Preparation

OK, so having spent all my life in Southern California, suddenly I get loaded onto a car transporter and after whizzing through a bunch of new states, I finally wind up in South Florida. Hey I'm 42, in very good shape both on the inside and outside, and I'm not even close to retirement!  What's going on?
My new owners tell me pretty bluntly that I'm to be prepared for a trip that's taking me to China, and then driven pretty aggressively from Peking/Beijing, China to Paris, France by way of Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria, and Switzerland!  Say whaaat? I'm still trying to adjust to not being in Southern California! I miss Rod!

Now I learn that, just like my new owners, it's time to get out of my comfort zone!

Firstly, all my interior gets ripped out.  Carpets, insulation, sound deadening, rear seats and panels, headliner, all gone! And more!

A different perspective

Over the course of the following months I endured much reconstructive surgery to transform me into a Peking to Paris rally car. 

For those of you interested in all the gory details, most of my transformation was recorded in my Facebook page.

Almost all work was done by John and Brett Layzell in a residential home garage with limited hand tools. Despite having almost a year for my preparation, I was still being worked on up to 15 minutes before the car carrier came to take me all the way back to California for my sea trip to China.

We wish to thank and acknowledge the following for all their input, advice, suggestions, and support during this preparation period: 
Rod Koch, former Baja 1000 competitor and winner; Dave Staples, Robert McClements and Matt Keeler, former Peking to Paris VW competitors;  Marshall Painter, South Florida VW guru; Eric Small of EES Concepts, welding and fabricating; and Tony Bedford, Chief Encouragement Officer.  

Separately, on the Our Sponsors page we again thank our sponsors for their support.

Where to find the right car?

We started talking to Beetle owners at old car events, and attended Miami-V-Dubs events to gain inside knowledge. In talking to Miami based VW experts Jim Lowery and Marshall Painter, and others in the know, we soon discovered that the two production years best suited to our needs were 1969 and 1970.  In 1968 VW switched from a 6- to a 12-volt system and in 1969 introduced the independent rear suspension (IRS), superior to the previous swing axle.  In 1971, however, bowing to U.S. Federal requirements, a small cabin vent was added behind the rear side windows, which, combined with insulation used on the inside of the sheet metal, attracted condensation which allows for 1971 and later VW Beetles to rust from the inside. The hunt for a 1969/70 Beetle was on!

On eBay, we found, located in central Florida, an ideal, suitably upgraded red 1969 Beetle, which certainly fit the bill.  We won the bid and made arrangements to travel by Amtrak to collect the car.  The day before the trip, the seller suffered seller’s remorse and reneged on the deal!  Bummer! 

That same week, in Hemmings magazine, we found a remarkably similar red 1970 Beetle coming up for auction in Palm Springs, California.  Many positively answered questions later, we registered as an absentee bidder with our maximum bid. Celia and I were sent a CCTV link to watch the auction in progress.  Imagine our emotions as we won “Little Red” for a few hundred dollars less than the maximum bid. 

Once the sale was complete I was able to talk with the seller, Rod Koch. Turns out that Rod is a 10 time Baja 1000 competitor, 8 time finisher and one-time winner, all in Volkswagen Beetles!  He captured his racing and rally adventures in two fantastic books: “7 Years from Start to Finish: The Baja 1000--The Early Years” and “When the Green Flag Drops.”  Little Red was Rod’s weekend driver project for 14 years and he had significantly upgraded from standard specs.  When Rod learned the reason behind Little Red’s purchase he became super excited and immediately assumed the role of advisor, coach, guru and VW Jedi Knight – “Obi Wan Rod”.  We are so fortunate to have Rod’s guidance through the whole preparation period.  This car was just meant to be!

By the beginning of March, 2012, Little Red was in Miami.

A little background...

This blog captures the adventures of John and Brett Layzell as they drive their 1970 Volkswagen Beetle/Bug from Beijing (Peking), China to Paris, France in May and June, 2013.

In his 1964 book “The Mad Motorists”, Allen Andrews chronicles the adventures and challenges of a handful of motorists as they raced from Peking to Paris in 1907, in their relatively new fangled contraptions, motorcars. Of the five vehicles that started, against all odds, four finished and the race was won by Prince Borghese in his Itala motor car.

  

Written at the time of the height of the power of the Soviet Union and Chairman Mao in the People’s Republic of China, “The Mad Motorists” concludes with the observation that never again would a competitive drive from Peking to Paris be possible.

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR brought sweeping changes, and, in 1997, on the 90th anniversary of the original race, the Peking to Paris Rally was inaugurated by The Endurance Rally Association (ERA).

John closely followed the daily reports on the 1997, 2007, and 2010 events and remained fascinated with the challenges the participants faced, mechanically, physically, and emotionally.

Previous reports here: 

www.endurorally.com/pages/peking-to-paris-motor-challenge-2013-previous-events 

Those reports of collapsed radiator mounts, failed water pumps, rocks through radiators, and ruptured cooling hoses in the Gobi Desert convinced John that the ideal vehicle for such an undertaking would be an air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle, a car John and lifelong pal Andrew Cocker had successfully built and campaigned in competitive Autocross in early 1970s Britain. 

Each time John shared the rally events with Celia, his bride of 30 years (an endurance "rally" on her part), she clearly sensed his passion and excitement about the whole event, although never followed or really fully comprehended the magnitude of the experience.

In September 2010, while following that year’s Peking to Paris rally event, John met legendary coach,  New Zealander Bruce Wilson, who asked John about his ’BHAG’ – Big Hairy Audacious Goal. After John explained, Bruce simply asked, “So what’s stopping you from doing it?”  Bruce patiently listened to a dozen or so well crafted, logical and reasoned excuses, and eloquently replied,  “That’s all bullshit, John – just <expletive> do it!”

And so, from September 2010 until the deadline for early registration in February 2012 for the 2013 event, there was a constant “I’m doing it!”  Cold feet – “I’m not doing it! I’m doing it!” Cold feet again – “I’m not doing it!” etc, etc ….

Just a few days before the registration deadline, Celia gave John an ultimatum: “I have bad news for you!  You are not getting any younger!  Either make a decision and commitment to do it, or stop talking about it, period!” So with Celia’s support and blessings, and Bruce’s constant prodding, John finally committed to participate in the 2013 rally with son Brett as navigator/co-driver.