benr | Slades Vw Beetle

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This is my 1973 VW SuperBeetle “Mac” Named after my grandpa John “Jonny Mac” Standridge, the year 1978, this is where the story begins.

“Bio Below Photos”

My grandpa bought this car used in 1978, used to pick up my mom from high school in it, flash forward to me as a kid 6-7, and my brother 8-9 when we were out visiting and the bug ran we used to cruise all around yuba city California in the bug, half the time we sat on milk crates because the back seat was out of it, and when a cop would pass by my grandpa would yell “duck” and we’d hit the floor, I remember one time riding down to the pond to catch frogs and my grandpa and his brother would sing as loud as they could all the songs they knew because as long as I can remember it never had a radio (still doesn’t) I can still picture them singing and telling jokes the front seat, a lot of memories made that day. My grandpa passed away in 2018, he meant a lot to a lot of people.

I always loved cars, but I never got into them though like other kids and teenagers my age, never had someone teach me how to work on them, but always dreamed of having a classic project car, a few years pass it is 2020 I call my mom and ask her what she’s doing with grandpa’s old bug, and she says it’s here just sitting on the property, she never asked any of us because she didn’t want us to argue over it, so I called my siblings and asked them if I can have it, they agreed, so my mom brought it to me on a trailer for my birthday, but I don’t know anything about cars or how to work on them, I like having it here and it means a lot to me, but it just sat for months…

There was a car show, and I wanted to go but the car didn’t run, my friend convinced me to put it on a trailer and take it down there, so we did that, and the bug wins best foreign car still on the trailer we brought it there on, my grandpa’s beat up old bug won an award at a car show, one of the best feelings in the world, ill never forget that day, the first car show..

I bought all kinds of stuff for it, and my neighbor was telling me how to put things on and how to put things together and showing me how to work on them, summer 2021 I’ll never forget, the first time the bug fired up, I’m, not gonna lie I teared up, then the smile, that was it for me, after that the ideas started flowing and parts starting coming in.

I’ve loved every minute of it, I drive it every chance I get, and take it to every show in town and towns close to ours, it’s turned into a family event, we all go together sometimes in costume, and I set up a bunch of chairs and a kids street carpet so they can play cars on it, people stop by and hang out, we all love it, the kids help me work on things, it’s more than a car to us, its past memories and it’s future memories, the first drive and killing it up the hill, the first time I took my kids for a ride, my mom came to visit and I took her for her first ride in it in 20 something years, and I took my brother for a ride and the last time we were both in there together we sat on milk crates in the back, countless pictures and videos, all the love thats been put into it, trying ideas and seeing what works, and learning along the way, it’s crazy how a little bug can change everything.