I paid £300 to buy my dad’s rare old van – now I’ve completely converted it and it looks incredible

A MAN who paid £300 to buy his dad’s rare vintage van has now given it a complete makeover – and it looks incredible.

Chris Hoar, 31, bought the Volkswagen Razorback from his father Dave, 62, for £300 two years ago.

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The van has been in the family for more than a decade, but was available as a project after sitting unused for years.

Statistics from motoring website How Many Left say there are currently only 16 Razorback vans registered for tax purposes in the UK.

Chris and his wife Sammy, 30, from Plymouth, decided to renovate the van four months ago.

And now they are thrilled with the “beautiful” results – but will be selling it on due to other commitments.

Chris said: “The van has sat untouched for over a decade.”

“I always thought it would be a good project.”

“My dad said he was getting rid of the van, but I said I wanted it. I couldn’t allow it to be scrapped.”

“It was a real-time adventure, to say the least.”

Chris said the van was rusty, had holes in it and was turning green when he took possession of it.

So he and Sammy set about getting it roadworthy again.

They painted it green and converted it into a pickup truck, also replacing the brakes and renovating the interior.

Chris said: “I’ve always loved a VW van – it always looked so cool.”

“I know it’s unique for a lot of people. It has a hydraulic floor system in the rear of the transporter.

“When we bought it it had holes in it, was moldy and rusty. We had to renovate everything.”

“I replaced the brakes, flushed the engine, installed a new air filter and restored many of the original functions.

“We kept the interior – if anything, we restored it.”

“I always wanted it to look like a pickup truck because they really appeal to me.

“I took the roof off and it now looks more like a pickup truck than a utility vehicle.”

Sammy said: “We knew she needed a lot of work.

“So we took it in for an MOT right at the start of the process to see if it was a total loss or not.”

“The guys in the garage said, ‘It’s in such good condition’ – that motivated us.”

“It has 96,000 miles on the clock, which is good for a van of its age.”

VAN OF LIFE

Sammy and Chris can’t keep the van and will put it up for sale.

She said: “We would like to keep her.

“But with our lifestyle and all the traveling we do, she won’t get the benefit she deserves.”

“We will put them up for sale soon.

“But we are not ready for the day it comes because it is beautiful.”

“Everyone who comes to her asks how we should deal with letting her go.”

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