Hobbies are important in life. They keep you grounded, get your mind off the less-than-perfect world, give you valuable skills, as well as one hell of a sense of accomplishment. This is exactly what we see in Ed Willson's inspiring nut-and-bolt budget restoration of his junkyard find '68 Beetle.
A '60s-era Beetle is the perfect project car. It can fit any budget, parts and tutorials are plentiful, and if Raphael Orlove's bug is any indicator, it can and will take an amount of abuse that would dwarf that of Charlie Sheen's nasal septum. Winning indeed.
Ed Willson's arduous journey with his '68 Beetle, although quite long, is one of the most intriguing, kitchy, and entertaining things on YouTube at the moment, in this humble gearhead's opinion. Get some popcorn and enjoy.
If you're inspired enough, go find a project of your very own and make it awesome.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.