Saturday 4 July 2015

Aircooled 15, VW show.

This week's blog review is all about one of the newer shows on the Volkswagen calendar here in the U.K. it's a show that is organised "by enthusiasts for enthusiasts", and it's name is: Aircooled 15. This is only the second year for this show ( last year's show was called: Aircooled 14) and this years show  was held over the weekend of 12th - 14 June, at the Stratford Racecourse, Luddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. CV37 9SE. Weekend camping at the show was available, with entertainment available including: Vintage bike racing, Children's entertainment, Beer and Cider festival, bouncy castle, and music with live DJ's. The weather forecast for the weekend was wet and windy, and although I knew several people who were camping for the weekend I decided to drive up on the Sunday morning to spend just the day there.
To see all my other blog entries, go to ‘My Blog Archive’ to the left of this page. Simply click on an arrow for a particular year, then click on an arrow for a particular month, this will then give you a drop down menu for all the blog entries for that month.
 

Having seen photo's on facebook on the Friday
and Saturday of how bad the weather was at the
show, I was glad I wasn't camping. Even on the
Sunday morning it was raining quite heavy but
by around 09.00, 
as I drove up to the show on
the M40 motorway the skies started to brighten
 up and I may have even seen the sun!

Having paid my £10 entrance fee I was directed
into the show and shine line up. You can see how
dark the sky is, luckily the storm was going away
from the racecourse and the show.

A lovely un-restored 1971 type 3 fastback with
original paint and panels. The fastback was 
produced from 1965 - 1973. 

One of my favourite's at the show was this lovely
early split screen. I remember seeing this bus at
the Volksworld show way back in March and it
still looks as nice now as it did then.

When you look at a vehicle you sometimes think,
if that was mine I'd do this or that, but all that goes
out of the window when I look at this bus, there is
not a single thing I would change.

From every angle this bus looks great. I did like
the patina which was on virtually every panel. I
also really liked the high stance this bus had, I

also liked those chunky tyre's.

Going from one extreme to another is this 1972
early bay finished in a lovely coat of grey gloss
paint with a cool looking red pinstripe and a nice
chequered design on the roof. This was a nice
clean and straight bay window.

This gorgeous cherry red 1969 beetle must 
have been riding on air suspension to sit that
low. The immaculate paint and super straight
body panels make this bug stand out.

You can see by how far the rear wheel arch sits
over the rear wheel, just how low this bug sits.
I did like the rear luggage rack on the deck lid.

Another super clean beetle was this blue 1972
example. This bug had a lovely, slightly lowered
stance which always suits a beetle.

The single colour and the bright chrome work
help to make this bug look something special.

A stunning 1966 split screen finished in the most
gorgeous white over aqua colour. This bus really
stood out in the line up, the chrome Empi 5 spoke
wheels with the chrome deluxe bumper trim gave
this bus some bling that contrasted that lovely
green colour perfectly.

The clean sharp lines of the bus continued
around to the rear. The white painted bumpers
contrast with the green painted body and it
looks fantastic.


This early split screen in what looks like mango
and white colours (although I could be wrong)
looked great. This colour scheme really suits
an old split screen bus.


I do like sign written buses and this on had a
neat looking design. I'm not sure what it says
or means but it looked good. I keep thinking
about sign writing my bus...


From every angle this bus looks 'just right'.
I did like the custom made stay for the engine
lid, it adds character. 


This lovey 1955 oval beetle looked fantastic in
it's deep red gloss paint. The perfectly straight
 body had been lowered and was running on 
those classic BRM wheels.

The classic shape of the oval beetle. The super
bright chrome work and the contrasting white
wing piping added to the overall look of this bug.


Another immaculate split screen, this time it's
an early pre '63 model in the classic white over
green paint. The safari screen's were a nice
touch and added so much to the overall look. 

The interior was as you would expect, also
immaculate. The custom unit and colour matched
upholstery finish off the classy look.


A pair of classic early 1960's Beetle's parked 
up in the show and shine. The variety of air -
cooled VW's at the show was immense.

This strange, but ultra cool looking vehicle is
a Sakbayan. The Sakbayan was originally
designed for use in Australia's rough outback.
Originally it would have had much more ground
clearance, but this one has been seriously
lowered and the front beam has been narrowed.

