Hayburner Digital Issue 54

HAYBURNER PLUS INDEPENDENT CLASSIC VW & PORSCHE MAGAZINE ISSUE 54 - 2025

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ISSUE 54 92 PMG

A CKD (completely knocked down) bus, it was assembled in the Volkswagen of Australia plant before beginning its life as a cable jointer’s van – ironic, considering this is Grum’s profession.

42 KEEPER? He finds them, drives them, might make a few changes, might not, but he always enjoys them. It’s highly likely that some of you reading this right now have sold a car to Nick or bought one from him.

PROJECT ‘49 190 In the midst of all this we somehow ended up with another project. I know, I know. I need another project car in my life like a hole in the head, but bear with me.

148 CORAL NOT CORAL

54 ONE TO DRIVE

“It was left sitting in a field in Condobolin in a spot that a river runs through. A few years after Aussie Kombi Hunter bought it, there was a massive flood so I think it would have washed away if it had still been there.”

“Eric, I’m fucked. I have some questions about the black ’67 Squareback. One word answers are ok – I’ll pad it out a bit. When was it found?”.

S U L P R E N R U Y L B Y N A O H Y P O C HARD 82 GOTH MILLIE

I was half-tempted to turn it into another Beach Buggy, but everybody said ‘Oh you shouldn’t do that. These Cabrios are rare’, so I decided to take it completely apart and try to teach myself to weld.”

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ACCESSORIZE 126

I’ve chosen 10 weird and wonderful products that you could purchase back in the day and translated their purpose for you over the next couple of pages.

S U L P R E N R U Y L B Y N A O H Y P O C HARD

S U L P R E N R U Y L B Y N A O H Y P O C HARD 70 KAI

I think it’s a good time for me to say how much I respect what you do. I know exactly how much knowledge and determination it takes to hunt these rare items down and I also know how difficult it is to make anything that’s close to a profit.

Copyright © 2025 by Hayburner Limited. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the editor, except for the use of brief quotations.

Operations Manager - Vic Faux Editor-In-Chief & Founding Editor - Ned Faux

CONTENTS 162 IRELAND

Ireland is hugely important in the story of VW outside Germany.

The first ever VW produced outside Germany was produced in Ireland – the famous Ballsbridge Beetle – but we’ll get to that later.

S U L P R E N R U Y L B Y N A O H Y P O C HARD TRIO 106

SAL’S EDGE 16

The Old Speed style has been growing healthily over the last decade. With specific events appearing like the Peter Max Muller Rennen and more recently the Ardennen Rennen in Europe, it’s really blown up.

Originally a Texas car, the Razor had been laid up and not run since the early 1980s.

They collected the car from Southampton Dock in 2016 with new floorpans already installed.

32 CHRISTO & JENNE

Although it’s a little vulgar, I’m going to start with the price – which is 4 million dollars. This price makes this car maybe the most expensive Type1 VW Beetle ever to change hands. What’s so special about it?

THE FIND 172

PRECIOUS METAL 138

Cautiously opening the old up-nover door revealed a very dirty Type3 which was bound to all sides of the garage by cobwebs that would have done any horror movie proud.

He casually asked if it happened to be for sale and the answer involved a “no”, a “maybe”, and a few other words as well.

66 - BUGBUS CLASSIFIEDS 102 - DUNDEE 122 - AIR-COOLED COLORING 168 - SHOW CALENDAR Newsstand distribution – www.magazineheavendirect.com The editor or Hayburner LTD gives no warrantees, assurances or guarantees and makes no representations concerning any services or goods advertised or featured in this magazine. Hayburner Plus is Printed in the UK.

We hope you enjoy Issue 54 of Hayburner Magazine.

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SAL’S EDGE

PHOTOS BY THREE50SIX WITH A HUGE THANK YOU TO LINCOLNSHIRE AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE WORDS BY NED FAUX

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For many years I’ve felt like there is an obscured human infrastructure behind what appears to be a very maledominated aftermarket Volkswagen industry. This hidden infrastructure is made up of women quietly running the show behind the scenes. Without them we simply wouldn’t have this community – well, at least not as we know it. I find it hard to think of a company or event in this industry that doesn’t have a woman who’s integral to its operation (this magazine included). With all this in mind, I’d like to talk about my good friend Sally

Walker. Now not only has Sally had a VW ownership history that puts the average air-cooled enthusiast to shame, but she is also one half of the Viva Skeg Vegas VW Show, which has over the last 19 years become one of the most important VW events of the year. I for one can vouch that this event could not happen without her. She also has great hair. … Now I hope this opening paragraph doesn’t in any way, shape or form come across as condescending. I just feel like we should advocate for anyone

that might not be getting the recognition they deserve, and sometimes I feel that in this industry it’s the women who are occasionally overlooked.

Sally has been into air-cooled Volkswagens since she was around the age of 13. Her dad worked as a VW car salesman throughout the 1970s, and with her mum’s first

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car being a 60s Beetle it was inevitable that Sally caught the bug (pun intended). At the age of 15 she purchased her first Beetle, a 1300 1972 Marathon Beetle in poor condition, for the bargain price of £350. Over the next couple of years her father fully restored the sad-looking little car, including all the welding, engine and electrical.

Her mother, who is a seamstress, made custom seat covers in the same fabric as that covering the door cards. Sally’s main contribution to what had become a family project was wet sanding, flatting the hand-painted green gloss paint back, and shelling out costs towards parts from her summer job (which only paid £2.50 an hour). The car was supposed

to be finished in a pearlescent bright magenta, but she hadn’t bought enough paint so her Dad added white to bulk it out, resulting in a dappled effect baby pink. Sally attended Bug Jam (number 2) and purchased lots of parts. She describes shopping at the show as like being in a sweet shop. This was of course before online shops and

all the big traders filled the aisles at the shows with parts.

She left the show loaded with chrome running boards, new wings, chrome gravel guards and white wing beading, so excited to get the car on the road and to cruise round Skegness.

Sally still had this car when she started at Lincoln Art College. This is where she met her future husband Toby at age 19. Their love of air-cooled VWs was the reason why they first became friends.

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Since then Sally has owned a 1971 1200 Beetle, a lowered French import 1966 Squareback which was magazine featured, and a slammed 1968 Lotus White Bay micro bus (also magazine featured), and she is currently recommissioning a 1965 6-cylinder Mustang coupe. But we’re here to talk about her current car, this 1965 Type34 (Razor Edge) Karmann Ghia. This Razor was purchased in 2014 from her friend in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally a Texas car, the Razor had been laid up and not run since the early 1980s. They collected the car from Southampton Dock in

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2016 with new floorpans already installed. It was an extremely solid car especially for a Type34 and only required a couple of small patches of welding. It’s an original factory L456 Ruby Red car with factory red roof which is uncommon with Type34s as they predominantly had a black or white roof.

It had a pretty deep dent on the offside front swage line, which had been restored the old-school American way (packed full of filler). Tim Glover of Roadhouse Retro stripped it all out and straightened the wing, repairing the damage. Tim really is a wizard with metalwork. The entire car needed going through. All the rubbers and interior including carpets, door cards, etc. were crispy and falling apart. New rubbers were fitted all round including front and rear screen seals, sourced from Simon at Notchback and the Karman Ghia Owners Club.

A new pedal assembly was fitted.

All the door hinges had dropped and needed to be shimmed, along with new ignition and door locks. The Razor is notoriously one of the most difficult VWs to find parts for, so you can imagine Sally’s joy when Kinky Mick (God rest his soul) came through for them with a box of mixed Karmann Ghia and Type34 parts. Amongst other bits there was the Holy Grail of T34 parts which they required – a very rare undamaged T34 indicator stalk.

The Type34 shares a lot of parts

with the Type1 and Type3 but also has a lot of Type34-specific parts, and as the vehicle was only produced between 1962 and 1969 you can imagine that those parts are hard to find.

After cleaning out the carbs, replacing spark plugs and leads, etc., the motor was running for the first time in around 40 years but was still spitting out dust and leaves. Even when they drove the car to Ninove this March, the heaters had only just been connected and the same leaves and bits of crispy insects came flying out of the vents. Many hours/days were spent trying to work out various running issues, even after parking the car up next to Ian Clark’s Beetle and swapping everything electrical and fuel related. They even fitted a race fuel tank to see if it was contaminated fuel, only for them to discover it was a bent half shaft in the gearbox.

Many parts ended up getting salvaged from Toby’s Type3 Fastback project to get the Razor running. Toby sourced and fitted a 1960 Beetle gearbox which came on Oval-era brake drums, a happy accident as Sally was adamant that she wanted South African Sprintstar wheels, although fitting anything a little different to a Type3 is a quite difficult task without shortening drive shafts and a narrowed beam, etc. They wanted to retain the Type3 running gear, so with the shallower Oval drums it gave just enough clearance for the 5.5” SA Sprints to fit under the

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rear arches which were powder coated and diamond cut, wearing 145 R15 front and 165 80 15 rear tyres.

done such a fantastic job, you really can’t tell which bits are original and which are new.

The car had been painted several shades of red over the years in the States, and having baked in Texas it was very dry and tired with a lot of red oxide in places. They spent many hours flat sanding and polishing before finally giving in and sending it off to Steve Parsons, the Patina Blender, to even out where the wing was repaired and finesse the mismatched shades of red/pink. He went the extra mile, flatting the paint back even more, so the car now actually takes polish and keeps a shine. Steve also matched in some imperfections on the areas he repainted. He has

The original interior was also toast from baking in the Texas sun and literally turned to dust on contact. Sally’s friends Graham and Carla from Ragbag Trimmers reupholstered the full interior in dark green faux leather tuck and roll, with a new headliner and trimmed the dash pads. Mick Gilbert from KGOC was having a carpet set made for his Type34 and kindly asked if they wanted one making at the same time. A grey square weave with black edging carpet set was fitted and complements the green interior perfectly. The engine bay lining was replaced with grey vinyl after sourcing

some that was very similar to the original fibre core sound deadening, to re-cover the engine bay floor and engine lid.

