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.
 |
| There were several Porsche 356's at the VW Expo show, including this lovely cream coloured beauty. I think this 1600 super 2 door roadster was a replica because the registration number plate denotes it's a 1969, and they only made the 356 until 1965. |
 |
| Being a replica does not in any way effect the desirability of this stunning car. The build quality and finish was outstanding and every detail was 'just right'. This is seriously lowered and I thought it must have air ride suspension, but I caught sight of this car leaving the show field and it drove across the bumpy field at this height! |
 |
| Simple and elegant interior of the Porsche 356. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, wouldn't you just love to cruise around in this beautiful car? |
 |
| This super straight and super shiny 1964 rag top bug caught my eye with it's perfect gloss black paint. The paint was that good it actually looked as though it was still wet. |
 |
| I instantly recognised this 1971 road / race beetle. It belongs to Jonny, a mate of mine who is a member of a local VW club called The Wolfsburg Weed Huggers based in Penn, in Bucks. |
 |
| Jonny's radical bug which he built himself has been named 'Miss White Racing' and it even has it's own Facebook page. |
 |
| Miss White has a 2165cc engine and with this power Jonny normally gets down the 1/4 mile strip in the low 15 second mark. |
 |
| This stunning Porsche 550 Spyder, was I think another replica, but again it was so well built it was really hard to tell. The 550 was produced from 1953 - 1956. The Spyder's styling was inspired by the 356, and designed specifically for racing. The 550 Spyder was first introduced at the Paris motor show in 1953 |
 |
| This is the same car that James Dean had, and died in after being involved in a traffic accident. Dean called his 550 Spyder "Little Bastard". On the track all the racing Spyders were predominately painted silver with only the tail spears painted with splashes of colour to enable them to be identified from the pits. |
 |
| The unusual feature, compared to other race cars of the time was that the 550 could be driven to the track, raced, and then driven home showing it's flexibility of being both a road and race car. |
 |
| Yet another stunning Porsche 356A speedster that looked fantastic in it's yellow paint. This one has an age related number plate so it could be a real one..? I did like the original Porsche nipple hub caps. |
 |
| These really are lovely looking cars, especially when they are so straight and clean as this one. |
 |
| A 100% perfect reflection of gorgeous Porsche 356A on the side of a 1965 split screen bus. Body work just doesn't come any straighter than this. The brown paint on the bus provides a perfect background for the yellow reflection of the Porsche. |
 |
| The front of this old splitty wasn't too bad either! This bus really was so straight and smooth. |
 |
| Not only did this bus have a beautiful exterior, but it also had a beautiful interior. |
 |
| This 1971 Volks rod, in satin black with hot rod style red painted steel wheels looked really cool. It has had a serious roof chop which makes this bug look low and sleek. |
 |
| The rear end was really nice, I did like the huge rear tyres on those deep dish banded steel wheels. I also liked the lack of bodywork and the way the deck lid seems to float in mid air. |
 |
| This gorgeous crew cab pick up was up for sale, it's a 1975, with an early bay front clip, it had a 1741cc engine that has done less than 2000 miles, and it has 90% of new parts. I didn't find out how much the owner wanted for this lovely bus, but I guess as the saying goes, " if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it" |
 |
| This awesome T25 syncro was one of my top 5 vehicles of the show. It had a whopping 2.8 litre Audi engine bolted into the engine bay. it also had a full roll cage through the length of the van |
 |
| This lovely syncro has competed in various off road rallies across the world. If I remember correctly, the tube hanging down from the rear door sits onto the radiator when the door is closed and a powerful fan sucks air from outside through the tube to cool the radiator. |
 |
| The owner of this early bug had been at the show all weekend and had a neat camping facility. These roof tents are so cool and save towing a trailer around. |
 |
| This lovely patina'd 1963 SO33 split screen was another vehicle up for sale. The OG engine runs really nice and the bus drives well. |
 |
| The patina is just as it should be, and the unusual steel sun roof made this bus just that bit different. |
 |
| A better look at the original interior which was in really good condition considering the age of the bus, and that really cool opening sun roof. |
 |
| This 1971 buggy really stood out with its old skool gold metal flake paint that sparkled in the sunshine. The Empi 5 spoke wheels finished off the look perfectly. |
 |
| These buggies really are such a simple design that have stood the test of time since Bruce Meyers first started to produce the buggy way back in 1964. The design has changed very little, if at all which is a great testament to Bruce Meyers. |
 |
| The standard air-cooled engine is enough to power these lightweight buggies, but you can always dress up your engine like this owner has done to a very high standard. |
 |
| The VW Expo show is located deep within the rolling hills of deepest Oxfordshire, which is an ideal location for a Volkswagen show. |
 |
| Just some of the exhibitors in the show and shine field. The weather was glorious and the number of vehicles was in the thousands. |
 |
| As you can see from the photos, Stonor Park has numerous sloping fields, which when wet can be tricky. It had rained in the days before the show and the grass was still slippery in places. The owner of this lovely single cab had trouble reversing up the hill due to the lack of weight at the back and just couldn't get any traction. |
 |
| But luckily his mate in an early bay was on hand to tow him onto the gravel road that runs through the Stonor estate. It's all about team work ! |
 |
| I spotted one of my facebook friends John, who was cruising around the show in his gorgeous 1967 beetle. I'm not sure if he had just arrived or was leaving but it was nice to know he attended this great local show. It was just a shame we didn't 'bump' into each other. |
 |
| I spotted this old Notchback on the back of a trailer. It needed a full restoration but the owner was saying that the engine and gearbox were both good. It did need almost every panel replacing or repairing but for £1650 it could be a good buy for someone. |
 |
| The owner was right about it needing a full restoration, but the car did have potential for someone who wanted a 'project'. I did like the old skool flames down the side of this notch. So that was part 2 of 3 about the VW Expo. The 3rd and final instalment will be next Saturday, where you can see plenty more quality air cooled vehicles including bugs, buses and a cool Trekker, fast backs, notch backs and so much more. So don't forget to come back next week. |
