Dolly awaits outside Lito Auto Body Back sea t and window before Driver’s area before Back seat and window after S E P T E M B E R / O C TO B E R 2 0 1 4 63 the question: white or red? In the end I chose a two-tone red and white. I ran into my good friend Gigi Lichau, who owns Lito Auto Body with her husband, Randy. I told her about my dream of reviving a car I have since named Dolly (because she has a great rack). I thought they only worked on cars that have been in wrecks, but she said they occasionally take on vintage projects that they work on in between insurance jobs. My dilemma was my little bug was my daily driver, and I couldn’t afford to have her in a shop for year while she was being transformed. I brought Dolly into the shop so the boys could look at her and evaluate what needed to be done. The crew’s eyes lit up when they saw what project was laid in front of them. They began doing research to ensure that Dolly was period correct and to find replacement parts that were of top quality from Germany rather than the remake cheaper version built elsewhere. I told them that I wanted to spread happiness around the Valley when she was done. They caught my enthusiasm and decided they could transform Dolly in record time. At the same time, my good friend and fellow colleague Dave Robertson offered to loan me his second car while the work was being done. Now I was really excited. I scribbled out plans for her in my brain book and consulted the guys on my vision of how Dolly should look. My next step was to see Randy at Silverado Upholstery and figure out the interior. He was helpful and educated me on the different quality choices. Because I was going to drive Dolly a lot, he suggested I go with a marine grade vinyl, so I chose a deep red color with off-white beading to match the dash and the liner. Randy custom-designed the seat covers to ensure everything fit properly rather than purchase premade covers. We changed the door panels and carpet to a neutral color to make sure the seats pop. Lito’s Auto Body then matched the two-tone paint on the outside to both the seat covers and the beading. By now Dolly had a lot of fans on Facebook as I posted her progress on her transformation. Lito’s Auto Body completely stripped her down to bare metal. All the rust was removed, holes were patched and rotten parts were replaced. Everything was painted inside and out. We kept the original shifter and steering wheel even though it was chipped. The dash in its new paint sparkled again. All the windows remain original, and it even has the original German sticker in the back window. All the rubber around the door and windows was replaced. Rust from the wheel frames was removed and painted, and original bumpers were also refurbished. Finally, the driedout rack on top was also completely overhauled. Lito’s Auto Body went above and beyond my expectations, creating a cover for all the wires in the trunk to keep everything neat and orderly. When the day finally came to pick Dolly up I was thrilled with the results, and so were both Lito’s Auto Body and Silverado Upholstery. People have asked me about the engine. I need to put a shout-out to my good buddy, Greg Urrutia, who has Greg’s VW Shop in Sacramento. He changed out the engine from 1200 cc to a 1350 cc to give it a little more power. We may go to a 1600 cc engine next summer. Dolly is still 6 volts; we may change her to 12 volts in the future. The only thing left to do is to wait for the vintage radio with modern technology to arrive from back order. Randy had said to me he had questioned my decision to put so much into the bug when he first saw her, but said Dolly now definitely matches my personality. I knew I had made the right decision. Go to www.nvlmag.com to see pictures of the complete transformation of Dolly. Also stay tuned for special promotions Napa Valley Life Magazine will be doing with Dolly that will involve you, the readers. If you see me on the road, please wave. Lito’s Autobody, 1725 Action Ave., Napa; 707.255.8550 Silverado Upholstery 300 Taylor St., Napa; 707.252.7212
NVLife_SeptOct_2014
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