PICKLED PERFECTION

A metallic green 1968 Beetle, a father-and-son obsession, one-off AB35 split rims and an ingenious air system hidden in plain sight. Alex Boughen’s home-built creation went all the way to VolksWorld Best of Show—with a remarkable 99.5 out of 100 concours score.

Some cars get under your skin.

There are project cars you buy, work on for a while and eventually sell.

And then there are the ones that seem determined to become part of your life.

Alex Boughen’s 1968 Beetle belongs firmly in the second category.

What began as another old Volkswagen in the family developed into one of the most distinctive custom Beetles on the British show scene.

Metallic green paintwork.

A collection of early and late Volkswagen styling details.

A beautifully finished engine.

An extraordinary air suspension installation.

And a set of bespoke three-piece wheels designed specifically for the car.

Almost everything was developed and assembled through the combined efforts of Alex and his father, Andrew.

And when the Beetle eventually appeared at VolksWorld in 2025, the judges had plenty to examine.

It left with Best of Show.

Not bad for a home-garage project.

The long road to green

A Beetle that stayed in the family

The story stretches back to around 2012, when the Beetle first came into the family through Alex’s brother-in-law.

It wasn’t the sort of project that arrived with a fixed specification and a convenient completion date.

Like plenty of old Volkswagen builds, it developed gradually.

Ideas changed.

Components evolved.

And the intended result became more ambitious as the work progressed.

Alex and Andrew had already demonstrated their willingness to take on difficult restoration work with their other projects.

Andrew’s fabrication skills were particularly important.

But the 1968 Beetle would give them an opportunity to create something considerably more individual.

Not merely a restored classic with different wheels.

A vehicle where the mechanical engineering and visual design were developed together.

A very particular shade of green

The finished metallic green paintwork is one of the car’s defining features.

It’s rich, deep and particularly effective against the chrome and polished metalwork.

The colour also complements the unusual mixture of styling details.

Although the car is a 1968 Beetle, it incorporates earlier influences, including distinctive crotch-cooler-style vents worked into the front wings.

They’re unexpected on a late-sixties body.

And that’s exactly why they work.

Rather than attempting to disguise the Beetle’s identity entirely, Alex blended design elements from different periods into something recognisably Volkswagen but unmistakably his own.

The result feels more considered than a simple collection of retro accessories.

The details that don’t belong together. But do.

Early influences on a later car

Custom Volkswagens have always borrowed ideas from different generations.

Earlier bumpers.

Alternative lighting.

Vintage trim.

And mechanical components that Volkswagen never intended to share the same chassis.

But making those combinations feel cohesive is another matter.

On Pickled Perfection, the earlier-style front-wing vents and carefully selected bumper details create an appearance that doesn’t correspond to one factory model year.

Yet the overall shape remains unmistakably a Beetle.

The metallic green paint brings everything together, allowing the custom details to be noticed without overpowering the bodywork.

From a distance, it’s a beautifully finished classic.

Closer inspection reveals just how much thought has gone into changing it.

The suspension underneath

A different approach to the front

The front suspension incorporates a carefully developed ball-joint air ride arrangement, with chromed beam hardware and Limebug MOA430 air shocks.

For a car built around such a precise wheel fitment, controlling the relationship between the suspension and front wings was essential.

The installation needed to accommodate the intended ride height while allowing the bespoke wheels to sit correctly.

Chrome detailing also became part of the visual specification.

This wasn’t simply mechanical hardware intended to disappear once the body was fitted.

The finish mattered.

And in a build where almost every visible component received attention, the suspension was no exception.

The Revolution at the rear

At the rear, the Beetle uses Limebug’s Revolution swing-axle cantilever air suspension.

The system was finished in gloss black to suit the surrounding chassis components, with 2-inch swing-axle air spring plates forming part of the installation.

The cantilever arrangement provided adjustable rear suspension while accommodating the requirements of the finished chassis.

But while the hardware itself was impressive, one of the most interesting aspects of the air ride system had nothing to do with the suspension units.

It was the way Alex and Andrew chose to store the compressed air.

Where’s the air tank?

Andrew’s rather clever solution

One of the most unusual features of Pickled Perfection is its air storage arrangement.

Andrew’s experience in pressure-vessel fabrication proved particularly useful here.

Rather than install a conventional cylindrical air receiver, he developed a bespoke tubular storage system incorporated around the driver and passenger seating areas.

The tubing was carefully fabricated to form part of the car’s air management installation.

It was a remarkably individual approach.

And one that demanded considerably more thought than simply finding a convenient place for a tank.

The layout had to suit the available space, the rest of the interior and the mechanical requirements of the air suspension.

It became one of the car’s most distinctive engineering features.

A home-built solution

What’s particularly impressive is that the system was created as part of a home-garage build.

Andrew wasn’t simply installing components supplied by somebody else.

He was applying his own fabrication experience to develop a solution around the vehicle.

The result reflects the wider philosophy behind the Beetle.

Where a suitable part existed, Alex and Andrew could use it.

Where the available options didn’t provide what they wanted, they were prepared to make something themselves.

And that willingness to develop original solutions is one of the reasons Pickled Perfection stands apart.

AB35 — Wheels designed for one Beetle

When nothing off the shelf will do

The wheels were another major development.

For Alex’s car, Limebug created the bespoke AB35 three-piece split-rim design.

The brief combined two quite different influences.

