Back to ’89 – ’52 Standard Split

Back in 1989, a 20 year old called Phil Jarvis was having a great time. If he wasn't out every weekend at Acid House parties and raves, he was at a VW show. Life was all about fun and not remembering how you got home, if you got home.
Phil had passed his driving test in 1985 and his first car was a '72 Texas yellow 1300, though he progressed through a number of other VWs, including a peppermint green Beetle with a Wizard Roadster conversion. He loved sporting around town in that car - he reckons it was exactly the car to own at that age and at that time. The Wizard made way for a 1971 1302LS Karmann Convertible and it was this car that he drove down to Slough in 1989 to trade for a very original 1952 Standard Model Split Window Beetle. What a result! But then again, was it? The Split was a very cool car, but turn the clock back to 1989 and pretend you're 20 years of age, and I think you'll agree it's not really the right car to smoke around on a daily basis, nor to pile into to head off clubbing. The cable brakes, crash gearbox, six-volt candles and puny wipers wouldn't have made life easy!
Back in 1989, Split Window Beetles were a rarely seen Beetle at any VW show (you're far more likely to see one at a show today thanks to an influx in imports from Scandinavia, Germany and Belgium from the 90s onwards) and they were or at least should have been what they are today, cars for serious collectors and vintage enthusiasts. Phil did his time with the car, in fact it was his for eight months. That's eight months of not having a fuel gauge and having to ‘dip' the fuel tank with a piece of wood to see how much fuel was left. Cool though it was to have a seriously old Beetle, he soon felt it was time to move on and found a buyer by the name or Mervyn Young in Norwich. Phil told us, "We had been out at an Acid House party and drove straight to Norwich without going to bed." He went on to say that when he and his friends arrived to meet Mervyn, he must have thought they nutcases as they were in such a bad way.

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

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