Tony & Pat Olmo

VW BEETLE DELUXE

Serial Volkswagen restorers Tony and Pat Olmo – who also own a ’62 convertible and ’73 Westy camper – can trace their love of the marque to 1994, when they bought their ’56 Beetle Deluxe from a friend in the Carmel Valley: “It had been covered up for eight years,” says Pat, “and was finished in silver. It was only when we got it home and started to take back the paint that we found, in the footwells, that it was originally Diamond Green. It was then that we knew we had to restore it, and keep it completely original.”

The rebuild took two years. “Fortunately it was all there, including the matching-numbers engine and interior,” explains Tony. “Everything is bone stock. We had the 36bhp, 1192cc engine fully rebuilt to the original factory specifications, and the interior retrimmed by a marque expert who won’t touch anything non-standard.”

A host of period-correct accessories help the car to stand out in Carmel, most dating from the Porsche era. “They’re a lot more expensive as a result,” says Pat. “It even has the original blanking plates in the dashboard.” The car is now complete, with the exception of the small Hazet screwdriver, which has gone missing from the original toolkit. If you have a suitable replacement, the Olmos would love to hear from you…