1. A 1956 Volkswagen Beetle saloon.
Firstly, a series of old photographs featuring KFL 743, a diamond green Volkswagen saloon, were included in a batch of motoring images I bought not so long ago. They all feature the same car, an oval window righthand drive VW 'bug', registered on UK plates - FL being the area code for Peterborough. A note on the back of one photo says "Well this is it, a diamond green in John's garden, with his Austin in the background". So was the VW a replacement for the trusty Austin, or an addition to the fleet? more photos of the British car will feature on oldclassiccar shortly.
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Owning a VW Beetle even in the 1950s could often raise an eyebrow or two with people who still had vivid memories of the war some ten or so years earlier, and it wasn't unknown for drivers of VWs to get an ear-bashing as they drove by, especially in the south of the country where the full force of the German military hardware was worst felt during WW2. The design of the "people's car" dates to the pre-war years of course, when it was known as the KdF-Wagen, as explained on this page. Despite the design evolving, once the Allies had got the German factory back on its feet after the war, the silhouette of the VW saloon changed little over the years, and only VW enthusiasts would be able to identify this car from earlier examples (most obvious different being the split rear window in the previous cars, this one has the oval shaped single pane of glass). Note the unusual angle of the passenger side windscreen wiper, a legacy of its lefthand drive origins most likely.
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All Beetles from the 50s and 60s are keenly sought after now by enthusiasts of this air-cooled motorcar, but did KFL 743 survive or did the tinworm, or perhaps its slightly tail-happy driving characteristics, send it to the scrapman? Not everyone liked these VWs mind - Don, in the motoring memories section of oldclassiccar, recalls his less-than-ecstatic time with a 1953 VW saloon, worth a read if you get a minute. And if you are restoring a VW, the free parts noticeboard, featuring all the classic VWs, can be found here.
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The eagle-eyed will have spotted an Austin Cambridge parked in the background of one photo, a set of pictures featuring this Austin A50 are also on this site.
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2. Bruce's VW Beetle reg. OBO 113
Bruce kindly sent over a number of car photographs, including these of his oval-window VW Beetle, so it seemed appropriate to add them to this page. Bruce adds: "OBO113 was a 1957 deluxe type 114 (oval window) originally with American spec bumpers. It was an abandoned car for many years on an old piece of waste ground owned by Boroughbury Garage. At the time (mid sixties) I was garage foreman, and purchased it for 7 pounds 10 shillings, this being what was owed on a towing-in bill, after which I completely restored it. It was a wonderful car and never gave a minute's trouble. It was my fourth car, after the Citroen, then a Weyman bodied Austin Chummy, then the Austin 10. Happy days, Regards Bruce".
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3. More Volkswagen photos.
Next, two photographs, one showing a chap, with his German Shepherd dog, and his early oval-window Volkswagen. And for comparison, a much later VW shown alongside.
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And finally for now, another VW, age unclear, seen with a young lady stood looking out from the car's folding roof.
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 6.
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Lots of old car photos appear elsewhere on the site too, and if you're interested in VWs then this page, which features the discovery of an ex-rallying VW Beetle of 1973, may be of interest - there are over 20 photos showing it on various US events throughout the 1970s.
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