Sad Day for VW Enthusiasts - Goodbye Sunray Bugs in Florida

It's a sad day for VW enthusiasts worldwide as we report that Sunray Bugs has lost the battle with Pasco county over the right to continue with the salvage yard portion of the business. In the name of "code enforcement", the county has seized half of Corky's 25 year collection of VW parts cars and salvage and are crushing it all as we speak. Convertibles, split window pickups, buses all being crushed with no regard to condition or parts value.

By this coming Friday, December 16th, 2011, it will all be gone. A very sad day for VW enthusiasts worldwide who have relied on one of the last yards in existence for parts to fuel their hobby. And a crushing blow to an 82 year old man who has worked hard and dedicated his life to the VW hobby. We have enjoyed being a part of your VW enthusiasm for over 25 years and will continue to serve the community with new and used parts although on a much smaller scale as the salvage yard operation (and storage of cars and parts outside of the building) has come to an end.

Corky is liquidating the remaining half by Friday December 16, 2011, it must be off the property. If you would like to help save the VW's please contact Corky right away! For more information contact (352)521-5660.

First off Welcome to the site vrroom This does suck in such a big way!!!!! I got my fuel tank for my Dune Buggy from Corky . I wish I had the extra income to get one of the beetles . I'm trying to find a Beetle Project for my youngest daughter and I to restore to have as her first car.

Thanks for the welcome and the comment. Trying to get the word out to enthusiasts in the area who might want to try to save some from the crusher.

That does SUCK! I'm very sad to hear that.

MadMike wrote:

That does SUCK! I'm very sad to hear that.

Thanks MadMike The empathy is appreciated. We have had a lot of support from the VW community and a heartfelt thanks goes out to all of our friends in the VW world who have come forward with a kind word, a show of support and positive, funny or inspirational stories to share. The yard has served as a hub of sorts for used parts for Vw enthusiasts all over the Southeastern USA for decades. A lot of people simply don't understand the importance this yard has played in the hobby yet, but used VW parts and VW salvage yards are becoming extinct and this is yet another blow to the VW community in the area.

Corky got involved in this hobby in the mid 1980's when air-cooled VW's were still cheap transportation cars for a lot of people, but the shift to Japanese compacts was well underway. Shops were failing left and right or making the conversion to water-cooled and/or Japanese cars and he saved truckload after truckload of air-cooled VW parts from going to the scrapper by buying out complete inventories from shops that were closed down, going under or switching from VW parts and service to other makes and models. Over the years, as one yard or shop after another failed, closed or the old-timers in the industry retired or died off, he collected whatever he could from these places of business and consolidated it all in one location. Many hundreds if not thousands of VWs and truckloads of parts from yards as far away as Iowa eventually found their way to Dade City Florida and were given another chance at finding a home with VW enthusiasts and playing a part in bringing another VW back to life. We have seen original parts that were so plentiful back in those days become harder and harder to find over the years. This is one more phase in a great extinction of the air-cooled VW. Corky will save whatever he can store inside buildings and in a few other locations, but the bulk of it is going to go away and the u-pull it operation will be a thing of the past. Thanks again for the welcome.