Aircooled VW South Africa

ZwitterND wrote:In 1970 I was 15. I wasn't interested in muscle cars. My heart was set on off roading, I wanted a dune buggy. As fate would have it there was an ad in the paper for a dune buggy "project" across town! The kid selling it was in college and had to sell it. The only thing he had done is shorten the chassis and it was only tacked. I paid $250.00 of hard earned paper route money, ok so $200.00 was a loan from dad. We brought it home on a boat trailer.

My dad and I worked on it for a year. We got it to a point where it could be registered (and thats a stretch). Over the next 4 years we added to it, larger tires, headers, roll bar & windshield (previously both were home made) new paint and chromed the front end! I sunk everything I made into it. In 1975 I joined the Air Force. Put the dune buggy under the porch. Well life happened, I got stationed in North Dakota, got maried and had kids, all the time planning to go home and get it. In 1981 I went home and brought back my 1952 split window "zwitter" (see the split window threads thats where I usually post).

In 1986 my mother informed me that she sold my dune buggy (parents had gotten got divorced and mom went a little "off center"). After arguing with her she informed me that either I agree to sell it or it goes to the dump. Aug 30 1986 I sold it to a man in my home town in CT. Life went on, 4 kids, graduations, weddings and a divorce in 2000. The last 13 years I concentrated my time on finishing restoring my zwitter I had started restoring in in 1982, I recently completed it (hey I am a dad, kids come first).

A few months back I was on Facebook and was invited to join a group about growing up in my hometown in CT. Someone asked the question "What was your first car". I mentioned my dune buggy and the person that bought it. Someone mentioned that he still lived in town. I looked up his address and sent him a letter asking whatever happened to my dune buggy. After dropping the letting in the mailbox I was curious where he lived in town so I went to google maps. Of course I had to do a street view.

There in the driveway was this tarped vehicle, and all too familiar profile....he still had it!!. Not wanting to look like a stalker I waited for Tom to contact me. One day I got a message on my phone. I was Tom, I called him. Tom and I shared stories and he explained he was restoring a Model A but his family wanted him to restore the dune buggy first. After hearing about his progress I assumed it was not for sale so I said "well if you ever think about selling it" and his reply was "Funny you should mention that". Turns out that after reading the letter I sent he asked his wife and son what should he do if I was to offer to buy it, they both said "sell". I asked how much?

He sold it back to me for what I sold sold it to him in 1986, he was happy it was going back to the original owner. So on August 27th 2013 (almost 27 years to the day) I got my dune buggy back!

Below are some pictures of when I first got it and how it is today. I believe its an el Lobo but the kid I bought it from said it came from a place in Massachusetts called Kar Mfg which had bought out Poty Enterprise. Anyone confirm what brand it is?

1971

Thats me in the drivers seat. 1972





About 1974


At Tom's house in CT