Chirco Customer Cars: Britt’s 54 RHD Oval

If you ever come to Tucson and decide to take in a local car gathering, chances are you will see Britt and his insanely clean 1954 Right-Hand Drive Oval window Bug. Britt pretty much makes it to everything! I asked him one day if he ever takes a show off and he told me “This car sat for over 2 decades! I got time to make up for!” We thought it would be cool to give a little cyber shout out to Britt and honor the work he put in to make this car a staple in our local scene.

They Call Me Sam

Actually locals might refer to it as “The Poop Bug” because of the sticker on the rear window, but the car’s given name is Sam, and she’s about as far from “Poop” as you can get. Sam is a 1954 RHD Euro Oval. According to Britt he paid about $3,000 for this car some 20 years ago. It was painted but other than that it was just a shell.

After spending years denying the local car hawkers Britt found his motivation. It came in the form of his young daughter Brooke. I don’t know exactly how the conversation went, but I imagine it was something like this:

Brooke: Ga-ga goo-goo I’m a baby that can barely talk. Why come you not drive Sam daddy?
Britt: Well…Daddy is kinda acting like a bump on a log when it comes to the car sweetie.
Brooke: Well, me think you need to get off your hinder! Me want you to take me to first day of kindergarten in it!
Britt: Did you just say “hinder”??
The End

So Britt promised Brooke he would drive her to her first day of school in Sam and the rest is Tucson legend.

Britt put in countless hours. Finding vw parts was difficult at times but fortunately he lives very close to Chirco so we saw him quite regularly.

I happen to know Britt personally so I can tell you what a hard working focused individual he is. I’ve never shared that I think he’d make a great Barney Rubble for Halloween…oh wait…I guess I just did. Regardless Britt is always willing to lend a hand whether it be here at Chirco for any of our events or if you’re a local and you need help with your car. Having done most of the work on his car by himself he has become quite skilled at everything from engine building (like his 1776cc) to wiringand all the good stuff in-between.

I mentioned that he did 98% of the work because I wanted to make sure Buford got credit for his 2%. Never known a guy with a pet pig before, much less a pet pig that can sync carbs and bleed brakes, but Buford is as unique a creature as there is.

Fastforwarding through all the blood, sweat, tears, and pig chow…Britt accomplished his goal!Here’s a pic of the smart beyond her years Brooke on the first day of school.

I get to see Brooke who is a bit older now every once in a while. There will be a little teasing about that picture, just sayin.

Since Britt got the car “sea worthy” he is constantly improving it. Future plans call for a new paint job as this car is an actual driver. If you attend the Jerome Jamboree you’re likely to see a RHD Oval there with a tent and a guy that looks not too unlike Barney Rubble swinging a sword to keep those Jerome crazies from turning Buford into Breakfast! OK, ok…Buford doesn’t ride up to Jerome. I made that up. He has family in Camp Verde, AZ so he stays there while Britt and Brooke go to Jerome.

Chirco is honored to feature Britt, Sam, Brooke, Buford and we really need to say something about Britt’s much better half, Heidi. She’s another community staple and Chirco really appreciates all their help and participation over the years.

Great car, greater people.

-tc