Ipswich man Paul Myall tells of his 30 year journey to own Volkswagen Fastback – having owned one as his first car

A man from Ipswich has been given a rare second chance to drive his dream car after 30 years – having owned one as his first vehicle as a teenager.

Paul Myall first bought a Volkswagen Fastback in 1990 aged 17, having set his mind on acquiring one after spotting the model in a magazine.

While it required a significant amount of restoration work, Mr Myall was able to make it roadworthy and spent his time driving around with friends.

However, it was not to last, and the car suffered irreversible damage 18 months later.

For much of his adult life, he would focus on more practical cars, but like many with their first car, Mr Myall was unable to forget his old Fastback.

It wouldn’t be until 2020 that he was offered the chance to rekindle this childhood dream of owning one.

The father-of-three said: “After the accident, I carted it [the old Fastback] around with me for a number of years, trying to get bits of it done at a time, but eventually selling it on.

“In the end, I just couldn’t afford to keep it in storage or move it around anymore.”

Four years ago, Mr Myall said he was left with money from his grandparents.

One thing he had always wanted to do was get back into the Volkswagen scene, he said, employing the services of car broker Adrian Flux.

He told the firm’s Dubtales blog that he was grateful to finally have the money to do so.

Mr Myall said he had a look online, but did not expect to find anything.

“Generally, what you find is a project that you’ve got to invest some money in,” he said.

“This car was advertised as a running, driving, MoTd, low mileage UK car. But with all my experience, I thought ‘there’s going to be a horror story under it somewhere’.”

Mr Myall said he was pleasantly surprised to come across a working Fastback with nearly all its original parts.

He was also handed documents detailing the car’s history, including its first owner’s driving licence and a fuel ration card from the 1970’s.

His retro ride needed few upgrades, so getting it on the road was simple, Mr Myall said, and remains close to its original design outside of a new modifications.

“It’s got no stereo, no chrome trim down the side, one wing mirror, one sun visor, and even the surrounds on the indicators are not chromed,” Mr Myall said.

While not fast, it was attention grabbing, he said.

He and his family, including wife Karen and their sons, enjoy taking it to car shows – and it has even snagged some awards.

Mr Myall added: “It’s one of those experiences where it’s got a particular smell, with the vinyl interior, and you remember the thin steering wheel.

“I get in it and I’m 18 again in 1990, watching mechanics at Bug Jam roof-chopping a splitscreen bus over the weekend, with some crazy stuff going down the strip and seeing the Prodigy live. Every time I get in that car it takes me back to that time.

“That’s a forever car. That’s being handed down to children. It’s not one that I want to part with, or would ever think about parting with.

“It’s such a rare find that I don’t have any desire to chop it in for anything else. It would be nice to think that my original one might crop up somewhere, and I’d buy that back in a heartbeat, but I think that’s long gone to a scrapyard, and this is the next best thing.”