The above picture is of some of the Beetle's original documents - the Owners Manual and Service books, a leaflet listing all VW Dealers in the UK, along with Mr. Richard's petrol usage logbook. Also pictured are a few of the many old tax discs I have for this car.
The car was built in Wolfsburg, Germany on the 21st April 1966 and shipped to Britain on the 22nd. One month later, on the 19th May, the car was registered with the UK registration number 'GLJ 651D'.
The car was delivered to Modern Light Cars Ltd of Holdenhurst Road (photo coming soon!) in Bournemouth and, on 26th May 1966 was sold to a Mr. Harold V. W. Richards (then aged 56) who lived a couple of miles away in nearby Branksome. For the first few years of ownership he only used the car to travel an annual distance of about 1,500 - 2,000 miles. From about the mid '70s, the car was only used to travel about 200 miles a year and less. (I have worked out that this is almost exactly to the local shops and back, once a week!). When I bought the car, it had only covered 22 miles in the previous year!
Also, every time Mr Richards filled up his car with petrol, he recorded it in a log-book along with the date and mileage of the car! I still have this book today, so I would be able to work out how much petrol the car has used since new! Of course, it goes without saying that I have continued this tradition in a new book.
Here is a picture of the under-bonnet area with a few pieces of the cars paperwork - the original owners manual, service book, AA card, list of VW Dealers in the UK, Mr. Richard's logbook, maps and the original toolkit! Also note the original Pearl-White wing beading.
In December 2000, I wrote to DVLA Swansea and asked if they still had a copy of the original registration logbook on file. The original 1966 logbook was destroyed in 1977 when the DVLA converted their system to computer and changed the old logbooks to registration documents. Here is a scan of the the original logbook - it is kept on Microfilm at the DVLA. Click on it for a larger, readable copy!
If anyone is interested in how to get a copy for their classic car, Email me and I shall send you the details!
Unfortunately, seller of the car (the person who inherited Mr. Richard's estate) does not appear to be interested in it. The executors, (Davies and Davies of Poole) who auctioned the car cannot legally tell me who sold the car, but they have been kind enough to forward several letters on my behalf. However, the seller hasn't replied to my letters I sent them... This is a shame, as there must be some old photos existing and memories of this car. If anyone knew Mr. Richards or his car before I owned it, I would love to hear from you!
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