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| We all met up at 08.15am at The Charter Pub, which is the meeting place for The Outcast VW Club, which we are all members of. Kevin & John were in Kevin's T25 crew cab pick up, Sam came along in his 1970 off road trial Beetle, and my green 1969 microbus. |
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| Driving slowly through some road works I had a quick photo opportunity to get a picture of the Outcast VW Club convoy as we drove to the Towcseter Racecourse. |
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| Kevin's T25, Sam's Beetle and my Microbus parked up in the day visitor car park at the charity VW show that was Dub Aid 4. |
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| Once inside the show the first vehicle we noticed was the split screen that belongs to Peter Jones. Peter is 'Mr Cartooniez' and he spends his time going around all the shows drawing cartoon caricature's on vehicles, and his bus is probably one of the best known buses in the U.K. The hammock supports are simply slid into the frame of the roof rack and thus provides somewhere for Peter to relax on either side of the bus. |
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| This bus has had a serious external make over recently and it looks awesome. This bus has so many accessories that it's difficult to notice everything this bus has to offer. |
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| Chatting to Peter he was saying that he spent the winter months touring the west country with his dog Spike, in the bus. Peter has had a wood burning stove fitted which not only allows him to cook in the bus but it also warms the bus perfectly on those cold winter nights. Peter said there nothing like walking on the beach with his dog in winter collecting driftwood to burn on the compact stove. He sure is living the dream. |
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| The outside of this bus has many accessories but nowhere near as many as compared to the interior.. |
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| This is Peter's home sweet home. The wood burning stove in the bottom left of the photo may only be small but it provides enough heat to warm the compact interior of the bus and also enough heat to cook on at the same time. |
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| Again there are so many varied accessories and numerous trinkets inside Peter's split screen that you simply cannot take it all in. |
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| The bus is Peter's and Spike's, (his loyal Jack Russell) trademark interior. Pete has said that his bus is 'the worlds greatest dog kennel'. |
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| The Towcester Racecourse is perched on top of a hill, and the bitter March wind was blowing a hoolie so it was freezing cold. Here Kevin and Sam are getting some hot drinks from one of the many camper van inspired catering vendors. |
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| This 1972 white over blue late bay with a pop top looked super straight and clean. The 'blue dot' spot lights, the clear front indicator lenses and the chrome bumpers gave this bay a crisp, clean and sharp look. |
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| This 1970 white over red early bay was another very clean and straight bus. The stock ride height, and the choice of wheel and tyre combination all helped this bay window stand out. The reflection on the front and down the side of the bus is really amazing. |
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| Another early bay, this time a 1969 / 70 that a trader brought along. I do like sign written panel vans and this one was no exception. I love those yellow headlight lenses and I would love to get a pair for my early bay. |
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| This gorgeous matt black 1970 Beetle looked great parked up at Dub Aid 4. Sam thinks this bug must have had the body dropped over the chassis to sit this low, and it certainly looked that way. I love the stark contrast in the bright yellow rims of the wheels, and the small details like the chequered design inside of the headlights. |
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| Thanks to the Paris sun roof being open I was able to get a decent photo of the interior. The dash and door cards look like they have been sticker bombed in the brightest colours available. |
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| The rear of this Bug looked just as good. You can see by how far the rear wheels sit up in the wings how low this body is. I did like the U.S. style all red rear light lenses with the old skool hot rod style blue dots and pin striping on the decklid. |
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| I appreciate this may not be to everyone's liking, but I liked it a lot. Chatting to the owners they said that they bought the T4 pretty much as it is and that they plan to tour Europe in it in the near future. Good luck guy's. |
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| This Brazilian bus was not your run of the mill bay window. It has an early bay front clip, yet the rest of the body is from a split screen. I think the owner said it was a '76, but when he got the bus imported the DVLA registered it as a 1960 model as the chassis numbers were so similar. The suicide doors are a nice feature which the current owner designed and fabricated himself. |
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| The rear of the bus is pure split screen. This bus would have originally has the big tail lights from a late bay, but the present owner disliked them so he discarded them and fitted these period looking tail lights.This bus was for sale with a price tag of £12, 995. ($19,300 approx.) |
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| This gorgeous white over brilliant red deluxe late split screen was in the show and shine arena, and you can see why it was immaculate. |
