VW restoration: 'Betty' finds a new home

By James Brabenec, Fort SillMarch 22, 2012

Dees
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Okla. -- Safely out of the elements, Betty parks her tired chassis and contemplates her future.

Spc. Joe Dees, a 168th Brigade Support Battalion Soldier owns Betty, a 1970 Volkswagen bus, and works on restoring her at the Fort Sill Auto Skills Center.

Nary a peep comes out of the old girl as he pulled her engine, one of the first tasks he took on. Sitting at the back of the stall on a pallet, the engine awaits the Soldier's handiwork to summon new life out of it. Through each task he takes on, Dees learns Betty entertained other suitors over her 40-year life span.

"Every bolt that held the back bumper onto the frame was a different size," he said.

Each bit of hardware formed a lasting impression on Betty, literally, because whenever Dees begins to take something apart he discovers more nuts and bolts locked up, frozen or rusted shut. This became all the more apparent when he attempted to pull the transmission only to find a stripped bolt that made a tough job that much harder.

But then that's the beauty of working on the old vehicle. He said pretty much everything he attempted had some issue with it that required brains as well as brawn to effect a solution. Results vary from one job to the next, but throughout Dees finds respite from the stresses of everyday life.

Laughter comes often and sometimes after a less than pleasant outcome. Dees said he couldn't disconnect the fuel line at first, and then ... not only did it disconnect, but he received a gasoline shower.

Despite his inexperience leading the disassembly, he said a lot of what he learned taking apart Beetles with his dad comes back to him the further he gets into a task.

Through it all, Dees said the auto skills staff has been a tremendous support both with tools he may lack and expertise or suggestions for how to tackle a problem.

"Having this stall makes it so much easier to work on Betty. Working here at the Auto Skills Center is the difference between doing a really good job or just an OK job," he said.

At times he runs into a roadblock or something he can't figure out. Rather than get frustrated he moves onto another item and comes back to the problem later.

"A lot of times the solution comes that way," he said.

Challenges don't just arise in the garage either. No longer dependent on trips to local junkyards, Dees found a replacement for the stripped axle bolt online and it only cost him $1.

That miniscule price skyrocketed when shipping charges added $10 to that price.

Despite the oddly secured back bumper, Dees just laughs when he encounters someone else's unusual work. It just reminds him that he wants his finished product to look as good as possible.

For example, removing the accelerator cable, Dees realized whoever last worked on it mounted the cable backward onto the carburetor.

"I don't mind that it was 'Jerry' rigged, except that I wasn't the Jerry who did it," he chortled. "Still, I scratch my head and wonder what were they thinking?"

During those moments Dees gets stumped, which he said happens about every four hours of work, he calls his dad to glean from his wisdom and experience.

"Dad usually has good advice and knows what I'm talking about," said Dees. "I can tell this excites him, because just the other day, after I'd pulled the engine, he said, 'I wish I was there to play with that thing.'"

Looking at the engine, Dees said he intends to do a 3/4 overhaul. Most seals leak oil, and those he will replace along with spark plugs. He will also adjust the valves. Unlike today's daunting computer-assisted engines, the VW is a bit simpler to fix.

"Working on a VW engine is almost like tee-ball compared to batting against Roger Clemens," he said. "The joke told amongst VW hobbyists is taking something apart is just a matter of four bolts and a couple wires."

Dees pays a monthly stall fee, and is uncertain if or when he will finish the bus.

For now, like a racehorse resting in a barn, Betty remains motionless in her stall content in her makeover.