My Old Red Baja

Zen · « **on:** April 23, 2011, 12:04:27 AM »

I was going through some old papers and an old photo of my Red Baja fell out. I've still got the car, but I put a used fiberglass kit and a set of Baja wheels on it not long after I got it . . . and it has sat under some trees for years, so it looks a bit different today.

This picture was made at one of the Cleveland DAV shows they used to have each month . . . I'm thinking it's probalby the summer of 2000. I really need to get it back on the road.

volksnick · « **Reply #1 on:** April 23, 2011, 12:57:04 AM »

Thats alot of overalls and tiedyed!!!

Neat car. was it an all metal baja? The hood looks pretty different. It'd be cool to see it back on the road. Get on that project....after all the others get done!

Zen · « **Reply #2 on:** April 23, 2011, 07:27:13 AM »

Yep, it was ll metal . . .except for the piece of plywood on the front. Someone had taken a saws-all and hacked away at it. The only metal they added back in for support was one pice across the front of the hood. The "headlights" were actually fog lights and flat side of the beam was turned up and down. At night I could see about 10 feet directly in front of me. And it didn't help that the front fenders flapped in the breeze like hummingbird wings.

A young man I worked with had it and the engine was knocking. A friend of mine had a short block he had recently had line bored and built for sale for $250. The guy gave me $600 to buy the short block, buy and install new pistons/cylinders and a set of rebuilt heads and exchange the engines. I ended up clearing probably $200. A few days after I got it going for him a friend of his ran it in a ditch and bent the left rear trailing arm. I gave him an old junked out rusty bug I had in the back yard for parts and he got it going again. He brought it by the house one day with electrical problems and I was trying to help him out when he realized the old Chevy LUV truck I was driving was his first car. A couple of hours later he had talked me into trading even. I had $300 tied up in the truck.

Zen · « **Reply #3 on:** April 23, 2011, 07:40:08 AM »

Oh, and when I traded, it had two Baja wheels on the front and two brand new 5 spoke EMPI's on the back and all 4 tires were bald. So, I stuck a set of chrome wheels I had on it and started driving it. A couple of weeks later he showed up in his LUV truck . . . I figured he was wanting to trade back. Instead, he was bringing me the other two Baja wheels and 3 center caps, plus the old engine. I bought a spare Baja wheel at a swap meet and stuck them back on the car and sold the two EMPI's for $100. When I started tearing the engine apart, I popped off the valve cover and found the "knocking" was due to the left side rocker being loose. I torqued it back down and the engine was fine.

But after it was all said and done, he still thought he got the better end of the trade. He got his truck back and that's all cared about.

Zen · « **Reply #4 on:** April 23, 2011, 08:12:41 AM »

Here is where it sits today . . . these pictures were taken in January 2008.

Zen · « **Reply #5 on:** April 23, 2011, 08:27:11 AM »

And, there's an interesting story on those rear tires. I bought an old Myers Manx replica that had a set of way past worn out Firestone tires on the back. They had wire showing, they were dry rotted and had lots of sidewall damage from off-roading. They wouldn't hold air long enough to push it from one side of the yard to the other. A friend of mine was over looking through my min-junkyard I had at the time and noticed the tires. Remember when Firestone had that big recall because of the SUV's rolling over . . . yep, these were some of "those" tires. It threw the old tires on the roof rack and went to Firestone. I got two brand new replacement tires including new valve stems, mounting and ballancing and installing them on the Baja and didn't have to pay a dime.

Russ · « **Reply #6 on:** April 23, 2011, 01:09:34 PM »

That looks like it might be my bus parked next to your baja.

Zen · « **Reply #7 on:** April 23, 2011, 01:27:11 PM »

I believe that is your bus Russ . . . but then, we had so many green Westies in the club back then they were sometimes hard for me tell apart. That's Lamar and Cindy's Orange Super Beetle behind it. I think that's Lamar talking to Herb between the Baja and your bus, and that's Verl Taylor sitting on the curb. Joy, Jesse and I are over beside Lamar's car (I'm laying in the grass showing my best side).

I really ejoyed those shows and our once a month cruise from Ooltewah to Clevelend. The shows ran from 5 or 6 til around 9, so it didn't take up the whole day. And sometimes they had more trophies for the VW class than we had VWs there . . . the Baja won a couple of "Top 5 VW" trophies by default! Good times!

Zen · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2011, 01:30:45 PM »

Russ, do you remember dunking baskeballs out the passenger window of the Baja on the obstacle course at Volunteer Bug Jam 2001 up in Knoxville? We didn't win, but we didn't place last!

Russ · « **Reply #9 on:** April 23, 2011, 10:48:32 PM »

I vaguely remember that. I also remember you winning "VW Enthusiast of the Year" and Perk maybe being partially responsible for most of the entries

certdubtech · « **Reply #10 on:** April 25, 2011, 11:49:44 AM »

I think you need to be digging that one back out, Zen.

Zen · « **Reply #11 on:** April 25, 2011, 11:57:20 AM »

Or I could sell it for LOTS of money! It was "running when parked" (ignore the tow bar . . . it's been removed).

certdubtech · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2011, 12:10:01 PM »

Quote from: Zen on April 25, 2011, 11:57:20 AM

Or I could sell it for LOTS of money! It was "running when parked" (ignore the tow bar . . . it's been removed).

What VW wasn't?

Jason M · « **Reply #13 on:** April 01, 2012, 10:51:02 AM »

you dont want to sell it do you Zen

Ret.Bugtech · « **Reply #14 on:** April 01, 2012, 02:05:40 PM »

Quote from: Zen on April 23, 2011, 08:12:41 AM

Here is where it sits today . . . these pictures were taken in January 2008.

OK , How much boot will you give me ? What does it look like now ?

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