Saturday 10 December 2016

Brighton Breeze 2016 (part 2 of 3)

This weeks blog review is part 2 of 3 about the annual Brighton Breeze VW show, which this year was held on Saturday 1st October 2016 on Maderia Drive in town of Brighton. The Brighton Breeze show is organised by the S.S.V.C. (The Split Screen Van Club) which founded in 1983 by a group of guy's who loved the split screen buses. The main purpose of the club was to preserve the pre '67 Volkswagen split screen and all the expertise needed to maintain and restore them and keep them on the road. The S.S.V.C. attend many shows throughout the year, and each year they put on their own show, called The Brighton Breeze. The show is held in the same location every year, along Maderia Drive in Brighton, West Sussex on the south coast of England. Maderia Drive runs East / West from Brighton Pier to Black Rock and is only a stones throw from Brighton's infamous South facing pebble beach. Brighton Breeze is always held on the first Saturday of October, and this is a show I have attended for many years. Being a south facing beach, if the weather is good, it is really good, however if the weather is bad, then you really are in trouble. Over the years I have experienced 70 degree heat with blazing sunshine (including getting sun burnt) to storm conditions with high winds and almost horizontal rain with freezing temperatures and as it's held in October this shows success really is in the hands of the weather. This year's forecast wasn't good with rain forecast all day but that didn't put me off, I mean how bad could it be!? So early on the Saturday morning I set off for the South coast. The review continues as I carry on wandering around the show trying to avoid the heavy downpours of rain.
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.


Even though this years Breeze has showers
on and off all day, it was still awesome to so
many buses (and other VW's) all lined up along
Maderia Drive.

The Brighton Breeze always attracts visitors
from Europe and this RAT looking high top T25
came over from Belgium.

This cool looking RAT bus may not be to every-
ones taste but I think it looks cool.

The Breeze always has hundreds upon hundreds
of vehicles on display. Maderia Drive is 1.5 miles

long and had Volkswagen's of all descriptions
parked along both sides, often doubled up for
the whole length from the Pier right down to
Brighton Marina.

Another couple of buses that ventured across
the English Channel from Belgium were the
following early bay window pick ups. The first was
this lovely single cab that looked as if it not only
been lowered but had also a narrow beam fitted.

The second pick up was this double cab that
was painted in a similar colour to my bay. Again
it had been lowered and by the look of it, it also
had a narrowed front beam. Both these pick ups

looked really clean and solid.

This lovely 1966 white over blue split screen had
an unusual colour blue paint, but it really suited 
the bus. I did like the Fuchs replica wheels that
matched the chrome front and rear bumpers.

This old '66 really was a nice clean and straight
bus. The contrasting all red rear light lenses and
the chrome bumpers both helped to make this
split screen stand out.

Bay window buses all lined up. Whatever style
bay you like, you'll be sure to see many varieties
of it at the Breeze.

This gorgeous 1969 early bay panel van really
did look nice with it's sign written sides. I'm sure
this lovely old panel van belongs to 'Midland Early
Bay' who import buses and also offer servicing etc.

This stunning pastel blue type 34 Karmann Ghia 
1500 came over from the Netherlands for the 
weekend show. This really was a gorgeous car 
that looked so clean. 

The type 34 was only produced from 1962 -
1969 and due to the high cost of this car (almost
the same price as two beetle's) demand was
very low and only around 43,000 were made.

This super low pre 63 single cab split screen
pick up had the RAT look with it's patina paint
and looked so good for it.

It was nice to see a pick up with the hoops over
the bed, you don't see many pick ups with these
hoops which is a shame as I love the look of them.

Lowered buses are nice in their own right, so
are RAT looking buses, but you can't really beat
a stock height bus with chunky off road tyres as
this gold split screen proves. 

I liked the look of this bus so much I took two
photos! The chunky tyres, the high riding stance
and the unusual gold colour were all about perfect.

The guy's from 'Cool Flo' were once again
trading at the Brighton Breeze and they brought
along this gorgeous early split screen panel van.
I did like the low stance with the narrowed front
beam, and that logo looks so cool.

This lovely high top split screen was another 
European bus that had ventured across the
Channel to join in the fun. I do like these high top
buses as they just look so cool.

This nice solid bus had numerous accessories
on the full length roof rack which added to the
overall cool look. 

Just a couple of early split screens parked up
on Maderia Drive at the Brighton Breeze.

The event is organised by the split screen van
club and as you would expect there is always
hundreds upon hundreds of split screen buses
that attend the event which is an awesome
sight.

This super low beige double cab split screen
pick up looked fantastic with its super straight
body panels and almost perfect paint.

Whatever style of bus your into, whether you
like the restored look with nice paint or whether
you like the RAT look, you'll be sure to find it
at this great one day show.

