It was year 1979 and to our Tatra Veteran Club (then a part of a club Zvazarm) an armoured carrier Tatra 810 also called Hakl was purchased.
Its history before 1979 is not known, the only fact we know is that it had been discarded from the Czechoslovak People's Army 5 years before 1979. Hakl was devastated and moreover it didn't work. His former owner used it for filming. Those days a lot of war films was produced and during a filming in winter when there had been a lot snow all around they used to start Hakl so that they used another car (which was able to start normally) as a tractor. But the snow melted during the day and water got into the clutch where it froze during the night. In the morning while starting Hakl the ice in the clutch didn't give way. The beam in the transmission did. Since then it didn't work. Then for 10 long years nothing happened (besides filming in a movie where it was used as a coulisse in a ditch). No one wanted to repair it, only small light things were taken away. In 1989 we started thinking of buying it to our collection. The transaction was successful and we brought Hakl home on August 29, 1989, which was the 45th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. The comrades at the city hall were busy with celebrating and fortunately didn't see what we brought home and so didn't take it as a provocation or a means of our emigration or who knows what else would they think then. And so Hakl was home. That time we started looking for spares. In early 90-ties they were discarding Hakls from the army and so we were able to buy a transmission, splash guards and other things. Those days it was easy to find something, there were 40 Hakls there, but it wasn't possible to save them as wholes. In 1992 we found completely new, never used Hakls (they were produced, then put to garage and never used) in Bratislava, but again it wasn't possible to buy them, the old bureaucratic system showed its teeth for the last time. Despite this, we were able to buy some necessary things. The Hakl from which we took those spares had only 220 kms so it was a new not ran in vehicle.
A sad end had all Hakls in Bratislava. They threw in a burning tyre and when everything combustible burnt they cut it to 15 pieces. The same year we took the engine from our Hakl out. And then nothing happened for 6 years... In 1998 we prepared a new engine and a transmission. With a help of Tatra 148 with a hydraulic hand we put it to our Hakl. Suddenly a problem arised when we found out that a beam connecting the clutch with the transmission was missing. Someone took the original one before we bought it and we didn't think of this detail sooner. We found it later. Then in 1998 - 1999 Hakl got new electricity and interior, of course with a transmitter. In spring 1999 Hakl got new paint and we worked on last details. Born again Hakl was introduced at Sands of Zahorie where as the only one overcame the gravel-pit. And besides a small breakdown of diesel oil pump it went like clockwork. To drive this 7 tun vehicle requires courage. On the road it lacks gear, but in terrain it doesn't know bigger obstacles. In summer it's unbearable hot inside. Driving in winter must be an experience too but we haven't tried it yet. But we tried it in a swamp where we almost drowned it.
It took 20 years to make Hakl movable. And by coincidence it were always years with number 9 at the end.
1979 - it appeared in Tatra Veteran Club
1989 - purchased to our collection
1999 - introduced after renovation
2009-???