Classic Car Stories: The Orange Volkswagen Karmann Ghia I Regret Selling

Guinevere, co-owner of Freccia Brothers Garage, invites us into a world of vintage Volkswagen magic and the family memories made along the way. She starts by introducing “Lily,” her cherished 1963 VW Beetle, and “Gadget,” a 1987 Cabriolet – both members of her family in their own right. As she recounts her first car (a Tropicana Orange Karmann Ghia handed down from her dad), listeners are treated to a warm story of how classic cars can bond generations. Guinevere shares practical restoration stories from her Greenwich, CT shop: reviving a flood-damaged dune buggy, sourcing parts for a rare VW Type 3, and even doing a father-daughter project replacing a Beetle’s convertible top.

Each tale highlights craftsmanship and a touch of old-school ingenuity, like using century-old techniques to straighten a frame or preserving carbon-copy service records from the ’60s. Beyond the technical, this episode shines with heart – Guinevere speaks on hosting community “VW days” where enthusiasts swap stories and kids learn to wrench on air-cooled engines, keeping automotive culture alive.

Guinevere's favorite episode is "Growing Up DeLorean – Kat’s Personal Automotive Legacy and Life Lessons" https://pod.link/1733902541/episode/21bc2a128a77f6b4aebc3657124d0d80

"Air-Cooled and Carefree” will leave you smiling and maybe a bit misty-eyed, as it captures the simple joys of classic car life – the smell of an old vinyl interior warming in the sun, the shared laughter over a stubborn bolt, and the way these beloved cars connect us to our past and to each other.

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Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.

Chapters

• 0:00 Podcast Introduction and Reminiscing
• 7:15 Meeting Guinevere and Her Volkswagen Journey
• 14:45 Freesia Brothers: A 102-Year Family Legacy
• 21:40 Air-Cooled Culture and VW Nostalgia
• 30:10 Restoration Stories and Future Dreams
• 37:10 Wrapping Up and Future Plans

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome back planet Earth, united States, northeast, southeast, to All the Cars I've Loved Before, your podcast, where every car tells a story and we talk about life lessons through cars. Because, guess what? We are where automotive history and American history meet your history, your family's history. We're going to get into, with our very special guest today, a situation where automobiles are her family's business, her bloodline, going back over a century. And before we get into that, let's, let's, a little bit of housekeeping. How you doing over there, partner? How's the audio?

Speaker 2: 0:42

Audio sounds good.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Sounded good.

Speaker 2: 0:45

Yeah, we had yep, no, I was gonna say, the network plumber aka me was having uh network problems for once yeah for once, it wasn't you so you never.

Speaker 1: 0:57

That's true, thank goodness. You never hear about the guys on smart lists or mark maron having any of these technical difficulties. But you know what listener land they do. They have them they gotta figure it out.

Speaker 1: 1:09

We have this product to put on the air. We work hard for you to come up with great guests, great stories, etc. Etc. So we're just going to kind of roll with it. I'll let you know if you're glitching or having any problems. But um, like doug said for once, hey, so what is that background? That's the Golden Gate Bridge, correct? It is?

Speaker 2: 1:27

It is Zoom, selected it for me, but I think you and I walked across it, didn't we? Or at least three quarters of it. Yeah, yeah In 2017.

Speaker 1: 1:38

It was a while ago. Yeah, doug and I have known each other for quite a while and he used to be one of these Would you call yourself a road warrior in prior jobs. You would just kind of crisscross the nation for his jet set, glitzy, high tech gig and he'd always say to me hey man, I'm going to be here for a weekend. You want to come here? Hey man, I'm going to be here there. That was a great trip, though I do remember that trip because I flew into San Jose, rented the car first. This was in, I'm going to say, april, april or May of 2017.

Speaker 1: 2:12

I got into San Jose. I think it was actually February. Oh, you might be right. You might be right, we were out there. San Jose, by the way, is beautiful. I'd never been there there before. You come out of the san jose airport and it's just. You know most airports you come out of and you're some in in some industrial warehouse district. Absolutely no fun to be in san jose. You, you look one way in, the mountains are right there and I said, oh, I want to be a mouse.

Speaker 1: 2:39

I just drove up into the mountains and just drove around in circles until your flight came in a few hours later. What happened after that? We went to like the intel museum out there we did. We went to the intel museum, we went to the jelly belly museum jelly belly museum was great, except the weather was terrible, the traffic was terrible and it closed. And it closed it was, it was raining and I was so angry at you because you made us late.

