’62 Custom Beetle

Honestly, I was never into VWs before, I was always into Mercedes and more high-end cars since that's what we do at our shop. With all the cars I've ever owned though, I've always tried really hard to make them stand out and be a little different." They're the words of John Sarkisyan, the owner of the most radical custom VW we've come across in a long, long time. It may not be as extreme in the bodywork department as the likes of Berndt Carlsson's gullwing-doored ‘Pink Lady' Oval or Ed Papac's flip bodied, 911-powered, ‘Top Gun', but what it lacks in those areas it more than makes up for in sheer lunatic attention to detail and its jaw dropping interior treatment.
Being part owner - along with his father Ernest and brother Edison - in Harbor Motorsports (see www.harbormotorsports.com), a Cypress, California-based custom wheel, body and interior shop, John has some pretty high-end customers through the doors and so knew, if he was going to give a Bug the same sort of treatment they mete out on German and Italian exotica, he had a certain standard to aim for.
But if you're not in to VWs, what made you decide to build this car, we asked? "I've a very close friend that I grew up with, Devon Bandy - he loves VWs and always had a Bug. One day he noticed a neighbour of mine was selling a beat up '62 Beetle, so we talked to the owner and a deal was struck for $1,500. We test drove it for the 20 miles from my house to the shop, and as soon as we made it there the whole car pretty much fell apart! So we started taking it apart and, well, one thing led to another I guess, and two years later we have the most custom, most bad ass Bug in the US."
Further quashing the myth that all Californian Bugs are rust-free, John went on to tell us how the car was a right mess, needing new floorpan halves, new valances, new wings and a whole host of rust repair to get it straight before the custom work could begin. Luckily though, he was able to call on the services of ace body man Fernando Yeskas in their shop, who worked his way through all the work on the body, including welding up and re-shaping the dash, before laying on the four-stage House of Kolor Kandy Cobalt Blue over a silver base. "It's one of the hardest paintjobs you can do and in the end he painted the car three times to get the colour I wanted," explains John.

For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the August 2009 issue of VolksWorld

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