C.J. Buggs | Specializing in VWs

1537 Jefferson Highway • Fishersville, Virginia 22939 • 540-942-4995

Patrick

Charlie

"Chet"

Other fun pics

PATRICK MOLONEY

Patrick is of Irish descent, born in Detroit, Michigan. Being born in the "Motor City" of America, it's no wonder he has a love of the automobile, regardless of origin. Schooled by some very strict Catholic Nuns, Patrick polished off his education with attending college before entering the challenging job field. Patrick's background is varied, from having worked at Chrysler in the Research & Development Department for 7 years, to being a British Car mechanic, working as a mechanic in a Motorcycle Repair Shop, being a Bank Manager, a Convenience Store Manager, hanging curtains in major Shopping Malls, selling knives door-to-door, managing a VW Repair Shop, and some jobs he probably has never told anyone about! Patrick migrated from Detroit to W.Virginia, and then finally settled in the Shendandoah Valley here in Virginia. Dad to a daughter soon to graduate Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, he likes to relax in the evenings with a nice, leisurely stroll with the family dog, Cara. Patrick's strong mechanical skills lie in vehicle wiring and electrical woes, and any jobs that require problem solving and a lot of patience!! Many a vehicle has been referred to our shop by frustrated repair shops the car originally went to for repair, to be diagnosed and solved by Patrick's expertise!

CHARLIE LAWSON

Charlie is a true VW enthusiast, you'd probably even find a VW gene in his DNA! Married to Barbara Spilman Lawson since 1983, their daughter's (she's now 13 yrs.) first words were "DaDa" and "Volkswagen". Charlie's first car was a 1968 VW Bug, which he bought in 1970 and still has to this day! His choices were between a VW and a Ford Pinto....thank goodness he chose the VW, there aren't any Pinto Restoration Shops to be found! Charlie's strong point is in rebuilding vintage Aircooled Engines. Some people have nicknamed him "6 volt," which also attests to his knowledge of the older Vintage VWs and their workings. Born and raised on a farm, having to repair farm equipment and the challenges of keeping it operable, along with his prized '68 Bug, had the effect of solidifying his love of the VW and it's design. Having originally been a printer for 14 years (and every evening working in the garage on VWs for pleasure!), he hit a stage in life where he wanted to do something he enjoyed for a living, instead of pounding out a paycheck every week. VWs were a natural answer!! Work is something to look forward to, and in the evenings you can find him doing community work, especially with the local community theater groups. Check out the groups he loves to work with, Oak Grove Theater, and Waynesboro Players.

GEPPETTO ("CHET")

Chet is our shop cat, that adopted us about 6 years ago. People will ask, "Is this your cat?" and we respond, "No, we're his people." Chet is one smart cookie, and knows to stay away from the traffic on Rt. 250 in front of our shop. He decides each evening if he is going to stay inside the building or out....if out, he is faithfully waiting at the door in the morning to be let in for breakfast. His favorite thing to do in the winter time is to lay on the shop floor, where we have water pipes in the concrete carrying hot water to heat the shop. He knows where each "hot spot" is in the shop. Chet is also and excellent mouser, so proficient to the point that we had to have a discussion about when the shop is devoid of rodents, you don't go outside in the field to catch them and bring them into the shop. A little over-dedicated, we think. Every car or person coming into the shop usually gets checked out by Chet if he isn't off napping. He is also oblivious to motors revving, airtools making a ruckus, and hammers pounding. A trueblood furry mechanic!

OTHER FUN PICS

A Beetle composed of all different insects to make up the body.

For fun, we used to (getting old, don't bounce around as well) take old rusty Bugs at the end of their days, weld the seat solid so it wouldn't fall thru the floor, stick in a oil burning motor, and go to a friend's house where he had a 1/2 mile track thru the woods. It was supposed to be a RACE, but when the 1st VW got tapped by another, it turned into a full-blown WAR of the VWs!!!! We had a blast, and it was great playing with our grown-up friends. (Remember when you were a kid, playing in the dirt pile, smashing up the .39 cent HotWheels....this was the bigger version).

1973 Super Beetle Demo-Racer VW driven by Patrick Moloney. This one we built a "smoke-stack" exhaust for, because no mosquitoes were to be found anywhere in the area once this ran a lap. It smoked so bad, you could tell Patrick had gone by 5 minutes after it happened. Believe it or not, the car didn't use that much oil, but died when fellow racer Rick Ebinger borrowed the car, knocked off the valve cover, and ignored the aftermarket oil lite Patrick had wired in. (We have videos to prove it!!).

Part of the racing crowd. The tall, goofy looking one is Eric Boody, whose Dad was kind enough to let us tear thru his woods with the VWs. Race day became well-enough known that we started to attract an audience of 20+ people. The only thing they would see is the cars zipping by a clearing to show who was in the lead. The rest of the time you listened to motors revving, metal crunching, trees being banged into, and brush parting when you got pushed off the course.