1967 Irish VW Beetle

Oliver O’Donovan, an electrician based in West Cork in Ireland, has been into VWs for years. He bought his first, a Standard 1200, in 1997. He upgraded the brakes to discs, added a 1600cc engine and used it as his daily driver until 2000 when his weekly mileage was increasing and the call of practicality rang out.

The Beetle you see here is a genuine Irish 1967 Beetle. But why, you might ask, am I making a fuss about it being a genuine Irish ‘67? Well, owing to lots of rain and therefore rust, it is almost impossible to find an Irish ‘67 Beetle these days. But Oliver wanted to create a Cal Look and he knew the only model for him was a ‘67, so he spent months searching for the perfect basis for a restoration and finally, after looking at a number of dubious cars he spotted this one in the Buy & Sell magazine.

The year was 1999, a time in Ireland when email was something only office staff had access to, and that’s it! No emailing of pictures of every angle of the car here! Oliver was sent one photo and from it made up his mind this could be the car for him. He asked Dublin-based VW enthusiast Brian Langan to check it out on his behalf for £50. Brian gave the all clear and Oliver hitched a trailer up and headed off to buy the Bug.

Once Oliver got there he saw a very original looking beige ‘67 showing a few rust spots, but nothing major. In fact, the car was in daily use and could have stayed on the road for another few years as is.

The seller was a Dutchman who owned it for year while in Ireland. In total the car had had seven owners but they had obviously all looked after it very well judging by the condition.

Oliver did not hesitate, he handed over £1,500, loaded it on the trailer and headed for home. Once home, he drove it only once around the block, then parked it in the garage for what was to become a five-year full nut and bolt restoration. As Oliver says, it drove into the garage in 1999 and drove out in 2004!

For the full story check out the February 2009 issue of VolksWorld magazine. On sale on 29 December and then available through back issues.

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