When This Man Stumbled Upon His Dream Car, He Made A Bold Move That Blew The Owner Away

It all began with Cris Mead, a resident of Oakland, California, whose father Cornelius was one of those people with his own beloved auto. Mead has fond memories of his dad and his passion for their family car, a blue Volkswagen microbus. In fact, in an interview with daily newspaper Newsday Mead told them he lavished it with attention.

Cornelius loved the bus so much he named it Matilda and it was his pride and joy. “[He] spent more money on that van than any reasonable person would have,” Mead said on the subject of Matilda’s maintenance. That’s because he treasured the vehicle, and he did so all his life.

When Cornelius sadly passed away at the grand old age of 82, his children took responsibility for sorting through his belongings. You can imagine the family’s surprise, then, when Mead’s sister discovered something unexpected during a search of Matilda. Mead described the event to TV station CBS New York that year in his own words.

“We were trying to figure out what to do with all of my dad’s stuff,” Mead described. “One of the things was the Volkswagen van. My sister came across a note that choked me up when I read it.” The message ended with a phone number, and Mead knew he had to call it.

The note belonged to a 23-year-old Lindenhurst New Yorker called Kyle Cropsey. These days Cropsey works as an English teacher for high school students, but in his spare time he loves surfing. This hobby was partially responsible for getting him in contact with Mead, but the note that links them wasn’t a recent one.

Indeed, it had been a long time since Cropsey left the message for Cornelius. To be more precise, the young man had delivered his phone number eight years before, when he was just 16 years old. As soon as he saw Matilda, he couldn’t help himself and had to make his feelings known.

You see, Cropsey has been a fan of the Volkswagen microbus model for a long time. By his own admission, he finds they have an undefinable appeal, as he explained to CBS New York in 2018. “Ever since I was young,” he said, “I’ve had an infatuation with these Volkswagen buses.”

To be more specific, Cropsey was referring to the second-generation Volkswagen Type 2 (or simply T2 in shorthand). The vehicles rolled off the German auto manufacturer’s production line for roughly 12 years, between 1967 and 1979. During this time there were minor design tweaks; microbuses built prior to 1971 were labeled “Early Bay.”

However, Cropsey had a special affection for 1971 or later models, which are known as “Late Bay,” or T2b. During the T2’s run, VW ditched its signature front windshield design, which was previously split by a frame. It instead opted for a bay window, earning it several related nicknames, including the affectionate moniker, “Breadloaf.”

In addition, initial T2b models have a rounded bumper that act as a step for easy interior access. More than that, though, they were easier to recognize by enthusiasts because of their size. Not only are the earlier T2bs bigger, they’re also heavier than previous models, possibly because of their improved parts.

The more robust T2bs received an overhaul of their electric and battery systems. Plus, these models also benefited from a new technical approach to ride height. Gone were the transfer boxes and rear suspension composed of a swinging axle; half-shaft axles took their place instead. Constant velocity joints were also used to offer a smoother ride.

As for performance, Cropsey’s favored VW minibus had improvements to both the brakes and the engine. The former brought improved retardation capabilities with the introduction of front discs and associated ventilation holes. Meanwhile, the T2b’s engine went from the 1600cc Type 1 engines to a Type 4 engine with 1700cc.

Cornelius’s 1971 VW Matilda had all the features that made the T2b so highly-regarded by many Volkswagen fans. It’s no surprise, then, that it had caught a young Cropsey’s attention when he first saw it back in his teenage years. From the moment he laid eyes on Matilda, Cropsey was smitten.

It wasn’t the first VW microbus for which Cropsey had fallen, of course, and his behavior had settled into a pattern. Whenever he saw a model that he could picture owning himself, he’d leave a note for the owner. And indeed this is exactly what he had done with Cornelius’s Matilda on the day that he saw it for the first time.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper in 2018, over the years Cropsey had left in the region of 20 handwritten notes in Volkswagen vans he had admired. One of those was, of course, Matilda which Cropsey discovered while he was on a trip with his friends. As a water sports fan, his destination had been Rockaway Beach in New York City.

Cropsey didn’t know to whom the blue VW microbus belonged; all he knew was it called out to him. The teenager was so taken with it, in fact, that he had to have a memento of the discovery. With that in mind, Cropsey asked his friends to take a picture.

Rather than being satisfied with just a photo of the VW motor by itself, Cropsey had to be included. So he posed in front of the vehicle with both thumbs up, but he didn’t stop there. The young man then did his signature trick of leaving a note for the owner with the vehicle.

Afterward, Cropsey went on his way, but he never forgot Matilda. He even uploaded the picture of himself with the microbus to Facebook, accompanied by the comment, “My future car.” Unknown to him at the time, it would seem that Cornelius didn’t forget the stranger who shared his love for Matilda, either.

As previously stated, Cornelius was famously sentimental about his treasured Matilda, which he often drove on road trips. As a result, he kept a log book inside detailing anything he thought might be worthy of jotting down. The Mead family found Cropsey’s note here, which their father had kept for all those years.

