1946 Beetle "Captain Underpants" In Australia

[restore1]

Since purchasing my very first Beetle (Aust. built ) back in 1987 I have dreamed of finding a split window beetle. I had searched to the best of my ability for a split window through the late eighties and early nineties but there were very few opportunities for a young bloke on apprentice wages. I had to settle on ovals that were fairly available and inexpensive.

FFWD to 2017 and my Mate in Sydney had to unload a few cars as he had lost storage, one of them being The '46. I didn't have the money to pay him for it at the time but he told me to take it and we would work out the money later!

The '46 Has an interesting story which is how my youngest son Luca gave it the name " Captain underpants " . One of its previous owners Captain Maurice Seddon (Windsor U.K.) was and eccentric inventor who lays claim to inventing electrically heated underwear so that he could ride his motorcycles in the cold of an English winter. This story has been told before here on the Samba back in 2006, (If I was a bit smarter I would know how to ad a link from that post).

Now that I own the car (paid in full!) Where do I go from here ??

Restore or not to Restore?

I am no Stranger to this kind of work, Its been my occupation since 1988. Ive restored all kinds of cars ,my specialty and Passion is 356's and 911's.

I am reaching out to the knowledge and expertise within the Samba to help me
find the correct path such as History , Reference and Vendors .

To be perfectly honest I have never even seen another one this old so If I do decide to restore it I need to be better educated in the details. It is clear the car needs a lot of work and a lot of things on it are incorrect .

I have a limited History ( from what has been told to me ) and Photos if anyone is interested in me sharing.

Thank you for reading this post and I look forward to any feedback or advice that anyone may offer.

Cheers

Jason

[Martin Southwell]

Richard Cotton and myself have known about this car for 40 years, even if Maurice Seddon did keep very much to himself. Perhaps you could private e-mail me, and tell me what you know, and we'll see what we can link up. Alternatively, you can put information here for everyone to see.

As for whether you restore or not, is entirely down to you, and how deep your pockets are!

[finster]

great stuff! we can't get enough photos, history and eccentrics! I've lifted photos and text from the older thread (https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=40 unfortunately some dead photo/info links )

RichOakley wrote - "There's some good history behind this '46. Richard Cotton from Leicestser in the UK told me a little about it. Richard used to be heavily into the Split Window scene back in the 70s and 80s ...
The car was owned for a long time (since 1961) by an eccentric guy by the name of Captain Maurice Seddon who lived in a big house near Windsor, UK. Maurice Seddon was a bit of an inventor and was well known in Ireland after appearing a few times on Irish TV promoting his invention: centrally heated underpants- this sounds crazy, but it's true!! As well as inventing toasty knickers, he also had his '46 converted to run on propane (hence all the crap in the engine bay in the picture above). The interior of the car was also converted so that he could live in the car if he so wished (fold down bed of some description).
Anyway, Richard Cotton went to visit Cpt. Seddon in the late 70s to view the car- Richard was searching for a pre-49 at the time, but Cpt.Seddon did not want to sell. Richard left his 'phone number with the guy and forgot about the car.
Seven years later, out of the blue, Richard did get a 'phone call from Cpt. Seddon, to ask him the value of the '46. Cpt. Seddon had been approached by a collector who was buying up all the early Split Bugs he could find in the world. Richard also happened to mention in the 'phone conversation that he had a '47 that he would be willing to part with if the money was right. Anyway, the collector turned out to be Graham Lees from Australia. Graham purchased both the '46 from Cpt. Seddon and the '47 from Richard. Richard told me the price that was paid by Graham for the cars- it was a hell of a lot of money for 'projects' at the time, even if they were real early cars."

this (poor quality) video gives a flavour of cpt seddon and features a later beetle at the end along with a tantalising glimpse of others in his garden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGczFTeXIcY

as to how you proceed from here? I would only say that it would be a shame to lose the querky features added by the cpt - as I get older I'm more inclined towards preservation and conservation than restoration, but that is just my opinion.
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Martin Southwell]

Hello again. Sorry to have to tell you, but, having looked back through our records, the car has a 660XX chassis number, and is therefore a mid '47 car, and not a '46. The other '47 Graham Lees bought from the UK at the same time, I do have a photo of somewhere, and will publish that here when found. Richard is looking to see if he has any pictures of your car from his visit to Maurice Seddon, back in the day.

