It was 1996, and a teenage Lee Comley had a pot of money put aside for his first car, courtesy of his nan.
“She put a bit of money away every month for me and my sister’s first cars bless her,” he says, spending his cash on a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle that needed a fair amount of work.
“I bought it before I was 17, and I had friends from a VW club in Oxfordshire who had their own garages, and they basically did it up for me.
“I saw it from being a rotten shell up to being quite a pretty car. It was ready and waiting for me on my 17th birthday.”
Failed driving test at least “two or three times”
Unfortunately, frustration set in as Lee failed his driving test “two or three times”, and not everyone was impressed at his choice of car.
“It was hideous knowing I had the car but couldn’t physically drive it,” he says. “It was horrible, but I do remember I used to drag my mum out with L plates on. It was quite low that one, and she used to say ‘the bloody thing’s horrible, what do you want to drive this for?’”
When he did finally pass, Lee took his nearly 30-year-old car out for his first solo voyage.
“It was amazing,” he remembers. “The day I passed I took it out for about five or six hours, but then the clutch went.
“So I had to spend that weekend getting a lift up to Stratford-upon-Avon to another Volkswagen show, because I knew there were loads of trade stands where I could buy a new clutch. I brought it all the way home and got it back on the road on the Sunday afternoon.
“It was a good daily driver after that. It took me to my first job for two or three years, up and down the M40.”
Unlike many VW enthusiasts, there was nothing in his family history that steered him towards the German marque.
Friends got Lee into the VW scene
“It was more to do with friends and the whole Volkswagen scene at the time,” he says. “We did a lot of the early Bug Jams when I was a bit younger and could stomach them.
“When I go there now, it just feels terrible – I think I’m too old! We went a couple of years ago and you realise that you should just let the youngsters have a go at that one.”
After a couple of years of driving the Beetle, Lee, now 44, bought a Mk2 Golf GTi before succumbing to the lure of company cars for many years.
It wasn’t until starting his own asphalt and road surfacing company in 2011 that he was able to, once again, indulge his passion for everything VW.
“I kind of used the business to carry on with my love of VWs,” he says. “All of our company cars and vans are VW, all of them – Crafters, Transporter T6s, Golfs, Polos, etc. Plus my two daughters have got Polos, and my wife had a Touareg for a bit.”
VW T5 van has been much-changed over the years
Around that time Lee, originally from Oxfordshire but now living in Hadleigh, Suffolk, bought a T5 van for work, but it’s been much-changed over the years.
“I bought it from the factory as a standard Kombi and gradually did bits and bobs to it,” he says, “slowly turning it into more of a camper.
“It hasn’t got a kitchen and stuff in it – it’s still more of a day van, but now with a bed. I’ve also just bought a Crafter, which will be turned into a camper. You can stand up in them at least, so that’s the plan!”
Not that the T5 will be going anywhere. “You can’t have too many cars,” he smiles.
Importing a 1958 VW Beetle from Sweden
All of which brings us onto the car you see here, a 1958 Beetle imported from Sweden by a previous owner about 15 years ago, and bought by Lee about two years ago.
“A good friend of mine had it all restored and he needed the cash, so I bought it from him for £15,000,” he says of the 1200cc-powered Bug painted in its original Fjord blue.
“I don’t know a lot of the history, but I just know it’s been well looked after. I’ve always wanted a small window Beetle, even though it’s slow and loud. I’m planning on keeping this one – there’s no way I can sell it, she’s lovely.”
Using the VW Beetle for fairweather rides and shows
The Beetle has period-correct seats and carpets, and working trafficators, and is used for fairweather rides and shows.
“I’ve mostly been using it just for this kind of stuff really,” he says, enjoying the sunshine at the Alive & V-Dubbin festival at Haughley Park in Suffolk.
“It’s certainly not a daily driver – it sits in the car lodge and comes out when the weather’s nice, when I’ll take it out to the shop or the pub. Wherever you go people will look at it, and that’s quite nice.
“Because of its age, you can go to any classic car show and park next to an Austin or something and people still appreciate what it looks like and the work someone has done to make it look like she does.”
So what’s the best part of owning a classic Volkswagen?
“I think it’s as much the scene as the cars, to be honest,” says Lee. “This sort of stuff – sitting in fields with friends with similar likes and loves. I’m from Oxfordshire originally – I’ve been up here probably 10 years – and this is how I know more people in Suffolk, through the Suffolk Veedub Transporters club.
“It’s a great club, and it’s revolutionised my social life.”
Lee has another Beetle, a 1975, that’s currently undergoing restoration, and the next step may be a Porsche 356.
While he doesn’t have the time to commit to doing the work himself, he has plenty of help from those who can.
“I can do bits and bobs, but I’ve got some good guys that work for us who can help me out with the stuff I can‘t do, which is quite handy,” he says.
Whether or not he does move on to a Porsche, Lee’s 64-year-old Beetle is sure to be part of the Suffolk VW scene for many years to come.