Speaker 2: 3:11

We missed the last tour by five minutes, so you know, all we got to do was experience the gift shop well, and I was angry at you for being angry at me, so I did a 180 in the parking lot in reverse in our rented mustang, which, yeah, seemed to be entertaining to you, I think yeah, maybe we're terrible travel partners.

Speaker 1: 3:34

Have you ever thought of that? Uh, could be, could be, it's possible. Yeah, here we are to tell the tale. Do you remember the car that we rented?

Speaker 2: 3:43

of course, it was probably a 2016, 2017 mustang yeah, uh, v6 had some, had some guts, it was red and we got that awesome picture in the hills of san francisco where the that uh house from uh god been in.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Oh, they call them the painted ladies, I think the painted ladies. Yeah, and it's, it's these beautiful townhomes, 10 million dollar townhomes. You know 1300 square feet right behind us. That was a great picture at we we, we did a lot of walking.

Speaker 2: 4:20

We went to the uh, not to go too far. We went to the um, what was, was it? We went to Alcatraz, which was awesome. That was so amazing.

Speaker 1: 4:45

And so we were talking about Alcatraz and I told him, I told uh, I told him about the funny stunt where we went on the last tour of the day and I tried to lock you in one of the uh, in one of the cells, but yeah, fortunately I got out.

Speaker 1: 4:54

Yeah yeah, just like Shawshank Redemption Not to uh, not to and I will say that Mustang do not handle well in the rain. Do not handle well in the rain. Do not handle well in the rain. Be very careful. Rear-wheel Pontiacs also the same. Don't ask me how I know.

Speaker 2: 5:12

I would also say thank God that car was automatic, because I could not imagine driving stick shift in San Francisco. Oh my God, 20 feet stop. I could barely see over the hood. 20 feet stop yeah, brutal, brutal. 20 feet stop. I could barely see over the hood 20 feet stop.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Yeah, brutal, yeah, brutal. Talk about rolling back, but enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you think about me? No, we have a great guest to get to today.

Speaker 2: 5:31

Yeah. And so excited Another friend of a friend of the show.

Speaker 1: 5:35

We cannot get enough of these wonderful people we meet. And who's going to introduce her? Are we going to fight over ourselves to introduce this wonderful guest, or what Well, uh-oh are you freezing or am I freezing?

Speaker 2: 5:52

No, no, I'm here, I'm going to let you do it. All right, so I'm going to let you handle it.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Yeah Well, guinevere came to us by way of James, who has really been a master social networker for us for the show, with bringing us interesting James McRae. James McRae, and I don't know how he knows so many wonderful giving people, but that is how Guinevere has been brought to our doorstep. How are you, Guinevere?

Speaker 3: 6:21

Hi guys, thanks for having me tonight. Thank you, I'm doing well.

Speaker 2: 6:26

Fantastic Doing well Fantastic.

Speaker 1: 6:27

And we are reaching you from the wilds of Connecticut, the wilds of Greenwich. Yeah, yeah, right Now. How? Did you? Let me ask, if I may, how you came to know James and then how did he approach you to be on our show?

Speaker 3: 6:45

I met James a few months ago this spring I actually went to school to become a fine art photographer and the Malcolm Prey Achievement Center, which is a car collection in Bedford, new York. They're right on the line. So they bring kids down from tech classes and they do everything from how a car runs to how to winterize a car to just basic car facts. Me and my dad have gone up to Newburgh before to do history of cars and they had cars throughout the decades, so this time it just happened to be a photography class and so james and I were both there as mentors. I happened to bring a car and teach one of the groups wonderful, okay, okay.

Speaker 3: 7:39

And then and then he just started telling me about the podcast Nice. Nice, nice, sorry.

Speaker 2: 7:48

And I interrupted. But I had to ask and this will maybe be a good lead in Was that car a Bolt? Sorry, Was that car a Toyota? Was it a Honda? Was it a Datsun? What kind of car was it that you brought up there?

Speaker 3: 8:02

It was a Volkswagen that you brought up there. It was a volkswagen um, that day it was actually a water-cooled volkswagen because it was raining and lily doesn't come out in the rain, and it was pretty. It was a pretty crappy day, but photography is better when it's cloudy so but I did bring the water-cooled car that day, so it was a 1987 triple white cabriolet with snowflake rims.

