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| This is the photo I saw on face book that grabbed my attention. Clear and straight to the point advertising the meeting. |
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| Although Claude and I got to the venue quite early, we were told that all the parking spaces inside the old printing works had already been taken so we were directed around the corner to a dedicated over flow car park. I'm not sure why Claude and I ended up parking so far away from each other...? My 1969 green bay and Claude's grey 1960 Kombi. |
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| This lovely 1960 Karmann Ghia came into the car park shortly after Claude and I. He asked me where the venue was and after I told him, he said he was going to try and get inside. He did get into the venue, I don't know what he said to the guys on the gates, but whatever it was, it worked. More on this lovely imported KG in part two of my review. |
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| Another vehicle in the overflow car park was this late split screen. It looked to be all original and riding at stock height, and I think it looked lovely. I do like to see a bus like this, in it's original condition with original paint. |
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| As you entered this 'free to enter' show the first vehicle you saw was this amazingly low early Bug. This Beetle had a super narrow front beam, a rare opening front screen and a lovely red and white paint job in a RAT look finish. |
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| WOW, the camber of those rear wheels was amazing, but it looks as though the rear wheel arches have suffered as a consequence of being so low but as least it proves this Beetle doesn't ride on air. |
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| I spent ages looking at this car, The polished wheels are in stark contrast to the RAT looking bodywork, but they look really nice together. The rear opening quarter windows are another nice feature on this car. |
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| An unusual choice of mirrors on the front fenders, but again they worked well with the overall look. You can see just how narrow that front beam really is in this photo. |
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| From one extreme to another this late '50's / early '60's Beetle was simply gorgeous. With it's deep shine gloss black paint, perfectly straight body and chromed 5 spoke wheels, this Bug stood out against the stark bare brick -work of the old printing works. |
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| This photo clearly shows how straight every panel is on this Bug, and also how deep the shine is. That reflection on the deck lid looks so good it looks like glass, truly amazing paint. |
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| This oval window Beetle was simply gorgeous, finished in silver and black with a Paris sun roof. The oval window Beetle's were produced from 1953 - 1957 but never looked this good when they left the factory. This one sat really low with a narrowed front beam and running on those gorgeous highly polished wheels. |
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| This oval window is a stunning example of the pre '57 Bug. The whole car was immaculate and finished to an extremely high standard. |
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| As the Paris sun roof was open, it would have been a missed opportunity not to get a photo of the interior of this gorgeous Beetle. The interior was, as you would expect, finished to the same high standard as the exterior. |
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| Another stunning Beetle was this pre 1953 split oval. Volkswagen made the split oval until mid way through 1953 when they changed the rear window to the larger oval window. This car looked so good in it's light grey paint which had just enough patina. The stance of this Bug is down in the weeds and the narrowed front beam adds to the overall look of this car. |
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| This really is a super cool looking Beetle. The paint, wheels and stance of this Bug are absolutely perfect. |
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| Part one of my blog review seems to be all about Beetles, but that's OK as there are many other air cooled vehicles featured later. This slightly later Beetle had the larger rectangle rear window that Volkswagen produced from 1958 onwards. This Beetle was so nice in it's patina paint with a few scuffs here and there. Those Fuchs wheels on a narrowed front beam look perfect for this car. |
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| I loved how low this car sat, and those big rear tyres on the Fuchs rims made this bug one of my favourites at the show. |
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| Just a random photo looking across one the 2 indoor show areas in the old printing works. This show really did have some seriously high quality air-cooled vehicles displayed in spacious covered halls. |
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| This early Beetle cabriolet was another stunning example of the quality of air-cooled vehicles on display at the DTA show. The cabriolet Beetle was produced from 1949 onwards and this one had been restored to an incredible standard. |
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| The time and effort and money it must take to restore a cabriolet Beetle to this standard must be huge. The finish and the detailing on this Cabriolet was astounding. |
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| The same high standard of workmanship was applied to the interior. Every switch, knob and handle was like new. The restored upholstery looked amazing in that green colour vinyl. |
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| This gleaming gloss black over brilliant red early split screen looked stunning as the sun shone through the glass roof panels of the venue. You can clearly see the almost perfect reflection of the brick wall in the paint on the rear quarter on this bus. The chrome wheels and bumpers along with the alloy body trim help to break the two colours up and add some serious bling. |
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| The location for the DTA show was ideal. There was plenty of room as is shown here to hold the 150 / 200 vehicles on display inside the venue. Unfortunately I've heard that next years show will be at a different venue due to the old printing works being demolished by Birmingham City Council. |
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| Here in the U.K. the RAT look is definitely in this year and this pair of early split screens certainly prove the point. Plenty of surface rust, a few knocks and scuffs and generally in an un-kept condition, but doesn't it look good. |
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| This is a lovely looking splitty, with a nice colour choice, it looks like white over mango (?) I do like these 'old' looking colours on a VW. |
