Saturday 21 February 2015

Dub Freeze VW Show 2015. Part 2 of 2.

Welcome to part two of my blog review on the Dub Freeze VW Show 2015. This is a 3 day weekend Volkswagen show with camping available for brave hearted. The show was held at Bingley Hall, The Staffordshire Showground, Weston Road, Stafford ST18 0BD. I travelled up to the show on the Sunday with friends of mine, and fellow Outcast VW Club members Kevin, Sam, John and Mike.. and all of us in Kevin's T25 crew cab pick up. The blog review continues as I wander around the showground loking at all the Volkswagens parked up at the show.
To see all my other blog entries, go to ‘My Blog Archive’ to the left of the 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.

This lovely1972 Variant (Square back) looked
solid enough and pretty much original but the
paintwork was just starting to show it's age, so
why did I take a photo of this '72 classic ?

Because it had a really neat 'swan' bonnet
mascot. I've never seen one of these before
but I thought it looked so good and unique
on the old VW.

BruteBox had this old cycle on display. I did
like the modification they had made with the
addition of a drinks cabinet within the frame.

A close up of the custom drinks cabinet... well
cycling can be a thirsty pastime you know.

This 1965 split screen was gorgeous, I saw
this a few years ago at the Camperjam show,
and it still looks as good now as it did back then.

A very unusual colour combination. I remember
the faint chequered design on the upper body
and how cool it looked.

It's all about the detailing, just like the swan
bonnet mascot on the white square back from
earlier, this splitty had a plastic toy rat tucked
away under the U.S spec towel rail bumper.

This really is a nice looking bus from every
angle. The full length roof rack compliments
the overall look.

The all red U.S. style rear light lenses look
great against the patina orange and brown
body.

This 1971 Beetle caught my eye, for no
particular reason. Maybe it was the colour or
maybe the 'big and little' tyre combo... I don't
really know why but I did like it.

Looking a bit RAT this 1967 split screen deluxe
panel van looked cool. I did like the Maltese
cross painted onto the lens of the cyclopes light.

The guy's that came up to the show in this cool
looking buggy were pure hardcore. Remember
this is still February in the U.K. and the daily
temperature only just gets above freezing.

This was a nice looking buggy, with what looked
like a two tone (purple and green) body wrap
in a carbon fibre design. I used to have a suit
in this colour, but that's a story for another day.

The interior is, as all buggies are very sparse.
Mind you, when you're exposed to the elements
the less electrical components you have to get
wet and go wrong, the better.

This 1982 T25 looked cool with it's distressed
paint job, and the angle of the camber on those
wheels had to be seen to be believed. (my
photo's do not really show the true camber)

 A lovely clean and straight '66 split screen in
white over blue. This was a really nice clean
and straight bus.

Looking as though it just came out of the VW
showroom in 1964 was this gorgeous notch
back.This model is also known as the type 31.

Simply stunning, it looked totally original and
in such good condition for a 51 year car.

A good looking deluxe '67 early bay in blue.
This bus has been lowered and running on
 OG painted steel wheels.

A nice pair of blue '66's. A gorgeous light blue
Beetle with gorgeous chrome 5 spoke wheels
and a darker blue type 3 fast back on Fuchs
wheels.

Take your pick, as the saying goes 'Get your
kicks in a '66'. well OK the song lyric was 'get
your kicks on route 66' but it was close. I just
noticed a light blue fast back on the left.. where
did that come from?

This 1969 / 70 early bay crew cab pick up was
ultra nice. OK it was very RAT looking but the
potential this bus has is huge. All the panels
were present and surprisingly straight.

And yes, it could also do with a really good wash
to get rid of the moss that was growing on the
window rubbers...

But just have a look at it from the front. A coat
of paint, polish those Radar wheels and give
the canvas cover a good clean and you have
a show winner all day long.

This stunning 1963 deluxe beetle was for sale
outside the main hall. It has had a partial
restoration in the past and finished to a very
high standard.

