1972 Volkswagen Superbug S

Mick Brody Vw Super Bug (4)  TBW Newsgroup

ALTHOUGH Mick Brody’s original intentions were to have his iconic Volkswagen Superbug S completed for his daughter’s Year 7 graduation, he finished the project almost five years later.

Mr Brody sourced the 1972 beetle around nine years ago at a bargain price after winning a lonely auction on eBay.

Sourced from New South Wales, Mr Brody said he discovered the vehicle after months of research and some guidance from Volkswagen enthusiast and friend Matthew Tully.

Mr Brody said although his original plan was to have the car ready for his daughter Bethanie’s Year 7 graduation, he did not add the final touches until just before she completed Year 12.

“It has been a slow process doing it up and it only came out of the shed for the first time last November,” he said.

“I got it out of the shed on the Friday the week before Bethanie’s Year 12 graduation, drove it around Friday night and blew the gearbox up on the Saturday.

“Luckily, I had a friend who by coincidence had a gearbox sitting at home which we installed and had the car ready at 10am on the big day.”

Fitted with a 1600cc dual port engine and standard transmission, Mr Brody said the car held a lot of meaning for him, working on the vehicle with all three of his children, Bethanie, 18, Montanna, 17 and Eli, 12.

Mr Brody said he completed a day trip with his wife Melanie to collect the vehicle from New South Wales.

“I was very happy with it and the condition it was in and it was a lot cheaper than anything else I could find at the time,” he said.

“I had Matthew Tully paint it in its two-tone Holden Morpheus Purple colour, even though I am a die hard Ford fan, and kept its original white underneath.

“My old neighbour Mick Argoon completed all the mechanical work for me with the help from another couple of mates.”

Now almost complete, Mr Brody said he was happy with how it looked, especially it’s white-wall tyres, matching purple rims and original hubcaps.

“It is nice to get out and drive and have other old cars waving at you,” he said.

“It is such a unique colour so a lot of people know who the car belongs to know as well.

“Or, they will see me get out of it and will put two and two together and realise who owns it.”

Manufactured from 1970 to 1972, Mr Brody said the Superbug was slightly different from a regular Volkswagen beetle.

“They changed it to a MacPherson strut front-end so it is a lot different handling,” he said.

“It also has a lot more modern technology, a lot wider tail end and the back windows are a lot bigger than the beetles before it.”

Mr Brody said he had grown to love the look and feel of the beetle and the memories they held for many.

“They are just something a bit different and are iconic,” he said.

“I remember one family telling me they had a hammock made out of hessian in the back seat of their beetle for their baby to sleep in.”

Mr Brodie said he planned to eventually reupholster the original interior and also add fibreglass bumper covers.