Meester Right – 1957 Oval

That's right, the car that graces these pages was finished in 1997 but it doesn't appear to have aged at all, which is a credit to its builder, Ger Meesters. I'm sure we have all looked at show cars when they come up for sale at what appear to be exorbitant prices, and thought ‘they must be having a laugh'. But there is a very good reason for those high prices, for not only are you paying for a car that is so well put together by people in the know, but you are also buying peace of mind; peace of mind that in 12 months you won't have to be sending it to the body shop to get the few patches of rust that have just popped up treated before they spread throughout your investment. So what if you don't have the cash to buy a sorted car? Well, the answer is simple, really: You do what Ger Meesters did and buy a car and do it yourself over time so you know exactly what has gone into it.
53-year-old Ger hails from Heerlen in the Netherlands and when not working for NATO he can be found in, under or around his 1957 Oval Window Beetle. Ger bought the Beetle in 1992 and describes the condition as very bad. Hidden for many years behind unassuming striped garage doors not far from his home, it was the perfect candidate for a full restoration, which was something Ger was chomping at the bit to do. After waking it from its rusty slumber it was the time we all dread in some way - the teardown! Will it be a complete wreck or have we just bought a diamond in the rough? Unfortunately for Ger it wasn't the latter, though looking on the bright side, at least it was complete and, as Ger was going to restore the Oval to stock condition, this was a major bonus. The car had been painted Java Green at some point - a great VW colour but it wasn't going to stay that way because to Ger, a stock restoration means bringing it back to how it left the factory.

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

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