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Child Item

New, unregistered Irish-bought car from 1976 - where do I start?

alfa beta

So, my Dad (God rest his motoring and hoarding soul) bought a new Peugeot 504 in 1976, drove it home, decided he wasn't that keen on it, wrapped it in a few blankets and some plastic sheets, then kept it hidden away in the garage for the rest of his (and its) life.

It's now 2019 so the car is 43 years old, yet to all intents and purposes, it's actually brand new - unregistered as far as I can see and with just a couple of hundred miles on the clock. I'd love to get it up and running but need a few pointers as to where I should start with regard to the tax/registration side of things as I've no knowledge about classics at all.

The car has no plates and there is no sign of a log book or any form of documentation, not even a sales invoice/receipt or anything like that (you see, while he was an avid hoarder of things, he wasn't so keen a keeper of paperwork :-). So, my question is, what would be the first step to take as regard getting this car officially on the road?

(Btw, my dad's entire estate was left to my mum when he passed away last year, so I guess she would be the official owner now and we would be looking to register it in her name.)

As I said above, any initial pointers from anyone who has any direct knowledge of this sort of thing would be great. I have done some googling but I haven't found a scenario exactly like this, so I thought it would be worth asking the question here and seeing what you guys think and what advice you could offer - Many thanks in advance for your help.

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kadman

Mum might like to see the squareback everyday for the happy memories, then again she might not want to be reminded
of all the happy memories by seeing the car everyday.
Its a funny thing like that.

I remember similar circumstances in my own family. And it was too painful for some family members to be reminded
by all the items of the deceased member, so they were sold on. Its a very individual thing.

There is probably a long list of people who would love that car, me included.

But I still think you should hang on to it. Or at least let it go to someone who would put it back on the road.
Its probably worth more to break it for parts, which is a sad thing,than sell it as it is.
And that would be sacrilegious in my view to such a car.

It needs to be on the road and driving.

spaceHopper

Whats under the tarm to the left of the merc?

WildWater

spaceHopper wrote: »

Whats under the tarm to the left of the merc?

At this rate, I'll be pretty disappointed if it's not a space shuttle.

stock>

spaceHopper wrote: »

Whats under the tarm to the left of the merc?

DB5..............................................................;);)

forgottenhills

stock> wrote: »

DB5..............................................................;);)

Or perhaps a DeLorean, driven once and parked up.

alfa beta

spaceHopper wrote: »

Whats under the tarm to the left of the merc?

Morris Eight (from 1940s)

alfa beta

Here are some photos of the VW Variant / Squareback now that it's emerged from its cocoon and can actually be seen from more angles than the rear.

kadman

Definitely the squareback would be my favourite:)

TheW1zard

Quick question whats the difference between red and black plates?

hullaballoo

Red plates go faster.

Type 17

Silver on black was the standard from 1904-1974.
When Irl joined the EEC in 1974, black on red (rear) and black on white (front) became the new standard. UK joined at the same time, but chose yellow for the rear plates.

zilog_jones

Besides the sills, the VW doesn't look too bad? Hard to tell how much is just surface rust...

Igotadose

Digression. I see a lot of love for that VW squareback. FD: never saw one in my life living in the US. I've ridden in a lot of different VW's, Dashers Karmann-Ghias, Scirocco, Buses, Rabbits, Golfs, Beetles of many eras, Passatsand I even owned an Audi for 10 years, which was the best car I've ever owned. Why so much love for what looks like a pokey box that doesn't seem like it'll handle or ride well nor be particularly quick?

Silent Running

Igotadose wrote: »

Digression. I see a lot of love for that VW squareback. FD: never saw one in my life living in the US. I've ridden in a lot of different VW's, Dashers Karmann-Ghias, Scirocco, Buses, Rabbits, Golfs, Beetles of many eras, Passatsand I even owned an Audi for 10 years, which was the best car I've ever owned. Why so much love for what looks like a pokey box that doesn't seem like it'll handle or ride well nor be particularly quick?

It's all about nostalgia. 0-100 times rarely come into the classic car owner's mind.

zilog_jones

Also, as your post confirms: They're rare

James Bond Junior

Silent Running wrote: »

It's all about nostalgia. 0-100 times rarely come into the classic car owner's mind.

100%. It's the car you wanted as a kid or one you had as young lad.

galwaytt

...and hindsight being the wonderful thing that it is, there was a time when the squareback, fastback and - Variant - were worth, literally nothing.

