I absolutely ruled in the late 1970s… the first few years, not so much because I was still figuring out which end was up and what all these things were to be used for. If you know what I mean. But by 1975… hubba hubba.
My old VW panel van wasn’t pimped up like the above, but it worked just fine all the same. (I had a bumper sticker on the back which read “Go ahead and laugh — your daughter may be inside”.) It looked like this, but was more of a bamboo color:
And then there was the music… even the bad ones are better than the crap we hear today.
I carried a Colt Combat Commander, my .22 pistol was a Beretta Model 75, my .22 rifle was a Winchester 63, and my hunting rifle was the old Israeli Mauser in 7.62mm NATO:
…… 
Simpler times, easier life. I miss the 70s, a lot.
Figuring out which end is up. Heh.
An Israeli Mauser? Kim, your stock just went up a few points. I bet those things are worth a pretty Shekel today .. at least to collectors.
– Brad
The guy I sold it to before the Great Wetback Episode completely sporterized it. I have to admit, though, that it looked like a Gowdy rifle when he was done.
I learned to drive in a 1958 VW Beetle with that simple 4-speed stick. My early years on the road included Bugs, Buses, even a Squareback. My folks loved it because they knew I wouldn’t be out racing on the streets of Phoenix at night. Best memories came on the numerous trips out from Phoenix to Flagstaff or up to the Mogollon Rim, making most of the trips in second gear. I always got where I was going, though I never got there fast.
BTW, I didn’t need a tricked-out bus to learn just how much fun a Volkswagen could be with a willing partner and a couple blankets.
I was stationed in Key West, Fl from 1976-1979. I worked part-time at the Esquire Lounge (Key West’s Finest Topless Entertainment) and lived in my Flight Surgeon’s house on Big Coppitt Key, just a few blocks from Diamond Lil’s. This was BA (Before AIDS). I had a Hobie Cat, a 22′ power boat and a 44″ chest and a 29″ waist. I had more fun in those three years than I’ve had in the rest of my life.
I still got a 29″ waist–its just covered with 8 inches of fat.
Only 8 inches? Skinny-malink.
That first photo makes me think that “living in a van down by the river” wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Lawdy Lawdy….my first rifle back in the 70’s was also an Israeli Mauser chambered in 7.62 NATO. I shot a helluva lot of wild boar, goats and kangaroos with that gun.
I always wondered what its story was, from original manufacture, through Israel to Australia. I wish I still had it.
You and I are about the same age (Jan 1955) and the 70’s were a good time to be alive. Even though I spent 4 of them (74-78) in the army in germany.
Never had the bus, but learned to drive in a 1966 Black VW Beetle. While making out in it one cold Chicago winter night we steamed up the windows and it froze and I had to scrape the inside to see to drive home. My dad (it was his daily commuter) was perplexed how ice got on the inside of the windows. He wasn’t very imaginative.
And the Colt Commander just may be my favorite pistol of all time. Still don’t know why I sold it when I was younger, going through a series of more “modern” 1911s. My current carry is a highly modified Kimber Compact CDP which has the officer frame, and 4” bull barrel and I do love it. But it seems nothing has ever pointed as naturally or shot so easily as a Colt Commander with the full sized frame. I was a fool to sell it and regret it to this day.
I also had a Star PD in .45 I purchased because Col Cooper raved about it. Sold that a few years later, and have regretted that ever since. The follies of youth.
I went to HS in the 80s and I don’t recall a single shaggin’ wagon in the parking lot.
JQ
“ even the bad ones are better than the crap we hear today.”
Having come to musical awareness in the 1970’s, in the Midwest (Cleveland) I must disagree. Yes, a great deal of ‘70’s music was great. But if you think the BAD ‘70’s music was better than the best music today…you have mercifully forgotten a lot of bad ‘70’s music. Or maybe, given where you were living, just never heard it for the same reasons nobody in the US was aware of how bad British beers can be. I. E. Nobody was daft enough to import it.