Plus, oddly, the car is still registered here in the UK, with the DVLA!

[finster]

[Martin Southwell]

The record of this car, chassis no: 66041, can be seen in the Samba Registry on this web-site: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/registry/ From this, it can be seen that the car was produced on the 23rd May 1947, and delivered to Keuch in Hannover.

Coincidentally, the '47 I own, chassis no: 65918, was produced on the day before, 22nd May, 1947, and also delivered to the same place, Keuch in Hannover. In my case, delivery was on 12th June 1947, and so your car can't have been that different.

If you want to know about Keuch, then take a look at the information provided here: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=20

As a lot of the '47's went to British & American forces, this is why a good number of the 1947 produced cars ended up in the UK. If you decide to restore the car, I would be able to provide you with a very close numbered '47 engine should you wish. Not the sort of offer you receive every day!

[Martin Southwell]

Maurice Seddon Obituary by Sandra Cross and William English

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/mar/16/maurice-seddon-obituary

Our friend Maurice Seddon, who has died aged 87, was a highly unusual and inventive person who took an uncompromising stance on life.

He was born in what he always described as "Elgar's old house", to a German concert pianist mother, Margarete Gertrude Necom, and her husband, Frank, the heir to Seddon's Salt. Their home was Severn House, in Hampstead, where the composer lived from 1912 to 1921. The family fortunes changed drastically when Maurice's father deserted his mother, sister and older brother. This had a deep effect on Maurice as he saw his mother and sister descend into alcoholism. His brother, Frank, died of kidney failure.

Via a German connection, Maurice was introduced to the educationist Kurt Hahn and was awarded a place at Gordonstoun, the Scottish school that Hahn founded in 1934. This was followed by service as an officer in the Royal Corps of Signals. These twin elements introduced Maurice to ideas about healthy living and electronics. He was his own herbalist, eating large quantities of raw garlic each day coated in lavender oil.

One of his inventions was heated clothing. When working as a dispatch rider on a vintage BSA, he was dressed head to toe in black leather, with a tabard proclaiming: Heated Gloves and Clothing. He could be seen plugging into his motorbike and heating up his lunch.

Maurice combined the bearing and voice of an officer with the attitude of a bohemian. His diplomatic and linguistic skills were often employed by friends who had trouble with their businesses or other general problems.

He was our friend for many years, during which we holidayed together in Rhayader, in mid-Wales, where Gordonstoun had decamped during the war. For nine of those years he visited the restaurant that we had in Borough Market in Southwark, south London, every day, sometimes twice a day.

Maurice lived in Datchet, Berkshire, and latterly at a residential home. We loved and enjoyed him. He was irrepressible and irreplaceable.

[TRS63]

Very interesting discussion about this special car..hope we will see more about it here!

Antoine
_________________
Antoine
My 62 ragtop daily driver:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728873
My 914 restoration&lightweight project :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9698432#9698432
Resurrecting a 60 ghia : https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713906
My 52 Standard Zwitter :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10086685#10086685

[restore1]

Thanks to everyone for kindly giving their input . I am amazed that the car and Captain Seddon is known and remembered.

I am Interested to follow up on the information supplied so far

I found Captain Seddons very weathered business card in one of the glove compartments which I think is pretty cool !

He was a very unique individual and I feel the car shares his personality with so many wild additions that he made such as electrical cabling ,
random notes taped to strategic locations , air horns and a propane conversion.

I believe that he also used the car as a camper during his travels. He had fitted internal dead bolts, an inside curtain and removed the passenger seat presumably so he could sleep on the floor?

Does anyone have any Information on his Travels ?

Thanks to all

Jason

[Martin Southwell]

Richard tells me that Maurice Seddon mentioned to him, that he had used the car to tour around Europe, and slept in the car when doing so, hence the internal locks & curtains.