New floor pans, heater channels, wings and a
new wiring loom are just a few of the resto
mods. Finished in the gorgeous Turkis (L380)
colour and running on steel wheels, and how
much was the seller asking for this beauty?
A mere £7000 ($10,760 approx)

Another vehicle for sale was this lovely 1967
Karmann Ghia finished in bright red with a
white roof.

This U.S spec KG really was immaculate and
up for sale for £9500 ($14,603 approx)

This 1972 fast back was immaculate. Under the
bonnet was cleaner than most of the other VW's
bodywork. You can see the standard of the
finish on the underside of the bonnet.

This army T25 crew cab had a 1.8 Golf engine
fitted was also up for sale at a modest £2650
($4,073 approx). I'm not sure about the fibre-
glass rear cover as it seems to overhang the
body by a good 6 inches. But that aside, this
looks to be a bargain, even though it was being
sold with the stock wheels fitted.

This lovely white Porsche 912 was up for sale,
there wasn't many details on the car, except
for the price... £27,000 ($41, 506 approx)

This early 1960's cabriolet beetle in pastel
yellow looked ultra cool as it cruised past us.
The highly polished Empi 5 spoke wheels and
the front and rear chrome towel rail bumpers
complimented the paint perfectly.

This 1986 T25 Syncro looked the business
with it's huge tyres and high riding stance.
I did like the quad spot lights on the roof.

This Type 181 Kurierwagen or as it is more
commonly known, the Trekker was slammed
on the deck and finished in an army green paint
scheme.

Running on Fuchs rims this 1972 type 181 was
one cool ride. Again, you have to be a hardcore
VW enthusiast to drive this in February. 

The LHD versions are known as a 181, and a
RHD version is know as a 182. That trick gear
stick looked pure old skool and it suited the car.

Walking around the make shift campsite I
bumped into Aaron and Robyn who I met for
the first time at the beginning of the month
at the House of Dub VW Club monthly meet.

Apparently they had been there all weekend
camping in their lovely pre '63 split screen, that
I've heard doesn't have any form of night heating,
 you're both very brave guys, I hope you had a
good time.

This early 1960's beetle looked so cool in that
mango (sort of) colour and with the ski's on the
back just cruising around the site.

Another T25 Syncro this time a crew cab pick
up version. I was very impressed with the
performance of Kevin's crew cab on the way to
the show, so if this crew cab goes half as well
over the dirt, then that's going to be an amazing
ride... and a lot of fun.

This lovely 1961 double door split screen panel
van is for sale, it has a 2276cc motor and has
 some Roo (kangaroo) bars on the front and a 
cool cyclopes light on the roof. The price is
£16,000 ($24,681 approx). I do like panel
vans, regardless of what model they are., and
this one was no exception.

So that was my 2 part review of Dub Freeze 2015
with just a very small selection of the vehicles that
attended the show. This was my first time attending
this show, but I can safely say it will not be my last.
A very well laid out show, plenty of traders selling
all manor of things and a very impressive turn
out in the public car park, with hundreds of
VW's both air cooled and water cooled.
There were plenty of places to eat and drink
and overall it was a really great show.
Many thanks to Kevin for the ride up in his
crew cab pick up, and I'm well impressed
with it's performance, certainly a lot quicker
and a lot warmer than my microbus. !
Thanks again mate.

If you missed part 1, simply go to 'My Blog
Archive'  at the top left of this page.

Sunday 15 February 2015

Dub Freeze VW Show 2015. Part one.

