Lynn Pfenning, from Minnesota, has spent 38 years trying to convince a farm owner to sell him back his family’s old Volkswagen Type 3, which his father purchased in 1967.
The family had to sell the car later on, and the new owner used it for various farm work, after which he just abandoned it in a shed. Despite this, every time Pfenning asked the current owner of the car to sell it back, the plea was met with blunt refusal. It was not until 2013 that the man yielded and gave up the seedy, ancient ride.
Pfenning proceeded to take it apart down to the last screw, repair everything that has rotten off or otherwise degraded, and even replaced a part of the bodywork. He then bored the stock 1.6-liter engine up to 1.8 liters of displacement, gaining power, and gave the body a fresh burgundy paint. Chrome-coated mirrors and other elements rounded off the restoration project.
The work took five years and U.S. $40,000 to complete. Pfenning’s masterpiece has already been awarded prizes at multiple regional car shows, but it was the way his father reacted that was perhaps the most valuable of all. The old man could not quite believe he was seeing his old car again, fully restored and in top driving condition. He was happy beyond words.