Late July 2010. My 10 year old Saxo had just died, and I was in need of some new wheels. Me being me, something sensible wasn’t very high on the list, and thoughts immediately turned to old VWs. I’d had a bright orange ’74 some 10 years previously which the Saxo had replaced – whilst I’d done over 80,000 miles in it in the four years I’d owned it, the quote for the MOT work was just too high, and commuting 50 miles a day meant I needed something reliable. Rust had been the main offender, so this time around I was going to make sure that I wouldn’t end up with another basket case.
It seemed too good to be true therefore when I came across this totally stock orange ’72 on a classic car site and it turned out to be only a mile and a half away. Advertised as a ’71 (it was built and first registered in 1971, but was a 1972 model) that had undergone a thorough restoration, in a very similar colour to the Super Satsuma, it was always going to be tough forcing my head rule my heart. But anyway, after a brief email exchange, along I went to go and see the car armed with a torch and a plan to examine every area where I’d had problems on the previous car.
The chap selling the car was interesting to say the least. He had written an ebook (Air Cooled Memories) about how the bug had come into his possession and some of the work that had been done and although the photos etc form a part of the car’s history, it is fairly safe to say that this was one of those occasions where maybe the writer should have kept his book inside him! Anyway, after a promising root around underneath, it was time for the test drive. The seller had installed a duvet in the luggage area behind the back seat in an effort to soundproof the cabin, and I lost track of the number of times he referred to the gear change as being like a military vehicle. It only occurs to me now having reread Air Cooled Memories, that he even put that in there! She drove just fine, and everyting was working towards me buying the car – including the unique smell of the inside of a beetle which I’d completely forgotten.
But I’d decided that I wanted it checking over by a mechanic friend of mine who had told me that he knew about beetles (except how to change the clutch cable, but that’s another story!), so we agreed a time for the seller to take it over for him to have a look at up on the ramps. Having been given the thumbs up following the inspection, the deal was done. Did I pay too much? Looking back, maybe so, but that’s immaterial now!