The first big VW event of the year, here in the U.K. is probably Dub Freeze, named primarily due to the fact that the event is held in February which is probably the worst month weather wise of the winter. The event was held on the weekend of 13th -15th February at Bingley Hall, The Staffordshire Showground, Weston Road, Stafford ST18 0BD which is about a 200 mile round trip from my hometown of Aylesbury. Check out the official Dub Freeze website: http://www.dubfreeze.co.uk/  that says that 90% of the show is held indoors, with heated buildings, on site bars, restaurants and take aways, and as this is my first visit the this show that is welcome news, as hopefully we'll out of the cold weather. I hadn't planned to go to this show but friends of mine, and fellow Outcast VW Club members Kevin and Sam talked me into it at our last club meet. Some of you who read my blog regularly you will know Kevin, he owns an off road trial Beetle and has just acquired a lovely T25 crew cab pick up, well Kevin said that if I wanted to go to the show I could ride up with him, and John in his crew cab, along with his son Sam, and Sam's friend Mike. Well how could I refuse such an offer!

To see all my other blog entries, go to ‘My Blog Archive’ to the left of the 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.


Kevin, John and I in Kevin's crew cab pick up
en-route to pick up Kevin's son Sam, and
his friend Mike from the neighbouring town
of Milton Keynes.

As we drove up to the showground Sam and
I were discussing how busy we thought it would
be, but neither of us was ready for the sea of
Volkswagen's that greeted us as we turned into
the showground.

Once parked up we all headed for the main
building. This lovely RAT looking split screen
caught my eye. I do like a sign written bus
whatever it is, and this was no exception.

The front clip has seen some abuse it it's life
but now that it's starting to rust it just adds to
the overall RAT look.

Another RAT looking split screen parked up
outside the main building. That roof, and the
stance helped make this mango bus stand out.
 

This gorgeous satin blue early split looked
stunning with it's contrasting yellow head light
lenses.

Super straight, with a narrowed front beam,
and lowered this satin bus drew a lot of
attention from the crowds.

A stunning bright red split oval Beetle. This
really was a super looking car.

Another gorgeous early Beetle parked up
outside the main hall.

Inside one of the halls, the place was packed
with traders selling their goods.

The main hall was a lot bigger than I thought
it was going to be, and there were a lot more
people, this really is a popular show.

Inside the main hall were several 'show' cars.
This really early Beetle finished in a dark blue
looked absolutely stunning.

Another 'show' car was this immaculate gloss
black 1963 Beetle. This bug has has been
seriously lowered, but apart from that it
looked pretty much standard.

This lovely early split screen was on display,
this really was an immaculate show vehicle.

The interior was, as you would expect just as
lovely.

Single cab split screens are very desirable
vehicles and when they are sign written, and
with a canvas cover for the back, and this
clean you can see why it was on display.

This lovely early bay microbus had the patina
look and the whole thing sat down in the
weeds... simply gorgeous.

Inside the early bay the owner had a Schwinn
Jaguar MK6 cycle. This classic U.S. cycle in
flamboyant red is from 1965. It looks as though
the seat is original as is the rear rack, although
the front rack is missing. The handle bars also
look like a non standard item but look quite good.

There were numerous small water cooled VW's
on show, and this white Polo caught my eye...
not for it's super low stance, or for the colour
coded wheels or even it's single colour paint
scheme, no it caught my eye because of...

The massive bottle of Nos (Nitrous Oxide)
in the boot, which looked to be plumbed in.
The must go like the proverbial **** off a
shovel.

There must have been hundreds of companies
selling their goods, and this one was selling
everything 'Empi'. You think of it, this guy had it.

Another promotional vehicle inside the main
hall was this single cab split screen pick up.

I didn't notice which company this blue early
split screen was advertising, but looking at the
door cards and the interior in general I wouldn't
be surprised if they were upholsterers.

The interior of the split was gorgeous, a place
to chill out in style.

Looking through from the back you can see
the high quality.

Now I do remember which company this single
cab split screen pick up belonged to, it was
the Fellows Speed Shop promo vehicle.

Yep, this is definitely a Fellows Speed Shop
motor. I don't know what size this is, but I'm
told by my friend Matthew that this bus has
got a 425bhp motor..!