A full wiring loom was made and fitted by Iain from Auto Elec. It was amazing to have every switch, light and electric component work as it should. They even found the switch for the fog lights which Sally had no clue was there. Toby found her a Blaupunkt Essen radio and correct Type34 facia at EBI 2019 (the bevels on the facia go the opposite way to Type 3 so they are harder to find). A Type3 accessory Petri full circle horn push was fitted to the original steering wheel and Wolfburg 3-point seat belts for safety.

For a while Sally used the car set up with the original 1500S twin carb single port engine but had nothing but issues, so a brand new 1776 engine with cam, twin 40s, CSP linkage and a CSP Python exhaust was fitted with all tinware blasted and power coated in Satin Black. All this engine work was all secretly built and fitted as a surprise 50th birthday present from Toby! Sally said that since then she hasn’t stopped smiling. The new engine just pulls so much better and makes driving in modern traffic a dream, especially now being able to overtake on motorways!

Sally has given us this list of thanks. “Thanks to friends

Ian Clark (Wolfsburg Performance Services), Alex Leiserach and Andy Goodwin for working behind the scenes helping Toby and keeping the new engine build a secret from me. Mark Reynolds at Just Kampers really helped out with all the engine parts. But the biggest thanks goes to my exceptional husband Toby for all his work and efforts throughout on the Razor. For all your enthusiasm, endless help and your happy wife happy life mentality.”

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Sally not only for 20-odd years of friendship but for her massive contributions to the community we all love so much.

‘VIVA’ Skeg Vegas indeed.

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See you at a

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show in 2025

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CHRISTO & JENNE-CLAUDE AND THE $4,000.000 BEETLE WORDS BY NED FAUX

Although it’s a little vulgar, I’m going to start with the price – which is 4 million dollars. This price makes this car maybe the most expensive Type1 VW Beetle ever to change hands. What’s so special about it? Well … technically, nothing. It’s not a KDF-wagen, a rare coach-built Hebmüller.

It’s a well restored 1961 (L380

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Turquoise) stock Beetle which has been wrapped up like a gift and displayed as a piece of art and, get this, it’s not even the original piece of art! I should probably say here as an art lover that of course art is widely considered to be subjective, meaning that its appreciation and interpretation are influenced by individual

perspectives, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. What one person finds beautiful, meaningful (or valuable), another may not and vice versa, so maybe it’s all about who wrapped it up rather than what’s wrapped up. I’ll leave it to you to decide.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were stylish artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations – often large landmarks and landscape elements wrapped in fabric. Born in Bulgaria and Morocco, the

pair met, fell in love and married in Paris during the late 1950s.

Christo introduced Jeanne-Claude to the world of art and they rather quickly started to work together.

Between them they became

famous for executing works such as such as wrapping the Arc de Triomphe, and wrapping islands in the Bay of Miami in Florida with 6.5 million square feet of floating fabric. The Reichstag, the Running Fence in California and The

Gates in New York City’s Central Park were also colossal projects executed during their careers, but at the start their scope was decidedly more modest.

Originally, while working under just Christo’s name in 1963, the couple convinced Claus Harden, a colleague of photographer and filmmaker Charles Wilp, to lend them his 1961 (L380

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Turquoise) VW Beetle, which Christo wrapped in waxed cloth and installed outside a gallery in Düsseldorf, entitled “Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon”.

The show was a great hit with both critics and the public, which really put them on the map. When the show was over, the fabric came off and the car sadly had to be returned. According to Christo’s nephew, Vladimir Yavachev, “the

friend had only just saved up enough money to buy the Beetle, so he wanted it back and in those days there was no way the couple would be able to afford to make an offer to buy it from him.”

That was ostensibly the end of that particular piece of art, but the duo continued getting bigger and bigger not only with the size of their projects but with the

popularity of their work which they began crediting to both “Christo and Jeanne-Claude”.

Fast forward to half-century later.

Christo was lecturing in Dusseldorf when a man in the audience raised his hand. He said, “Hey, remember me?” It was Claus Harden, who he had lost touch with all those years ago. He continued, “It was my car, and taking off the wrapping was

the biggest mistake of my life!”

1960s.”

This spun the couple into a bout of nostalgia and they made the decision to revisit the project once again. Yavachev recalls: “They had a kind of attachment to that wrapped Beetle because, ultimately, the work was related to freedom and we so much associate the Beetle with freedom and the counterculture of the

Shortly after the lecture, Christo bought a perfectly restored (L380 Turquoise) 1961 Volkswagen Beetle which he said wasn’t difficult to find – the same model and colour he and Jeanne-Claude had borrowed more than 50 years earlier. Yavachev explains that the hardest part was persuading Christo to get inside: “The idea

was to pick up the car from its seller on the outskirts of Frankfurt and use the meandering drive back to Switzerland for a rare road trip-style vacation. But Christo wanted to do so many things, so he was always very protective of his life.” It was all because the Beetle didn’t have seat belts. “He was like, ‘Wait … do

36

I have to get into this car?’ And I was like: ‘Yes, you have to. Get in!’”

Yavachev says: “The journey was a success and it was time to wrap the car. With Christo, everything is about aesthetics, and he was very particular about using this mustard color of wax tarp and mouse grey rope.”

The following year he completed the work, thus creating “Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon, 1963–2014”. This work not only recreated the original work, but he felt it also celebrated the artistic legacy of the duo, who disbanded only when JeanneClaude died in 2009, emphasizing their dedication to transforming

ordinary objects into extraordinary works of art.

Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon 1963–2014 was exhibited several times in Europe, but for the past decade has been in storage in Basel, Switzerland.

Christo passed away in 2020.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude never received financial support through sponsors or donations for their expensive, elaborate ideas. Instead, they sold sketches and a number of other smaller works created at the earlier stages to finance everything.

The art project still belonging to the Christo and JeanneClaude Foundation went on sale at the Gagosian Gallery where Art Basel Unlimited opened the sale for VIPs only on 10th June 2024.

With an asking price in the region of $4 million, the Beetle was set to be one of the most talked-about works of the “Unlimited Section”.

It is also, Yavachev says, “an unprecedented example of a large-scale object wrapped

by Christo hitting the market – the closest, in theory, that a collector will come to owning one of the artist’s ephemeral, fully realized projects. It’s very rare,” he says. “I can’t think of something on that scale, with that kind of iconic status that collectors can actually buy and exhibit.”

Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon, 1963–2014 sold that same day.

So where is it now? Well … amid the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the “Wrapped Reichstag”, from 11th June the Neue Nationalgalerie at the Kulturforum, a museum for modern art in Berlin, is showcasing the Wrapped 1961 Volkswagen Beetle Saloon 1963–2014 as part of an exhibition entitled “Extreme Tension: Art between Politics and Society”.

So if you fancy seeing what is thought to be the most valuable VW Type1 in history you now can.

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52

THE KEEPER? WORDS BY DAN MORRISSEY

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY THREE50SIX

Nick Gatt … Where do you even start with Nick Gatt? For starters, his mum makes a worldclass Scotch egg. But keeping more to the car side of things, Nick is known for being a bit of a revolving door in air-cooled Volkswagen ownership. Next time you see him it’s quite likely he’ll be driving a different car. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at a show in the same car he was

driving the previous year, and I’ve known him for around a decade.

A lot of us will have had multiple cars that come and go – projects that we buy and admit defeat on and so pass on, or that we know are a good buy. But one thing you can say for Gatt is that he uses them, all of them. He finds them, drives them,

might make a few changes, might not, but he always enjoys them. It’s highly likely that some of you reading this right now have sold a car to Nick or bought one from him. I asked him how many he’s had and he said that he’d actually only just counted because he wondered himself and the answer was “dead on 50, but that’s only the ones that I’ve had and actually driven”.

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When I asked him why he turns them around so much, he said that he just loves the cars and wants them all. He’s always looking at what’s for sale and if he sees something he really wants, he just has to have it. Usually that means that whatever car he’s currently driving has to be sold to get the next one.

So what’s his current fascination? Well it’s actually pretty special: it’s a RHD, UK-delivered car. It’s a first year of production Bay Window. Made, sold and registered in 1967. So it’s a ’67? Yes, it is, but also no it isn’t. VW launched the Bay Window as brand new for ’68. In August each year they started making the changes for the following year, creating an odd time period of three months where ’68 stuff was being built in ’67. Neither side is technically wrong. In the UK at least, on log books the date that the car was registered is what year the DVLA will say it is. So ’67.

But then you try and order a front screen for a ’67

Bay and you won’t be able to because the earliest Bays are ’68. So it’s a ’68. Confusing, isn’t it? There are actually loads of examples of the manufacturing year and calendar year not lining up. When we put the teaser of this shoot out on social media, the whole ’67 ’68 debate ruffled some feathers in both camps. So decide amongst yourselves. I’m just going to call it first year of production.

Another interesting feature regarding this bus is that it’s a factory High Top and the original purchaser requested that the bulkhead be cut

out and the side window added. Factory made, not a conversion!

So, how did Nick come to own it? Well, Nick wanted a bus again. As someone that has had loads of them I asked what it was that made this bus the one for him. “The originality of it mostly, it looked a solid bus, but the interior was great and all original, that really swayed me.” But, also by pure luck it happened to be in Cornwall, not far from Nick’s old housemate and long lost twin Mark Hutchinson. So Nick thought, I can go and see Mark, pop in and see Evil Ben and have a beer at the seaside with my mates who I don’t get to see often enough. The actual trip made the bus an

46

even more appealing option. So he started planning his trip down to Cornwall, to view the bus. He says, “I say view. I flew down there and didn’t have a way back if I didn’t buy it, so I pretty much knew before I left I was having it.”

