Under My Skin
When
it comes to VWs all I know is air cooled.
From birth I have been riding in VWs.
My father, Michael Clark Sr, is a member
of a 50 year old VW race team called
the Volks Chancellors. I am so close
to VWs I literally have scars from it.
When I was about 5 years old my father
came home from the store, in his Bug,
with groceries. It was a hot summer
day and my mom just made grape juice
for us. I decided to take mine outside
to drink it. I sat down on my dad's
Bug bumper and at this time I couldn't
touch the ground with my feet, so I
rested my legs on what I thought was
the car but turned out to be the muffler.
So from that, I received my first tattoo!
When
I turned 18 it was time to get my license
and a car. My dad, being the VW enthusiast
that he is, had an orange '68 Bug that
had been sitting in our yard for years.
He graciously handed-down this Bug to
me as my first car. Little did I know,
I couldn't just hop in and take off.
This was my first learning experience
in, cleaning and tuning up an engine
and the ultimate patience pusher. After
a whole day of tearing it down, cleaning
it, and putting it back together we
finally got it up and running about
a week later. Right away I took it for
a test drive and well that didn't go
as planned. My wheel almost fell off
on the 56 freeway due to some loose
lugs. This car was quite a battle for
me but I fell in love with the process
and ended up driving this for a couple
years in my college days.
Fast
forward to February of 2017, I woke
up one day really missing and wanting
a VW. I consulted the "expert",
my dad. We reminisced and talked about
what I wanted this time. I came to the
conclusion I did not want a common VW.
So I began my research and saw this
odd-looking wagon and just knew that
was what I was looking for. So I set
off on my journey to find the best Squareback
I could find. Searching high and low.
Finally I narrowed it down to two cars.
One was in Lancaster and one was in
Mexico. The one in Lancaster seemed
to need more work than I wanted to deal
with. The one in Mexico was great but
wasn't sure how the paper work process
would go since it was out of the Country.
So I continued on my journey of searching
but just couldn't get the Mexico Squareback
out of my head! Well, I followed my
heart and contacted the owner and soon
obtained the VIN. I sent it over to
my friend at the DMV and was happy to
find out the car had been registered
before in California.
On
April Fools day, 2017, my father, a
coworker of mine, and myself, set off
to Mexico to check it out. When I saw
the car in person I was totally blown
away. The pictures didn't do it justice.
My dad did his inspection and said it
was straight and bones were good. He
jumped in it and tried to tear up the
motor right away and it fought back
like a champ. The car received my stamp
of approval. So after haggling a little
the car was mine. Getting across the
border seemed like the only problem
but to our surprise they just let us
across. After stopping two times to
let the car cool, we made it home. As
soon as we got home. We immediately
cleaned up the car, took it to a shop
to get it safe, and to get the electrical
working.
I
then started researching for a better
motor and some extra accessories to
satisfy my aesthetic needs. I was blessed
to meet a man, through VW meet ups,
that builds custom racks. As soon as
I got that, it completely set off the
look of my car. The VW community is
so awesome and friendly. I also referred
by the people in the VW community to
VW Paradise in San Macos. That's where
I ended up getting my new motor and
they have been my shop ever since.
My
car is running great! Since getting
the car I have been to numerous shows,
meet ups, and races. Yes I have the
VW-virus. There is no cure. Till this
day I get on The Samba and look for
cars all hours of the day. The first
thing all of my friends said to me when
I told them I got the car is, "Why
you did you get that old slow VW?"
My response every time, "If you
have never driven one you will never
understand". These days I drive
my car to work, cruise the coast with
my girlfriend, and attend various meet
ups. I feel blessed to have my own VW
and blessed to be part of a great community
and culture. I will always have a VW
in my life!
Michael
Clark
Laptop/Tablet
Wallpaper
Mobile
Wallpaper
Apple:
Touch one of the images and "Save
Image". Go to "Photos"
and select the picture. Tap the box
with the up arrow at the right top corner.
Tap "Use as Wallpaper" pinch
to size and "Set Both"
Windows:
Right Click an image and select as "Set
as background" on your laptop!
