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
- AZW 764
- (a) Type:
- Type 1
- (b) Year:
- 1976
- (c) Colour:
- Phoenix Red
- (d) Paint code:
- L32K
- (e) Engine CCs:
- 1600
History
- (a) Country of origin:
- Ireland
- (b) County first reg'd:
- Kildare
- (c) Current or last known location:
- Dublin
Model information
1303S Beetle
Info
“This is me, on the day of my First Holy Communion, 10 May 1980, with my sister and the last Beetle we owned. Unfortunately you don’t see much of the car – my mother was more interested in taking a photo of me…
The car was a Phoenix Red 1303S, registered AZW 764, which my late father bought second-hand from Maxwell Motors, Athy in March 1977.
Dad brought me with him when he was going to Athy with a view to buying a new car (or, at least, new to us) – some journey, all the way from Tallaght, when there were no motorways. The car we traded in was a yellow Beetle, 4093 ZO, which we bought new in 1974. The garage must have been carrying out some work on the red Beetle, because we didn’t bring it home. Dad had to go back to collect her. I remember the sense of anticipation in waiting to see Dad bring home our new red Beetle – Mum tells me I was literally sick with excitement (in fairness, I was only four and a bit). When Dad arrived home, I was in bed, but Mum called me and brought me to see her in the driveway.
We kept her until the end of August 1980, when Dad traded her in part-exchange for a Mazda 323, which we bought from Park Motors. I cried when we sold her. Dad only switched to Mazda because new Beetles were no longer available in Ireland.
Dad’s first car was a white Oval Window Beetle which was bought new for him by my Grandad, and he drove nothing but Beetles for more than 20 years. I’m not sure of the registration number of this first Beetle, but I think it started “AHI”. When he met Mum, he was driving a black Beetle, EKI 68, but, by the time they got married, he had changed to a green Beetle, HKI 481, which Mum & Dad used as their wedding car in 1971. I was born almost a fortnight after their first anniversary and HKI 481 would have been the first car in which I travelled, being brought home from the Rotunda…
Next came our yellow Beetle, 4093 ZO, and finally AZW 764. I’ve checked Cartell and carried out a search on donedeal.ie. None of the earlier Beetles are still around, but I’ve managed to find AZW 764 – she’s now yellow, apparently.”
Submitted by: Séamus Kennedy
Additional Photos
Sorry, no more photos yet. If you have some, please submit them