1977 Monte Carlo

VW community brings love bug to the midlands

The 1977 film, Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, featured one of the best known Volkswagens of all time, Herbie, the Beetle with a mind of its own, known as the Love Bug after it fell in love with an exotic Italian sports car.

That spirit of VW love has reached to every corner of the globe over the years and a particular brand of it came to Mullingar a few months ago, with the formation of the Midlands Volkswagen club (MLVW).

The members of the new club are focusing on the eighties - the decade of dodgy haircuts and some pretty horrendous music - and particularly the Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. The rise in popularity of old Volkswagens has, perhaps unsurprisingly, coincided with wave of eighties nostalgia in popular culture.

When the Westmeath Examiner caught up with MLVW founder members, Conor Nealis and Alan Ryan, they acknowledged that as children of the eighties there was an emotional dimension to their choice in cars, but they also highlighted more practical reasons more and more car enthusiasts are veering towards Volkswagens.

"When I was growing up I was brought around in the then new Volkswagen Golfs and Jettas. I grew up with them. As soon as you see it, you think of the eighties. It's a retro car. But the main thing that appeals to me is that its a great way to get a retro car that is affordable and parts are easy to come by. You are getting a retro car that is dependable to drive every day," Conor said.

Echoing clubmate Conor, Alan, who is a qualified mechanic and the proud owner of a prize-winning Golf Mk 1, said that the one of the great things about eighties Volkswagens is that it is relatively easy to get parts for them.

"A lot of the parts in Volkswagens were interchangable and don't cost the world. You can take something out of an old Jetta and usually put it into a Golf. To fix them up it's easy to do."

Three of the members of the group are mechanics and almost all MLVW-ites do their own work and learn as they go along. However, while it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged in the retro Volkswagen world to tinker under the hood, when it comes to exteriors and interiors it is looked down upon to deviate too much from the original design.

"We don't do pimping. You try and keep it the cars the same way as they were when they came out of the factory," Alan said.

kassianieto: Lancia Stratos 1977 Monte Carlo Rally

This is my third model for 2011. It's built from Revell's kit, which is pretty good quality. I started the work from the chassis, because there is no engine. Exhaust pipes are painted silver, and then I added some blue and gold to simulate burned exhaust pipes... Axle systems were easy to install, but later I had some problems with them. Front wheels are turning. Interior was simple, seats etc. fit nicely on their places and they are looking good. Body is painted white, and then I added lots of decals. They were very tricky, but after all they came out ok. Installing the body to the frame was hard job. After one try, I broke almost hole interior while trying to get it fit inside the body. Second try went easily. But rear tires were too front, so I did take off all rear suspension and I built it again. Now tires are in good spot. Nothing special of the final assembly, THIS ONE IS A BOXSTOCK.

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