Now with Gatt’s reputation for serial ownership, I should probably mention that this one might have broken his usual habit, as he has owned it for an entire year! That has to be some sort of record for him. I know that people must have asked if it’s for sale, too, and his usual answer to that question is nearly always yes. So much so that at EBI in Belgium one year, he took along his particularly nice Early

Squareback, popped it in the show and shine and sold it to the first man who enquired. He then had to figure out how to get back from Belgium to Essex with no car. So, what is it about this bus that has captured Gatt’s attention for this long, and has Nick finally found his forever car?

“No,” he laughs. He says that it’s true that he has had this bus longer than any other vehicle in the last 15 years and has thought about selling it a couple of times now. “Yeah, I’m always looking at what’s about, if I like anything. A couple of cars have come up that I really liked but no deals have been made yet.” He then showed me a picture of a sunburnt ’57 Coral Red Ragtop and said that he’d have sold the bus for that

car but someone beat him to it.

So it seems quite clear that the leopard has not changed his spots.

But back to the bus, and what has been done while it’s been in Nick’s possession. The usual mechanical overhaul and new brakes and fluids because, as I said earlier, Nick uses his cars. He and his lovely lady Vicky take the bus camping regularly and they needed it to be a good and reliable bus for their many journeys around the country in it.

In terms of looks, you’d think with the amount of time that Nick’s cars stay around he wouldn’t have the chance to change them very much, but he does. “Sometimes they need it to suit my taste, sometimes they don’t, but I do like to make them

mine.” For this car that meant a slight tweak to the ride height for a start. It was already running his preferred setup with a 4” narrowed beam, drop spindles and adjustable spring plates.

The next step was a new set of wheels. He went through a couple of options including original 5.5” Sprintstars before deciding on the stock steel wheel and hubcap combo you see here. But the biggest visual change, and quite a drastic one, was the 70s-style stripes. Nick said he saw a post on Instagram from a guy in Brazil who had just striped up his bus and there was something about it that really stuck with him. Not wanting to fork out and then hate the new look, Nick asked for some

help online from some Photoshop aficionados and had a few renderings of his bus with stripes on, and he decided to go for it. Off he went down to Spike’s Restorations who did the stripe work for him, and he couldn’t be happier. “I went back and forth on it so much but then just went for it and Spike did an amazing job. I love it.”

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To wrap things up, I asked Nick what was next for the Bay. Knowing him for as long as I have and after reading this far, you can probably guess the answer. “I’ll probably sell it at some point,” he laughed. He added that on a serious note, he’s always looking around and something always comes up, but it’ll take something good to make him want to sell it

and move on. He’s not bored of it, he loves driving it, and he loves going out with Vicky in it. It’s good for shows, it’s good for fishing, it’s good for days out. He knows he can get in it and get where he’s going and enjoy it. But then he also talked about the state of the market right now. There’s a lot for sale, but actually selling them seems to be more difficult and it’s not like before when you’d decide

to sell and it would be gone shortly after.

Deals take a lot longer and asking prices are a lot higher. But until the next time that he gets an offer he can’t refuse, he’ll enjoy the bus he has.

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ONE TO DRIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN PULLEN

54

WORDS BY STEVE WALKER

The way I generally write these things goes something like this: Ned asks me if I fancy writing about x, y or z. He will then send me some images, a contact number or email address, and I’ll have a chat with the owner while taking notes. If I know the car, owner or both it’s a bonus, but generally I get a feel for the subject matter during the conversation, and can find a hook to base the article around.

It might be the build specifics or even the personality of the owner that provides the spark.

In fact it could be anything. We work to print deadlines, and although we sometimes cut it fine the method seems to work. Or at least it did.

Russ Hancox, the flipflop-loving owner of this Squareback, is a friend. Which is a good job, because I have been asking him for weeks for the lowdown as far as the Square is concerned.

Now I know he’s had a lot on his plate recently, so I have not been as pushy as usual. And I know he operates at a – let’s say – less focused pace than many people. But I have pestered enough and I am writing this literally at the zero hour, weeks after getting the Ned nod.

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It’s a good job I know enough about this car to knock up and relate a tale of transatlantic good fortune, rattle-can resprays and the UK refine and define programme undertaken by Russ. Otherwise we would be screwed.

Half anticipating this scenario, I contacted my good friend and Nor Cal VW hunter Eric Deen. The conversation went something like this …

SW: “Eric, I’m fucked. I have some questions about the black ’67 Squareback. One word answers are ok – I’ll pad it out a bit. When was it found?”

ED: “I found it by answering an ad on thesamba titled “dads garage”, where the daughter of a deceased VW mechanic was selling her dad’s collection. It wasn’t until I had loaded up two trucks and a 20ft trailer of parts that she said there was more stuff at her mom’s house, including her dad’s old VW race car. Once we cleared all the boxes and other stuff burying it, we found out that out that it was a Squareback. That was in 2017.”

SW: “Did you lower it?”

ED: “No, the suspension is how it came, but I blessed it with a set of Superior Turtlebacks. I also got it running and driving after a 20-year slumber, did the brakes, fluids, all that nonsense. Plus I installed the full red TMI interior kit.”

SW: “I don’t think UK folks will relate to primer paint jobs that are so old they look like concrete.”

ED: “Will they relate to: I had the bright idea to do some bodywork, and just give it an inch and a half deep paint job in my home garage? I used Eastwood’s flat stealth black and a tiny loaner compressor, but I didn’t realise it was supposed to be thinned. This meant the finish looked like a black orange. A lot of cutting and buffing later it looked like it does now, I

guess. Gotta thank Kyle the Aussie Type3 lover for his assistance with the paint. I kinda think the fumes may have long-term affected him, though. LOL.” SW: “I was convinced you rattlecanned it.”

ED: “That might have been a better finish, LOL. Oh, the car was originally black. The interior is original paint.

No idea on the motor size, but it had dual Weber 40 DCNFs and it ran like sheep from Ron Huff.”

So that’s the finders bit. If you spotted no side trim, that was preEric.

In 2018 I went to CA and drove the Square around a bit. I liked it. Eric liked my dollars. And the car came to live in the UK early in 2019. Finders doesn’t necessarily equate to keepers with me. It’s the thrill of the chase, or a deep-seated psychological dysfunction. Either way it wasn’t long before a connection at McLaren was the proud owner, tweaking a few bits and pieces here and there but always under the watchful gaze of Russ (who also works at McLaren, and who managed to snag the car for himself a year or so later).

Russ is no stranger to VWs. I can say with certainty that along with his brother Pip he was one of the original pioneers of the UK new wave custom scene (as it was described in some traditional VW mags of the period). He is also into the kustom and culture scene surrounding older American tin, and has been for years. This has given him a great understanding of what works aesthetically on older vehicles and how to fix stuff, and a curious sense of fashion, but hey – none of us are perfect. And if that’s not enough, his McLaren day job is restoring the original F1s as part of the Special Operations division, so fiddling with an old Type3 shouldn’t be too taxing.

Russ wasn’t out to reinvent the wheel with the Square, but he did want to iron out some reliability niggles and sort out the VW of America dealer-fitted roof rack. These lowslung ally roof racks were fitted with self-tapping screws, and while we all exhale a collective noooo, consider Russ, who had drip drip drip preying on his mind every time it even looked like rain.

The grief of welding the resulting

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holes, repainting the roof and replacing the headlining for good measure put an end to those roof rusting away nightmares. But the gearbox required specialist help, and the engine was proving troublesome too. Solving problem A was simple: drop the offending transmission off with Pete from The Cog Box, let him work some magic, and refit the fully reconditioned, cleaned and painted unit – simples.

Problem B is peculiar to Type3s and the unique way the fan unit and impeller use a rubber sandwich composite joint for a bit of harmonic dampening. Just like modern dual mass flywheels, over time the composite can fail, allowing movement between the mounting faces. This in turn gives alarmingly false readings when trying to set the timing, and eventually results in a horrible rattle. Russ had the full house: iffy timing, iffy carbs and the horrible rattle. That’s engine out, so a deep clean made sense, before a good used impeller and a pair of reworked Dellorto 40 DRLA carbs were fitted. The novelty of not having the timing marks jumping all over the place soon wore off, but the car finally ran as Russ had always hoped. He even got all the gauges and dash lights working, and chucked new rubbers in and around the car where necessary.

Now it’s a well-known fact that Type3s are by far the nicest aircooled VWs to drive. I’m not saying the best – that’s our own personal choice. But they do drive nicely, and even better when the front beam isn’t smashing into every bump taller than a discarded vape wrapper. Thankfully there is an acclaimed modification which shaves the protruding lower beam mounts, leaving them flush and creating a lot more clearance.

You can retrofit a Beetle beam of course, but Type3s drive nice for a reason and the original beam setup plays a big part. Russ didn’t want the narrowed look, just a nicer ride, and that’s what he got after the beam mount mod. I think he may have changed the tyre profiles a little from when I had the car, and I think he may have dropped it a tad more, especially the rear. Of course, he could have fitted a nuclear reactor, ejector seats and night vision heads-up displays, but as he didn’t bother telling me and it’s really time to wrap this up, I guess we will never know. Actually I would

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put money on him giving me a shout tomorrow.

You will usually find Russ and the Squareback, together with his partner T and her blue-and-black Ghia, at most decent VW events, festivals and music events and generally living full lives in their own way, which is why I’m ok with going solo on this.