Speaker 1: 8:26

Snowflake. What does that mean? What does snowflake rims mean?

Speaker 3: 8:29

Oh, it has like the five spokes I never that's pretty neat.

Speaker 1: 8:35

That is very neat, and so, and so he mentioned to you that he'd been on this podcast, or or he mentioned that there was a podcast.

Speaker 3: 8:45

He mentioned there was a podcast. I can't remember if he said he'd been on it, but he said it was super cool. It was about you know people that people that love their cars and have great stories. And he said I can just tell you can talk about all your cars. You name all your cars. So he said I think you'll be a good fit.

Speaker 1: 9:03

We owe that guy a cookie. We really do All the great people that traverse our virtual conference room here. So I have to tell you that, okay, we're going to see that a theme will persist through this discussion on VWs, and I have to tell you, I think your first car is just the neatest first car. I've never owned one, but I would love to hear about your first car.

Speaker 3: 9:33

My first car I got before I was even 16. My dad, my dad my dad and my grandfather got me a 1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and it was Tropicana Orange and my parents both tried to teach me to drive. I remember being in an office park down the street from my house and there's like there's all these duck ponds in the middle and there's beautiful flowers and my mom's teaching me to drive and my little sister's in the back seat and I just remember stalling so bad and my sister hitting the back of my seat.

Speaker 3: 10:10

I was so stressed out and like I was just like oh my God, I can't do this, I can't drive stick and I don't think I drove that car once I turned 16. They kept trying to teach me, but eventually I sold it, which I forever regret. Now I mean I even love, love, love that it was Tropicana Orange now, yeah, I think.

Speaker 1: 10:32

I'm going to have to hold a secondhand grudge with you and against you. Think, if you had that now I was when we were prepping and reading these show notes, doug and I were chatting about you before we even met you on the show. The last Carmenghi I saw was in a Walmart parking lot, I'm going to say a couple of years or so ago, and the feelings of nostalgia, the waves of it is such a beautiful machine. Waves of it is such a beautiful machine. And this one was, I'm just gonna say, um, white. I mean, it just is beautiful. I don't think it was pearlescent or anything, but just this beautiful white paint job. And uh, just buffed to this high gloss. And when he drove away your jaw hit the ground. They just make the neatest sound, uh, revving and pulling away. So you said you called it Tropicana Orange, and did you make that up or was?

Speaker 3: 11:33

that on the oh. I made that up at 15 years old. That was, I don't know. I don't know, actually, I've never investigated what Volkswagen color it was, but in my teenage self it was Tropicana orange.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Yeah, I like that.

Speaker 3: 11:47

The Germans the no-nonsense.

Speaker 1: 11:49

Germans probably didn't have the clever, cute, quirky color nicknames that all we Americans are fond of. Okay, so you sold it. What happened to that car? You put cash in your hand or in your folks hand and it just kind of that car just kind of walked away.

Speaker 3: 12:09

Yeah, I, that one didn't didn't stay around. Um then I got a 1989 Cabriolet dark blue, I think. It had a gray top at the beginning, and I came home from high school one day and there was like a big pink bow on it.

Speaker 3: 12:27

Like you, see in a car commercial and my dad had gotten a big car bow and put it on this car and I guess I could like kind of drive. At that point I think I had my license. I didn't get my license until I was 18. I have a bunch of younger siblings so and I wasn't really looking forward to driving. But eventually I got it.

Speaker 3: 12:47

I got the cabriolet and it'd been in someone's garage forever. So I put the top down. I'm like cruising around Greenwich Avenue, going out with my friends, and I finally go to put the top up. I'm at home, my dad is standing right there and there this was. There's no electronics. So you to like right, unclip the buttons and then you know, wiggle it and make sure they're loose and you go up behind it. You know, like do the squat and then the full body press, and I just hear the biggest rip as it comes, oh, laying down, because the top was so dry, rotted, it just split. So she got a new top and I went to school in Boston. So for the next two years I was on the T and then, yeah, my final two years I had the car up there a lot and it was. It was nice to have a little car because I could find parking, or I remember.

Speaker 1: 13:42

Oh, in Boston for sure.

Speaker 3: 13:45

One year I just parked on my friend's lawn and no one said anything.

