David
Birchall's resurrected and refurbished '56 oval windows is a treasure trove
of 1950s auto accessories. The genuine factory sunroof Beetle is bedecked with
all sorts of gismos and gadgets and the most notable accessory, which guarantees
that serious nostalgia buffs will go weak at the knees is a Judson supercharger.
these units being very common in the actual era and increasing the 36 horsepower
output to 50 horsepower, the torque naturally increasing also..
When David found this beetle some sixteen years ago it was a Baja Bug. He saw the value in the car being an oval window and a factory sun-roof and decided to return it to original condition. When he bought the car, for $275 in 1981, it consisted of a bare shell and chassis. There were no guards, no bonnet, no boot-lid, no gearbox and, generally, it was in a sad state.
David was responsible for all the work himself, "apart from the machining and the upholstery he did the spray-painting, the engine rebuild and the panel-beating. The car was registered again in 1984 and was registered and driven on a daily basis until 1988 when it went onto club plates.
It was painted during the rebuild in Flipper Blue, a '72 VW colour which was very close to the original colour discovered beneath the back-seat carpets. The two tone scheme, with ivory/cream panels, came into being in 1988, just prior to the Easter Nationals. In August 1987, the car was extensively damaged by about 150 hailstones and had to undergo a virtual rebuild to get back to original condition again.
The car currently boasts about twenty five different period accessories and it's still early days for this obsession. On the front-end is a set of very handsome and effective Mako disc brakes, German accessories released in 1962-63 and which have improved the braking 100% when compared to the drum brakes and a set of Empi wheels have been fitted. The motor also has a Brabham Lukey extractor system from the mid sixties. There's about thirteen feet of pipe in the system and the brochures claim that horsepower is increased by 12.5%.On the bonnet it has a very handsome flying VW emblem. Inside there is a rally dash with full instrumentation venetian blind and Blaupunkt radio.
David is one of our VW Nationals Co-ordinators he is responsible for chasing up sponsors and their art work for the VW Nationals Magazine in the past he has held the position of President and Vice President David is one of driving forces that keeps the club running. (ED)