1972 VW Super Beetle

Mark Haner


In 1999 I acquired my first car – a 1972 Super Beetle in various shades of blue and red from a private seller in Roseburg, OR. A rough running and driving classic comprised of stock components and home-brewed remedies, the car was a young boy’s dream! I spent months pouring over parts catalog, reading Hayne’s repair manuals and dreaming over episodes of Hot VWs dreaming of what I could make the car into. Of course, being 15 at the time, I lacked the financial resources to make the car what I dreamed it could become – but that never derailed my ambition and obsession (often at the annoyance of my immediate family and friends).

From 2001 – 2011, the VW sat largely parked in the back corner of my parent’s yard in Southern Oregon, collecting spider-webs, grass clippings from being mowed around, and luckily – little additional rust. It was in the spring of 2011 that the VW fire reignited within me! I met my stepfather in West-Wendover, NV over a 24-hour period to pick up the car and trailer it back to my now home of Omaha, NE. The restoration began as I now had the resources to create the VW of my dreams!

From 2011-2014, the car when through a complete nut and bolt restoration – completing all work myself outside of body and paint (thanks Midtown Auto Body of Omaha, NE). Under the guidance of the experts within the Omaha VW Club, Aircooled Express of Bennington, NE and many great members on TheSamba.com – I worked through my first restoration successfully.

Today, this German-look 1972 Super Beetle is a prized possession of our family of 3 (with 1 on the way) and Eliot our daughter loves to ride in daddy’s Volkswagen when weather permits.