I guess Russ would shout out to T, anyone who helped with the car, the recliner panzers, and his brother Pip who was there at the start and who is also still knocking up cool rides himself.

Of coures Russ came through a day too late so we’ve mangaed to get his actual thanks in.

“Thanks Ned. Beinn Goodchild at Goody’s Metal and Paint for the roof rework and paint, Cogbox Pete for the gearbox rebuild, Danny Lord for the Swedish Reflectors and of course T for continuing to support the stupidity! Sorry I didn’t get do it properly with Steve, been a lot of family stuff going on…..”

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KAI’S COLLECTION

WORDS BY KAI SCHILDERS & NED FAUX

Hello Kai. I’ve no idea why it’s taken quite so many years to talk to you officially for Hayburner.

I guess we’ve been friends socially and through parts trading for over a decade now; I think it’s a good time for me to say how much I respect what you do. I know exactly how much knowledge and determination it takes to hunt these rare items down and I also know how difficult it is to make

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anything that’s close to a profit. I also feel like you’re providing a much-needed service for the worldwide aircooled community. There are a lot of vehicles out there that would remain incomplete or missing their period accessories if it weren’t for what you do. … So thank you. Thank you for your work, your friendship, and for taking the time to speak to us today.

Q: Let’s start with your name, the name of your business and where you are from.

A: Thanks for the kind words, Ned! My name is Kai Schilders, I’m 47 years young and I am the owner of Kai’s Collection, where I deal in Vintage Treasures out of Rockanje, The Netherlands.

Q: You’re a family man, right? I seem to remember a cute little boy in a Hayburner hat. I guess he’s not that little any more. Feel free to give your family a shout out.

A: Yes, my son Ruben is 12 now – not so cute anymore but still a blast to have around! He lives with me all the even weeks, and in the odd weeks he has a loving home at his mom’s nearby. I’m thankful for that. He wore that Hayburner hat that you so kindly gave him for many years. He lost many of my Kai’s Collection hats but never lost that one. I’m not sure what to think of that.

Q: Is Kai’s Collection Vintage Treasures full time or do you have a day job as well?

A: I used to work as a back office manager at a big importer of LED lighting, and did the VW parts on the side. That job was very stressful, so after I had my second burnout within six years at that company, I knew I had to turn my life around if I didn’t want a third.

That’s when I quit my job and started Kai’s Collection (in 2017) as my full-time occupation, and it’s still going strong.

Q: How did you get into all this?

Where did your passion for old Volkswagens come from?

A: I wasn’t a car guy at all, but in my mid-20s my then-girlfriend was gifted some money by her aunt for a used car. I said, let’s get one of those old Saab 900s – they look cool! But she wanted a Beetle, so not long after we bought a pretty cool mostly original paint 1966 Sea-sand Beige Beetle and we both loved it. As I didn’t know anything about cars, I joined some VW forums to get information and that’s how I came in contact with other VW people and we started going to shows like Budel with them. That’s where I learned about all the cool accessories that were made for these cars, and another passion was born.

Q: What classic cars have you had in the past and do you have any projects on the go currently?

A: After we broke up, my ex kept the ’66 so then I saved up some money and bought a slammed ’59 and drove it like I stole it. A few years later I traded that up for a ’57 Oval Ragtop and then a nice ’63 Ragtop, and few years later I saved enough to trade that up for a ’58 Lowlight Ghia. The Ghia was unwelded, one old respray, original interior and matching 30hp engine – killer car! So I slammed that on original Ansens, put in an Empi Universal steering wheel and a Hurst shifter, and drove it for many years. I also took it to many European shows like Hessisch Oldendorf, Spa, European Bug-In, Budel of course, VolksWorld Show, etc. Although it looked really cool, it wasn’t a prize winner at shows, but that’s not my thing anyway.

Literally every time I parked that car and walked away I looked around and thought, “damn that’s a badass Ghia”, so to me it won first prize every day! I also had some other cars over the years like a few Bay Windows and more Beetles, a 1953 Barndoor Kombi (big project), 1950 Split Beetle, a very early 911 (May ’66) preproduction Porsche 944, 1971 Audi 100LS. But last year I sold my last hobby car, a cool stock 1960 Beetle that had been my daily driver for about four years.

I’m saving up for a house so I need the money for that. When the house has been sorted I’ll start looking for another air-cooled. I’ve always loved the ’58/’59 Ragtop Beetles with semaphores and the 30hp engine, so hopefully I’ll find a nice unrestored one.

Q: When did you begin buying and selling parts?

A: Very soon after we got our ’66 Beetle, I started browsing eBay for cool stuff to dress it up a bit. One of the first things I found was an NOS Please Pass sign to mount on the back, which would light up with the press of a button. Unfortunately it went over my budget, but the seller listed another one after that. Long story short, he had found a pallet full of them and was selling them one by one on eBay. I bought the ones that went cheap, and then sold them for a bit more online and at shows. All in all I bought and sold about 40–50 of these, and that’s how it all started. I also got the

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original cardboard Please Pass advertising sign from him, which I still have to this day and will probably never sell.

Q: You seem to keep to the really old vintage and rare items. Are you not interested in more generic parts?

A: Ever since my mom told me I was special, I’ve had an interest in special stuff. It still gives me a kick when I find a rare part that no one else can find, much more than a generic part that can be found anywhere. I do sell generic parts sometimes, but then usually they’re NOS high quality items.

I’m happy to supply those to keep our beautiful cars on the roads worldwide.

Q: What is the best haul (job lot) of parts that you’ve found?

A: This must be what I call my “Sweden-find”. I have a long-time VW collector friend in Sweden who had been telling me he might want to start selling his VW parts collection of 35 years. He’s always been into rare accessories like me so he had a crazy collection!

He was still pretty emotionally attached to the parts though, which is understandable after 35 years of passionate collecting. So over the next few years, I drove up to Sweden a few times and bought everything he was willing to let go at that moment. And last year I bought the last part of it, which were his beloved steering wheels and radios – 23 Split Beetle radios and over 20 rare accessory steering wheels with horn rings and the coolest horn buttons – the find of a lifetime for me! Never say never, but this will be very hard to beat!

Q: Do you have parts you’d never sell for any reason? If so, would you mind telling us about a couple of them?

A: I’m not a hardcore collector, actually. It’s the hunt that gives me the thrill, not so much the actual owning. After I’ve owned anything for a while I can usually let it go again quite easily. I do have a small box of not for sale parts that are correct for a ’58/’59 Ragtop, as I know I will own one at some point in my life and will put these on that car. One of those items is an NOS Wegu rubber marked VW 1200 hinter mitte (centre rear) that looks like the accessory rubbers on the

bumper guards, only this one mounts horizontally in the centre of the rear bumper. I found a box of these 15 years ago, and no one I’ve talked to since has ever seen them elsewhere – not in pictures, not on any Beetle in the world, not in accessory catalogues, nowhere!

I will probably sell a few of them, but definitely not all because this will 100% get mounted on my bumper!

Q: Could you run us through the top 10 favourite parts you’ve ever acquired.

A: That’s a tough question, really.

For starters, because I sometimes scroll through old pictures and get surprised by how many parts I have forgotten about finding.

I guess that comes with age.

Also, 10 years ago I got excited about different parts than now, for example. But I’ll share 10 cool ones with you:

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1. All VW enamel signs, but especially the Cremona and the Tax Free Cars.

2. Rosenthal matching porcelain vase & ashtray pairs.

3. Petri Pealit steering wheel with horn ring and St Christopher horn button.

4. Albert swan neck mirrors with the early hooded mirror heads.

5. Original VW logo’d glovebox pull, one of 12 ever made.

6. My three Hazet VW toolboards (1951, mid-50s, 1961).

7. Pre-’56 California large plate VW dealer licence plate frames.

8. Zwitter wingnut air filter.

9. Prototype Kamei gas pedal cover in red – never went into production.

10. Becker Monza radio with the grills instead of clock.

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Q: Anyone you’d like to thank?

A: First of all I’d like to thank you and Vic and the rest of the Hayburner crew for doing what you do in such a warm and giving way. I know I’ve told you this before in person, but I still think that’s very special in today’s world!

Also my parents for helping out

when needed. I couldn’t have done it without them. Thanks to everyone who’s ever bought parts from me, or sold me parts.

I couldn’t have done it without you either. And many friends who have helped me with part details, leads, at swapmeets – too many to mention but you all know who

you are! Last but not least, I want to thank all the customers and other VW folks worldwide who have become friends over the years. It’s the cars that started the connections but it’s the people who make them special. Thank you all for making my life so much happier!

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PMG PHOTOS BY NED FAUX WORDS BY EHRSAM WATTS

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Let’s start with Graham Page, or “Grum” to his friends. Grum is 47 years old and lives in Kislingbury, Northants, with his charming wife Lian and daughter Alice. By day he works as a cable jointer for a large electrical company, and when not juggling work and family life – or out enjoying the van – you’ll often find them at

gigs. Between the three of them their taste in music is wildly eclectic, which keeps things interesting! Grum’s love for Volkswagens began when he was a kid. A mate’s brother had a late Beetle with a “nose-down” stance, killer Pearl White paint, a wide body kit and a whale tail. It was the dream setup back in the ’90s, and Grum was obsessed. Once old enough he went to view a few Beetles, but never ended up buying one.

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Fast forward about 18 years.

Grum was heading back from London when a friend mentioned he was selling a VW. He assumed it would be a Beetle but it turned out to be a 1978 Bay Window.

