DeBug GarageTemecula
The pistachio Bug from the rear three-quarter on a palm-lined street: body-color roof with an ivory ragtop, chrome blade bumper and a black California IAMINDO plate

DeBug Garage · Temecula, California

Project 007

Form, weight, motion

A familiar machine
reconsidered
without nostalgia.

Scroll to explore

007.01 · The first Bug

First, the car.Every one we've looked at.

Before a wrench turns, we pick the base. These are the real cars we've chased so far. No names, no places, no prices until one comes home. Vote for the one you'd build.

01 / Profile

A study in proportion
and purpose.

Side schematic of the pistachio Bug with dimension lines, and close-ups of the ragtop edge and the chrome blade bumper
  • 1,420 mm Height
  • 2,400 mm Wheelbase
  • 4,070 mm Length

Stock body and factory-height roof. Pistachio metal around an ivory ragtop, a single chrome blade bumper at each end, painted steel wheels with smooth chrome dome caps.

Why build it

Turning negatives into positives.A car, my hands, my family, my health.

This is the project I'm pointing my energy at. The bigger picture lives at jasonpieters.ai. This site is the car, the build and the family in the garage.

01

I need a car

So I'm building one, and making it the place my energy goes.

02

Off the keyboard

I sit and code all day. This is time working with my hands on something real.

03

My wife and kids

Time with them, not away from them. Sundays stay family time.

04

My health

Up and moving instead of sitting. The build is part of putting my health first.

The whole why →jasonpieters.ai ↗

A clean two-car garage with a coated floor, wall storage, a workbench, shop lights and a compressor, ready before the car arrives

00 / Prep the space

The garage comes first.Before the car comes home.

  1. FloorCoated, so it sweeps clean and shrugs off oil.
  2. StorageCabinets and shelving, so every part off the car has a labelled home.
  3. LightBright, even shop light for bodywork and for the cameras.
  4. AirA 60–80 gallon two-stage compressor on its own 240 V circuit.
  5. ToolsA workbench, wall boards and a rolling chest, all in reach.

Corner cameras go up too, so the build films itself.

Where it stands

Eight phases.Body first, engine last.

Each phase starts when the one before is done. The pulsing dot is where the garage is right now.

Open the build →

Pistachio dash with a compact McIntosh head unit in the center, a woven parcel carrier, an ivory steering wheel and salt-and-pepper upholstery

02 / Inside

Cockpit and materials.Period surfaces, modern sound.

  • Compact McIntosh head unit, flush in the central radio slot
  • Woven parcel carrier on the passenger side
  • Warm beige vinyl with salt-and-pepper woven centers
  • Matching salt-and-pepper loop carpet
  • Two four-way 6×9s on the rear parcel shelf
Finish samples on a dark workbench: a pistachio paint chip, beige vinyl, ivory canvas, salt-and-pepper weave, black rubber, a chrome dome cap and the IAMINDO plate

03 / Material

  • Pistachio paint
  • Warm beige
  • Ivory ragtop canvas
  • Salt-and-pepper weave
  • Loop carpet
  • Chrome
  • Black rubber
The design →
An air-cooled VW engine on a rolling stand beside the workbench, with the pistachio Bug parked outside the open garage door

08 / Engine last

The engine goes in last.Found, rebuilt, then the first start.

Body first, engine last. Finding an engine, rebuilding it on the stand and the first start close out the build.

Phase 08 →

From the lab

Notes from the bench.How it's built, written down.

The pistachio Bug from directly behind in warm evening light

Same principles.
A longer road.

Build notes Continue the story