I remember a dark red 412LE - the fuel injected Type 4 - being literally left to rot on the side of the road, here: https://goo.gl/maps/u6MneL9b9ghuwq7j9

Oooh to have that now..............

kadman

Well....I'd take it in a heartbeat if the rust wasn't excessive, above any of the rest of them, but thats just me:)

unkel

Not just you, both the variant and the fastback have always been my favourite VWs, good few of them around when I was growing up

swarlb

I used to work with a man in the 70's who had a variant. We'd collect stock from a warehouse every week, and deliver it to various outlets. I was always amazed at the amount of stuff you could cram in the back.
We lost touch, and years later I bumped into a fella who knew him in the trade back then.
Have to say... I got a bit of a fright when I was told that the 'stock' we were collecting, was.... well, not being 'collected' as such, more like 'acquired without payment'....
Seemingly he'd been caught one morning, arrested, and spent some time behind bars.....

The only thing I could think of saying was...
'Wonder what ever happened the VW ?'

wildwillow

swarlb wrote: »

I used to work with a man in the 70's who had a variant. We'd collect stock from a warehouse every week, and deliver it to various outlets. I was always amazed at the amount of stuff you could cram in the back.
We lost touch, and years later I bumped into a fella who knew him in the trade back then.
Have to say... I got a bit of a fright when I was told that the 'stock' we were collecting, was.... well, not being 'collected' as such, more like 'acquired without payment'....
Seemingly he'd been caught one morning, arrested, and spent some time behind bars.....

The only thing I could think of saying was...
'Wonder what ever happened the VW ?'

This thread just keeps giving.
There is a mini series or a book here with the main story and all the side avenues.

kadman

I remember back in the day when we used to go across the border with the fastback.
On the way back when we hit the checkpoint the guard asked to see into the boot at the customs
checkpoint.

He walked around the back where 99% of all boots on cars were at the time.
Checked it out, saw the normal every day shop, shuffled around, and waved us through.

Good job he never knew there was a bigger front boot on these, than there was in the rear.

It was like duty free at the airport

Silent Running

kadman wrote: »

I remember back in the day when we used to go across the border with the fastback.
On the way back when we hit the checkpoint the guard asked to see into the boot at the customs
checkpoint.

He walked around the back where 99% of all boots on cars were at the time.
Checked it out, saw the normal every day shop, shuffled around, and waved us through.

Good job he never knew there was a bigger front boot on these, than there was in the rear.

It was like duty free at the airport

How did you stop the Kerrygold melting?

kadman

Kerrygold was in the front, along with all the other goodies,

well away from the heat:D:D

zilog_jones

I'm sure everyone's forgotten about the original car in this thread by now, but here's some footage of a 504 diesel in action on the fine roads of '80s West Clare: https://www.rte.ie/archives/collections/news/21267864-potholes-in-west-clare/

wildwillow

zilog_jones wrote: »

I'm sure everyone's forgotten about the original car in this thread by now, but here's some footage of a 504 diesel in action on the fine roads of '80s West Clare: https://www.rte.ie/archives/collections/news/21267864-potholes-in-west-clare/

I drove one in that colour in the ninteen eighties. Bought new and loved it. My husband hated the colour and rarely drove it.

Brother in law borrowed it when it was just a few months old and had a serious enough front end collision. It was in city traffic so no real speed and no one injured and no personal injury claims.
Luckily he was fully insured and a repair was done but I never trusted it afterwards and traded it in less than a year later for a Volvo.

Hotblack Desiato

You'd think any customs guy worth his salt would know VWs were rear engined...

Although our lads weren't a patch on the Stasi, they had their off-days too -

How I escaped from East Berlin in a Lotus sports car (in the tiny space where the fuel tank used to be) :eek:

alfa beta

I'm delighted this morning to let readers of this thread know that the Variant has found a new home, one which (fingers crossed) will see her back on the road in all her previous air-cooled, rear-engined glory at some point in the not too distant future.

And as was the case with the other vehicles (the MZ bikes, the Daihatsu Van, one of the Honda 50's) the sale of the VW to a wonderfully enthusiastic new owner has resulted in another substantial donation to the Cope Foundation at a time when traditional fundraising is nigh on impossible.

Hotblack Desiato

That's brilliant news.

Will the new owner be posting pics of the restoration here or elsewhere, do you know?

unkel

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Will the new owner be posting pics of the restoration here or elsewhere, do you know?

Or more specific, is kadman here the new owner?