Cropsey’s message was actually a request to buy Matilda from Cornelius. The teacher described the moment he had delivered the message to CBS, saying, “I scribbled a note, ‘Please call me,’ and I slipped it in right through the window.” However, as events unfolded, Cropsey couldn’t be sure if Cornelius had ever found his message.

In fact, Cropsey said that from where the note landed, its discovery was unlikely. He continued, “I saw [the note] fall to the floor, and I said, ‘Oh my god, he’s not going to see it.’” But as we now know, Cornelius certainly did get the message, and he held onto it, too.

The Meads were wondering what to do with Matilda when they found Cropsey’s note, which made up their minds for them. They wanted the VW to go to someone who would look after it in the same way that their father had. And since Cornelius had retained the message, it must have meant something to him.

And so they decided to ring the number they found on the note which, miraculously, still belonged to Cropsey. In his interview, the teacher recalled the moment that Mead rang him and how their conversation had gone. According to Cropsey, Mead had said, “We think my dad would have wanted you to have the bus.”

It turned out that Cropsey’s Facebook comment had been exactly right: Matilda was his future car, after all. Nevertheless, he couldn’t believe his luck, a point he made very clear. “After all these years, it came and found me,” Cropsey said. So what did the Mead family want in return for Matilda, you might ask?

Well for one thing, the Meads were adamant they didn’t want Cropsey to pay for the vehicle. All they requested was that he keep them updated on Matilda’s restoration status in the form of photos. Cornelius’s family also wanted Cropsey to take Matilda on his future road trips and expeditions.

During his CBS interview, Cropsey indicated that he didn’t think that would be a problem. He said he already had plans and he could picture the van full of his buddies, especially for their water sports trips. “My friends will definitely be packed in here, we’ll have the surfboards in here,” Cropsey described.

Before Cropsey could take Matilda out for her wildest adventures, though, she needed a little love and care first. Cropsey said that “the gears park up a little bit” but the VW still had a radio that “works quite well.” He also mentioned that wherever he goes, people were drawn to the classic vehicle.

“Oh, people are always pointing and turning their heads,” Cropsey said of Matilda. It may have taken eight years, but he finally has the VW microbus of which he had always dreamed. Furthermore, the Mead family have made quite clear they couldn’t be happier that Matilda was getting a new lease of life.

Actually, everyone involved is quite amazed by the chain of events that led to Matilda changing owners. For his part, Mead said, “It’s just the way this whole journey has progressed. It has been absolutely amazing.” And as for Cropsey, he thinks everything seems a little too convenient to be pure coincidence.

Cropsey said that “it was fate” that Matilda came back round to him so long after their original encounter. And it certainly seems serendipitous. Regardless of how it happened, he’s eternally grateful for the Mead family’s generosity. So much so, in fact, that he’s determined to show them the extent of his appreciation somehow.

“This will definitely be paid for in some way or another,” Cropsey concluded. He’s started by taking good care of Matilda, which now has a new lick of green paint and a roof extension. But Cropsey isn’t the only lucky recipient of a vehicular gift. Another generous donor raised some attention the following year in 2019. His story began in a car dealership, when he accidentally overheard a conversation taking place nearby.

Father-of-four and San Diego resident Dan Laguardia was visiting a Californian dealership, Auto City, in El Cajon. He was there to buy a new car and exchange his old ride, but someone’s distress caught his attention. That person was Kayla Cooper, a 22-year-old student of San Diego City College, learning nursing.

Laguardia described the events that followed to TV program Good Morning America that same year. “I heard Kayla at the next table, she sounded like she was upset,” he recounted. “I really wasn't trying to be nosy, but I heard her sales guy say, ‘Can somebody help you out? Do you have a family member or friend?’”

As it turns out, Cooper was a hard-working young woman juggling several jobs to support her education. She worked the cash register at a 7-Eleven store for her first job, and her second one was in San Diego. Cooper was an Ace Parking’s lot enforcer, a job which heavily relied on having her own transportation.

“I use my car to work at Ace,” Cooper revealed. “That’s the only reason I got the position, because I had a car.” However, that vehicle had been on loan, and she couldn’t afford the lease any more. Nor did Cooper have the funds to buy a used car, much to her dismay.

Cooper elaborated, “I was feeling really upset because I went into [the dealership] with good intentions.” Understandably the situation got too much for the young student, and she left the dealership sobbing. That was roughly what Laguardia overheard, and it moved him so deeply, he felt he had to do something.

With this in mind, Laguardia waited until Auto City’s salesman had finished his dealings with Cooper. After she had left, he told dealership staff that they should contact her again. He had a car for her – his 2005 Scion that he had planned to trade in – and what’s more, he wouldn’t charge her a dime.

And so the dealership rang Cooper back ten minutes after she left with the news. As a result of Laguardia’s generosity, the student nurse was over the moon, as he told Good Morning America. “She just couldn't believe it,” he revealed. “She said, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ and I said, ‘Of course.’”

Cooper also expressed how she felt at that moment in her own words. “I’m still in shock about it,” Cooper told Good Morning America, “because how could someone give it away without anything in return? I just want to thank him. It’s been the biggest blessing of my life. I hope and pray that someday I can do the same big gesture that he did.”