It’s funny how the VW hobby tends to drag us back into it, even after a few years of hiatus. Take Patrice Gangnant, for example, from Caen, in Normandy, who built a couple of highly-regarded Beetles in the ’80s and early ’90s. I first met Patrice in the late 1980s and was very impressed with the car he drove back then, a black ’61 sedan. This featured a wide variety of aluminium accessories fabricated by him, including flush-mounted bumpers and air filter covers. His next VW, an Oval Ragtop, typical of the early ’90s, proved even more impressive. Yet, family became a priority and the ’53 soon changed ownership.
Patrice then disappeared from the scene for almost a decade. During this lapse, he worked on his house, had two children, and simply got on with his busy life. However, as things settled down, he felt the urge to build a new project car. Initially, he envisaged building a street rod, but his wife convinced him that a family vehicle might be more appropriate, so they ultimately settled on a Volkswagen Bus.
Fast forward to 2001. Patrice was looking high and low for a 23-window Bus all over Europe, but none seemed to fit his price range. However, an interesting alternative appeared in the shape of its younger brother, a nice 21-window. This ’67 had already been partly restored, although it was lacking its seats and interior trim.
Patrice bought it and, after an extensive tune-up, our 42-year-old enthusiast drove the vehicle in stock form for a year, while he searched for various bits and pieces for his dream Bus: a custom 25-window, built to drive like a modern car! Through judicious swapping of parts and thanks to the Internet, Patrice’s stash of parts was finally starting to take shape. A good friend even sold him the main element missing from his project: the rear section of a 23-Window Bus.
Due to the quality of his previous VWs, it’s no surprise to learn that Patrice’s Samba features a high level of detailing, mixed with a ton of unique attributes. In September 2003, he took the Bus off the road for a total rebuild. It would soon receive a complete facelift – to look like a late ’62 Samba, except for those extra skylight rear windows which (as far as we know) never came as standard equipment on any Volkswagen....
It’s funny how the VW hobby tends to drag us back into it, even after a few years of hiatus. Take Patrice Gangnant, for example, from Caen, in Normandy, who built a couple of highly-regarded Beetles in the ’80s and early ’90s. I first met Patrice in the late 1980s and was very impressed with the car he drove back then, a black ’61 sedan. This featured a wide variety of aluminium accessories fabricated by him, including flush-mounted bumpers and air filter covers. His next VW, an Oval Ragtop, typical of the early ’90s, proved even more impressive. Yet, family became a priority and the ’53 soon changed ownership.
Patrice then disappeared from the scene for almost a decade. During this lapse, he worked on his house, had two children, and simply got on with his busy life. However, as things settled down, he felt the urge to build a new project car. Initially, he envisaged building a street rod, but his wife convinced him that a family vehicle might be more appropriate, so they ultimately settled on a Volkswagen Bus.
Fast forward to 2001. Patrice was looking high and low for a 23-window Bus all over Europe, but none seemed to fit his price range. However, an interesting alternative appeared in the shape of its younger brother, a nice 21-window. This ’67 had already been partly restored, although it was lacking its seats and interior trim.
Patrice bought it and, after an extensive tune-up, our 42-year-old enthusiast drove the vehicle in stock form for a year, while he searched for various bits and pieces for his dream Bus: a custom 25-window, built to drive like a modern car! Through judicious swapping of parts and thanks to the Internet, Patrice’s stash of parts was finally starting to take shape. A good friend even sold him the main element missing from his project: the rear section of a 23-Window Bus.
Due to the quality of his previous VWs, it’s no surprise to learn that Patrice’s Samba features a high level of detailing, mixed with a ton of unique attributes. In September 2003, he took the Bus off the road for a total rebuild. It would soon receive a complete facelift – to look like a late ’62 Samba, except for those extra skylight rear windows which (as far as we know) never came as standard equipment on any Volkswagen....