Speaker 1: 13:49

So now let's talk about the top for a minute. Do you remember, do you? Where did you source the replacement top? Or did you just bring it to a dealership? Or did your dad just say, hey, I have 10 of these shoved in the back of my closet. How did you source the top for that car?

Speaker 3: 14:08

at that time. I mean, we still don't have a computer to this day, so at that time, it was my dad probably making a lot of phone calls we had. We have an upholsterer we work with but, um, my dad did the top on my most recent cabriolet, so it's always good old dad.

Speaker 1: 14:28

Yeah, good old dad, so do y'all. Okay, and I guess we'll get into the family business here. So much to chat about. We'll get into the family business here and we can actually start chatting about that now. So it. So do you do restoration work in the family business? I guess would be a secondary question, but primarily let's back into what sort of business is your family known for and what business did you grow up around?

Speaker 3: 15:09

specialists kind of of the tri-state area and beyond. Um. I grew up in the garage. I grew up there after school sweeping floors, picking up nails so tamp tires wouldn't get damaged. You know shoveling snow, so it's been my whole life. The shop is 102 years old yeah so I grew up with the knowing the original risha brothers. It was started by them and their parents, but they were around for a little bit of my early life and my great, great aunt, who also ran the business Um, she was around.

Speaker 1: 15:42

Gotcha, may I share the website here, is that okay? Yeah, yeah Okay. I know Doug is itching to get in here partner, but let me just. Let me just share.

Speaker 2: 15:50

Let me just share this site uh, it's pronounced freesia, f-r-e-c-c-i-a brotherscom.

Speaker 1: 16:01

I'll give that to you again and if you're listening, uh, you can get it on the show notes here. But F-R-E-C-C-I-A Brotherscom, frishabrotherscom. And if you go to this website, I love and this is your fingerprints all over it Guinevere. I can tell this beautiful black and white photo and it's got a little Carmen Ghia there with a couple of, uh, beetles off to the side and it looks like some jacked up dune buggy thing ready to go just hit the sand yes, the baha the baha bug all right.

Speaker 1: 16:37

Well, I need to just step back and be quiet, because I know doug has a million questions here you're, you're fine, you're fine, um, but yeah, there, I mean, there's some great car stories here.

Speaker 2: 16:48

So you mentioned, 102 years old, the family business. It didn't start doing Volkswagen repair just based on the timeline, but what did the family start doing?

Speaker 3: 17:00

We started out as painting horse-drawn carriages and, you know, became one of the first, first dealers. We have a very low dealer plate number. The post road I think was, I believe was a dirt road back then. Um, we're right on dealership row, so porsche's, across from us there's maserati, lamborghini, audi, and our door front is kind of like wonky compared to everyone else, but our door, our garage door, points true north, which I think is pretty cool, very cool. And so, yeah, horse-drawn carriages.

Speaker 3: 17:38

Eventually, over the times they evolved, they became car dealers, repairs, and my dad told me the story of, and heard my my. You know the elders told me the stories. You know we used to sit at the garage door. We used to sit at the garage door and wait for a car to break down and we run out there, you bring it back into the shop and you fix it up and in I believe it's the 50s, um the prey, the blanchard prey dealership opened and by the 60s, the Blanchard Prey dealership opened and by the 60s people were bringing us Volkswagens. We were doing restorations, we were doing repairs. So we were kind of always known for Volkswagens. If people left town and came back, they'd give us a call and then throughout time, they were just doing Toyotas, datsuns, uh, hondas. You know you're, you're, they were just regular mechanics. But, um, I went to school in Boston for fine art photography and I came back in 2012 and you know, there, was no computer, there was still a rotary phone and I said, come on, like let's, let's go strict.

Speaker 3: 18:44

Specialty. Like it'll be fun, like we don't have to keep up with be fun. Like we don't have to keep up with the computers, we don't have to keep up with these crazy panels and the electronics. Like the volkswagen's the easiest car to work on. They're super cute. Like, come on, people love them. And it wasn't until, I think, 2014, I was allowed to create a website by my grandfather and it was so basic it was. It was just our name, our address, the hours and the phone number.

Speaker 1: 19:11

But it was your, yeah, your stake in the ground.

Speaker 2: 19:14

Yeah, yeah, yep. And now and now you have not only the website, you have a Facebook page. We're going to put that on our show notes, as well as Instagram.