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| Talking of immaculate, not only was this 1982 Mk1 Golf immaculate it was (or looked) almost totally original. I could not see any aftermarket parts on this car at all. |
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| The stunning black gloss paint looked stunning and the reflection was amazingly straight. This really is a nice looking car. |
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| This 1969 deluxe early bay looked great in it's RAT guise. It has been lowered and has a narrowed beam. The bodywork is totally RAT with patina paint, knocks and scratches and just enough surface rust to make it get noticed. |
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| This bus is the same year as mine and mine also has a similar rusty rear bumper. I do like those side reflectors and the all red U.S. style rear light lenses. You can see from this angle just how low this lovely bus sits. |
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| This 1966 Beetle was also in the show and shine arena, and again it's easy to see why. This super straight Bug looked immaculate with what looks like 'Sea Green' paint (I think) The chrome work shone like new as did the classic polished Empi 5 spoke wheels. |
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| This classic 1960's Bug looked cleaner now than it did when it was new, and the overall subtle look worked so well and helped this Beetle stand out. |
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| This 1967 bug finished in a gorgeous coat of red paint also looked amazing. The slightly lowered stance and the Porsche wheels, along with more subtle mods such as the Porsche headlight grilles and the twin yellow spot lights help to make this Bug stand out in the show and shine arena. |
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| Attention to detail is the name of the game on the '67. The whole car was immaculate and the chrome on that rear blade bumper was like new. |
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| The classic contours of a 1960's Karmann Ghia. This imported KG was simply stunning in it's black and red paint, and running on black BRM wheels with classic whitewall tyres. |
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| This U.S. spec car looked great with the decklid luggage rack and the huge single red spot light on the chrome tail rail bumper. This KG is also using the all red U.S. tail light lenses which judging by the shape of the tail lights, denotes this model was produced sometime between 1960 - 1969. |
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| These KG's really are a timeless shape and so beautiful, especially when they are this clean. |
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| Gary and his partner Maria and their dog, Frankie and arrived just after us and were there for the weekend. Gary had the common sense to book a plot with an electric hook up so at least they would have the fan heater to keep them warm at night, most other people I spoke to said they were freezing during the night in their buses. Gary is a member of the Outcast VW Club, based in Aylesbury. |
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| OK it's not a VW, but it is so cool. This U.S. Airstream trailer looked great amongst the camper vans, and I bet the people who stayed in here were not freezing throughout the night. |
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| This bright red early bay panel van caught my eye, well actually the amazing reflection in the side of the van caught my eye first. How straight are the sides of this van and how shiny is that paint. |
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| From one extreme to another was this 1968 early bay. This bay has the RAT look going on which looks awesome. I did like the lowered stance, and the narrowed front beam that helps this bus stand out from the other early bays. |
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| This bus looks like a U.S. import and you can really see just how low this bay is from this angle. As the owner of a RAT looking bus myself I can really appreciate the buses looks. |
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| This early split screen could be a show winner all day long. It was amazingly straight and very clean. The single blue colour paint was flawless as was the rest of this bus. |
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| The rear of this early bus looks just as amazing. I do like those rear tail lights that the early split screens have. The contrasting red curtains actually suit the bus very well. |
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| Now this 'Mooneyes' themed T4 looked really cool. I liked the 'mooneyes' decals along with the whole Moon colour scheme and I also liked the spun alloy 'moon discs' wheel covers. |
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| Another Volkswagen catering vehicle, this time an early split screen single cab pick up. The home made telescopic roof over the bed is covered in corrugated tin which is rusted just like the cab roof, and looks great. The guys that own this said they are off to Portugal in the coming months to attend a month long food festival. |
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| This two tone blue late bay looked like a good honest bus. The paint wasn't immaculate but it did look nice and solid. The unusual roof rack was a neat touch as were the colour coded bumpers. The polished 5 spoke wheels added some bling. |
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| Aaron and Robyn, are both members of the House of Dub VW Club were at Dub Aid 4 in the gorgeous blue and white 1961 split screen. The safari screens are a new addition that Aaron has just fitted himself. |