The registration number LXE 54 tells us that the car was registered in Luton, from November 1950 onwards. https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/xe.htm In fact, from DVLA records, we can see it was 1st registered in the UK in December 1950. https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en

Some pictures here of Luton in 1950: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=luton+1950&t=newext&atb=v364-1&iax=images&ia=images No Beetles to be seen here, as it was the home of Vauxhall Motors, part of the British car manufacturing industry.

Wikipedia information on Luton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luton

[finster]

have managed to locate the thames valley vwoc article which was a dead link before but which mentions the 47 and travels to italy -
Thames Valley VW Owners Club in Britain also published this appreciation of the man and his car:

I first saw this car in a local supermarket car park, I almost stopped to see if the owner turned up, but was in a hurry, so missed my first opportunity. At first glance the car appeared as if is ready for the breakers, but first impressions can be deceptive, as I found out. Next the car appears in the local paper, and the small article just confirmed my initial suspicion that this is no ordinary car, and no ordinary Volkswagen owner. Before we get on to the beetle itself, here's a very brief outline of the history of the owner. I conducted a 4-hour interview with captain Maurice Seddon, and his life story and achievements are as fascinating, if not more interesting than his mode of transport. Indeed, it was only in the last half hour that I could hastily get some insight into the car behind the man. Read on.
Captain Maurice Seddon Born in 1926, Maurice Seddon was born into a privileged background. His mother, Margarete Gertrude had come over from Germany in 1911. She was a concert pianist, having studied in Hildesheim „ Germany, and caught the eye of Frank Seddon, younger son of Harry Seddon and heir to a salt and chemical magnate.
His disdain for speed was a direct result of his father's love of it. During childhood trips down to the family's summerhouse at St. Meryn, near Padstow „ Cornwall. Frank would take the family at speeds up to 100 mph in his Mercedes KompressorWagen „ often causing the young Maurice to be travel sick.
Maurice got his name from Maurice Baring (part of the banking Barings), a friend of the family. However, his upper-class privileges were soon to end. In 1936 Frank Seddon's infatuation with his mistress resulted in a divorce in 1937. Despite being the wronged party, Maurice's family were totally cut off from the Seddon fortune and thereafter lived in rented accommodation in the 1930s. Now well and truly poor, Maurice was lucky enough to come into contact with Kurt Hahn, who became a close friend to his mother, Margarete Gertrude, and a father figure to Maurice.
Being a music lover, Kurt was aware of Margarete's previous fame as a concert pianist, as well as being a fellow German. Kurt Hahn is most famous for being a leading thinker and leader in progressive education. Having set up a school in Schloss Salem, by Lake Constance, „ Germany, his institute attracted some of the cream of the European classes, including the future Prince Philip. His progressive ideas, coupled with the fact that he was a Jew resulted in his imprisoned by the Nazis in 1934 and that could have been the end of his story. However, his British friends (he was also educated at Oxford) soon discovered his circumstances and used their influence to get the government of the time, (the Ramsey McDonald Lib-Lab government) to secure his release and transfer to Britain. Here, he set up the Gordonstoun School in Scotland and was the founder of in the International Outward Bound movement and instrumental in creating the Duke of Edinburgh scheme here in the UK. Kurt Hahn saw Maurice's potential and invited him to join his school in Wales around 1940. The school had moved from Scotland during the war and because of the preponderance of German teaching staff and boys, this caused too many allegations of Nazi sympathies with the local populace. Maurice attended the school in Llandinam where he founded the wireless club and joined Engineering Guild and the Motor Guild in the school. While in Wales, a Doktor Richter (the Biology master) was arrested for allegedly signalling to the Luftwaffe using a torch (he was actually looking for moths). It seems however, that Kurt Hahn spend part of his war years helping British intelligence monitoring German radio traffic, so was able swiftly to secure the masters release. While at the school Maurice made several radios for himself and the masters.
The Motor Guild also had extensive garage facilities nearby, halfway up a long drive up the local hillside. Maurice bought his first car, a 1916 Ford model T chassis for £1 and restored it with the help of his fellows. Its gravity-fed fuel system meant it would be starved of petrol half way up the Welsh hills. The solution, turn the vehicle around and drive up the rest of the way backwards. With the war still on and Maurice now at an age for military service, Kurt Hahn was anxious that he should volunteer and secure a post best suited to his skills. In 1944 he attended examinations at Cambridge for the Royal Corps of Signals, where he soon became known as the «mad boffin' and «wireless king'. His officer training was shared with notable individual, Geoffrey Howe „ later foreign secretary in the 1980s. Maurice rose to the rank of captain during his career in the army, and eventually retired in 1957, and in 1958 moved to his present house in Berkshire. The Inventor Maurice Seddon is most well known internationally as the inventor of low voltage powered heated clothing.
This is a direct result of his own suffering from Raynaud's syndrome, a constriction of the blood vessels in the extremities (usually hands and feet) that can cause pain and cold. He has pioneered this invention since 1951, his first client being his Classics master, and held many interviews in, among others, Germany, the UK and USA. Jonathan Ross, Jonny Carson and David Letterman to name just three, have interviewed him. His invention has given him little financial profit however; he has always failed to patent his ideas; while often, others have stepped in to copy his inventions. He is well aware that most would label him as the classic boffin and eccentric, and despite his poverty, he leads a full life and has travelled widely, had many experiences and known many famous people. He is so busy that it took me a week of last minute cancellations to arrange to meet him. At 77, he certainly has a full diary.

