WALTER - JUERGEN'S 1964 BEETLE BEAUTY

[Jurgen Grand Slam]

So it all began with Juergen being told by his very good friend that he WILL buy the beetle - Walter was adamant that Juergen have the beetle as he was terminally ill & wanted the beetle to go to the one guy that he trusted in to bring this lovely little car back to the life that he himself had planned for it.

Sadly, Walter passed away & as a tribute to a Good Friend - "Walter" was duly named & arrived in Cape Town :












Although the paintwork & interior had been completed, the engine and all its bits & pieces arrived in boxes !!

Now, here's the thing - "Walter" has been completed in RECORD TIME - even so it was only seen to as an inbetween job filler

Juergen has reconditioned the headlights, complete overhaul of the brakes and NATURALLY the 1200 engine has been rebuilt - and PURRS like a Kitten "Walter" was started yesterday for the first time - so look out, we will be coming to the next occasion in this baby

All those Sundays at work sure did pay off & now there is one more ORIGINAL Beetle on the road - Well done Juergen

[Warwick-Lowlight]

Year end start of a new one
Why dont you just ask for a wage increase

Seriousely Walter is the Bomb

[Warwick-Lowlight]

That must be the shortest build thread ever

[jolas]

Nice story, glad it's gone to a good home - quite a collection going on there uncle ! You just need to get that '58 Beetle and Karman Ghia going

[MarshallGTi]

That must be the shortest build thread ever

[retrovan]

well done young man, very nice car.

Herman

[Bushpig]

Happy Birthday Walter, may your first growl bring some good kms ahead. We will all make sure your new parents take good care of you.
Grand Slam, when is the "green coke" christening?
Catch you later.

[brianj]

Was this Walter from Euromerc?

[Jurgen Grand Slam]

Hi Brian,

Yes it was.. Sadly

[brianj]

Really sorry to hear that. My brother told me he had closed up but had no idea he had passed away. He was quite a character, a bit unforgiving at first, but warmed up over the years. Our family had several older Mercs that he looked after well, and always gave good advice when the dealers wanted to start throwing money at the issues.
I saw that beetle in the corner for years, and when I offered to buy it I think he said it was for his daughter - mind you that was 15 years ago, so she probably found another car since then!
He gave Fig his old vw manuals from when he was an apprentice.
Good man.

[Jurgen Grand Slam]

Yes indeed, the car was intended for his daughter - but things changed when his daughter moved to Australia. However, Juergen was the first person that Walter met at "Jan Smuts Airport" in 1969, when he landed from Germany. They worked together at Lindsay Saker in Mooi Street, up until they both opened their own businesses. They stayed good friends throughout the years - even when Juergen went back to Germany for 14 years, they stayed in touch. The saddest thing is that Walter was planning to come on holiday to visit Juergen here in Cape Town when he learned that he was very ill. At that stage he was still planning to visit, but was then hit with the news that he only had 3 months to live. Sadly, he only lasted 3 weeks!! Juergen was devastated at the loss of his old buddy and took time off to attend his memorial service in JHB. And that is how we came to have "Walter".

[riaanj]

Ooooooh! That's a very nice looking '64..