News : Herbie Rides Again

Corey Seibert stands next to his replica of Herbie from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo

This 1961 "ragtop"Volkswagon is a rare find and will be turned into Herbie from Love Bug

Corey with his big brother and the Volkswagon that started the journey to create Herbie

A scene from the movie is replicated in this front window

Just a few of the Volkswagon toys that Seibert has collected

If you're a Herbie fan you'll remember this shot inside the glovebox

It all started in 1968, with the first Disney movie, Herbie the Love Bug. If you're unfamiliar with Herbie, he was was a Volkswagen that threw two people together causing them to fall in love. 

It was the first in a series of films starring Herbie. 

Herbie Rides Again was second in the series, followed by Herbie goes to Monte Carlo, Herbie Goes Bananas and a remake of Herbie in 2005 called Herbie: Fully Loaded.

The original films starring Buddy Hackett, Dean Jones and David Tomlinson started a following of the car and Volkswagen lovers around the world. 

Corey Seibert, the owner of the Tootsie's in Vinton since 2012 and the LaPorte City location in 2014, understands the Herbie fever. 

It started when he was a young boy and his older brother had taken him to see Herbie the Love Bug at the Plaza Theater in Cedar Rapid. He spoke fondly about arriving at the theater with his brother.  As they exited the theater there was a group gathered around the Volkswagen his brother owned thinking that it was part of the publicity for the movie. 

Corey later had his first Volkswagen at age 14. 

You might say that Seibert was bitten by the Love Bug and has yet to recover. 

Seibert has found to rebuild a Volkswagen from that era it requires finding parts for Herbie includes ordering from places as far away as California and Arizona.

When Seibert's Volkswagen first arrived, the back had to be recreated because it had been in an accident about 37 years ago. Everything from the back windows and beyond had to be recreated.

When Seibert bought Herbie in 2016 and began restoration on the car, he soon discovered how detailed he needed to be for Herbie to be an "official Herbie."

The details matter.

He explained that the light blue stripes were found only on Herbie in "The Love Bug", while there were dark blue stripes on Herbie in "Herbie goes to Monte Carlo".

This "Herbie" will be a replica from "Herbie goes to Monte Carlo."

Things like the blinkers on the front, had yellow plastic covers so he had to find white covers. Rims on the tires had to be ordered to match the ones in the movie as well. He also had to relocate the gas cap to the front passenger side. 

All of these details matter, because Herbie is taking a trip to Florida in March for a 50th reunion. There will be about 40 "Herbies' in attendance as well as the actor Joaquin Garay III who was part of the cast of Herbie Goes Bananas.

Herbie will also be on display in Monticello in February at the Rod and Custom Car show. 

Explaining that while it's hard to find the 1963 Models he was fortunate to obtain a 1961 "ragtop" that he will convert into a Herbie from the movie, "Herbie The Love Bug."

He explained that the interior of the car is not white because of the glare from the white while filming, they had to go with a gray interior. He explained that paint color for the Volkswagen is L87 Pearl, not a real white, so Tom Hanson had to mix it special for the car.

1963 was the last year that Volkswagen made the "ragtops", but Siebert has been fortunate enough to find two of them.

Refurbishing and recreating Herbie, has been a challenge for Seibert.

Parts for the1963 Models are hard to find for the reason you would expect, they are simply old. Add in deterioration in the northern part of the country from the weather, he has had to search in the south to find each detail for the car. 

After finding the necessary parts, the next hurdle becomes finding people with the ability to restore. Finding someone who can upholster the seats was one of those challenges. 

Knowing of a place in Center Point that used to upholster car seats he contacted the retired gentleman who finally agreed to take care of Herbie, but the workforce has changed and those talents are slowly dwindling away.

Bo at Tharp Design also helped with the appropriate stickers needed for Herbie's "53". 

Tom Hanson has also been helping to get Herbie ready to go. 

When Siebert takes Herbie to Florida, there will be about 250 miles of traveling that all of the Herbies will take upon arrival. 

Because Siebert does most of the work himself, he has to have a bit of entertainment. In another room off his shop floor, he has a collection of around 7,500 Volkswagoe toys, posters, and everything Volkswagen.

In the midst of the toy collection, you'll find pictures of another car that he restored and later sold to a man in California.

The most important item in the room, has got to be the photo that started this idea, a picture of Corey and his brother in front of the white Volkswagen.