Bug Jam 30, (part 2 of 3)

Welcome to part two of my blog review about Bug Jam 30. The Bug Jam VW Festival celebrates it's 30th anniversary this year, and as far as I know has always been held at the world famous Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire. Bug Jam is a weekend festival for all makes of Volkswagen's and this year was held over the weekend of 22nd - 24th July. There is always plenty to do and see at Bug Jam including: 5 music arenas, drag racing, run what you brung (public track time), show and shine, comedy artists, traders, stunt displays, jet car, auto jumble, fun fair and much more. Bug Jam is billed as 'Europe's biggest and best VW festival' I haven't been to that many European VW festivals so I can't comment if it's the best show or not, but it certainly is big. There must have been tens of thousands of visitors over the weekend. Due to family commitments I could only go for the day on the Saturday, but there were thousands of Volkswagen's of all descriptions already there parked up with their the camps set up for the weekend, and hundreds more vehicles who like myself went for one day only. Whatever type of Volkswagen rocks you boat, I guarantee you'll find it at Bug Jam. The blog continues as I wander around the site looking at all the cool Volkswagen's.
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.

This 1967 Karmann looked tough with it's very
low stance. The lack of both front and rear
bumpers added to the tough look. The polished
Fuchs style wheels looked the perfect choice
and compliment the blue bodywork.

This gorgeous KG looked as though it also had
a narrowed front beam, judging by how far the
front wheels were tucked under the front wings.

This stunning 1972 Westfalia looked amazing.
The bus was so clean it could have just driven
out of the factory. I did like the single yellow
spot light mounted onto the bumper.

You can see just how clean and straight this
bus really is in this photo. I like to see all the
small touches that owners make to their buses
to put their mark on their bus, and the owner
of this bus had some neat curtains made
from...

... what looked like coffee bean sacks. They
may not be blackout curtains but they did look
so cool.

There were a couple of Airstream trailers at
Bug Jam, and this lovely Land Yacht model
looked fantastic. These have to be the ultimate
in camping trailers.

A lovely pair of early bay Westfalia's parked up
in the camping area. The grey primer'd one
has been slightly lowered, while the cream one
has been seriously lowered and has what looks
like a narrowed front beam.

This lovely pair of 1960's beetles looked great
parked next to each other. These bug's really
are both show and go cars.

The silver 1964 bug looked stunning in that silver
colour paint. The body was perfectly straight and
the paint was flawless. I did like the Porsche
chrome headlight guards and the nerf bars which
both suited the body colour perfectly.

At the back you can see the 'go' factor. Those
lovely chrome smoothie wheels with big tyre's
filled the arches nicely. The non standard
exhaust looked menacing.

I did like this wheel and tyre combination that
filled the rear aches to the max.

The other beetle was this gorgeous 1967 model.
Again the paint has been applied to a perfectly
straight body, as the reflection in the door shows.
Like the silver bug, chrome nerf bars have now
replaced the old style bumpers.

This lovely bug also had those gorgeous chrome
smooth wheels. Both of these lovely beetles had
the U.S style all red rear light lenses. 

This 1971 Westfalia caught my eye as it was
just so clean. The all white colour scheme made
this bus stand out. 

I did like the cool retro stripe down the sides of
this late bay and the polished wheels that remind
me of the Wolfrace wheels we used to use many
years ago in the hot rod scene.

Another very clean bus was this 1967 white over
turquoise split screen. The silver thermal screen
cover matched the alloy side window trim and the
Empi 5 spoke wheels perfectly.

When the sun came out the turquoise blue paint
really came to life and the deepness of the blue
was incredible. This really was a nice looking bus.

Another unusual colour on a vehicle was this
salmon pink 1971 beetle. This bug had been 
seriously lowered and that steel mesh visor and
black painted steel wheels were in stark contrast
with the pink paint, but it looked so good.

This gorgeous blue 1966 rag top beetle looked
fantastic in the summer sunshine. This bug had
been tastefully lowered and looks like it also had
a narrowed front beam. The black Porsche wheels
were a great choice to compliment the colour.