The Australasia branch of Volkswagen only
made these for 2 years, from 1967 -1969 due
to reliability problems. A lot of people believe
that the type 181 (Trekker) actually evolved
from the humble type 197 you see here, and
you can certainly see the resemblance.

This gorgeous late 1950's beetle looked great
in it's single light green colour with chrome trim

and by being severely lowered. This cool bug
is running on BRM wheels.

The old front beam has been replaced with a
new narrowed item and means the front wheels
are almost hidden under the front wheel arches.

This 1967 fastback looked great with it's patina
paint and the contrasting bright chrome on the 
wheels and trim.

This really was a nice looking car, I did like the
all red rear light lenses and the overall look.

I'm not sure if you would class this as a buggy
or a sandrail, but whatever it was, I liked it.
It did look a bit 'homemade' but that was what
made it so good. I bet this is fun to drive.

No air-cooled show would be complete without
some beach buggies, and there was a very
good selection at the Aircooled 15 show.

Unfortunately I'm no buggy expert so I will not
try to name all the different bodies on these
buggies, suffice to say they all looked great
parked up, and considering the weather it was
a very good turn out.

This cool looking buggy I'm sure I saw earlier in
the year at the Dub Freeze show. It looks as if
it has had a vinyl wrap and the colour is amazing.

This British Racing green buggy was another
cool looking ride. There are so many companies
who produce the buggy bodies, and each one
is different from the next.

This yellow buggy looks so different from the
others with it's bright yellow paint, white seats
and chrome wheels.

An unusual body style on the deep purple buggy,
but it's equally as nice as the others. I did like
the removable roof which being in the U.K I think
you'd need quite often, even during the summer.

Now, I think this super bright lime green buggy
is a MK1 GP body, (although I could be wrong)
but whether I'm right or wrong, it was still a lovely
looking buggy.

Just a random photo of the show. You can see
the clouds are still threatening to produce some
rain, luckily though it didn't rain all afternoon.

Which do you prefer? On the left a stock height
1974 late bay and on the right a lowered pre '63
split screen.

A lovely white over red 1960's split screen. This
bus looked great with it's patina paint and that
narrowed front beam.  


The 3 bow roof rack was a nice accessory with
the picnic basket and cool box on.


This 1976 bright orange late bay looked great
parked up, and when the sun shone, this bus
almost had an orange glow. The super straight
body panels give an almost perfect reflection.

Another late bay, this time a white over baby
blue 1974 model with a pop top. This bus was
riding at stock height, and with the lovely colour
choice it really stood out.

This bus proves you don't necessarily need to
have mega expensive chrome wheels to make
your bus look something special. This bus is
running on the original rims that have just been
painted in the same colour as the upper body.


My 1969 VW microbus parked up in the show
and shine line up (!) She's never going to win
any prizes, but I love how she looks and that's

all that matters.

My microbus from the back / side. This will be
my home from home for about a week when I 
take part in the 'Route67' charity cruise from
John O'Groats to Land's End in July. ( the full
length of the U.K, from top to bottom)


A gorgeous mid 1960's split screen crew cab
pick up in what looks like a lovely patina'd Dove
Blue colour. This lowered crew cab did look
 good.


The patina paint continues across the whole of
the bus. This did have an unusual wheel choice,
not the normal chrome wheels that most people
choose.

Looking into the engine bay you see a 2.5 litre,
425bhp Subaru Impreza engine. This incredible
conversion was carried out by the guys at
'Fellows Speed Shop' and is getting quite a
common conversion over here in the U.K.


This stunning white over green 1970 early bay
was gorgeous. This bay had a narrowed front
beam and numerous accessories including a
mesh visor, chrome peaks for the headlights
and clear lenses on the indicators.

I'm guessing this is a U.S. import, the same as
mine, as the sliding door is on the correct side
and it has the all red rear tail lights.


The interior is just as nice as the exterior, the
amount of time and effort that must have gone
into creating the lovely space must be huge.


This super low 1967 Karmann Ghia looked 
great with it's patina'd red paint and of course
being so low. The narrowed front beam adds to
the overall look of this Karmann.

