Did You Ever Change Oil in an Old Vw Bug?

This old 1964 classic car was primer gray with a black driver's door and if you wanted to turn off the heat you had to go under the car and remove a flexible duct to stop the inflow because the controls inside the car were broken.

This classic car was quirky to the max!

I had a book that was popular to a certain extent in it's day written by John Muir - Volkswagen Guru called "How to keep your Volkswagen Alive - A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot". That fit me pretty good because I was certainly close to a compleat idiot. Gotta' love the spelling of "compleat".

I read the book and began the process of changing my oil. On a VW Bug, you have to remove 5 bolts to get to a screen that acted like an oil filter and let the oil drain from there. There is no oil drain plug like a "regular" automobile.

The process takes a few minutes longer than a standard car but it's not a real pain at all and for a first timer, it was actually a rewarding experience.

That car died one day as I was driving to work... the engine caught fire. I'm assuming that a fuel line broke and spilled gas onto the hot engine. I stopped the car, grabbed a few things, hopped out and watched my 400.00 VW Beetle call it a day.

If that car was alive today it would be an antique classic for sure.

Defining an Antique Car

Having an old car can be a pretty neat experience. Everyone knows that certain older cars might be considered antiques or classics. But how is one to know which is which? It isn’t always easy, especially if you aren’t an especially extreme car lover. Determining if your car is an antique will require some time and research on your part. This is something that tends to be a little fuzzy around the edges and not always so clearly defined. Don’t be surprised if you turn up some conflicting information. Antique cars are not something that everyone agrees on.

The exact definition of an antique car tends to be a highly debated topic. The Classic Car Club of America states that an antique car is one that was manufactured before the year 1948. It is likely that you will come across sites and organizations that do not agree with this and instead have different years listed. If you need the information for insurance purposes then your best bet is to get the details directly from your insurance company. They will have their own regulations and specifications regarding what make your car considered an antique.

Most antique cars are considered to be those that were built before World War I. During the war auto production was brought to a halt and the manufacturing facilities were used to make war vehicles. Those cars made before the war are considered very rare today and many of them are worth millions of dollars due to that rarity. Of course the rareness of a certain model can directly affect if it is labeled as a classic or antique. Availability certainly does play a role in determining what makes a car antique.

There are many neat tidbits of information that comes from antique cars. Many people for instance do not know where the Mercedes received its name from. An Austrian man contracted Daimler to create a fleet of 30 cars for him. He wished them to be called Mercedes, which was the name of his own daughter. This is interesting since that name has once again become a common name for girls. Many don’t know that it started out that way all along.

The early designs of vehicles should be appreciated and respected regardless of their classic, vintage or antique status. They are the direct link to the cars we all love and drive today. The very first cars were nothing like modern day vehicles. They had no windshield and no safety features. It’s astounding to see the way the vehicle has evolved since the days of the original antiques.

It is important to note that a classic car and an antique one are not at all the same thing. They have differing definitions and are not grouped together. Classic cars tend to be sports or muscle cars from the 1950s to the 1970s. However, like antiques, the exact years seem to change depending on your source. Seek out a professional for an expert opinion on antique cars if you find these sources to be lacking.