a not so brief history!

Tracing the history of your VW. Contacting previous owners, finding old photos
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Siwinchee
Posts:14
Joined:Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:37 pm
a not so brief history!

Post by Siwinchee » Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:04 pm

So far ive managed to dig up qiute a bit on my old girl either through old paperwork and a few email exchanges from the station she was based at. so from the top! :D from what i can find on what im guessing is the old log book she went through two owners before being turned into a feuerwher the first owner, still around today, an electronics distribution company in stuttgart. they had her from new (1986) til around 93, it went on to another owner til 96. Then came the emmingen-liptingen fire brigade who turned the paint from white to red (though from the looks if my interior metal, on the cheap! %( ) put a small water pump in the back and breathing regulators and used it as a minibus to take the fire fighters around, they kept it til around 2008 i think, the engine by that time was on its way out, and still was til i replaced it this year, so it was de-stickered lights and sirens removed :(/ and sold off to a couple who drove it round ukfor 5 months, then sold again to pete, the guy i bought it off who replaced the stickers :).

Siwinchee
Posts:14
Joined:Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:37 pm

Re: a not so brief history!

Post by Siwinchee » Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:31 pm

ive sent a few emails back and forth with the webmaster of the emmingen-liptingen fire service, i would really recommend sending an email to the station if you know where yours came from but havent tried it yet, i was a little apprehensive at first in case i got a frosty reception for having th van stickerd up in the towns livery, after sending an email over (with several apologies for it having no german whatsoever!!) and waiting about three months i got back a really good, if slightly broken english reply, and more recently a good pic!
http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o51 ... be34ee.jpg
ive got some great stories now.....well i say that, i found out that the van was used, im guessing, as a wedding car for a fireman. at the wedding another fireman and a young lady, and i will quote the email ' was fallen in love with a girl and they have had fun in the car' :shock: high fives for the bloke i guess but after reading that i wasnt so bothered anout not having the original rear seats!!! :lol:
apparently the commander of the fire station liked his beer and used to drive round with a crate on the passenger bench and open the bottles on the steering wheel! :lol: the same commander, when the van was sold sneakly kept the water pump and sold it on to a gardener, the emmingen-liptingen fire servive is a spilt of two towns, the van being based in emmingen, the pump belonged to the liptingen brigade so when they found he sold it off, they confiscated the pump and fired the commander! :roll:

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rolandrat
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Re: a not so brief history!

Post by rolandrat » Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:59 pm

Great background story! As you say it's always worth a try to get in contact with the fire station!

Some of them might be fussy, if somebody replaces or doesn't remove the stickers (their job!), but as a rule they don't care and like the idea, that their former vehicle is still around in its old livery. Like written in another thread, the coat of arms mustn't sported by a private person tho', but what the heck!

Siwinchee
Posts:14
Joined:Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:37 pm

Re: a not so brief history!

Post by Siwinchee » Sun Aug 19, 2012 1:21 pm

im hoping at some stage to go on a road trip through europe and take her home but was worried about being pulled by the coppers for the stickers and fake sirens, i have still got the coat of arms on the doors so i guess some temporary white sheet stuck over them would be the only solution for that /:)

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