:roll: In the mid to late 1990's I was the secretary of the Historic VW Club, and at my suggestion we took over the organisation of the Historic Beetle Display at Stanford Hall from Leicestershire & Warwickshire VW Club.
I was given paperwork amongst which was a list of pre-March '53 Beetles, which (at that time) were known to still exist in the UK. Over the years I organised the Display, I contacted several of the owners of these cars, and some very interesting stories, and pictures emerged.
I'm unsure whether the original collator of the list is a member of this forum, as I would like to publish some of the details, (registrations and chassis numbers), to find out what has happened to any or all of these cars. Clearly a great deal of research went into compiling this list, and I don't want to step on any toes. I understand that the person who did this list was unwell, and may now be out of the VW scene altogether, however before I go any further, I'd like to make sure they don't mind me using some of the information.
I do know that several of these vehicles owners are regular correspondents on this forum, perhaps they can help me with this.
As for the cars themselves, several are well known on the current vintage VW scene, however I'm sure that there are a great deal of these cars still languishing in sheds and garages, some perhaps derelict, or in bits, that might have interesting stories attached.
Of course the list is not exhaustive, several very early cars have come to light over the years since, as well as others imported from abroad, however I still feel that it is a viable and interesting topic to explore. Perhaps, we could get some pictures up on the forum at some point.

Interesting.

I don't know who that would be but I can tell you myself and Rich Oakley have been putting together a list of known pre 1967 UK dealer supplied VW's.

The intention is to launch a website under the title "British Vintage Volkswagens" that will detail as many Type 1, 2, 3 and KG's that are known irrespective of whether they survive or have been lost. Plan is to include a lost and found section, gallery and literature together with anything else related to UK RHD cars.

Vehicle's manufacturered prior to 1953 (start of official RHD imports) will be included just so there is a data base on the number of Splits, Hebs, Kubels and the like running around our shores.

Reason for doing this is both Rich and I believe (contrary to others belief!) early UK dealer supplied RHD cars have a certain provenance that all the LHD car's now abundant in our world can never provide. We're not wishing to argue about the merits of LHD v RHD, purely we're fans of the RHD early cars and if you want to see if a car exists, whether there are any photos of it, who's owned it before and so on, BVV will be the place to go.

It would be great if we could combine what you have with what we're doing. :beer:

Due to work commitments for both myself and Rich it's taking a while to get something on-line but we will get there!

Some owners have donated info on their cars already and to respect the wishes of some (and the data protection act!) owner's names, location and vehicle specific details (chassis number) will not be available to view on the site.

Send myself or Rich a PM if you would be interested in donating the data you have. :wink:

Gavin,

I too have that list from Mr Cotton and the cars have been (or will be) added to the list that Martin and I are compiling. The whereabouts of some of the cars on the list is still unknown, but I think most are accounted for.

Rich.

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Richard Cotton was one of those 'heavy weight enthusiasts' and so well into split windows, I still have his list too.

Its a shame he no longer takes an interest, although I still hear from him now and then :wink:

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It is indeed Richard Cotton's list that I have. I hadn't realised that there were copies in circulation. I'd be delighted to help out in any way that I can, as I know of three of the cars that are located within a 70 mile radius of my home address. Please let me know what I can do, as I think this would be a very viable project. An updated version would make very interesting reading.
I know that Richard hadn't been well, and decided to get out of the scene. I believe he's sold just about everything he had, cars, parts, the lot.
As a small aside, I live in the village where XSV 432 stayed during its ten year sojourn north of the border. A neightbour remembers the car lying totally dismantled in Jimmy Wylie's curling stone factory at this time. Jimmy has moved away, but my partner recalls a 1303 cabrio and a Karmann Ghia sitting outside his house.

Richard's health I'm pleased to say is fine now. He did indeed get rid of all his vintage VW gear, cars, parts, the lot.

Paul Blofield had his '46 and I had the '44. I've tried to encourage Richard to get another split as he was considering a Mexican Beetle to use recently.

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That's great news about Richard, John. I lost touch with him, although I keep in fairly regular contact with his partner in crime, Brian Screaton. Good news that he's better, and it would be great to see him back into splits, and on the scene again. He offered me 1696 EV after Charles Green had carried out extensive repair work, but it was more than I could afford at the time. This was before Machine 7 took over the restoration.
Am also glad to see that you've got Rattletrap! He made it to the Scottish VW Festival, (Tony came with him obviously!) back in 1988. My pictures unfortunately don't show the mileage on the roof mounted placard. Like so many, I had no idea what had happened after the car was put back together following the accident, but great news that he's with an enthusiast, and not hidden away.
Did you once own a pale green Oval MDR 155?

Fantastic:!: MDR 155 was my 1956 DeLuxe Oval, and 1696 EV was my old 1952 Standard Split that I sold to Richard:beer:

Any pictures of Rattletrap with or without the mileage board are always welcome on his thread (hint!)

This type of info swapping is just what makes the forums so good 😛

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