He’d never really considered one before but figured that he’d go and see it. At first glance he didn’t like it. It was a bit of a project, and he didn’t know much about them. But for some reason he couldn’t stop thinking about it. … Two weeks later he went and bought it. Once the bus was back home, that “small project” turned into a full-blown build. Over eight months he worked on it daily. He learned so much through the process, and that van opened the door

to many others: a ’67 Panel Van, a ’70 Adventure Wagon, a ’65 Beetle and a ’66 Karmann Ghia.

Grum and Lian have visited most of the big UK VW shows, and especially love Skeg Vegas and DVF. They have even made it to Ninove a few times, a show they feel is next level with its quality and the sheer volume of stunning vehicles. Grum told us that along the way they’ve met some amazing people who’ve become close friends.

Their current VW is known as the Post Master General (PMG). In 1957 the PMG Bus was shipped from Germany to Australia in kit form. As a CKD (completely

knocked down) bus it was assembled in the Volkswagen of Australia plant before beginning its life as a cable jointer’s van – ironic, considering this is Grum’s profession. It came to the UK in 2014, had a few repairs, and was driven around at stock height with chunky tyres. Over time, it evolved quite a bit. Grum had seen the PMG at shows such as Skeg Vegas and the RSVP BBQ. He couldn’t really miss it, being an early RHD Panel Van with semaphores, worn paint, original logos and incredible patina.

To his surprise it went up for sale. He missed out on buying it the first time around, but in 2018 he got another chance.

While heading off for a weekend

trip, he and a few mates made a detour to view the PMG. The consensus? He had to buy it, and had already planned to. A few weeks later he was on a train to Redditch to go and pick it up. Grum handed over the cash and drove home buzzing with

excitement.

Once home, Grum started digging into the van and quickly realised it needed more work than expected. The front end needed sorting –

especially the lower shock mounts which had been cut off. That set the tone for what was to come.

After addressing the suspension, it became clear that the engine needed attention. He swapped the repro Solex 30/31 for a genuine Solex carb, upgraded the barrels from 1500 to 1641cc, and installed an electronic ignition. It ran great for a couple of years – until the case cracked. He sent the motor to Brian at Modified Aircooled, who rebuilt it. That engine is still waiting for Grum to

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finish building it back up! In the meantime, his friend Maki has kindly lent him a 1641 twin-port, which he’s been running for the last five years (cheers, Maki!).

When Grum first got the PMG, the interior was just a basic rock-and-roll bed – not quite right for a family. Joe Mallone from JoJo Interiors reworked it into a proper family setup: Westy sink, table, wardrobe, and opposing bench seats that fold into

a bed. There’s plenty of room at the back for Alice to sleep, and it works brilliantly for their camping lifestyle. They use the van all year round – for holidays, shows, festivals and weekend getaways.

Over time, he has kept making improvements. One of the biggest was changing the ride height. He wanted it lower, which meant cutting out the existing front tubs and fitting larger ones. He mentioned it to friend Mark Hutchison, and the next morning he showed up with a sheet of steel and built a set of tubs on the spot. They fitted them that same day – then headed to the pub to celebrate.

After trying a few wheel setups, he landed on chrome Lemmerz Sprintstars with 165/50/15 tyres up front and 205/60/15 on the rear. He feels the larger rear tyres really set the van apart from the usual 185/65/15 setup you often see. His latest upgrade was adding disc brakes and Wilwood calipers. Combined with the servo that he’d already installed, the braking performance is now phenomenal.

The family use the PMG for everything – from weekly shopping and tip runs to road trips and shows. Grum genuinely loves driving it and will

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always choose it over the daily car when he can. He has had a few offers to sell it – some of them very tempting – but he told us he can’t see himself parting with it any time soon because it just works so well for them.

Grum says: “Getting the PMG to where it is today hasn’t been easy, but I’m incredibly proud that it’s all been done at home, on our drive. I’m fortunate

to have a brilliant group of friends who are always there to help, lend tools, or offer advice when I hit a snag.” He would like to say a big thanks to Hayburner, the OGB boys, JZ Wells, Chris Hill, Ash Travill, Brian Thompson, Mark Pindar, Toby Hoath, Ade Thorpe, Jason Randell – and especially to Lian and Alice.

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DUNDEE AND BACK

Each of the VW’s we have had has had a piece of artwork produced to celebrate it. Paintings, flags, t-shirts. Although our 1961 Swedish enduro rally old speed Beetle and film star to boot, had not had this lavish treatment. We decided to have the car immortalised on canvas and added to our wall of memories, it got me thinking about how the VW community does not just sustain bodywork shops, mechanics and parts businesses, festivals and merch to name a few but also wider sectors like the arts and charities. All of it came together in one big weekend to Dundee, north of the border to collect a piece of art.

Malcolm, a Scottish artist of some significant talent, had agreed to develop a painting of our Beetle ‘Eva Rose’ all based on pictures and video footage we sent him. With a brief the car should be on a rally stage in Sweden but in the snow. As the painting was developed Malcolm sent us the emerging art piece and we were able to influence its form as it progressed. We added spectators and we sent him video footage of our trip back from Ninove via Thiepval. We also added my wifes 1973 T2 Devon Moonraker, we pointed out the light on the roof and Malcolm added it all along with light beams and it was looking superb. We did not know where in the world Malcolm was though when we commissioned the picture, it was all from a post on Facebook and when the day to either collect or have the picture posted came we discovered he was based on the outskirts of Dundee, a proud Scotsman.

He was willing to post within the cost of the commission but we thought why not take a Friday off and do some of the Scottish lands and Dundee from the East Middle-Lands? Neither of us had been to Dundee before and it was pre-covid when we last ventured into that grand northern land in a VW. So we did. And had an idea of how we could support that wider community at the same time if we could make it work. The idea, which became a team task, was we would use this road trip to promote a charity, an artist and make dreams come true. Within 7 days we had a plan, we had the support of Malcolm, we had support from Hayburner, we selected and had support from a charity and we had support from Freddy and the force behind such events as the annual Ninove gathering and the Ardennen Rennen. This is why you are now sat reading about it over a coffee at home or a beer round a campfire at a festival in a field where days before cows were taking a dump!

Malcolm used his local knowledge to help us select backdrops for the photos you see and agreed to do the handover to support Scottish artists. The registered charity was Bucket List Wishes who aim to grant one wish from your bucket list if you are terminally ill. Because this is a registered charity you have the confidence of knowing it is governed by the Charity Commission and is being run correctly.

Bucket List Wishes focus on what truly matters; the person, their wishes and making dreams a

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WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARREN WARD

reality with the people they love creating lasting memories that are treasured forever. A charity close to our hearts as my wife has Stage 4 cancer. Ned at Hayburner listened to the idea and was supportive straight away and Freddy phoned me immediately when he heard the idea and sprang into action. The idea was Sam, my wife, and I would look at donating the co-pilot / navigators seat in my Beetle for the Ardennen Rennen classic VW rally in Belgium in late September 2025 to Bucket List Wishes to auction off to raise monies for the charity to support more bucket list gifts and provide them ongoing access to our air-cooled camper and car for others that had approached the charity.

We are trying to work all this through currently. Every year the charity has a 1-day festival to raise funds to keep doing what they are doing and this year it is the 5th July. The auction being held at the 1-day festival.

Unfortunately, due to insurance issues they would not be able to offer the seat we offered to someone as a bucket list gift directly. Maybe you want to get to their 1-day festival this year or put it in the calendar for next and see what you can bid for at the auction?

So we found and booked some accommodation on the quay side in Dundee with views over the quay at a reasonable rate and with a great forecast we could enjoy a coffee in the Scottish sun close by. Lovely.

When we met Malcolm the artist and his wife Maureen to collect the picture they were so excited. Malcolm had owned a 1970 Beetle for a few years in the early 80’s and loved it so I took them both out for a ride around their city. The memories came flooding back, I think by the end of the day they were searching for their own classic Beetle.

Stuff we saw the Old Mother Shiptons Cave - Probably draughty and a fixer upper, Scotch Corner – No eggs!

The Angel of the North – Maybe would benefit from a coat of VW141 Coral Red paint. We found that Cross border truckers are about as patient as a Tasmanian Devil on speed and although Dundee is at sea level we only seemed to go up hill from the Middle Lands to get to it.

Things we think we know from the trip: The Scots love fast VW’s round Dundee, especially Golfs, up north is up hill, they have massive horses in Scotland, the coastline from St Andrews to Craile and Leven is stunning with great roads and best of all is the Ship Inn at Elie.

My god Scotland is beautiful and more than just the North Coast 500. For some it will be further than it was us, for others closer but it is worth the trip even if you just get over the border. Perhaps a trip to a VW festival over the border should go on your bucket list, perhaps the grass is greener in bonnie Scotland!

My mechanic, Sam my wife, and I will continue to support Bucket List Wishes charity with our dubs being available to the charity to make dreams come true. Fingers crossed Eva gets to the start line of Ardennen Rennen now! And maybe we will work out how Hessisch in 2026 plays a role in making someones dreams come true. Hopefully they and we will see you there!

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TRIO PHOTOGRAPHY BY SI MEDLICOTT WORDS BY TOBY WALKER

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There’s no doubt about it, the Old Speed style has been growing healthily over the last decade. With specific events appearing like the Peter Max Muller Rennen and more recently the Ardennen Rennen in Europe, it’s really blown up. That’s not to say that Old Speed is a new thing.

People have been tuning and racing old VWs since the 1940s. The most famous name from this era is Okrasa, led by Gerhard Oettinger, the pioneer with a vision for today’s tuning, manufacturing his own camshafts in 1948 and specifically focusing on performance enhancements for the early Volkswagen Beetles’ 25 and 36 horsepower engines. With my dad getting me into motor sport from an early age, I can spend days looking through old photos of early Beetles and Porsches competing in Alpine rallies and the like, examining all the subtle mods that went into making the little Beetle more competitive. If you are interested, there’s a whole group dedicated to it on Facebook – VW Old Speed Racers. Check it out next time you have five.