This RAT looking panel van caught my eye with
its aged sign writing on the sides. This looks to
be another European bus that came over to
spend the weekend in Brighton.

This 1967 split looked kinda cool with its patina
paint and what was left of the 1970's style
flames on the doors.

From one extreme to another was this two tone
 pink early split. This colour scheme really did 

suit the bus, and all the chrome on this bus just 
complimented the paint colours so well. I did 
like the Porsche style chrome headlight grilles 
and chrome bumpers.

You can see just how straight this was is from
this photo. The attention to detail was amazing.
I did like the upper body colour in the engine
bay, that was a nice touch.

Inside the engine bay there was an amazingly
clean twin carb motor which was just as clean
as the exterior of this lovely bus.

This early bug caught my eye as it wasn't
flash or fancy it was just a very clean and
straight bug with a lovely coat of grey paint.
I did like the roof rack and the BRM (I think)
wheels.

This orange panel van was another European 
bus. This show always attracts lots of visitors
from the continent.

This grey sign written split screen was ultra low
and that full length roof rack and those 'Roo'
bars suited this RAT looking bus perfectly.

This immaculate single cab pick up was simply
stunning. I loved the two tone colour combination
with matching steel wheels. This really was a nice
clean sub.

I think the owner of this gorgeous pick up was
hoping for some winter sunshine as he had the
multi coloured beach blanket and deck chair on 

the bed. 

Another immaculate bus was this 1966 two
tone blue samba. This really was a nice colour 
combination that suited the so well.

Another blue bus, not as shiny as the one above
but just as nice in its own right. I loved the stock
ride height, the patina paint and the aged sign
writing and best of all, it was a panel van.

If you like your buses down in the weeds, then
you should love this bus. This van must have
air suspension to sit that low. The narrowed
front beam just adds to the ultra low look.

A better look at this lovely low panel van. I did
like the rusty truck style door mirrors and the
Cyclopes light.

This single cab was a similar colour to the panel
above but looked so different. This gorgeous
pick up was another bus that ventured over from
 Belgium to be at the show. This really was an
immaculate bus.

Lowered or stock height? whatever you like
you'll be sure see it at the Brighton Breeze.

Hundreds of buses line both sides of the 1.5
miles of Maderia Drive. Here 2 similar colour
buses are parked up together, but the styles
are so different. You will never see 2 identical
buses as each owner puts their own mark on
their bus. 

No Volkswagen show would be complete with
out a Fire bus, and the Brighton Breeze was
no exception. This lovely old Fire bus looked
fantastic with its sign writing and decals.

This really was an authentic looking bus that
was so straight and clean. I'm not sure if the
full length roof rack was original or not, but
it did suit the bus.

The super bright yellow and black split screen
looked amazing. Even with the overcast sky we
had this paint gave off a yellow glow it was that
bright. The two tone paint scheme really gives
the bus a mean menacing look.

This bus had some neat modern head lights,
I'm not sure what they are off or maybe they
are aftermarket items but they did look good..
its all about the small details!

Bugs and buses parked up side by side on the
very wet and dark Maderia drive at Brighton
Breeze. It was a shame about the weather
because the foot traffic for the show was definitely
down on previous years.

The row of buses parked up in the rain on
Maderia Drive just went on and on. It was great
to see so many different styles of buses all in
one place.

This 1966 all white split looked super clean. It
just goes to prove that you don't need a flashy
bus with a custom paint job to stand out. This 
cool looking bus was all white and super straight.
I did like the chrome towel rail bumpers that
matched the chrome Fuchs wheels perfectly.

The rows of bugs and buses seemed to never
end, but it was great to see what owners have
done to personalise their own rides.

This 1978 late bay caught my eye with its trim
below the belt line and the cool 2 bow roof rack
at the rear of the bus. The polished Empi 5 spoke
wheels and lowered stance also helped this bus
stand out in the long line of buses parked up.

It's not all split screen buses at the Breeze, as
this photo shows. A lovely stock looking 1970 
notch back, and a gorgeous Cal Look 1967 
beetle.

This panel van looked spot on. The beige paint
with contrasting red steel wheels gave this old
van a cool look with a hint of hot rod.

I liked this bus so much I just had to get another
photo. I don't know why I like panel vans so much
but looking at this side profile I'm sure you can
see the attraction!

So that was part two of three on the Brighton Breeze.
If you missed part one you can find it at the top left

of this page in 'My blog Archive'. Next Saturday will
 be the third and final instalment where you can see 
plenty more bugs, buses, and so much more including 
a couple of Jurgen Autovilla's so be sure 
to come back next Saturday. 


2 comments:

  1. Great Blog, our bus (Elvis) is the biege and brown Bay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Tony, Thanks for your comment. I did like 'Elvis', he's a very nice bus.

    ReplyDelete