WARNING.— The person in whose name this vehicle is displayed may or may not be the current owner of the vehicle. Readers are warned, therefore, that this entry is not proof of ownership.
Details
- Registration Mark
- 2501 ZK
- (a) Type:
- Type 1
- (b) Year:
- 1976
- (c) Colour:
- Senegal Red
- (d) Paint code:
- L31A
- (e) Engine CCs:
- 1200
History
- (a) Country of origin:
- Ireland
- (b) County first reg'd:
- Cork
- (c) Current or last known location:
- Cork
Model information
1200 Beetle Deluxe
Info
This 1976 1200 Beetle Deluxe in Senegal Red (L31A) was recently submitted to the Beetle.ie Census. Thankfully, the gentleman remembers this Irish assembled Beetle from his youth so when he found these photos he was able to tell us all that he remembered.
2501 ZK was bought new in 1976 from Harry O’Sullivan in Fermoy. It replaced a 1973 Beetle that a neighbour of theirs later bought and kept until 1985. 2501 ZK was used regularly by the owner but despite not living a hard life, by early 1983 it needed rust proofing on its rear wings. A month later the dealer contacted the owner to say they wanted to buy the car back for a customer that would drive nothing but Beetles and they were desperately looking for a good solid Beetle.
By this time in Ireland, almost 6 years since the last new Beetle was assembled in Ireland, good examples of late Beetles were in big demand so it was quite common for dealers to contact Beetle owners, usually their own customers, to see if they would be interested in doing a deal to possibly upgrade their Beetle to something more modern because they knew they had a list of eager Beetle drivers waiting to snap them up. We have heard stories of Beetle owners taking dealers up on their offer and making a profit, many years after buying their Beetle new.
The owner thought about it and sold the Beetle, upgrading to a more modern Volkswagen in the form of a 1979 VW Derby. Sadly, it was nowhere near as reliable as the Beetle so the owner traded it for a new Ford Fiesta in late 1984, ending almost 20 years of Beetle ownership.”
Additional Photos
