OK, so a week without the Java Green Machine… weird not seeing it out front. Anyway, another Uber into the middle of nowhere and a return to Bob @ Volkshaus. Once again, Bob had wandered off… to get pizza this time – but left on my own to wander around I found a Bay, a couple more split-window buses and a MONSTER engine that looked like it was going to end up in a very straight looking Oval!

It turns out the Beetle only needed a tweak on the horn wires and a smack on the indicator to pass an MOT. So that was a good deal less painful than I always fear it might be.

After a bit of a chat, sorting some paperwork and paying the man… it was around the corner to see Steve and Nick of Double H Restorations. Both had a good crawl all over the car, with Steve being all about the paint and Nick the welding and fabrication guy. Lots of thinking about either a full-on resto or something more befitting a nice straight car that has done pretty well for a 55-year-old!

They’re going to work up a quote for making the car even more awesome than it already is, so instead of being under a cover for the winter it’ll be off getting a facelift. And once again, I couldn’t resist a wander around their workshop – which was stuffed with Porsche 912s and a Karmann Ghia!

And then it was back home via the country lanes again – sun shining, roof down, worrying about every little pop and whistle. Ah… the joys of Beetle ownership! And now the car is sat back outside where it belongs, and I’ll make sure it gets plenty of use before the winter facelift! And I almost bought a Splittie myself yesterday… might need to save the money for the Beetle.

About 15 more miles added on the fresh MOT, and so far so good! Watch this space for more Java Green Machine updates.