Speaker 3: 19:24

Facebook, instagram, a voicemail a push button phone.

Speaker 2: 19:30

Maybe a push button phone.

Speaker 3: 19:32

I do my dad, I do he. His one request was I'd still like to write everything out on carbon copy paper. So we, we do keep that, which is very pretty yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:46

I just mentioned. To somebody the other day. I said you know, some people are just analog people in a digital world and if that's what you're used to and that's what works, what works, stay with it. I love that.

Speaker 2: 20:01

Keep the history going Agreed. So yeah, so just sort of by happenstance, right the shop was there, all these car dealers in front of it, and they started doing car repair, right it was just kind of perfectly located. Right, it was just all the stars aligned yeah, the door, the, the garage door, pointed true north, and that's what we did, right that is so awesome and fast forward still family business, I believe you told us your, your father's, still involved.

Speaker 3: 20:39

Your husband works there as well looped my husband in um okay, not, not their full time, but you know, on snow day, on snow days everyone comes down and helps, and then awesome there. You know, they're always wearing the t-shirts, they're always leaving business cards on cars if they pass by. They're always taking pictures.

Speaker 2: 21:00

I mean, it's, it is a family affair, yep and that is so great and they kept it right. They kept it going and, with your help, right. They focused on volkswagens, I, I believe, some porsches and, uh, chevrolet corvairs. Right, keep it there, keeping it air cool yeah, we kept it air cooled.

Speaker 3: 21:20

So it's, you know, 90 volkswagen. And then we do get the porsche, the corvair specialist the van the corvair vans are cool, but volkswagen in they are in. My grandfather passed away in 2018 and he had put a volks a 1963 volkswagen beetle away in the 80s and I took her out in 2019 and started showing her, and that's when I really got involved.

Speaker 3: 21:46

well, first I saw I saw Lily Pray speak at the Pray Center and I mean, there was never a choice in my heart. I was always keeping the shop going. That's what I was mentored to do my whole life. It's what I was expected to do, but it's what I wanted to do.

Speaker 2: 22:03

Even better.

Speaker 3: 22:04

I always thought, like when I went to college, kat Von D was big. I always thought I was going to be like the Kat Von D of Volkswagens.

Speaker 1: 22:11

I wanted to learn to pinstripe.

Speaker 3: 22:13

I have no drawing talent at all, so I just put, you know, my photography, my marketing. I put what I knew how to do to use, but I saw. Lily Price speak and I went home. Eventually my little gray bug came out of storage and I said I'm going to name her Lily. And then, another year later, lily the person has become a very good friend, my life mentor, and I said you know, before anyone else tells you, I said my car's name is Lily and we've just been the best of friends since.

Speaker 2: 22:50

Fantastic, and you so, in your position at Fresh Young Brothers, you do all the marketing and media right. So you've taken that your college trade. You will, and and uh made that part of the business right, kind of uh painted the business in your, in your color, so to speak. And uh, you tell us what you do with that? Um, sounds like you do travel, you do some special events. Um, we, you do some um, uh, pardon me, some uh fundraising and whatnot, and we're going to put all this on our uh show notes.

Speaker 3: 23:33

But if, if you don't mind, indulge, yeah um I, so I started showing in 2021 was my first show and that was with turtle garage, and I believe that does sponsor the. It does fundraise for the Prey Center, which is a car collection left by Malcolm Prey, and they do take in kids from technical schools and mentor them and help them find jobs and they're really big on keeping the car culture alive and we are. That's where I met James. It's nice to meet, like some of the younger generation, and see what's going on, and I do. I do travel a lot, I guess, around, like in right now it's it's, you know, it's Connecticut, massachusetts.

Speaker 3: 24:25

I was trying to go to all drains this past week but the small car co had their big show so I had to be here for my volkswagen pupil. But I'm I'm at the point in my automotive career where I'm trying to go out a little further, so I'm thinking maybe a miami show this year, amelia, and then eventually I'll get out to Pebble Beach. There is a cool concourse at Lime Rock Park. I'm really looking forward to next year. Unfortunately, I didn't make it this year. I was supposed to, but life happens.

Speaker 1: 25:01

Wait a minute, I have a great idea. I have a great idea. Sorry to interrupt. It's a great idea. We have to have a Pebble Beach to all the cars. I've loved before rally with all the listeners and guests.

