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STANLEY'S STORY
Stanley was born in Germany, 1964. This was the same year that the BBC launched BBC2, the Beatles had all top 5 hits in the US Top 40 and Sony introduced the first ever VCR. A lot has changed since Stanley has been in the world and we only know his story from 2010 onwards. We often wonder what happened in those 46 unknown years and plan to unearth Stanley’s secrets in time.
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It is from Los Angeles, USA, that Stanley’s known journey begins. We believe he had spent many years unused and unloved abandoned in a storage yard with a seized gear box and axle. Although he had his original paint and body, with very limited rust due to the dry conditions, at some point he had been converted from a panel van to a camper, with windows cut and added.
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I knew a lot of work lay ahead of us but it was love at first sight. Upon searching VW restorers I found Ron at VW Endangered Species. His work spoke for itself, with Ron’s passion and attention for detail our mission was simple; to restore Stanley to show level honoring the original specifications and design from 1964.
After 18 months of hard work, including a replacement gearbox and fire door at the rear, restored engine, custom made seat lining and detailing inside the cab culminating in the paint being stripped back and replaced with a world class respray by Dave and his team at M&D Paint Shop, and Stanley was finally ready for our first drive.
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The nerves on route to collect him were unbelievable, the kind of excitement a child experiences on Christmas morning. The feeling I had during my first drive simply can’t be explained, but the smile on my face said it all. After all the hard work he was finally ready and every bit the vision we had imagined.
He looked the part, stunning in dove blue, and next it was time to set about personalizing him to be an eye catching advert for Dublicious. Our logo was hand painted to emulate the craft of 1964. …… did such an amazing job people believe the logo is printed until we tell them otherwise.
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So after 60 years Stanley is now on the road nearly every day, working just like he was built to do. The smile on people’s faces when they see him coming is priceless, but we’ve not finished with him yet. The next stage of our project is to convert his interior so we can use him as a hub for displaying our food whilst at events and shows. Watch this space, Stanley’s new lease of life has only just begun…