The white hood looked good and fitted really
well. I did like that wild chrome exhaust that
dominated the rear end of this cool bug.

The colour of grey primer always grabs my 
attention, and this gloss grey pre '63 beetle was
no exception. I did like this Cal Look bug with its
lowered stance, and lack of bumpers and trim.

The super straight grey body looked fantastic
against the chrome Empi 5 spoke wheels.

This 1969 early bay was super straight as the
reflection along the side of the bus proves. This
really was a lovely looking bus. I did like the
chrome bumpers that complimented the super
shiny Empi chrome wheels.

The twin roof racks suited this imported bus and
the use of a U.S. style number plate with a white
background was a nice touch that looked good.

This 1976 late bay panel van looked good with
it's signwriting and flame paint job. I did like the
old hot rod style red steel wheels with white wall
tyres.

The immense diversity and the sheer number of
vehicles at Bug Jam were both incredible. What
ever model of Volkswagen your into you'll find
it at this show, guaranteed.!

This bright 1965 white over yellow 21 window 
split screen bus gave off a yellow glow in the
bright sunshine. This lovely old bus had the same
wheels as my '69 microbus, Porsche 356 wheels.

This lovely clean bus in my favourite colour, yellow
really did stand out. The silver thermal window
screens not only keep the occupants warm at night
but they also look so good from the outside.

Here is a bus that I recognised, it belongs to a
face book friend of mine, called Nick. His bus,
commonly known as 'The Marmite bus' always
gets attention wherever Nick goes in it. (for all
my overseas readers, Marmite is a yeast extract
and is a dark sticky food paste with an extremely
salty taste that can be spread on food. The slogan
for this product is " Love it or hate it")

I couldn't get any decent pictures of the Nick's
bus as it tightly parked between a tent and an
Airstream trailer. Nick is attending a show on
 the sea front shortly called 'BeachBuggin' which 
I am also attending so I'm hoping to get some
 decent photos of his bus then.

This lovely metallic green Bugle beach buggy
is quite rare, I can't remember the last time I saw
one but I'm glad I saw this one. It looked great
with it's black vinyl hood and unique body style.
Hopefully I see some more Bugle buggies at the 
BeachBuggin show.

This ultra low 1960's Karmann Ghia looked great
parked up in the camping area. This KG has been
seriously lowered and still had what looked like
the original paint.

This lovely looking stock looking ghia is just one
of the hundreds of Volkswagen's that were at the
show, but unless you walked around the camping
area you it would be unlikely you would see them.

A lovely pair of beetle's, different years and most
certainly different styles but both equally as nice
as each other.

This race style beetle painted in a Herbie theme
looked super tough. I didn't find out much about
this bug, but I'm assuming it ran down the 1/4
mile strip.

The wide rear wheel and tyre combination is
there to ensure the power gets to the tarmac and
the rear axle gets traction off the start line.

Like I said, I didn't find out much about this bug,
but the engine looks purposeful. 

This Sierra yellow ( I think) 1978 late bay looked
great with it's colour matched chequered bra and
retro roof canvas.

This gorgeous white over yellow split screen
caught my eye with it's simple, almost plain look.
The tinted windows helped to give a clean and
crisp look to this bus. 

This really was a lovely bus and the 356 wheels
helped to keep this bus looking clean and simple.

This early split screen panel van had the RAT
look going on, and it looked so good for having
it. The paint may well have been the original
paint. This bus looks as though the front beam
had been narrowed and running stock wheels.

Looking past the RAT look paint, this bus was
actually quite straight. That mad looking massive
silencer sticking out from under the rear bumper
could be hiding this buses secret..? 

I did like the rear arches that had been cut away.
This is normally done to fit larger wheels and
tyres, thus giving a different gear ratio which is
better for cruising long distances.

Show and shiny buses are cool but you can't
beat the RAT look to be ultra cool as this old
split screen proves.

So that was the second instalment of my review
of this show. The third and final instalment is
next Saturday where you will be able to see
more bugs and buses, including a stunning
green over grey split screen, there are also
fastback's and a mad looking cycle.