Saturday 11 February 2017

CamperMart 2017. Part 2 of 2

This weeks blog review is 2 part of 3 all about the annual Camper Mart VW show which is held at the International Centre, in Telford in Shropshire. This one day event is I think one of the first VW shows of the year and is organised by Camper & Commercial and VW Bus T4/5 magazine who also organise the Camper Jam show. Camper Mart is not so much a VW show as such but more a place to buy accessories for your Volkswagen. With almost 100 traders selling every conceivable part and accessory your bound to find that part or accessory you're going to need for the 2017 season. There are also other attractions including, a couple of bus doctors, who with their many years experience can help with advice on tuning or modifications and whilst they may not be able to fix your vehicle there and then they can certainly give advise on the likely causes of a particular problem. There was entertainment laid on which included: A roller derby rumble, body and face painting, professor panic and his family circus, dodgem ride and even a chance to meet a storm trooper!. Camper Mart is about 117 miles from my hometown so to make life easier (and quicker) I decided to take my T4 camper, rather than the '69 microbus. As I mentioned earlier, this isn't a show as such and consequently not that many vehicles to photograph, but I think I've managed to take enough photos to publish 2 shorter than normal blog reviews. The blog continues as I wander around the various exhibition halls looking at all the stalls and  the display vehicles.
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 restored 1954 barndoor split screen isn't
how you would imagine the average restoration
project to look like, but then again this isn't your

 average split screen bus.

Way back in 1954 this bus belonged to the Coca-
Cola factory in Austria and it was used to deliver
Coca-Cola bottles to retailers. In the early 1960's
the bus was sold and the bright red and yellow
paint along with the logo's were painted over with
grey paint. The poor bus was then used to carry a
a group gymnastics to events before bring sold on
to a garage to haul parts around.

When the bus came to the end of it's working life
it was sent to a scrapyard where it spent the next
20 years until it was rescued in 2002.

The owners wanted to get the bus back on the
road but also keep it's identity. The grey paint
was carefully stripped off to reveal the original
red and yellow of Coca-Cola including the logo's.

The interior is as it was apart from the addition
of numerous age related Coca-Cola signage.

The original Austrian logo on the front of this old
barn door looks perfect and is 100% original.
This bus is believed to be the only remaining
Coca-Cola barndoor left in the world.

This photo shows how the current owner found
the bus, with a car sitting on it's roof in a scrap
yard where it had been sat for the last 20 years.

This 1975 late bay looked stunning under the
bright lights in the hall. The deep red coloured paint
sparkled and the contrasting black of the roof and
the bumpers set off the paint perfectly.

The whitewall tyres on those 5 spoke wheels
looked pure hot rod nostalgia. This really was a
nice straight and clean bus.

You can see just how straight this bus is from this
photo. Small touches like the all red rear light
lenses make all the difference and help to make
this bus stand out.

Inside the bronze bay it had a bespoke wooden
interior that was finished to a very high standard.
I did like the T.V. that looks as though it comes
out of a unit, and those small cupboards above
the side windows are a good idea.

It was easy to see why this bus was inside the
show and on display, the standard on this bus
was very high both inside and out.

As if there wasn't already enough to keep the
public occupied the organisers had also laid
on a couple of celebrities from the big screen.
Fans of the Transformers fim 'Revenge of the
fallen' will instantly recognise the autobot 
'Bumblebee'.

The bright yellow Chevrolet Camaro really was
a hit, especially with the younger members of
the public. To be honest, I'm just glad it didn't

transform.. it would have caused chaos.!

As if Bumblebee wasn't enough we also had
the pleasure of seeing 'Lightning McQueen'
from the animated Pixar film 'Cars'. 

Based on a Chevrolet Corvette C6 and painted
in that easily recognisable paint scheme made
me wish I was 10 years old again.

I spotted this late bay with a huge commercial
box body and my first thought was, that would
make a very spacious camper! I decided to go
and have a better look at this unique bay.

You can see it works for living as it's starting
to show signs of wear and tear, but overall
it looked solid.

Walking round to the other side it all became
apparent, this was used as a small business
to sell sweets from. Well if you need to convert
a van for a business what better vehicle than
 an early bay!

Just 2 of the display vehicles at the show that
caught my eye. 2 minutes previous to taking
this photo, this area was swamped with people
I guess I just got lucky to get a clear photo.

Upon leaving the venue to head home I spotted
this 1971 Dormobile parked up in the car park. 

This bus was 100% original inside and out and 
looked in very good condition. If I remember 
correctly this bus has only had 1 owner from new.

This stock bus complete with the original Dormobile
camping interior was up for sale, for around 
£20,000. ($25,000)

Heading home in the rain we followed this blue
late bay for a short distance. It isn't a very good

photo but it's always good to see old air-cooled
bugs and buses actually being driven on the road
even if it was pouring down with rain.

So that was CamperMart 2017. Overall another
well laid out show with plenty to see and do...
and buy! This was my first show for the new year
and it has whet my appetite for the VW season
to kick off properly. Next weeks blog is all about
the 'Run the Ring at the movies' a drive movie
night for Volkswagens in aid of charity. This was
a fantastic night with so much to write about, so
come back next Saturday to find out all about it.


2 comments: