When Don Whyte decided to get a restoration project for when he retired, he knew exactly what marque to go for.
A life-long fan of Volkswagen cars, the 65-year-old initially set out to try and find an air-cooled Beetle, having owned several over the course of his driving life.
But a search on Ebay led him to find something much quirkier – a 1975 Volkswagen Trekker Type 182.
The Volkswagen Type 181 and 182 were a two-wheel drive, four-door, convertible, off-road, military vehicle manufactured by Volkswagen from 1968 to 1983.
Originally developed for the German Army, the Type 181 was also sold to the public, as the Kurierwagen in Germany, the Trekker in the United Kingdom, and
the Thing in the United States.
It shared its mechanicals with Volkswagen’s Type 1 (Beetle).
Don, who lives in Crathes, said: ” I had seen Trekkers over the years, although they were very few and far between, but it’s very similar to the Volkswagen Beetle. There was just something about it. I’ve always liked the shape and its weird military look.
“This is like a step above the Beetle. It’s just a quirky vehicle, an oddball, something far from the norm and I like that.”
Buying it in Perth more than a year ago, Don brought it back to Aberdeenshire on a trailer and did some basic work on it to get it through its MOT – just in time for the 2012 Kildrummy Rally where it won a prize for the Most Unusual Vehicle.
While it is in a reasonably good condition, he plans to completely restore it and change its colour as well.
“I don’t have a timetable as such because I don’t know the extent of the repairs but I will find that out once I start taking it apart,” he said.
“I plan to do some work on the engine and replace some of the floor sections and panels. It will be a fairly extensive restoration but I don’t plan to modify it.
“I’ll probably be jazzing it up but there is a trend with these things where people lower the suspension and make them into street cars but I don’t particularly like that style.”
Instead Don plans to give the car a “chunkier look” including adding bigger tyres.
“The only modification I might do is put different seats in,” he said.
“The colour will be different, that’s for sure. I’m thinking of a very bright green. Something quite radical anyway. I want to try and get away from the sort of military look that it has and make it just a fun car.”
As the go-to guy in his family for mechanical problems, Don is no stranger to what lies under a vehicle’s bonnet. But he admits he has never taken on something on this scale before.
He said: “I did do up some of the Beetles I had over the years so I’m not too phased by the scale of it, I’m sure I’ll be able to do it all myself.
“I like the job satisfaction of it. Because I have a degree of mechanical aptitude, fixing something and working on it gives you great satisfaction. I enjoy most things mechanical.”
Once it’s complete, Don plans to use the Trekker as his day car, which is sure to turn some heads when he is out and about.
“It’s good fun to drive, people stop and look all the time,” he added.
“This car makes people smile. It’s just a good fun car to drive and is really enjoyable as well.
“Very few people actually know what it is. The question that I regularly get asked is if it is a kit car but it isn’t. Some other people have asked if its a Mini Moke. It was a kind of small military jeep back in the 1960s. It does have a similar look to that.
“I am looking forward to getting started on the car and seeing it all finished.”
Look out for Your Car in the future to find out how Don got on.