A traditional Volkswagen smoothie-style appearance.

And the sharper, more technical character of a modern performance wheel.

The finished design brought those ideas together in a distinctive reverse-dished centre.

Rather than simply reproduce a conventional steel wheel in a larger diameter, the AB35 took the familiar design language and interpreted it through modern modular construction.

It was developed specifically around the car.

Drawing it properly

The wheel design went through bespoke CAD development at Limebug.

The proportions, centre shape and lip arrangement needed to complement the Beetle’s bodywork and suspension specification.

The finished wheels used a Porsche-pattern 5×130 PCD, with half-inch front outer lips and much deeper 3-inch rear lips.

That difference gave the car a carefully staggered appearance.

The polished metalwork complemented the green paint beautifully, while the unique centres ensured the wheels looked unlike anything else in the Limebug range at the time.

The AB35 was a genuine one-off concept developed for this particular build.

And that makes it an important part of the story.

An engine worth looking at

Detail without unnecessary clutter

The engine bay continues the same approach.

Rather than rely on a dramatic engine conversion to attract attention, Alex concentrated on carefully selected components and exceptional finishing.

The specification includes an MST Excalibur pulley system and a black Stealthinator alternator arrangement, helping keep the electrical hardware visually discreet.

Other details include MST plinths and high-lift rocker covers, Magnaspark II ignition and an angled billet oil filler.

A stainless-steel Sidewinder exhaust completes the mechanical specification.

The different finishes work particularly well together.

Bright metal.

Gloss black.

And a carefully controlled mixture of modern aftermarket parts.

It’s an engine bay that rewards close inspection rather than relying on one oversized feature to make an impression.

The small details matter

This is where the father-and-son approach becomes particularly obvious.

The components haven’t simply been fitted and left as supplied.

Their placement, appearance and relationship with the surrounding hardware have all been considered.

It’s the sort of attention to detail that can consume an extraordinary number of hours.

But on a car intended to compete at the highest level, those hours make a difference.

Especially when the judges start looking beyond the paintwork.

The show season that changed everything

VolksWorld 2025

By the time Pickled Perfection made its appearance at VolksWorld in 2025, the work Alex and Andrew had invested in the Beetle was finally receiving the attention it deserved.

The car brought together an extraordinary number of individual details.

The custom bodywork.

The metallic green finish.

The bespoke wheels.

The unconventional air storage.

And an engine bay finished to the same exacting standard.

The judges recognised that effort.

Pickled Perfection won Best of Show at VolksWorld 2025.

It also achieved a remarkable 99.5 out of 100 concours score.

For a home-built car, that was an exceptional result.

And one that reflected the quality of the complete vehicle rather than any single modification.

Al’s Pickle

The Beetle subsequently received further recognition through VolksWorld magazine, appearing in its August 2025 issue under the title “Al’s Pickle.”

By June 2025, the car had also been reported as taking first place at every show it had entered that season.

It’s a particularly satisfying outcome for a project that developed over many years.

The sort of build where the majority of the work happens without an audience, long before the trophies begin arriving.

The complete build specification

Vehicle and bodywork

• 1968 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle
• Owner and builder: Alex Boughen
• Fabrication and restoration with Andrew Boughen
• In the wider family since approximately 2012
• Metallic green exterior
• Early-style crotch-cooler front-wing details
• Custom early/late Volkswagen styling combination

Front suspension

• Custom chromed ball-joint front beam arrangement
• Limebug MOA430 front air shocks
• Adjustable front air suspension

Rear suspension

• Limebug Revolution swing-axle cantilever air ride
• Gloss-black suspension finish
• 2-inch swing-axle air spring plates

Air management

• Bespoke tubular compressed-air storage system
• Fabricated by Andrew Boughen
• Integrated around the seating areas
• Custom installation and packaging

Wheels

• Bespoke Limebug AB35 three-piece split rims
• One-off CAD-developed wheel-centre design
• Reverse-dished smoothie-inspired styling
• Porsche 5×130 bolt pattern
• 0.5-inch front outer lips
• 3-inch rear outer lips

Engine and mechanical

• MST Excalibur pulley system
• Black Stealthinator alternator
• MST plinths
• MST high-lift rocker covers
• Magnaspark II ignition
• Angled billet oil filler
• Stainless-steel Sidewinder exhaust

Awards and media

• VolksWorld 2025 — Best of Show
• VolksWorld 2025 — 99.5/100 concours score
• First-place show results through June 2025, as reported at the time
• VolksWorld, August 2025 — “Al’s Pickle”

A little different from the beginning.

There’s a temptation to judge Pickled Perfection solely by its awards.

And winning VolksWorld Best of Show with a 99.5-point concours score is certainly something worth celebrating.

But the more interesting story is how the car came together.

A 1968 Beetle that entered the family years earlier.

A father and son willing to tackle the difficult jobs themselves.

A bespoke air storage system built around Andrew’s fabrication experience.

And an entirely new wheel design developed to suit Alex’s vision.

It’s an unusual mixture of traditional Volkswagen styling and thoroughly contemporary engineering.

The finished car doesn’t attempt to represent one particular period in Volkswagen history.

Nor does it follow a conventional recipe for a custom Beetle.

It’s simply the result of Alex and Andrew developing their own ideas until everything felt right.

Years in the making. Half a point from perfection.

Pickled Perfection. A very appropriate name indeed.