Speaker 3: 25:16

Let's do it, let's make it happen. What do you think? Yeah, you guys have a virtual garage.

Speaker 1: 25:21

Yeah, yes, All right, Guinevere, you are our chief marketing officer. I think you didn't ask for the job.

Speaker 2: 25:28

You just got hired. I dig it hey but there's still some.

Speaker 1: 25:31

Doug, did you have more? Can I hop in here real quick?

Speaker 2: 25:36

No Hop in. I do have some air-cooled questions Air-cooled love, all right.

Speaker 1: 25:42

Well, here I do want to bring this in, please, before we go further, let's talk about the Cabrio. You mentioned the Cabrio, but one thing I had to get to before time spins away from us is now your second car is a 1989 Cabrio, correct? But your daily driver is an 87 Cabrio and your other daily driver, it's two, is a 1963 Beetle. So how do you choose which to decide in any given day and compare the second car, that Cabrio, with the Cabrio you own now?

Speaker 3: 26:20

the cabriolet I own now. I actually named her Gadget. The first one was Jessica, the new one is Gadget because she's automatic and I think she had a radio which I never had in anything else, so I just felt like it was so high tech which I'm very of course compared to a super car.

Speaker 3: 26:40

It's nothing, but it makes me happy, so that's all that matters. And then I have the 1963 Beetle Lily, which she does not have a radio, but I do love driving her backcountry. And people ask me all the time do you play your phone? I said no, I kind of just like the quiet and the digital detox, and especially now it's New England and it it's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 27:05

You are a walking vw commercial. I can just envision, at dusk, the leaves trailing behind and you're just on curvy mountain roads. I see it all right, doug. Sorry back to you back to you with the air called the air-cooled interrogation.

Speaker 2: 27:23

Air-cooled culture. So some people with air-cooled cars they don't want a radio, right, because you have that beautiful sound. Yeah the chirp, yep the chirp. So maybe you could tell us all the benefits of air-cooled right? What gets people, what keeps them happy smiling about air-cooled right? What?

Speaker 3: 27:47

gets people what keeps?

Speaker 2: 27:48

them happy smiling about air-cooled right? Good question, and yeah, why it's so? We know it's nostalgic, right, but there are some other good attributes of air-cooled engines.

Speaker 3: 27:59

Yeah, I mean, we'll go off nostalgia first Everyone has a. Volkswagen story, rightkswagen story. Um, right now the the cabriolet is having a hot moment because they're back. So I was driving that around a lot before without getting stopped. Now I'm getting stopped all the time, with people talking to me.

Speaker 3: 28:18

But I if I, if I take out lily the bug, I always plan like an extra 30 minutes to an hour to do my errands because I know I'm going to hear at least like two or three Volkswagen stories and I want to hear them. So, like someone walks up to me they say I have Volkswagen, Like I'm already invested in your story. But yeah, they've stayed around like no other car has stayed around before. People have hoarded them. They've hoarded their parts.

Speaker 3: 28:47

My dad was telling me how there used to be like strictly Volkswagen, like displays and Caldors and, I think, Sears, which you've never seen for another car brand. But they're the simplest cars to work on. They were specifically created that way. They were specifically created to be very efficient. One of my favorite Volkswagen ads. I mean, I probably gravitate to it more because we're in New England and I remember my dad having, if you have a small business, you're working 24 seven. So there was times it would snow and my dad would be, you know, out snow plowing. But there's that old ad how does the snow plow driver get to work? And it's the little picture of the Volkswagen.

Speaker 3: 29:43

So the engine's in the back but my personal rule is I'll drive them all fall, winter and new and grown until the salt comes down.

Speaker 1: 29:52

That's right. Look out for that salt.

Speaker 3: 29:55

You got to watch out for that salt and then they go away. But that leads back to the other question. There's no water in them, there's no antifreeze. You know, you don't really have to winterize them, just make sure. I say, you know, give them a good spa day and put them away. Yeah, soothing spa music.

Speaker 1: 30:15

Okay, our research I got to get a couple things in here real quick. Research department we have dozens of analysts on staff that help us get through any given show and of them, just uh, all automotive experts. One of them got uh handed me a note here a folded up cocktail napkin that said tropicana orange is actually signal orange. That was the official name. So now you know, and doug has a little bw story to tell. Before guine, we'd like to hear about your 914 dreams and then we'll head the show gently toward the end.

