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30/11/2014
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05/10/2014
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29/06/2014
Latest Blog Entries
RTS Xmas in July
21/07/2013
Swartkops Airbase
06/07/2013
Ferdi’s Swap Meet
26/08/2012
Conquering Africa: the ’59 way
To tell the story of an extraordinary 1959 Volkswagen Kombi named Mabel, I’ll need to jump 40 years forward and start the telling with a newborn friendship between two young men, Wernher Hartzenberg and Espen Svensen. Both of us had one thing in common: the desire for adventure. We did not know at the time what impact this meeting would have on the rest of our lives and how we would both find respect for a vehicle that was once upon a time advertised as the people’s car. It was 1999 and the first ever African Beetle Marathon was just the event to dip our toes into the river of adventure. Boy, would this little stream soon flow like a fearsome river through our veins. Espen was born in Oslo, Norway. With his forefather’s Viking blood running strong, he decided it was time to see the world. He was so sure about his fate that he purchased a round trip ticket that would take him pretty much, well, around the world. Being an adventurer there would be no better place to kick it all off than in South Africa. On the other side of the world, a young student, Wernher, was just getting ready to start his adult life. I was like most other South Africans, brought up with the mindset that once you finish your studies, it is time to face the real world, and that meant getting a 9-to-5 job. Luckily, I was young and also knew how to use my free time. That year’s summer break was going to be different; I was going to go BIG one last time. […]
# 85903: IT ALL ADDS UP.
Article by Wernher Hartzenberg People have always put great importance on certain dates. All through mankind’s existence time has played a huge role. First it was measured by dusk and dawn, then came weeks, months and years. Soon it all got formulated into a calendar. I’m not superstitious and believe that what will happen, will happen. In my books 11/11/2011 was just going to be another day in sunny South Africa. There was however one event that happened that day, which stood out more, than let’s say, the day before. It came in the form of a phone call from a gentleman by the name of Deon Smith, who knew of an early Porsche that was possibly for sale. He had gotten my number from someone who had met me while I was restoring Silverado and heard that I had a passion for early air cooled cars. He broke the news that it was a Convertible D and that there was a potential buyer from the United Kingdom. He also told me that the car belonged to his cousin, who was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer and knew that his dream of one day restoring the car was growing slimmer by the day. We talked about the car and ended the conversation with the mutual feeling that the car should stay in South Africa. […]
Porsche Club Breakfast Run
11/03/2012
Pan Africa Safari in a Samba
In the early 1950’s a Dutch couple, Willem and Truus van der Mark followed their forefather’s footsteps and decided to elope to South Africa. This choice was primarily made on the fact that the couple both loved animals and that Willem’s talent as a documentarian would be taken to new heights, as he could capture wildlife on his 16 mm camera. Back in those days when television was unheard of, news clips appeared during movie intervals at the cinema. It was during such movie intervals that Willem‘s documentaries were screened. […]
BIG BANG aka OERKNAL
There is something about a barn find that beats walking into Porsche Centre and buying a shiny car from a well dressed sales person. This however does not mean that we don’t appreciate newer Porsches and that there is anything wrong with window shopping from time to time, but I simply get more excited when the words “old rusted project” pops up. I guess one of the reasons is that it turns into a journey that has its ups and downs, rather than a turn of the key and off you go. In my opinion a lot of character and meaning gets lost when doing the latter. Now those of you that have read the Silverado project have met my dad and have discovered his will to track down any old Porsche. The story of Oerknal is no different. All it took to kick-start this chase was a visit to Porsche Centre and the simple question of “where can I find an old Porsche?” As always the answer came back “We have a great 993 pre owned beauty going for a bargain” and then the big smile. But the real answer will only come when a bit of persistence is practiced. On this particular Saturday the sales person recalled hearing his manager talking about an early 911 in boxes. Bingo, that’s the one we’re talking about. […]
My chance to buy the last of the last
Article by Tyrone Morris When the law was passed in Mexico that taxis had to have four doors back in late 2002, the final chapter of the air-cooled beetle would unfold. VAG as we know had contracted vw mexico to produce beetles for the european market back in the late 70’s, as demand still warranted imports into Germany from latin America once the Germans had ceased european production in 1978. The ships kept on docking into Emden until European safety regulations halted the final batch of 50th anniversary beetles to Europe in 1985. This could have been the end for the beloved air-cooled icon, but luckily the Mexican government encouraged and incentivized ongoing local production as the taxi industry benefitted by the supply of these green and white “vochos”, ironically resembling the old german polizei colours. An ongoing lease of life for the air-cooled model echoes the rebranding of the golf1 legacy in South Africa. It appears that the two death-defiant models even shared some parts, i.e. the steering wheel and interior of the late mexican beetles mirrors that of the late mark 1 golfs. […]
