Shop Tour Creative Coachworks

With over 32 years experience in restoration and modification, there’s more to this family run business than meets the eye

- James Peene

Recommending a specialist to work on your VW is always a tricky thing. And, it will come as no surprise that it’s something we’re asked to do a lot at Camper&Bus. We believe there’s no substitute for personal experience and in this writer’s experience you really can’t go wrong with Creative Coachworks. Having watched them prep and paint the bodywork and all manner of bits on ex-VolksWorld art editor Steve Gosling’s ’61 ragtop - it was on the turntable at the 2016 VolksWorld Show and raised the bar for insanely detailed Beetles - they were the company I trusted to repair and restore my own car when the time came. It was a decision I’ve not regretted for a single moment. And, they’ve become firm friends of both myself, and this magazine as a result. The last time we featured this family-run workshop was back in 2013, so it’s high time we checked in again to show what’s new in their world. We spoke to father and son Alan and Phil Sutton, and the rest of the crew, wife Chris and daughter Kate, fabricator and body man Simon Meakin and apprentice Jordan to get the low down.

So, what’s been happening lately?