Our thanks to Peter Ferguson for letting us have a glimpse of his native Ireland. His story helps to enlarge our understanding of the global 1967 VW Community.

First, Peter, tell us a little about your part of Ireland to give us some background. Most of us readers have little idea of your country.
Hi all, my name is Peter and I am 35 and married to Amy (12 years married) with three children: Rebekah (7), Daniel (4), and Caleb (18 months). I am an Anglican clergyman/pastor and live on the Emerald Isle (Ireland), currently serving in Carrickfergus just outside Belfast City. Our wee Country is blessed with some of the most scenic drives and countryside in the world, although is does rain a lot – that is why it is so green!

How did you first become interested in Volkswagens?
My love affair with all things air-cooled Volkswagen is due to one man, my late grandfather, George Megahey. He drove Beetles throughout his working and retired life. My earliest memories are, along with my two brothers, jumping into the back of his Beetle and heading ‘round the coast and along the waterways and little villages of the Ards Peninsula. I was intrigued with the shape of the car, so different from all others and how the tiny side windows popped out. One stand-out childhood memory is when my family would holiday at Newcastle Co. Down in view of the Mourne Mountains. Our grandparents would come to visit us. We would hear the whistle of the Beetle before we saw it and knew they were here! My brother and I would jump on the runner boards and hold onto the gutters while grandpa would drive us slowly and safely to our caravan!

Papa George worked at Harland and Woolfe shipyard in Belfast (incidentally so did my great grandfather, who worked as a cabinet maker–he would have worked on the Titanic and all those great ocean liners of times past). He told us how that in the winter months, his colleagues with their water-cooled engines would get frozen, but he would hop into his little Beetle and away he went every time!

Were Volkswagens imported directly from Germany into Ireland?
Yes. Volkswagens were imported directly into Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) from Germany. However in the Republic of Ireland there was an assembly line in Dublin which put together CKD cars from all the parts. These are rare and sought after today. One unique feature of the Irish built beetle is the shamrock logo stamped on the windows.

You mentioned a VW Club–are there still many Volkswagens in Ireland or, are they scarce?
At one time Volkswagens were a very familiar sight on our roads. Everyone of a certain age has a Volkswagen story. They were seen as cheap and reliable transport and as such were used for transporting kegs of Guinness to bales of straw in towns, villages and on farms throughout the Country. They would have been used and abused, so many didn’t survive. Now they are a rare sight, but there is a small yet growing community of Volkswagen enthusiasts throughout the Island – north and south. They are now seen as a prized and iconic vehicle and bring a smile wherever you go.

This article was submitted by reader and ’67 enthusiast Ken Relethford. Thank you very much for your contributions to 1967beetle.com.

Hey, 1967beetle.com.
I parked next to a Porsche Speedster at the Encinitas car show last night. The owner of the body shop that painted it Jimmy at “Rancho Auto Body” is wiping it down for me in the photo below. I think the bug got more attention than the speedster.

I went a little overboard…The thing looks brand new…One hiccup on the headliner install, making them pull the rear window and redo it..They thought the carpet went right up to the rear window..Cant live with that.. (We don’t blame you!)

More photos to come. I have a pretty good collection of before during and afters..
Last item is the original wheels and white walls. We have done one for the spare for now, but will probably put some miles on these chrome moonies before changing out.

Cheers.
Ken Relethford.

We’ve been going through the archives a bit tonight, here at 1967beetle.com. This fantastic, unique story deserves another moment in the spotlight.

Tell us about the history of your ’67 Beetle?
I’ve wanted a classic Volkswagen since I was a kid. I’m not certain where the influence came from. I found very quickly that I was not going to get more than the rusted remains of a classic VW Bus in my price range, so I started searching through Beetle listings out of financial necessity. We test drove a handful of them across California and none of them were really right. They were all molested, with big bassy stereo systems and funky junk going on in the engine. I didn’t dig it. I wanted something original, but not in showroom condition as I wasn’t up to such a responsibility. I figured I might bump into a few curbs along the way. I wanted something more on the hoodride side but also something semi reliable that wouldn’t fall apart. I was pretty particular about it. We were worn out after a few weeks, and my budget was beginning to dwindle when I finally found Walter listed on The Samba. We drove to Palo Alto, and instantly when I saw him I knew he was perfect. Love at first sight. It was a very short transaction – we drove around in a little circle down University Avenue.

“This is absolutely the one.”

We handed the guy $2,750 cash, he handed me the keys. He mentioned he was the second owner. He had several project cars in his driveway and said he was selling it to free up some space.

Robin Snook, of England, contacted 1967Beetle.com, inquiring about parts for his ’67 Beetle. Eric copied me and thus began a running e-conversation between Robin and me. I was able to help with some parts. When Robin mentioned something about how he acquired his car, I thought that his story should be told.

My involvement with Beetles began when I was 15 years old.

My dad died when my sister and I were quite young. As a result, we struggled financially growing up, and didn’t have a car. My mum took driving lessons in the early 1970s and after several attempts passed her test and acquired a license to drive…….she wanted us to enjoy some travel around the UK before we flew the nest!

My uncle had completed Conscripted National Service in Germany after the Second World War and learnt about the Peoples’ Car whilst he was there. He suggested that it would be a good car for my mum due to its reliability and high build quality……so the search was on!

We hunted high and low for a decent example to buy, but they were either too expensive or trashed! Eventually, we found a beautiful Pearl White 1200 model that had been registered in August, 1967. Mum bought it for £550 (around $880) in 1972.

When Gary and Donna Fischer purchased Wally2, their 1967 Beetle Convertible, they began to put “him” into stock condition. Wally2 had undergone many handlings since he had been pulled from a barn—literally.

One of the things which they found was two threaded holes in the driver’s side defrost defector in the corner of the dash at the windshield. (photo of the holes)

Questions came to 1967beetle.com where Eric copied the message over to Jay. (We are a quite the team!) Heads together over the Internet, we could not come to any good conclusion. We did agree that some previous owner had a reason for those two holes so carefully drilled and taped.