DTA, VW and Porsche Club End of Season Show, part 1 of 3.

On Sunday 19th October the DTA VW and Porsche Club held their 4th Annual club meet in the old James Cond printing works building in Charlotte Street, Birmingham, in the West Midlands. To be honest I will hold my hands up and admit that I had never heard of the DTA club until about 2 weeks ago, when I saw a post on face book regarding this annual meeting. The post had generated plenty of interest and a few people I knew where going to attend but it wasn't until the Saturday beforehand, when I received a call from my mate Claude, to ask if I fancied going that I decided to go. The show was virtually in the city centre of Birmingham and that meant a round trip of about 140 miles from my hometown of Aylesbury. I had read somewhere on the internet that parking at the venue is limited so Claude and I decided to meet up and leave around 09.30 which, traffic permitting would get us to the show about 11.00am. The main display of vehicles were to be parked up in an old obsolete printing works building that has now been converted into a single storey covered car park so at least that meant that whatever the great British weather threw at us in mid October, at least we would be dry. Living in the south of the U.K. I usually attend shows and events in the south, south / east of the country with the occasional trip further a field to shows such as Camper Jam and Stanford Hall, so to attend a show in the midlands should hopefully mean I get to see plenty of vehicles that I haven't seen before. If all the hype on face book was to be believed, there has been over the last 3 years a vast array of top quality vehicles at this show so with a bit of luck not only will there be plenty of vehicles that I haven't seen before, but they will also be of a very high quality. You can check out the DTA club web page here: http://dtavw.com/

This is the photo I saw on face book that
grabbed my attention. Clear and straight
to the point advertising the meeting.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This oval window is a stunning example of the
pre '57 Bug. The whole car was immaculate
and finished to an extremely high standard.

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.

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.

This really is a super cool looking Beetle. The
paint, wheels and stance of this Bug are
absolutely perfect.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..?

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.

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.

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..?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

...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.