You can see just how low this KG really is by
how far up into the wheel arches the wheels sit.


Friends of mine, Matthew & Julie and their two
daughters spent the weekend camping at the 
show with their lovely 1972 early bay.

I think I'm right in saying that Matthew's bay has
a 1641cc engine with a 110 cam and duel
Webber carbs, and Matt says it pulls like a train.
Matt's bus has been featured in several VW
magazines including VW Vibe. (I think?)


The interior of Matthew's bus is really nice and
homely and is a testament to Matthew and
Julie's dedication in keeping it this way.


This 1970 early bay finished in a single coat of
white paint had just the right amount of patina to
help this bay stand out. The Fuchs style wheels
also helped the overall look.

This really was one solid and straight looking
bay window. The all red rear light lenses, and
side markers indicate that this could be a U.S.
import, it certainly looked solid enough to be one.


This GT Beetle was in an absolutely immaculate
condition and it only had 41,000 genuine miles
 on the clock, which works out less than 1000
miles a year for this 43 year old car.

OK, this little 1972 beetle had a couple of new
wings in the past and a touch up of paint here
and there but apart from that it's all original.

 A couple more orange beetles in the line up.
Firstly this 1971 in what looked like original
condition apart from the neat yellow spot light
mounted on top of the bumper.

And secondly this fenderless 1972 orange bug.
Being different is the name of the game and this
orange bug was certainly that.! A nice touch was
painting the inner arches black rather than the
body colour as it gives the car some shape. 

This does look good from this angle, I did like
that exhaust and the way it came straight out.

The profile of an early bay that has not been
 lowered. This pop top EB was gorgeous and 

the Fuchs style wheels added to the overall look.


This 1965 (I think) split screen bus was really
nice, it was so straight and clean. I did like the
twin yellow spot lights on the towel rail bumper.

From any angle this splitty stands out as a nice
bus. The single colour, as opposed to the usual
two colours normally used on a bus, works well.

One of the old skool stickers I noticed on the
split screen. 'Street Machine Timing Association',
only old hot rodders of a certain age will be able
to remember this sticker, I think I still have mine 
on a sheet with some others that were issued by
Street Machine magazine many years ago, and
they are unused, maybe I'll put them on my bus.

This white 1965 beetle was another original
looking bug that looked great, I do like those
Porsche style headlight grilles, I think they suit
the sloping beetle headlights perfectly.

It was a real shame about the nearside rear
fender, it looks as though it has had quite a bad
scrape, but even with this damage this was still
a lovely old super lowered bug.


This imported 1967 split screen had some nice
patina going on with it's white over dark blue
paint scheme. I do like those opening safari 
screen's that some buses have.

It looks as though this bus may have a slightly
narrowed front beam, judging by the way the
front wheels are tucked right under the body.


Remember that cherry red '69 bug from the top
of this blog review, well I saw this reflection in it's
lovely domed hubcaps and just has to take a
photo. 

I noticed this lovely looking mustard 1971 cross
over bay in the camping area of the show. This 
U.S. import looked like a good honest bus with
 it's original paint.

This really was a nice pop top camper in what
looked like stock condition, apart from the BRM
wheels.

This 1966 split screen looked great in it's satin
finish blue paint. The missing rear bumper gave
this bus a unique look. I also liked the stance this
split had, nice and high just how Volkswagen had
designed it.

This lovely blue 1970 early bay looked so clean
and straight. The colour coded steel wheels with
the whitewalls looked good as did the new pop
top material in a chequered design.

Just a random photo of just a few of the vehicles
at the show. There really was a good variety of
air-cooled vehicles on display.

On the way out of the racecourse, I spotted this
photo opportunity. The racecourse has a general
camping area for the public, and in this area was
this huge motor home that also had extending
sides to create even more space. I just had to
 park my bay next to it and get a photo. How
small does my little early bay look alongside
this massive beast of a motor home.


So that was the Aircooled 15 show, like I said
earlier, it is only their second year and lets hope
there is a third as it does have some potential
to be a great little show. I enjoyed myself for the
day, and some friends of mine enjoyed them-
selves for the weekend, so well done to every-
one who helped to organise the event.

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