Before we focus on the three cars we are featuring here, all perfectly styled in the Old Speed fashion, let’s meet the owner. These three beauties belong to Myles Yarney, another massive petrol head and enthusiast.

Myles buys and sells VWs for a living, but every now and then a car – or in this case three – comes along that he just can’t let go of. His interest in cars, especially race cars, stems back to his late father, who was quite the talent when it came to motorsport.

Myles spent years going to many different circuits with his dad and racing his many cars. Myles says: “I have a special bond with Lydden Hill (where this feature was shot), as my dad raced here, first in the 60s and 70s and later returning in the 80s and winning a championship and setting a lap record. It was also the track that almost killed him, but we won’t dwell on that. I have so many great memories from here, so when Ned asked if I could arrange a photoshoot here I was on it.”

No. 49

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So let’s start with the car Myles drives the most – #49 – a 1957 Deluxe Oval with mostly OG paint. Myles tells us the reason he drives this one the most is the fact that

it has factory reclining seats, which makes sense if you have ever driven a rally car.

This car was found in a barn in Norway before ending up with Marco De Waal,

another name synonymous with Old Speed style cars, amongst other cool VWs. Marco mildly lowered the car and fitted a set of original date-stamped 356 steel

wheels and stock drums.

The 30hp engine is fitted with a genuine Okrasa 1400 kit, including crank, heads, carbs/manifold, 8 dowel flywheel, crank pulley,

with genuine Abarth 4 tip exhaust. The case was also full flowed with a deep sump as these early engines held much less oil than the later cases. He participated in a

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couple of events in the car before selling it to Mark Lambourne, who Myles bought it from. Myles wanted to take the Old Speed look further, and fitted Sev Marchal lamps front (with OG leather covers) and rear. He also added a cool pillar-mounted directional lamp and Swedish headlamp mesh grills. He commissioned a local signwriter, Terry, to hand-paint all the external livery. Myles used

photos from old motorsports magazines to make sure everything painted on was period correct. The interior of the car features an original Halda speed pilot rally clock, period head rests, a vintage speed shifter and various other original period accessories.

Myles, along with navigator Darren Clagget, entered this car into the 2022 and 2023 Ardennen Rennen, organised by Freddy

Peters of EBI and Ninove fame, driving the car to Belgium, competing and driving home, and finishing 7th both times. Pretty good going, I’d say. Myles loved this event so much that this is where car #50 came

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in. Myles bought this car so he could invite a couple of mates along to enjoy the ride.

In fact car #50 is the car our very own Ned drove to take part in the Rennen with Steve Walker in 2023 … which leads us neatly on.

No. 50

This is a 1958 Swedish car with mostly original paint which came to Myles via Andy Finch of Spike’s Vintage Restoration. The car

is stock height, running 356 steels on gravel tyres. Again this car features Sev Marchal lamps front (with OG leather covers) and rear. He again

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added a cool pillar-mounted directional lamp and handpainted signwriting by Terry to match #49. Inside we find the car’s original interior adorned with a super-cool Petri deep dish wood rim steering wheel and gear

knob, and a pair of period head rests, original period Hella dash-mounted map lamp, and other period accessories. The engine is a 1400cc with Wolfsburg West kit. These kits have been remade as a modern

Okrasa kit. This car also features a 4 tip Abarth.

This is the car that Ned and Steve competed in last time and are set to return to the Ardennen this year with a hope to improve their PB.

No. 51

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Myles had seen photos of this car competing in the Peter Max Muller Rennen, so when it came up for sale he wasted no time and the trio was born. This car

is also a 1957 Oval. Myles bought it last year from Norway and all he had to do was to register it. The car is another Swedish Oval in original black paint

(there is a theme appearing here!). It has an original red interior, restored from the pan up in 2018/19. It is stock height on original chrome 356 staggered offset steels.

The engine is a 36hp from a 1958 which had been overhauled by VW in the 1980s,

Bosch blue coil, distributor and a NOS carb fitted. Eventually it will receive the Okrasa treatment but for now it serves its purpose.

The CSP Sebring style exhaust looks and sounds awesome and the aluminium air scoops and deckled louvres look the part.

One of the things for me when styling an Old Speed car is that the mods need to look like they could have been done in period, and back then modifications were made to improve performance and weren’t always about how it looked. The ’57 is de-bumpered which makes it look hard as hell. It has a

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pair of bonnet-mounted Marchal fog/spots, another period look. The Viking bonnet livery, Mason autos, Pegasus and headlight teardrops were already hand-painted on the car, but Myles had Terry the sign painter add the number 51 to the doors. Myles tells us: “This car will also be taking part in the

AR next year as part of a three-car UK team. I point. He is a true supporter of the VW just need to decide who will be driving it.” community. Talking of that, featuring three cars as a main feature is a first here at Myles has some beautiful cars and attends Hayburner and I hope you enjoy the fact a lot of shows around the UK, so you will that Ned, Vic and the team are always no doubt have seen some of the awesome pushing new ideas to keep things fresh and cars he has saved over the years at some exciting for the readers.

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CORAL NOT CORAL PHOTOS BY SI MEDLICOTT WORDS BY JAMES PEENE

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Anyone familiar with Paul Pace will know he’s owned a lot of VWs. Cool ones too. Cars many would give a valuable piece of their anatomy to clamber behind the wheel of. A PG/SG (Palm Green/Sand Green) Split? Bought one, modified one, sold one. Body-dropped Brazilian Bay? Same deal. And ditto a whole raft of killer Bugs, but none of them ever seem to stick around for

long. It’s a familiar tale, we’re sure, as like most of us there’s always something else out there to catch the eye as he searches for his forever car. You know, the keeper.

So, whisper it quietly, but this may just be the one. And why wouldn’t it? Ignore the Split and Oval window pervs, because it doesn’t get much cooler than an early big

window car with semaphores. You get all the cool Oval details, but a less claustrophobic interior with windows you can see out of. That’s a winwin. And, if you go a little off-piste and find yourself something built away from the main VW mothership in Wolfsburg – say, in Australia – you can get a cool, rare colour too.

We know what you’re thinking. Coral Red

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isn’t rare and it’s not cool if you don’t dig the pink, but Paul’s Bug is actually Manly Tan, which sounds way cooler and is the Volkswagen Australasia Ltd factory in Clayton, Melbourne’s own take on L351Coral Red. The VW satellite factory down under sourced its own paint from Dulux Australia Pty Ltd, so Manly Tan has a Dulux colour number – 7940 – that was an Australian

market only colour.

Part buffers will also know that VWs assembled at the Clayton plant were built with all manner of homemarket parts, hence the little kangaroos stamped on them.

It’s the details like this that make a lot of difference to a car and explain why Paul has quite an obsession with keeping it (mostly) original and developed such an attachment to it. He says: “I’ve actually owned this one for quite a while. I think about two years, but it took a quite a long time to build because I was doing it on a budget and just built it on the back burner. Probably, the longest part was getting it registered.

That took six months so I didn’t get it done until the end of last year and by then I’d missed all the shows anyway. The issue was that it had come in from Australia

rather than one of the more regular import routes, like the US.” Whilst it took the DVLA a ridiculous amount of time to make up their minds about Paul’s Manly Tan, he knows the full story behind this car. He says: “It was built on 8 July 1959 and delivered on 16 July 1969 to Meaghers Machinery (the

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local VW dealer) in Forbes, New South Wales where it was sold to Aub and Mary Connors.

It was then part-exchanged for a Holden to J.R. Sealey Ltd in Condobolin (also in NSW) who used it as a demonstration vehicle.

It was crashed on its first ever test drive and received damage to the near-side rear quarter panel and was kept by Gerald Sealey.

He later sold it to Patrick Ryan, who used to tow his caravan behind it and he owned it until he passed away in 1984.

“After Gerald died it was passed to his niece, Ann Bowditch, and it sat on her and her husband Pete’s land in Condobolin until Sam Hutchings from Aussie Kombi Hunter found it in 2018.

Terry Settle then bought it from him and shipped it over. Sam Creswell bought it off him and started working on it, welding in new pans and so on. I bought it off Sam as a project in April 2023.”

Hang on, new floor pans? Well, it turns out it had been sitting in a field and it’s not always

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as hot and dusty in Australia as you might have thought.

Paul says: “It was left sitting in a field in Condobolin in a spot that a river runs through. A few years after Aussie Kombi Hunter bought it, there was a massive flood so I think it would have washed away if it had still been there.”

As it stands, it didn’t get away entirely scotfree. Paul reveals: “At some point in the past that area flooded, so when I got it the gearbox was full of water and the engine case was properly corroded internally as it was also full of water.” But more of that in a mo.

Paul says: “When Sam Creswell took it on, he decided to separate the body from the pan and strip it down. He welded new panels in and did some brake work before putting the body back on, and then it just sat and then he didn’t really do anything else with it.

“When I got it, it still needed a few little repairs that I managed to do with the body on. It was mostly standard Beetle stuff, like on the front bulkhead corner bottoms and the section behind the pedals, but there were also random areas like inside the driver’s door top bolts and the bonnet had split near the stay.

“All of the localised paint repairs were done by me, and the patina blending by Steve ‘The Patina Blender’ Parsons.

“After that it was just a case of recommissioning everything.” Which obviously included the waterlogged engine and gearbox. … But the juice was worth the squeeze as it was an original matching numbers car when Paul bought it and that remains the case now. The original 30 horse engine was split and given a full rebuild by Rob David, who doesn’t really advertise and just does it for a bit of a hobby. Paul says: “It had barrels and pistons and a few new internals, but it basically looks like it’s never been touched, which is exactly what I wanted. It’s still running on 6-volts as well.