Speaker 2: 30:49

914 dreams. Yeah, so my very quick story, and I wish I could remember the year. Had to be maybe post-high school, but I wish I could remember the year of the car. I love convertibles. Um, in fact, I think the first convertible I ever went for a ride in, or or one of the first, was a volkswagen bug convertible. And I have to tell a silly story. I was hung over and I gotta tell you that family story, family show feels so good I was dehydrated and the fresh air made me feel so good and uh that that story just stick.

Speaker 2: 31:29

And it was a yellow, it was a yellow book convertible bug, but I wanted to buy. I want to say it was a 60s convertible bug and my dad was my mentor. Slash, I had no mechanical skills and we found one. It and it had the the uh floor floor plant floor pans replaced. It would run and my dad talked me out of it and he said I don't know anything about volkswagens and, thinking forward, I like they're the simplest cars in the world.

Speaker 1: 32:06

He just didn't want to buy you a car. He just didn't want to deal with you on that day.

Speaker 2: 32:11

Well, I was going to pay for it, but he knew he would get trapped into helping me Exactly.

Speaker 1: 32:18

I guess he wasn't up for it at that time. Man and I won't even start with my stories, and Listenerland knows all about my 1984 VW Rabbit GTI.

Speaker 1: 32:28

That car was a trip, and then I was sitting around with my kids last night we were watching Black Sheep with Chris Farley and David Spade Great movie and during a commercial break I just started thinking about that car. I think I was talking. Oh no, in the early part of the film there's a rabbit on the side of the road and I paused it and I said to my kids look at that. I had an 84 VW Rabbit GTI and they were like, oh, that's interesting, but it doesn't look like much. And so I immediately pull out the phone and look online and I find just something. It was probably on Bring, a Trailer that sold recently for like $35,000. And it's just this pristine.

Speaker 2: 33:14

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 33:15

It was pristine in the same. What was the sunset?

Speaker 2: 33:20

or something.

Speaker 1: 33:21

Yes, it had white with the Airdam with a little red GTI in the front and they had the blue cloth with the red in the middle, like it was my car to a. T and I fired it off to Doug and my kids all in a text thread and I said this is it, this is my history.

Speaker 2: 33:36

Okay, I said I wasn't going to talk about it but I did. All right, we got to pick it to. Everybody has, but everybody has a Volkswagen story. I know, I know.

Speaker 3: 33:44

Whenever I'm watching a movie I mean I just saw on my time hop two nights ago. I watched Willy Wonka last year, the original one.

Speaker 1: 33:52

If there's a Volkswagen in it.

Speaker 3: 33:54

I will screenshot it, post it on my social media. But when I was little I watched Herbie. I mean he was so real to me, I wanted him, I mean he was so real to me I wanted him. And the day I went to my dad's shop and there was three Herbie's parked out front, it was like someone told me Santa Claus wasn't real. I was like why are three of them here? Like what is this?

Speaker 2: 34:16

But why aren't they talking?

Speaker 3: 34:23

Why isn't?

Speaker 2: 34:23

the hood flapping. Yeah, I mean, that's such a cool story.

Speaker 1: 34:26

I do want to get in here, all right. So back to the. We're all over the place here, but we're so excited I want to get back to the company's website. So, as you were talking about what your family's business does again freeshabrotherscom F-R-E-C-C-I-A brotherscom. You go to freeshabrotherscom services and this is what I was going to ask you early, but by the magic of the internet I was able to answer the question from this lovely website you've put together so full service repairs and restorations, air-cooled specialists, which you know, fuel injection specialists, semi-automatic experts, all mechanicals, including right all the way around the car, brakes, clutch, exhaust tune ups, engine repairs and rebuilds, et cetera.

Speaker 1: 35:10

And I love how, at the bottom well, close to the bottom other services rust repair and floor replacement. And then it says convertible tops and interior works. That's exactly what you were talking about. So if anybody in listener land has an old VW, you don't know what to do with the top, just bring it to them. Just bring it to them Convertible tops and interior work, like you were saying, the upholstery, glass and rubber, electrical work. And then across the very bottom, it says thinking about a custom project, give us a call. And I love that. So it's very open-ended. I mean your, your company is fearless. I just love it.

Speaker 3: 35:48

I mean we just, we just want to keep them on the road, Just want to make people happy.

