Found in a basement, this super rare '59 RHD Karmann Cabriolet was initialy builta as a hi-po Cal Look ride, before being transformed into a low and slow cruiser, ideal for summer sunny days out - smart thinking, we're sure you'll agree...
Tony Walters blames his fascination with VWs and all things automotive on his upbringing: "I had a metallic brown matchbox 911 and a Corgi driving school beetle with a steering wheel on top as a kid, and I guess it all started there," he told us.
In fact this 40-year-old's first real car wasn't quite as glamorous (a Vauxhall Viva), but it wasn't long until he'd worked his way into a VW, at the wheel of a '72 bug. However, this was short-lived as the car was lost in a tragic fire. However, not one to give up, Tony dived straight into the rebuild of a similarly aged Bug, which turned out to be quite a stunner and was worthy of a magazine feature back in 1990.
Then there was a lull in the restoration schedule as Tony did the whole career and family thing for a while - that was until he found the hankering for another VW was just too much to bear. Tony told us, "I really fancied a classic Cabriolet this time but, as you know, good examples are not exactly thick in the ground." And so the search began for a suitable basis for the project.
Unbelievably, the car you see here turned up just 20 miles from Tony's home, in the hands of Richard King of Karmann Konnections fame. Tony had the good sense to call around a few shops to put the feelers for any tips that might lead him to a suitable project, and couldn't believe his luck when Richard told him: "I've got something you might like in the basement of the shop".
Tony headed straight over to hte Southend-based vintage VW emporium to find exactly what Richard had described - a part restored rolling project parked in the corner of the basement and surrounded by boxes of rare parts and Karmann Konnection stock!
Tony spent some time digging out the car, and having a close look with a torch, before deciding it was well worth the £4000 asking price. He told us: "It was actually very sound but had been badly painted in a dodgey colour and was missing a few parts". It transpired that those 'few parts' included much of the interior and and a few very hard-to-find pieces, but more on this later!
Once the cab was in Tony's garage, he set about splitting the body from the chassis. In doing so, he was better able to assess the condition of the metalwork which, despite being buried in what seemed to be a lot of body filler, actually turned out to be very good indeed. He commented: "The car had been restored some years ago and the metalwork was very sound, but for some reason the owner had applied countless layers of filler in an effort to cover up his repairs."
In truth all it needed was a little more metalwork fettling at the hands of a seasoned body man and it would have been a nice, straight car!
Subsequent closer inspection led Tony to believe that some poor filler work on a rear quater repair had led to excessive filling on the door, just to make the panel gap line up. This is a common problem and one that is not easily remidied with more filler! In truth all it needed was a little more metalwork fettling at the hands of a seasoned body man and it would have been a nice, straight car!
Then, of course, there was the colour - Moriis Monor marroon. Yuck! It was time to seek the help of a professional, so Tony handed the body to Davide Morena of Kraftwork Vehicle Refinishing. Davide set about stripping the old paint filler from the 'shell before fitting an NOS rear valance and the correct era Cabriolet decklid. The body was then professionally straightened and prepeared for the topcoat - all they neede to do now was pick a colour. After much deliberation, Tony opted for L264 Felsgray (Rock Gray), which was a '60 model colour only, Cabriolet-specific made to order colour. They don't come much more unusual than that! Tony told us: "I've only eveer seen one other car in the same colour, which is nice, as the last thing I wanted was to park in a line-up of similar coloured cars in a show!"
While the body was away at Kraftwork, Tony turned his attenstion to the chassis, which he fully overhalued at home. Notable modifications include the fitment of a KCW-buit four-inch narrowed beam with dropped spindles and Porsche-pattren disc brakes up front. At the rear, a later 1500 model gearbox with short axles was fitted with late-style Porsche-pattern drum brakes. This allowed Tony to bolt on a set of Flat-4 Porsche Fuchs replica rims, which measure 4.5 inches wide at the front (with Michelin XZX 145R15 tyres) and 5.5 inches out back (with matching 165 R15 tyres). Thanks to some spline adjustment at the rear and some tweeking of the adjusters up front, Tony managed to get his Cabriolet sitting just right - and that was just in time before the body returned from paint!
Much care was taken during reconstruction and assembly to gather together the right parts, and to ensure a top-quality finished car. New seals and trim were used wherever possible, and things were soon starting to take shape.
When it came time to tackle the hood, Tony turned to Hoods Galore, which suggested that a top quality mohair top would look perfect on his ride. Not wanting to let the car down, Tony agreed and had the hood frame sand-blasted and powder-coated before delivering it to Hoods Galore for fitting. Apparently one of the bows wasn't as straight as it should have been, and the trimmers had a real job trying to get the hood to fit properly, but after much deliberation and lots of hard graft, they pulled it all together and returned the car with a perfectly taught top (although, apparently, they don't want to do another one in much of a hurry!).
How on earth did anyone manage to restore cars proir to the
Internet and eBay?
Next, it was time to tackle the interior. After much searching (how on earth did anyone manage to restore cars proir to the Internet and eBay?), Tony eventually tracked down a suitable set of frames, which were packed off to Newton Commercial for trimming. As you can see, the results were superb - so much so that Tony had Newton Commercial fit the carpets and interior panels too!
Of course, not everything went to plan, and there were some missing parts that proved very elusive to track down. These included the semaphores which, in case you didn't know, are specific to the Cabriolet model on these earlier cars. Tony told us: "I searched everywhere and other than an NOS pair at €2000, I couldn't find anything!" Eventually, thanks to a tip-off from Julian Hunt at Karmann Konnection, he found one side in the hands of parts collector Florian Kalff. Then, by sheer chance, he spotted and advert on eBay.de (Germany) for a VW semaphore. And yes, closer inspection revealed it to be the rare Cabriolet-only semaphore he needed. Fortunately, the owner wasn't aware of its rarity and Tony was able to purchase for a bargain price of €120.
However, accordong to Tony, the engine wasn't right for the car. It was very fast, but with an open roof it was also very loud and brash. Coupled to this, with the cooling issues encountered when the roof was dropped (i.e. heavily restricted air flow to the engine bay), he made the decision toremove the stoker motor and save it for a future project. In its place went a largely stock 1600cc motor with a CSP super competition exhaust. Tony commented: "The car is now far easier to live with, thanks to the stock motor, and my family gets more fun out of it as it's not screaming al lthe time, and things aren't just one big blur anymore - we get a chance to enjoy the scenery instead!".
Since these pictures were taken, Tony has sold the Cabriolet and purchased a '62 Split Camper with a Riviera conversion. He told us: "I've fitted that stroker motor to the camper, and now my wife, Dawn, and my kids, Ruth and Joe, can all enjoy the pleasures of a day out, while I can still have fun on the A-roads". It certainly sounds like a lot of fun - and yet another great project!
Boyton Hall Farm 
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