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| This Karmann Ghia takes being lowered to a whole new level. Judging by the small tail lights I think this is a 1955 - 1959 model (although I could be wrong) The lovely original looking patina paint is a perfect colour choice for the overall look of this KG. The super narrowed front beam looked awesome as did the black painted steel wheels. |
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| The Karmann is such a lovely looking car in it's normal guise, but when they are lowered and looking this good they are just beautiful. |
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| More RAT looking vehicles included this early bay with some lovely yellow headlight lenses, and twin spot lights and a pastel yellow Beetle cabriolet with Porsche wheels. |
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| A nice pair of Beetle's parked up next to each other. A lovely 1971 pastel blue Bug in almost showroom condition (If Volkswagen had made them this nice back in '71.!) and a slightly RAT looking red Bug running on more Porsche wheels. Those Porsche wheels do suit a VW regardless of what model VW it is. |
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| Another early Bug finished in a stunning coat of grey paint that looked amazing. I don't know what colour this is, but it suit's the car perfectly. |
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| I did like those rear fender skirts which looked very 'period'. The low stance of this Beetle and the colour choice help to make this Bug stand out. |
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| A pair of 1964 type 3 notch back's parked side by side. The 'notch' was produced from 1961 - 1973 with something like 2.5 million being built. |
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| A beautiful single cab split screen in a lovely light blue with a white roof and bumpers. This early split looked great with it's low stance and running on Fuchs wheels. |
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| The single cab is such a lovely looking vehicle which was originally designed to be a work horse. Those days are long gone judging by the condition of the bodywork. |
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| The sticker on the tail gate says it all as these single cab's were not built for speed, but then again what Volkswagen was..? |
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| A lovely clean and straight Variant in white. The Variant is the estate version of the notch back. These were imported to the U.S. where they were called it the 'square back'. I did like the sun visor and the yellow head light lenses on this immaculate imported Square back. |
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| This 1963 Beetle looked gorgeous in it's green paint, with it's chrome bumpers and trim, and Fuchs wheels. This really is a sweet looking Beetle. |
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| A very nice rear end, it's a shame about that slight scuff on the rear arch, but that doesn't matter as it's still a gorgeous looking car. I never to managed to find out why this Bug had the additional air scoops on the engine lid. but maybe it was running a bigger motor..? |
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| Another early Beetle finished in a lovely mid grey colour and sitting low. This blog entry has already featured 11 early Beetles, yet everyone is different from the last, whether it's a big difference or just a subtle difference each one is different and therefore unique. |
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| The opening rear quarter windows, the rear blind and the all red U.S. tail lights make this one different, as do the cosmic wheels. |
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| A pair of 1965 type 14 Karmann Ghia's both in red but slightly different shades. Both looked to be all original and both were stunning. |
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| The one on the left is a right hand drive model, while the one on the right is a left hand drive model. There was only subtle differences between both cars, and both looked equally as nice. |
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| This stunning Porsche 911 was at the DTA show and it was immaculate. These early Porsche's are getting rare now so it was a pleasure to have a good look at this one. |
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| This really was immaculate and looked to be original. That lovely orange paint suited the Porsche body shape perfectly. I'm not sure if the orange is an original Porsche colour but I don't suppose it really matters when the car looks this good. |
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| The DTA club is a VW and Porsche club, but how could you refuse entry into the venue to a gorgeous 1955 Chevy 2 door sedan with a sign written body, lovely aged patina paint and running on painted steel wheels with whitewall tyres. |
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| I do have a soft spot for a '55, and this one hit the target. This was originally blue in colour but the patina on the paint makes this Chevy look almost brown. I did like the 'Fastest parts in the valley' sign writing and the old skool pin- striping on the boot. |
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| This 1968 westy bay window looked awesome in it's old skool paint scheme and having being hit with the lowering stick.That narrow front beam and the choice of wheels add to the overall look of this bus. |
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| How about this for a line up of early Beetles. Two pre 53 split ovals and a late 50's Bug. The quality and standard of vehicles at this show was immense and probably better than some of the larger shows I have attended this year. |
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| This black pre '53 split oval Beetle looked awesome with it's patina paint and Fuchs wheels. There were quite a few of these pre 1953 Beetles at the show, but this one stood out, although I cannot put my finger on why... |
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| ...Although looking at this photo, the stance of this early Bug looks fantastic and the way the huge wheel / tyre combination fill the rear wheel arches could be why. So that was part one of my blog review of the DTA end of season meet. As I mentioned this blog entry has featured quite a few Beetles, but don't worry there are plenty of Bay's, Splits, more Beetles, and a even few more Porsche's including a 912, another 911 and even a couple of 356's in the next entry. So be sure to come back in a week or so for part 2. You can check out all my other blog entries in 'My Blog Archive' to the left of this page. Simply click the arrow next to a year, then click on the arrow for a particular month and this will give a drop down list of all my blog entries for that particular month. |