Speaker 2: 35:54

Yeah, I mean we had.

Speaker 3: 35:57

We had a crazy flood here two Septembers ago and I remember rescheduling everything I had in the shop because, two I believe it was a dune buggy, I believe it was a candy apple red dune buggy with extra flake in the paint which had just been painted, and a silver, a silver convertible bug. Two two separate owners. They were completely flooded, completely submerged in water. We had to have them in the shop within 24 hours to rinse them in fresh water and we took apart every single piece. It was the biggest puzzle I have ever assisted on in my entire life wow wow so why yeah?

Speaker 2: 36:41

go ahead. No, I was gonna say I I hate to do the delorean plug. I saw a picture of a delorean that got caught in the uh, one of the storms down south. Of course they're not gonna total it right, it's, it's already in delorean of florida and they're gonna take it apart and clean it up there you go together, piece of history, just like the dream like the bolt seconds, keep the dream alive.

Speaker 1: 37:07

You got it all right. Doug doug wanted to mention one or two more things before we close out here oh, I think, I think I'm gonna limit it to one.

Speaker 2: 37:17

Okay, so, uh, your dream car christian hinted at it. Guinevere, what is it and tell us why?

Speaker 3: 37:25

oh yeah, I've been on a 914 kick recently my 914 1973 my dad has a little black 914 and I've been driving past one. There's a different shop across town and there's a white one, and I know this. A lady owns it and I just keep watching it, but I'm on a 940.

Speaker 2: 37:47

I'm on a 914 kick it matches my white cabriolet and yeah, me and my dad, me and my dad went cruising right before this and it's just a cute little zippy car yeah, yeah, it's such a, it's such a neat car, right it's, it's a Volkswagen slash Porsche collaboration, right.

Speaker 3: 38:06

Yeah, and the engine's right in the middle, so you can have the front and the back open and it'll be on the sidewalk in front of our shop and people are looking at it like where is the engine, but it's fun. It definitely moves. Much different than the 63 Bug.

Speaker 2: 38:23

Yeah, definitely moves much different than the 63 buck. Yeah, and, and my recollection is the 914 somewhat. No, it was the 912. I'm sorry, I was going to say took the place of the 356 because it was cheaper, but that was the 912. Sorry about that, caught myself. My automotive trivia, um, and the one, the one volkswagen we didn't talk about was the volkswagen bus, and I don't know if you're a bus person. I think we have to save it for another episode. I know our listeners will want to talk about a volkswagen bus till they will have my dad.

Speaker 2: 38:56

We'll have my dad okay and cover that with you guys. Yes, can we have? Yes, father daughter, perfect.

Speaker 3: 39:02

Yeah, we'll come back.

Speaker 2: 39:04

Yeah, we've had, we've had husband, wife, we've had father, son, father, we've we've had, just, uh, um, would he do it? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, we did.

Speaker 3: 39:16

We did a podcast last week for the history of Greenwich, so yeah, Okay, that awesome.

Speaker 2: 39:22

Oh, we have, we want that, I feel like we could easily talk for another hour.

Speaker 1: 39:28

So we have to get him on here. I hear Guinevere's dinner bell going off in the background, so I think we've got to let her go.

Speaker 2: 39:36

She's got to eat at some point.

Speaker 1: 39:37

Doug, did we get to all our hard news hitting questions for Guinevere? We did.

Speaker 2: 39:44

We did, we did and the best part is I can't wait for the family connection. Thank you to James for connecting us with Guinevere. Guinevere, we'd like to assume you're another friend of the show and you just give us another referral to a sounds like a great man, your dad, and I'm looking forward to the father-daughter event.

Speaker 3: 40:06

Yeah, you know. Thank you for having me. I'm so glad James recommended this and I've really loved listening to the show these past couple of weeks to prepare.

Speaker 2: 40:14

Yeah, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3: 40:17

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 40:18

Have a good evening guys. Great to meet you. Thank you for being here and for Listenerland. You know how to get a hold of us christian at carslovecom doug, at carslovecom Guinevere. You know how to get a hold of her freeshabrotherscom. Check them out, visit them next time you're in Greenwich with your 914, your bus, your VW thing, and that is going to put this episode in the books. Doug, how did we do? Are we done? Did we get to it all? We did it. We did it partner.

Speaker 1: 40:50

Fantastic, everybody. Have a great week. We'll see you next week.