Mom blew up my car

Did I mention that Mom blew up my car? Well, technically a faulty gas hose connected to the carburator plus a flooded engine and an attempt to start the car set the bug ablaze, but Mom was at the wheel! And ultimately unsinged, thanks be to God. Behold the modest carnage after twenty minutes of burning along quite happily:

Turns out the firewall in the engine, although over 40 years old, really does work. The inside of the car never caught on fire and even the engine doesn't look too shabby either. Gotta love German engineers:

But is it the end of an era? Will the parents finally sell off great-grandad's intrepid automobile, which my mother now avers is a death-trap? (This in spite of the fact that, daughter dear's jocular asides notwithstanding, the car never really even blew up and the inside never caught on fire at all.) Two of the fireman already left their contact details saying they wouldn't mind buying it. Will Dad finally cave in, or will the allure of restoring this fantastic machine for the second time prove to be a siren call he cannot resist?

Either way, our final trek in the bug down PCH over the New Year, windows open, sun shining, was certainly well-timed - but will it be the swan song of this valiant vehicle? Only time will tell.