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“It came with those flashy elephant-thing side indicators in the pillars, but it’s now got fully functioning semaphores and everything works perfectly.

“It had been lowered a bit when I got it. It was on dropped spindles with stock spring plates, but it came with some adjustable rears. I wanted a sixinch narrowed beam, but money was a bit tight, so I bought a four-inch one off Facebook Marketplace and turned it into a six-inch shockless beam myself.

I added a steering damper and bump steer kit, and it’s also got an EVA Resto pitman arm quick steer extender.

“It’s also got Late Beetle discs in 5 x130 on the front and is running adapters on the rebuilt stock

rear drums, and 5” and 6” chrome Fuchs that were detailed by Retro Restoration. Tyres are 205/70s and 135/80 Nankangs.”

Worry not, stock police. Paul has kept all the car’s stock suspension parts and its original steel wheels in case it ever needs returning to standard in the future. …

As should be expected, all those years languishing in a field in Condobolin had taken their toll on the interior, so Paul tracked down some replacement seats on Tradera (Swedish eBay). They were collected and stored by Nils Kommet and brought to the UK by Gemma Hodgkin. Replacement front door cards came from Jonny Java and rears from Jake Hilling. A fresh headliner and carpets

were installed by Stewart at VHS trimming and upholstery and Neil Mabbley came up trumps with some correct floor mats. Seatbelts were added for safety and there’s a genuine VW parcel shelf and original accessory Albert clip on the door mirror.

Future plans include installing some fender skirts, but that will require changing up the rear wheels and tyres to make everything fit.

For now, Paul says he would like to thank “Fellows Speed Shop for being cool with me building the car in their workshop. My brother Colin for always lending a hand, the RSVP gang, my partner Marja for fully supporting my obsession, and anyone that’s provided parts or info on this build. Cheers.”

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FIND UPCOMING VOLKSWAGEN SHOWS EUROPE—WIDE. If you would like us to promote your Volkswagen event, please enter for free on www.bUGbUs.nEt’s show calendar. Also on bUGbUs.nEt you will find the latest show entries from around Europe.

JULY

AUGUST

11TH – 13TH | DORSET VOLKSFEST

15TH – 17TH | VDUB AT THE PUB

11TH – 13TH | KÄFERTREFFEN BERNINA

21ST – 24TH | MITTSOMMER VW BUS TREFFEN

11TH – 13TH | JOGJA VW FESTIVAL

22ND – 24TH | CLISSON VINTAGE

11TH – 13TH | BUGHOUSE FEST

22ND – 24TH | MEETING INT. VW CHÂTEAU-D‘OEX

12TH – 13TH | PRE79 AIRCOOLED

22ND – 24TH | OLDTIMER EN VW MEETING

12TH – 13TH | SPLUGENPASS

29TH – 31ST | VW ACTION

2OTH | STEINTRIBÜNENTREFFEN

29TH – 31ST | AIRCOOLED MEET

25TH – 27TH | BUG JAM FESTIVAL

29TH – 31ST | FIELD OF DREAMS AIRCOOLED VW SHOW

AUGUST

29TH – 31ST | BEATLE ON FOUR RIVERS KARLOVAC

1ST – 3RD | VW KÄFER UND BUS TREFFEN

30TH – 31ST | COX83

3RD | TATTON PARK VW SHOW

31ST | AIRCOOLED VW MEETING HANGARZ AND DNH

3RD | CELLER KÄFERTREFFEN

SEPTEMBER

7TH – 10TH | FABULOUS MEETING OF VINTAGE

4TH – 7TH | BULLI SUMMER FESTIVAL

8TH – 10TH | LE BUG SHOW

5TH – 7TH | BUS ISLAND

8TH – 10TH | MATESE VOLKS CAMP

5TH – 7TH | VW-KLASSIKER AUF DER POSTALM

14TH – 17TH | VW BUS-FESTIVAL

6TH | OLD VAG DAY

14TH – 17TH | LET’S BUG TOGETHER

6TH – 7TH | 16 VAG MEETING

15TH – 17TH | BULLITREFFEN ZÜRCHER UNTERLAND

7TH | VW KÄFER, BULLI & CO

15TH – 17TH | VIVA SKEG VEGAS

12TH – 14TH | KLEINES ABER FEINES

Dorset | dorsetvolksfest.co.uk

Bernina Hospiz | kaeferclub-bernina.ch/kaefertreff Yogyakarta | jvwfest.com

St. Petersburg | See bUGbUs.nEt Staffordshire | pre79.co.uk

Splugenpass | See bUGbUs.nEt

Nürnberg | kaeferteam-nuernberg.de/steintribuene Northants | bugjam.co.uk

Orpund | vwclub-seeland.ch

Knutsford | tattonparkvwshow.com Celle | kaeferclub-celle.de Joniec | See bUGbUs.nEt

Circuit Spa Francorchamps | vwbugshow.be/de Campiitello Matese | See bUGbUs.nEt Kallinchen | vwbus-festival.de ALC Lesce | See bUGbUs.nEt Rorbas | bullitreffen-zh.ch

Lincolnshire | www.vivaskegvegasvw.co.uk

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HOW OUR S Y R E T EN US .N E T ON BUGB

Dorset | vdubatthepub.com

Niederbipp | vwbusclubbern.ch Clisson | See bUGbUs.nEt

Château-d‘Oex | meeting.coccinelle.ch Diepenbeek | limburgsekeverclub.be

Santa Pod Raceway | vwaction.co.uk Grossenkneten | aircooledmeet.de

York | classicvolks.com/vwfieldofdreams.html Karlovac | See bUGbUs.nEt

Aiguines | cox83.blogspot.com Nazareth | allevents.in/nazareth/hangarz/200027907036101

Wesel | bullisummerfestival.de Sardina | See bUGbUs.nEt Abtenau | vwpostalm.at

Rue de l’école | See bUGbUs.nEt Holderbank | See bUGbUs.nEt

Petterweil | kaeferclub-petterweil.de Bürglen | dergasthof.ch

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

18TH – 21ST | VOLKSFEST AUSTRALIA

2ND – 5TH | GEMÜTLICHES SAISON ENDE BUSFEST!

19TH – 21ST | VW SUBMARINES

3RD – 5TH | OKTOBERFEST

19TH – 21ST | DONCASTER VW FESTIVAL

5TH | SUFFOLK BUGRS OCTOBER AUTOJUMBLE

20TH | GLARNER OLD UND YOUNGTIMER-TREFF

13TH – 25TH | FUSCA PANTANAL

20TH – 21ST | AIRMIGHTY SHOW 2025

25TH | FLAME AND THUNDER

24TH | WERKSTATTGESPRÄCH AMAG CLASSIC

NOVEMBER

26TH – 28TH | VW TOSSA DE MAR

2ND | SWAP MEET BINOCLE CLUB

Swansea | volksfestaustralia.com.au Sázava | See bUGbUs.nEt

Doncaster | See bUGbUs.nEt

Ennenda | old-und-youngtimertreffen.ch Enschede | airmightyshow.com

Schinznach-Bad | amag-classic.ch Girona | avwc.org

Lac de Joux | vwbusclubbern.ch River Dart | oktoberfestuk.com

Ipswich | suffolkbugrs.co.uk/vw-autojumbles Brasilien | bluebugtours.com

Santa Pod | santapod.co.uk/flame-and-thunder

Nivelles | See bUGbUs.nEt

26TH – 28TH | RETRO DUB SHOW Suffolk | retrodub-suffolk.co.uk

27TH – 28TH | SWAPMEET KATRAPLAT2RIVES Mirabel-et-Blacons | See bUGbUs.nEt

27TH – 28TH | THE ARDENNEN RENNEN Belgian Ardennes | ardennenrennen.be

SCAN FOR ALL SHOWS AT A GLANCE ON BUGBUS.NET

WE WANT YOUR SHOW If you would like us to promote your Volkswagen event, please enter for free on www.bUGbUs.nEt’s show calendar.

THE FIND

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Richard Shackleton bought this Single Cab in 2018 from a very good friend, Tony Chamberlain. This is the story from 2006. Tony had heard a rumour that this Type2 Single Cab had been tucked away by a local coal merchant, but it took until 2008 for this rumour to be confirmed. While filling up his Split Bus at the local petrol station, he was approached by the coal merchant and in conversation he mentioned to Tony that he had a Splitscreen hidden in his barn. Tony was very eager to view the bus but the guy wasn’t so keen. To underline

his interest, Tony called into the yard at least once a month, but had to bide his time and try his best not to be too pushy.

It wasn’t until February 2013 that Tony’s patience and visits finally paid off when the coal merchant turned up at his workshop and asked if he fancied viewing the bus. He was amazed to find that the Single Cab was actually stored only one and a half miles from his workshop and he had driven past it thousands of times.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PJ GIBBONS WORDS BY CHARLES HARDING

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It turned out that the bus he was looking at was built on 10th February 1960 and delivered to England on the 18th of the same month. During the restoration they found evidence of sign-writing so it was apparent that it had once been a shop truck for European Cars Ltd. The company opened a branch in Reading in 1966 so it must have been used there.

At some point the bus was sold to a farmer near High Wycombe who used it for working on his farm, but

apparently he felt sick every time he used it! The final straw was when the clutch gave way at 64,000 miles, so he pushed it into a barn and that was where it was left for 40 years. Now although the bus was in a sorry state I’m sure our readers will know only too well how rare it is to come across a genuine barn-find these days, yet alone a Split bus – and even rarer to find a commercial vehicle as they were so disposable in their day. Top it off with the fact that it’s a UK-delivered

RHD example, and you have yourself an extremely rare vehicle indeed.

