Trabant Kubelwagen Restoration

Brought over from once being on border patrol in East Berlin, this 1971 Kubelwagen had lost most of its military identity - though still sporting original seats, extra petrol fired heater and bits of earlier green livery in the engine bay and under dash. Although extremely sound, restoration was my plan after having lived with my new purchase for a while - and funded by the sale of my 1959 Rover P5 3ltr, which was too much of a project.

Having looked at other Kubel restorations on the web, I decided to visit the 50th anniversary ITT in Zwickau in June 2007 for more inspiration. This finally helped me decide that I wanted a restoration that reflected where the car came from but that was not trying to be a nostalgic throw-back or a complete customisation.

Between summer 2007 and spring 2008 the transformation took place, with all the prep work done DIY on the street! Being fortunate to live near to classic upholstery specialists Polyfacto in Hailsham, a new configuration was decided for the hood, with new front seats coming from a suitable period 1970s English two-seater sports car via eBay, and the original rear seats reupholstered to match.

For more information, please email info@sussextrabant.org.uk