He is still active in producing bespoke heated clothing, maintains an historic wireless restoration business and also runs a private wireless museum. The Cars Why all the history? You cannot really talk about the cars without talking about the man behind them. Captain Maurice Seddon has run his cars on gas since the early 1960s and has run a 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom, and three Volkswagen Beetles „ as well as converting cars for friends, including a Mercedes 220S. His sister had moved to Rome with her friend and daughter of Gioia Marconi's first wife. Maurice Seddon often travelled there annually from the 1950s and in 1961 bought a 1946-7 split window beetle. At this time as much as 50% of cars in northern Italy were converted to run on gas and Maurice had his beetle converted in Italy, by the firm of Renzo Landi in Reggio. The car served him faithfully on his many trips to the continent and was often serviced by a German Volkswagen dealership, Dost Automobile GmbH, in Hildesheim. In 1987 the Beetle came to the attention of an Australian enthusiast, Graham Lees, who saw the car while Maurice Seddon was being interviewed on Australian Channel 7 TV. After tracking down the car he would not cease from pestering Maurice to sell, and so the car moved to Sydney „ where it still resides.

In 1974 he also bought his present car, a 67 Beetle, which was also converted to gas. This car may look scruffy from the outside, but I had a good look and it was solid, mainly due to the regular application of anti-rust treatments to the body and underside. Maurice also owns what appears to be a 64 Beetle with a 65 1200cc petrol engine. Both have got the somewhat do-it-yourself white painted covering ? the same effect that Graham Lees tells us adorns his original 46 model. The unique gas powered beetle, and notice the dual electric system The gas supply in his 67 is via a tank on the roof, above the engine compartment. The gas power gives only a slight reduction in speed and acceleration, but had meant that the car still runs perfectly on the original engine, with only occasional servicing and oil top-ups. The clean nature of the fuel puts less strain on the engine with a less violent combustion. Maurice's unhurried driving style must also contribute to its long life, note the sign displayed at the rear of the vehicle. He tells me that many modern gas conversions use an initial petrol supply to start the engine, his relies solely gas so takes 3-4 turns of the starter when cold to bring the car to life. A careful driver Many of you will notice that there is both a 6-volt dynamo and a 12-volt alternator double pulley system. So what's all that about? The car itself runs on the 6-volt system, which causes Maurice Seddon to try and avoid night driving. The 12-volt system attaches to his interior heated clothing system, including the most important components „ heated gloves and insoles, and his camping refrigeration. How many beetle owners out there could also benefit from such an ingenious set-up, especially in the winter months. Oh, and by the way, he has recently added two 12v fog lights to the car to aid night visibility, For his travels the car only has a driver's seat, the rest of the interior includes a flat bed and the refrigerator, to cut down on hotel bills. The fact that this car is so solid and runs so well is due to a combination of its unique fuel supply, the care taken by Maurice over its maintenance, his driving and (as he stresses himself) the over-engineered nature of the Beetle itself. If you ever see him on the road, give him a little wave, but if you end up behind him, be prepared for a sedate drive, and overtake carefully and politely. A fascinating man and an intriguing example of the continuing reliability and adaptability of the ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetle.