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| This really is a nice clean and straight bus. It's all in the detail, and Aaron was saying that he has just fabricated a pair of brackets to hold the ends of the rear bumper steady as they vibrated and moved around. |
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| Clean and simple lines make this splitty stand out. The buses name 'Sammy' is sign written on the rear window. |
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| You will be hard pushed to find a cleaner split screen than this one. This bus is show standard but I believe Aaron isn't that bothered about showing off his bus, they just like to use it and they are off to tour Europe in it soon. |
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| Kevin, another fellow Outcast VW Club member was at Dud Aid 4 in his lovely long wheel base, twin slider, in green and cream T4, named "The Grinch". (Ha! I got the name right this time Kev.) |
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| As I chatted with Kevin and some other friends from the House of Dub VW Club, Peter Jones (aka Cartooniez) came up and offered to draw a caricature of Kevin's van using his paint pens, an idea which Kevin liked the sound of, so once a suitable location on Kevin's bus had been agreed, Peter got to work. |
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| Peter draws these free hand and on anything or anywhere you want. Each caricature is a one off unique drawing of you vehicle. |
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| The finished caricature of Kevin's T4. Kevin was very happy with the result and I have to say it does look good. You can find Peter on face book, just look up 'Cartooniez' or see him at numerous VW shows throughout the season. |
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| As Kevin was Peter's first customer of the day, I think Peter was feeling generous as he agreed to paint the vans name, 'The Grinch' on the other side of the tailgate for free. I believe I'm right in saying that later in the day Kevin asked Peter to draw his bus on his phone cover. |
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| Mark, a member of The House of Dub VW Club attended the show for the weekend in his simply gorgeous T5. I don't know how to describe this colour, whether it's green or yellow but what ever it is, I do like it. |
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| This smooth looking Beetle was stunning parked up in the day visitors car park. This gorgeous bug has a striking two tone colour paint scheme and without the front and rear bumpers along with those Porsche wheels this bug has the Cal Look. |
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| Another day visitor to the show was this pastel blue stock looking 1971 Beetle. I had a quick look around and it seemed to be original, with the exception of the cool looking roof rack and luggage. This really was a nice looking car. |
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| This bright red / orange and white late split screen almost glowed as the sun started to come out. This was so clean and straight and looked great. |
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| It pays to walk around the day visitor car park as this photo shows. A karmann ghia, both early and late bays, beetles and split screens were all parked up. This 1960's U.S imported KG looked great in it's single green colour which suited the car perfectly as did those 5 spoke wheels.The white vinyl interior looked stunning. |
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| A gorgeous colour for a gorgeous car, this KG would have been at home in the show and shine area inside the show. |
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| This 1960 / 61 (I'm guessing!) beetle looked great with it's fantastic black paint. This bug has had a subtle lowering job which suits the car perfectly as do those Empi 5 spokes. |
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| The paint on both the rear wings had reacted to something which left the paint with lots of small white circles / patches on them, and it looked great. Money cannot buy that sort of paint effect which seems to suit old Volkswagen's. |
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| This stock height early bay looked like a nice solid bus, sometimes it's better to see a bus as it is rather than under a new shiny fresh coat of paint, at least you can see the true condition of the bus, and this one looked really solid. |
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| This 1967 Beetle looked great in it's two tone green and white colour scheme. The whitewall tyre's suited the overall look as did the roof rack, but the best thing about this was that a family of 4 were inside eating a picnic, Mum, Dad and 2 children actually using the car as it was meant to be used, a true people's car. |
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| This stock height early bay looked very similar to mine with the green lower half and the white top and roof. It looked as though it was a U.S. imported bus. An unusual feature was the cyclopes light on the roof which had the 'Radio flyer' logo on it. |
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| This 1970 bus still had the U.S style all red rear light lenses, and being a 1970 bus it featured the side marker lights, rather than the reflectors the earlier U.S. bay window buses had. The Bright orange retro looking curtains along with a retro roof rack finish off this early bay. |
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| And finally a picture of my 1969 Microbus parked in the sun, just to prove the sun did come out even if it was just as Sam and I were leaving the venue to make our way home. So that was Dub Aid 4, overall a good little show in a great venue, even if the location of the racecourse perched on top of a hill was on the cold and windy side, but then I suppose that's more to do with the weather rather than the location. |
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