A few years later the farmer died and the farm was sold. The bus was still in the barn and the family never gave it a second thought. The only time it was moved during those 40 years was that at some point it was towed from one barn to the back corner of a different barn, where Tony eventually got the opportunity to see her. It was nestled among masses of ancient

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farm machinery, coal trucks and lorries, and sadly open to the elements under a broken corrugated roof.

A deal was struck that day and Tony became the proud owner.

and the answer involved a “no”, a “maybe”, and a few other words as well.

Fast forward to 2015. Tony told Richard that he was off to Ireland and was moving on a few vehicles from his stash. Richard asked once again if the Single Cab might be August 2013 is when Richard’s part of the story starts. He available, knowing full well that the answer was most likely a called over to Tony’s lockup (or as he puts it, “say treasure “no”, as they were thinking of getting a farm over there and trove”). He was only visiting to “borrow” an engine, but was were hoping to use it as a farm truck once again. Richard met by Tony and Amanda and their wonderful selection told him he could store the bus in his garage when he made of vehicles. There were Beetles, buses, Pucks, a Karmann it over to Ireland, but Tony was having none of it. When Ghia, the Hippy Split and, hidden away in a tent, a 1960 he was looking for transport to take over the remaining Single Cab. He casually asked if it happened to be for sale vehicles, Richard had one more go at prising the project bus

out of his hands to no avail.

April 2018 rolled around and Richard spotted a post on Facebook. It was Tony saying: “Those who know me will know what I have. If you are interested, feel free to message me or wait for the adverts.” He wasted no time and messaged Tony, reminding him how he had always coveted the Single Cab and asking if there was any chance he was selling it, saying that he was still very interested.

They exchanged messages, spoke on the phone, and the deal was done. All he had to do was fetch it from County Fermanagh! So in June 2018 he set off with a couple of friends for a road trip to Northern Ireland and prised the Single Cab from Tony’s hands.

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With the bus safely back home in Wolverhampton, Richard set about stripping it down and removed everything bar the beam and gearbox so it could still be rolled around. He had spoken to several restorers, and settled on Dave Haywood at Haywood Classic & Custom. On 7th July 2018 he took the project over to Kenilworth. The idea was to try and keep as much original metal as possible on the top of the bus and then have the new panels blended in. The idea was for it to look like it came out of the barn and was given a quick clean.

Dave and Matt started work on it in September, removing as little metal as possible but taking out all the structural rot. Unfortunately, the lower floor and all chassis items were

toast, so they had to be removed. With other things going on at their workshop it took a back seat up to Christmas.

Richard was more than keen to drive it to Freddy Files, Ninove, Belgium in March 2019 so he pushed them to press on with the project. They worked like troopers in early 2019, getting it back to him on 24th February, giving Richard only two and a half weeks to finish it before the show.

The Single Cab made it safely to Ninove and back with only a minor issue with the lights. Happy days!

Richard would like to give massive thanks to Ted for sorting the transport to collect it, Dave and Matt at

Haywood Classic & Custom for their awesome resto work, and Steve Parsons for his skilful blending, as well as everyone else who helped with information, time or parts!

We should probably add here the details of Richard’s registration battle, on the off-chance that perhaps one of our readers may be able to help.

The Single Cab came with no paperwork or history apart from what was gleaned by Tony from the coal merchant. Richard is currently battling to save the original registration number. The DVLA have refused his application three times and turned down his appeal. This is what he has found out about the vehicle so far:

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Built on 10th February 1960 and transported to England on 18th February.

Originally Sealing Wax Red. HX registrations were originally issued in Middlesex between June 1930 and March 1933 but were then used again for Commercial Vehicles from February 1960.

All Middlesex registration information was destroyed as part of Ken Livingstone’s tidy up of the Greater London Council.

It was last taxed in November 1969; tax disc found during restoration.

It appears to have been owned by European Cars

Limited, as they uncovered that it was sign-written “European Cars (Reading) Limited” on the dropsides and rear arches.

So it looks like European Cars are the key. Who were they?

In the 1960s they were VW distributors in London and Middlesex, so that works for the HX registration. From 1966 to 1969 they appear to have opened a base in Reading, so did they use the SC as their shop truck?

There are lots of pointers to say it was owned/used by someone with easy access to parts. It had a new front

182

panel fitted with bullet indicators, there is a German fuel gauge fitted, the rear bumper is a diamond not slash cut, and three of the wheels are crow’s foot, so too early for the bus.

European Cars produced the Slumberwagen in 1959, and with the Calthorp roof option from 1960 for VW Splitscreens. When they opened Reading, did this become

their promotional vehicle, and when they closed in 1969 did the farmer buy it, drive it for a short time and then when the clutch went, stick it in the barn? If anyone remembers European Cars either in London, Old Brompton Road where the Ferrari dealer now is, Ashford in Middlesex, where McDonalds is on London Road, or Reading, 1–11 St George’s Road, which is now operated by DLC Cars,

then please let us know!

If anyone thinks they can help, please email nedfaux@hayburner.co.uk and we will be sure to pass on the information.

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186

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‘49 TIME

PHOTOGRAPHY AND WORDS BY NED FAUX

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I’m going to have to begin this by once again giving my sincere apologies for this issue being a couple of months late. Unfortunately I’m still playing catch-up.

I’m hoping that delay becomes a little less each issue until we find ourselves back to something we can call normality, but until then I thank you for your patience and hope you feel Issue 54 was worth the wait.

So what’s been happening with the ’49? I’m a little

embarrassed to say absolutely nothing. It’s sitting there underneath my office with a layer of dust taunting me every time I walk past it. As I wrote in my last instalment, we’d had a slight hiccup in our lives and I had put a stop to all unnecessary spending in the Faux household until we had some clarity as otherwise we could lose everything we’d ever worked for (yes, it did get that bad). So the ’49 project had to be shelved for the foreseeable future. Well, to cut

a very long and convoluted story short, it was over 150 days before we got any real clarity from our insurance company and the final resolution actually boiled down to a “not what you know but who you know” situation.

Now I’m not going to mention the name of the person who changed our fortunes. He is a well-known face within the Volkswagen industry but a somewhat understated guy. I am just going to say that after his

192

efforts our situation turned around immediately and all of a sudden life feels a whole lot more liveable.

With things improving in my home situation, this has given me a bit of breathing space which I have put mostly into work, concentrating on the magazine and a fair bit of photography which I seem to be enjoying more than ever. So why haven’t I started

straight back on the ’49? Well, firstly I’ve been ridiculously busy catching up with work, which leaves me very little workshop time, and when I do get into the workshop I’ve been pissing about with Shuvarda, our trusty/not so trusty ’56 Kombi workhorse. At the beginning of the year I decided to give the old girl a real overhaul – a full engine service, all fluids changed, completely overhauling the braking system, rebuilding the steering box, as well as various other jobs, in the hope of getting another year of trouble-free motoring out of her. Once I’d got her back together I took her down to the Sunday Scramble at Bicester Heritage and I have to say she had never driven better. I had a great day out with friends, but as I left I could hear a tapping. We all had a look and came to the conclusion that it was most likely a badly adjusted valve or a loose piece of tinware so I went on my way. Sadly, as I got further on my journey the tapping became a knocking and I well and truly fucked my engine.

On the Monday I got on the phone to the guys who built it originally – I think around five years ago. They were unbelievably helpful! I stripped the engine down to a short block and stuck it on a pallet and sent back to them and they did the investigation work for me.

It turned out to have overheated due to fuel wash, which led to a complete rebuild. I should probably add here that the engine failure was 100% down to me and not the guys who built it. I should also add that to get me back on the road they have given me some of the best service I’ve ever had in this industry, so if you need a motor don’t hesitate to give The VW Engine Company a call. I’m actually a little embarrassed that I’ve still not got it fitted as they gave me such a quick turnaround, but I don’t remember life ever being so manic. I’ve promised myself a few days on Shuvarda the moment this magazine goes off to print.

Now I think I should mention that I’ve taken a few steps to simplify my life. Time seems to be my constant enemy and I’m aware how unhealthy working seven days a week is. I decided to get a bit of help in with the Competitions side of the business. I’ve always struggled with the Comps. I’m not sure why – it’s just sapped so much time and got in the way of me doing other things. However, after seeing a few really deserving people win cars they would have otherwise never have had, I do feel that the Comps are a good thing and don’t

want to give up on them. So now we’ve got a new team consisting of three well-known people in the community: Freddie Lynch, his girlfriend Rachel, and Joe Brewin.

I’m really excited to be working with these guys. I’ve always liked their style and I think they could breathe some much-needed fun and enthusiasm into the mix. So keep an eye out for the next comp car. Freddie has found a real gem.

In the midst of all this we somehow ended up with another project. I know, I know. I need another project car in my life like a hole in the head, but bear with me. … It’s come from a complicated deal with the same Freddie who’s working with us, and is a low mileage barn-find UK-delivered ’61 RHD Ragtop in Beryl Green (triple green). It needs a little work, but cars like this don’t come up every day and if you get the opportunity you’re a fool not to take it. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it.

The ’49 will take priority and I’m not sure Vic is ready to let go of her much-loved ’67, but for now the Beryl can sit in the corner until we decide what’s going and what’s staying.

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I feel positive about the next few months. We have a load of shows booked in. We can watch our house beginning to be rebuilt and get on with the ’49 project once again.

Before I leave you, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has had our backs throughout this. It’s really highlighted to us the people and companies who have this community’s best interests

at heart. I find it astonishing that after 54 issues and amongst all this mess the magazine is still growing, and I owe it all to you guys. As always, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has ever subscribed, advertised, supported, contributed, put a sticker on their car or represented us with a T-shirt.

We are lucky to have you.