_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Undis]

[GASBNR]

great thread

so many splits in Australia

just got an Oct 51 Via Argentina

[rod_vw]

I remember meeting Maurice Seddon and the car at a classic car meet at Booker Air Park in about 1974. Even then it was in a very dishevelled condition and had all or most of the modifications attached around it.

I later met, purely by chance, an acquaintance of Maurice Seddon who I believe was a fellow motorcycle blood courier. From this acquaintance I heard stories of the premises and vehicle collection that Maurice had.

At that time I owned a 1949 Beetle (1-101991) which according to the register is now in Hawaii.

It's a small world!!
_________________
Rod,
Please visit http://www.historicvws.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/historicvwclub/

1946 Beetle (Back on the road after over 50 years! Last major outing - Hessisch Oldendorf 2022)
2016 T6 Selfbuild Camper and a LWB MAN TGE in build.

[restore1]

Thanks for the Replies Gentlemen.

A 51 in Melbourne too... very cool. I saw a 44 at the VW Nationals on the Weekend which Kinda blew my mind!

I am quite interested in Maurice Seddons ownership of the car. I have no information as to when he acquired the car or how many owners it has had prior to him.

He was clearly very hands on with some of the modifications and upgrades but I am not really sure to what extent.Rod, Do you recall if had later indicators and bumpers back in 74 ?

It seems it has a later front beam ( but still cable brakes ) and later style rear shock absorbers. Modifications possibly done for improving drivability or parts that were just more readily available at the time.

Does anyone that remembers the car from back in the day know of any of these changes? does anyone have any photos?

Also any clues on how I my be able to research the history prior to Captain Seddons ownership prior 1961 (if that year is correct).

Any way to find out who purchased it new ?

appreciate any feedback

Cheers

[BUGBOY1976]

Be nice to see this beetle back out and about. 👍

[Martin Southwell]

Hello again. Short of a miracle, there is very little chance of finding out who owned the car prior to Maurice Seddon, mainly because the old green or buff log books that had this sort of information in them, and were associated with the car were required to be sent to DVLA in the 1980's, when DVLA records were updated & computerised, and new style log books, V5's, supplied to owners. Prior to this, it was the local authorities who were responsible for vehicle registrations.

Very few people were made aware that they wouldn't get their old log books back, and so few people made the request for them to be returned. Luckily, I was made aware of this, and requested them back for my cars. In theory, the log books were then destroyed, but I know from someone who worked in the Dept at the time, who told me that these were all microfisched before doing so.

I know this to be true, as I requested the history of a 59 car I 1st owned in the 1980's, and was sent comprehensive microfisched paper copies of its history. I sold the car 5/6 years ago, and before I could find that paperwork, the new owner wrote to DVLA to ask for any previous history, and was told that they didn't have any! The new owner was delighted when I presented him with the paperwork previously sent to me.

The contact within the DVLA at the time (2000?), said that the microfische records still existed, but had been moved, but the truth was that DVLA didn't want to be bothered by owners looking for previous history. I would place money on them still existing. Plus, I was told that DVLA had made a lot of people redundant, and that those who replaced them, mainly cheaper youngsters, didn't have a clue. Nothing has changed in the meantime.

The DVLA line these days is that they can't help with a car's history, even if they wanted to (they don't!), because of Data Protection rules. Always a handy get out clause.

Anyway, from DVLA's records, we can see that LXE 54 was 1st registered in the UK in December 1950, and I would guess that whoever bought it from Keuch in Germany, was a serviceman, who kept it during their 'Tour of Duty' in Germany, before returning to the UK in 1950. A typical scenario.

You could do worse than to write to a local paper in Luton, including a photo, and see if anyone remembers the car. A long shot this far down the line, but worth a try.