Get some muscle – ’57 Oval Ragtop

The other night in the south of England I heard the unmistakeable rumble of a V8, then for a few seconds a slammed Fifties' American pick-up truck lumbered into view sporting a bandanna hanging from its rear-view mirror and aged signwriting across one door advertising a (probably) fictitious business located in America's deep south. As it rumbled by Natwest and two pensioners hobbling home from bingo, it just looked totally out of place.
So why does Tom Myers '57 Rag top look so good in the Arizona sun? Seven thousand miles from Germany and built by Tom himself - who restores traditional American muscle cars by day - it just shouldn't work. Yet it does, perfectly. So let's find out why as Tom explains some of his influences. "My father drag raced, which got me into cars, but he had to give it up when he had a family. Then me and my brother both got into cars when we went to college, and now my father is back in to it again because of us."
Tom's dad, Clayton, helps out with his business now, restoring parts and generally lending a hand. It was Tom's best friend Travis' dad who got him into VWs though - his Porsche Solar Silver '55 Oval Rag top was featured in our September 2008 issue - and it was when Travis wanted to restore another '55 that Tom decided to get himself a VW project, hoping that they could restore them side by side. ("I could point him in the right direction and we'd both have some fun!")
Judging by the results, when Tom does something, he does it properly. With a fully equipped three-car detached and three-car attached pair of garages at home, the action's right where he needs it.

 For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the February 2010 issue of VolksWorld

SUBSCRIBE - January sale!
Never miss another issue with a subscription to VolksWorld magazine!

VW WALLPAPER
You can download a wallpaper from this feature for your computers desktop in our VW Wallpaper section.