'Limebug' had a stand at Dub Freeze and I saw
these custom gear knobs, these look pure
old skool hot rod to me, and I loved them.

'Limebug' brought their Tempo Matador along,
and what a gorgeous vehicle it is. These Tempo's
are harder to find than chicken's teeth.

Such an unusual vehicle but what a beauty.

The interior is basic to say the least, but as the
saying goes, less is more.!

Back outside and walking around the show
ground I saw this lovely grey early Beetle.
This really was a clean and straight Bug.
Oh, and before you ask, I don't know what
that is under the paper by the drivers door, and
I don't think I want to know.

Variety of vehicles is what makes or breaks a
show, and at Dub Freeze there was a vast
array of models and years.

This immaculate single cab pick up looked so
nice in it's green paint with the sign writing. I did
like the colour coded hub caps and the
ontrasting white roof rack.

This really does have a super straight body
and immaculate paint work.

A late split screen with the patina look, and
lowered sitting on a narrowed front beam.

Now this split screen panel van is totally RAT.
The single yellow spot light on the roof looked
great and in total contrast to the reddish body.

From one extreme to another, this pair of split
screens were painted with a nice coat of paint.
I do like those harp style mirror arms on the blue
splitty.

This grey and white deluxe looked equally as
nice with twin roof racks, Porsche head light
grills and spot lights on the towel rail bumper.

I took this photo of this T4 for one reason, it
was so bright. Yellow is my favourite colour
but this was off the scale! It certainly made
the cold misty afternoon just a bit brighter as
it drove past.

I have photographed Kevin's crew cab at the
House of Dub VW meet and at our Outcast
VW club meet and both times it was dark and
miserable so the photo's didn't come out very
well. So here are some decent photo's of
Kevin's import.

I don't know the history of this pick up, but it
doesn't seem to have the trademark builders
knocks and scuffs.

This really is a tidy looking work horse, that if
Sam had his way, he'd get his dad to either
lower it to within an inch of it's life or turn it into
a syncro with oversize wheels.

A lovely crossover bay in the 'Malteser
Hilfsdienst' livery. I'm not sure if this is original
or not but it looked the part.

The Malteser Hilfsdienst is a catholic relief
organisation founded by the German Caritas
which helps crisis torn countries all over the
world.

This beige late bay with a pop top looked cool
with it's single colour paint scheme, white wall
tyres and those chrome 5 spoke wheels.

Just a random photo of 2 bay's parked up at
Dub Freeze.

This early oval Beetle was simply stunning.
It looked so cool in that grey finish, with it's
low stance.

Simple lines of the classic Volkswagen Beetle.

This early bug was gorgeous from every angle.
The single colour, the low stance and those
chrome Fuchs wheels make the perfect
compliment to the body design.

Very clean detailed engine on the oval.

The interior looks stock apart from 2 additional
gauges under the dash, and the seats.

A lovely looking split screen with a turret pop
top with matching roof racks either side went
cruising past as we walked around the grounds.

This cool retro looking California import was
for sale, for a modest £8,800 with T & T.

The interior was sparse on this micro bus, but
at least you could see what you were buying.

How low do you like yours? This early bug was
almost sitting on the floor and the stunning bright
red paint work was immaculate.

Such a lovely looking bug, the stance was just
right, as was the wheel choice and the single
colour paint.

The all red U.S. style rear light lenses help
keep the body looking clean with a matching
colour. The Fuchs wheels and the chrome blade
bumpers add the necessary bling.

This early bay caught my eye for it's super
narrow front beam. You can just make out the
wheel under the body. This deluxe bus was 
nice and clean example.

This 1967 Porsche 912 was one of several
Porsche's at the show. The 912 was produced
from 1965 - 1969, with either a 1582cc or
1972cc flat four engine.

You don't need to be a petrol head to know
this iconic shape is a Porsche.

So that was part one of my review of the
Dub Freeze 2015 VW show. Come back
next week for part two.