for less money.
In other news
That’s really all there is as far as interesting news. I’m plugging away at the book, trying to avoid the doldrums, and just barely opening my eyes to the fact that it’s 2025. I still have no clue where I’ll go roaming this year, but there are several good options. It’s certainly the type of problem I prefer to have.
The Suzuki still has a small list of items to tend to, and the new VW has plenty of little things to fix also. That will be a decent distraction to actually get me up and moving, thinking, and interacting with the physical world. While writing the book needs my attention, staring at a laptop screen feels like my entire life whenever I come off the road for winter.
It also makes blog updates less important, since there aren’t exciting new stories or pictures to share. Fortunately there is more to do here then down in Baja, and yet Mexico is only a five minute drive if I need some good tacos. I do hope to get down to San Felipe to visit friends though, but I first need to find some paid work, take care of the to-do lists, and explore a little bit of the local area.
With so many trails and so much history, I should have been out in the hills multiple times by now. Temperatures are supposed to be up in the 80’s this coming week though, and that’s reason enough to head for the hills. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures and stories to share in my next installment.
Until then I’ll keep poking at the keyboard and trying to get the book further along, work down the to-do list on the vehicles, and maybe even pop open the map and start thinking, “hmm, where should I go this year?”
Johnny Killmore 