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These photos were taken a number of years ago when it was in use as a daily driver in and around Dublin.

So what do we know about this Beetle? Well, it’s a 1975 model. It was assembled in Dublin, on Motor Distributors Limited’s assembly line in March 1975, and rolled off that line with Phoenix red (L32K) paint and a contrasting black vinyl interior. This Deluxe spec Beetle was then sent to Cunningham’s main Volkswagen dealers in Portlaoise along with another matching Phoenix Red Beetle, that was one digit away on chassis numbers so it literally rolled off the MDL assembly line straight after this Beetle.

The Beetle was then transferred between dealers to Brady’s on the Navan Road in Dublin where a customer was eagerly waiting for it. The Beetle was registered to its new Dublin owner in August 1975 but it wasn’t until October 1975 that this Beetle was taxed so it seems, for this Beetle, everything moved very slowly for it from day one!

UPDATE 11/11/24: It’s fair to say that anyone who is following the Beetle.ie Census is interested in Volkswagen history, be that the history of the Volkswagen brand here in Ireland or the history behind each and every aircooled Volkswagen. Well, this little Beetle has a pretty cool story behind it, from the 1990s onwards anyway. As you will have read above, we know the assembly history and the sales history but after that our history research dried up, well it did until Emilio Macari of Emilio’s Beetles rang us to fill in the blanks.

The original owner of this Beetle adored her little red VW, so much so that she would bring it back to the main dealers on a regular basis for servicing and maintenance but despite the salespeople’s best efforts to sell her a new VW, this lady had absolutely no interest in changing her Beetle for anything more modern, as her friends and family had been trying to persuade her to do for a number of years also.

The year was 1991 and the Beetle wore all the battle scars that come from 16 years and many thousands of miles on the road as you would expect but that didn’t mean that a new Polo or Golf was going to replace it in her garage.

I suppose, in reality, as the owner was getting older, a new Polo or Golf with creature and safety comforts of power steering, heated rear window, fan heater, crumple zones and zero miles modern mechanicals would in theory have made her life easier and perhaps safer on the road but no was no and her peers could not change her mind. Despite having had her Beetle serviced regularly in Brady’s VW dealership, the time came to find a specialist who would preserve her Beetle as it got older and parts became harder to find. A trip to Emilio’s Beetles, who were based in North Dublin at the time, saw the owner introduce herself and her beloved Beetle to Emilio Macari. The two struck up a friendship and for the next few years, 110 JIK would be brought to Emilio’s Beetles for regular servicing and repairs as needed. Sadly when the owner passed away her Beetle was parked up for the first time since 1975 and Emilio did not see it again.

The story doesn’t end there as one day Emilio was contacted by the owner’s daughter to say that her mother, knowing his passion for saving old Beetles, had left 110 JIK to Emilio in her will. Emilio was flattered but explained that he would not be in a position to keep the Beetle as he did not have storage space and his business was restoring old Beetles. The late owner’s daughter was insistent that Emilio take her late mother’s Beetle, restore it and sell it to a new owner as that was what her mother wanted. In fact, Emilio was told by the late owner’s daughter that her mother knew that would happen and wanted her beloved Beetle to live on and be enjoyed, as she enjoyed it for so many years. Having never bene left anything like this in a customer’s will before, Emilio says that it was a very strange experience but he was also very honoured that he was entrusted to restore and then find a new loving owner for 110 JIK.

So after a period in Emilio’s Beetles’ waiting room, 110 JIK was rolled into the main workshop and the restoration began. The Beetle was completely stripped down, had new panels welded in where needed, new pre-67 wings were fitted along with new towel rail bumpers and EMPI style 8 spoke rims before a coat of Ford Twilight Purple paint was laid on. 110 JIK was now looking shiny and new, which is exactly what the late owner wanted to see happen to her pride and joy. Needless to say it didn’t take long for someone to admire Emilio’s handiwork and this purple beauty was on her way to Dundalk where it was loved and used for a number of years before making its way back to Dublin again.

Over the next few years, some more names were added to the logbook, adding to 110 JIK’s already impressive history folder. The most recent owner is also in Dublin and we believe they had been using 110 JIK on a daily basis for quite a while. We have seen some recent photos of 110 JIK and it’s looking a little down and out from lack of use but perhaps the current owner will take on the refresh in their own time and put their Beetle back on the road and if they do, we wish them all the best. If they wish to sell it I am sure there are some willing buyers out there who would love to add to 110 JIK’s very interesting history so as they say; ‘Watch This Space’

Additional Photos

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