Photos: Chadly Johnson     Words: Rick Christensen & Chadly Johnson

I was having a discussion with noted VW restorer Paul Iozzio when he mentioned that he had just completed the body and paint work on a rare Split Beetle, and he thought I might be interested in seeing it. Paul teased me with some photos of the freshly painted body, enough to keep me intrigued while the car was being finished. Some time passed before I received news that the Beetle was road worthy. I made the trip up to see the Beetle’s owner, Rick Christensen, still having only seen photos of the painted body shell. When I arrived at Rick’s house I was blown away by the simple, yet overwhelming beauty of his ‘50 Split. It was Standard perfection.

I’ll let Rick take over and tell us more about how this simple beauty came to be: “As an avid VW collector, I had been searching for years for the right Split Window Beetle. At the time I already owned several Type 34 Karmann Ghias, a Notchback, Fridolin and even a beautifully restored 1943 Kubelwagen. I knew that I was looking for the most complete, unmolested example I could find (and afford). Collectors of split window Beetles understand that most cars this age have long since had their original engine/drivetrain replaced, fenders swapped, larger taillights mounted and bumpers discarded after having done their part to lessen damage from an accident. Bearing all of this in mind, it didn’t stop me from searching.

“One day I came across an ad on eBay for exactly what I was looking for, and it was located 200 miles from me in Seattle, Washington. It was advertised by a local collector who said that he was the second owner. The car had been sourced out of the Bay Area of California from the family of the original owner. Although I was the high bidder, it was not meant to be as the seller had a much higher reserve price. I contacted the seller, asking if we could negotiate, but no such luck. I ended up being the high bidder time after time for several auctions. I arranged to drive up to see the car in person. Sure enough, it was as complete and in correct original condition as I could hope. The Beetle even had the VW birth certificate showing that it was indeed a numbers matching Hoffman Split, one of only 350 brought into the US that first year of import. Mostly the Deluxe model was imported that first year. The few that came in as a Standard, Hoffman had bumpers, headlight rings and hubcaps chrome plated. The handles inside and out were also chrome, but with the dark brown Bakelite knobs. This car was exactly correct in every detail!

“The Beetle had many good points; however, the car was being repaired with incorrect parts just to keep it barely running. Nothing was being invested to increase the value. Also, the seller obviously was unaware of how a vacuum cleaner worked as it was the filthiest car I had ever seen, and I have seen a number of cars in my life. After several years of negotiating, the day finally came when the car was mine. My son Alex and I trailered the idle Beetle home February 21, 2009. That weekend we proceeded to take the car apart for the thorough cleaning it deserved. I can’t say for sure that the dust, dirt and grime had protected the car, but what I can say is that once cleaned, it showed to be a much better value than even I originally believed.

“The first step was to send the Split off to the shop for mechanical repairs. This was not the restoration phase, just putting the Beetle back to as original as possible from readily available parts. Once running like a top, it was time to drive and enjoy this wonderful time capsule. I knew that some day I wanted to do the full restoration that this car deserved. That day came several years later when I ended up trading my beloved VW Fridolin to Paul Iozzio. In exchange for my Frid, Paul, a master body and paint man, took on the challenge of ridding the body of every ding and dent it had collected over the previous sixty years. Paul was relentless in his pursuit to keep every original body part, grafting where necessary. After the body was back to factory fit and finish, Paul applied the correct Bordeaux single-stage paint in layer upon layer until the end result was so delicious you wanted to eat it.

“As the body was away for over a year, that left me with the task of pulling together every part from around the world to put back on the car. Fabric was sourced from Germany, where a small run of correct 1950 Standard fabric was loomed. The fabric was sent to West Coast Classics in California, where it was cut and sewn into the perfect fit Standard seat covers. Next, the Split was sent back to Portland and delivered to Ashley Roscoe and his crew at Always V-Dub, who were tasked with the final reassembly of the car. Whenever possible, parts original to the car were sent out for restoration. Of particular pride are the beautifully restored semaphores by John Henry as well as the jacked K manifold. Brezelwerks came through with a complete new wiring harness, cloth covered and exactly as new from the factory. The original three-spoke Standard steering wheel and horn button were beautifully restored by Ruben Velasco at Classic Steering Wheel Restoration. Additional parts to complete the Standard came from Europe and South America, as well as around the U.S.

“After close to ten years of effort and tens of thousands of dollars spent to complete the restoration, this beauty is going to a world class collection in Montreal, Canada where it will be enjoyed for many years to come.”