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
- 7672 IZ
- (a) Type:
- Type 1
- (b) Year:
- 1974
- (c) Colour:
- Lofoten Green
- (d) Paint code:
- L63H
- (e) Engine CCs:
- 1200
History
- (a) Country of origin:
- Ireland
- (b) County first reg'd:
- Mayo
- (c) Current or last known location:
- Sligo
Model information
1200 Beetle Deluxe
Info
Without a shadow of a doubt, Lofoten Green is one of my favourite colours on a late model Beetle. It symbolises the 1970s in Ireland as they were everywhere, all the way up to the 1990s when the dreaded rust got them all. My first Beetle I legally drove was a Lofoten Green model, although back then I thought it was an old man’s colour so I painted it red! Woops!
This particular Lofoten Green Beetle didn’t meet a younger me so was never changed to red thankfully. Assembled in Dublin in November 1974, this Beetle left MDL on November 15th 1974 bound for McAndrew Motors Ltd in Ballina, County Mayo. The Lofoten Green (L63H) 1200 Beetle Deluxe was put through its PDI inspection shortly after arriving at McAndrews dealership and was sold, registered and then readied for its first owner to collect it on December 11th 1974. The first owner was a local man, based in Ballina, County Mayo, hence the IZ registration, taxed their new Beetle for a full 12 months at a cost of £29.00
Twelve years later the Beetle was sold to its second owner, also in Mayo but this time in Crossmolina. This owner drove 7672 IZ for a further two years before selling it in December 1988 to its third owner, again, staying in County Mayo, Westport to be exact. After thirteen years in Westport, this Lofoten Green Beetle was offered for sale once more and was bought by a man in Castlebar. This County Mayo man became the Beetle’s fourth owner and had great plans to restore it but as is often the case, life takes over and despite stripping it down and carrying some repairs, the project stalled. The forlorn looking Beetle sat gathering dust and some more rust in a shed for many years until Colin Doris bought it in 2021. He and friend Mossey Conlon dragged 7672 IZ from its slumber and brought it to Mossey’s restoration workshop in Sligo where their plan was devised. They decided that there was no other option but to try and save as much of the original paint as possible. This was not going to be an easy process as there had been some previous repairs, there would need to be some new repairs and there was some surface rust. This may have put most of us off but not this pair as both Colin and Mossey saw this as a challenge!
What started then was a very careful removal of the body from the chassis and sympathetic repair of the bodyshell. Having feared the worst, it was actually very solid so this Lofoten Green Beetle had actually been extremely well minded throughout its time in Mayo and the time partially stripped didn’t do any harm as it was out of the elements.
With the chassis refurbed and the body up to the high standard set by Colin and Mossey, it was time to mate the two back together and get the original 1200cc engine running again. A new set of tyres on a set of GT rims saw this Bug ready to hit the roads of Western Ireland once more.
So what now for 7672 IZ? Colin, despite his love for it, lives in Northern Ireland and would love to see the car stay in Southern Ireland so it can keep its registration plate and history so has decided to offer it up for sale. If you or anyone else is interested in this beautiful Beetle, then drop us a line at beetleireland@gmail.com and we’ll put you and Colin in touch.
Submitted by: Colin Doris
Additional Photos
