VW's and Triumphs

When I was 16, my parents bought me my first car-a 1968 Volkswagen Bug. It didn�t cost much and needed a lot of work, and it seemed like a small enough project for me to handle. I quickly became acquainted with the local VW shop and familiarized myself with everything they had in stock-and it was a lot. My �68 was not my last Beetle. What I came to find out was that since there were no major design changes for decades, the parts were quite interchangeable. Now, any self-respecting purist would tell you that mixing parts from different year models is unthinkable, but when your car is already a beater, you have more options in its rehabilitation. When it comes to customizing, people often borrow nostalgic pieces off of earlier models or performance upgrades from later years, and if done right, it may actually improve on what the factory churned out. Think I�m wrong? Take the coolest factory vehicle you can think of, and I am sure you can think of at least one thing you would change about it. You may even lament the new model year of a car or truck if it doesn�t quite live up to the place the previous model year held in your taste.

Now, on to Triumphs. Many people are enthusiastic about restoring to showroom condition a Triumph motorcycle. These people are quite serious about it and do a meticulous job of achieving their goal. We went a few years back to the Guggenheim Museum exhibit, �The Art of the Motorcycle,� and the most immaculate and perfectly restored motorcycles were the Triumphs. It was quite obvious to us, and we were quite proud of that distinction. However, my passions lie elsewhere. I love being able to focus in on one aspect of a motorcycle�s character and really amplify it by customizing it.

My '68 Triumph reminds me of my �68 Beetle. Both manufacturers remained committed to a singular design focus for several decades. Improvements and embellishments occurred along the way, but the heart remained the same. The joy I received from both of these was based on my �ownership� of them-my signature, my personality reflected through the work I did on them. They say people start to look like their pets after a while, well, my Triumph looks like me.