Dub Freeze VW Show 2017 (part 4 of 4)

This weeks blog is part four of a four part review all about the 28th annual 'Dub Freeze' VW Show that was held at Bingley Hall, County Show ground, Weston Road in Stafford ST18 9DB over the weekend of 18th - 19th February 2016. The showground was open from 3pm on the Saturday for the hardy campers with plenty of space assured. The on site bar was also open on the Saturday night. Sunday was the main show day with the gates opening at 08.00am. The main show was held inside Bingley Hall with over 100 traders selling all sorts of VW related items. Also in the hall were numerous vehicles on display, there were plenty of food and drink vendors on the site to cater for most tastes and clean toilets. However for me the main attraction was the hundreds upon hundreds of both air-cooled and water cooled Volkswagen's parked within the grounds of Bingley Hall. I have been to this show a couple of times now and have really enjoyed it so I decided to go again this year. Bingley Hall is about a 220 mile return journey from my hometown so I decided to shoot up there in my more economical and quicker camouflaged T4, rather than take my slower 1969 microbus. The show opened quite early, but I didn't get there until about 10.30am by which time the car park at Bingley Hall was full so I had to park in the overflow car park with hundreds of other 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.

I've seen this 1967 panel van at numerous
VW shows and think it's awesome. This bus
sits so low thanks to it's hydraulic suspension.
I do like the patina paint and the faded sign
writing on this bus.

You can see just how low this old van sits once
it's parked up. The dented panels and patina
paint help give this van plenty of character.

This is such a lovely looking van, however, I think
that engine lid is far to clean and shiny!!

Talking of clean and shiny, this white over
turquoise 1964 11 window split screen bus
caught my eye as it was so clean. The body
panels were perfectly straight and covered in
an almost flawless coat of paint.

The attention to detail was amazing. All the
chrome trim was like new as was the rest of
this amazing bus.

It's no surprise that this bus had won several
trophies at VW shows including the Westest VW
Fest and Camperjam.

The interior was a simple layout but as you
would expect, finished to a very high standard.

I spotted this cool retro cycle that was up for sale
for £110 ($135 approx) It looked like an early
1960's bike that once restored could easily fetch 
twice the purchase price.

I am a big fan of beach buggies, but I have
never seen this model before. It's a lexicon 
Baja GT and I'm guessing it's from the early
 to mid 1970's (?) and it has a very unique
body style.

This old Baja utilises a 1963 Beetle floorpan,
engine and running gear. 

The Baja GT has a very distinctive rear end,
and not the usual style as seen on most other
buggies, but then being different is the name
of the game.

I'm guessing again, but I'd think these must be
quite rare and therefore quite valuable? 

This old 1967 RAT look splitty looked kind of
cool with it's what looks like olive green over
black paint. This bus had been lowered and 
had what looks like Radar wheels. The shine
from the wheels was in stark contrast to the
body which was a dull satin finish.

I did like the 3/4 roof rack with the rope tied
around it. Although this bus looked ratty it did
actually look quite solid. The all red tail lights
were a nice addition.

This lovely old 1965 beetle caught my eye as
it stood out in the sunshine. This really was a
nice clean car and those painted steel wheels
with tyres that fill the arches looked fantastic.

There isn't anything flash or fancy about this
bug, it's just a lovely example of the iconic
classic bug. I did like the chrome headlight
peaks that suited the car well.

Another beetle with the headlight peaks was
this gorgeous light green, which was also a 1965 
model. This looks to be lower than standard and
 the Empi 5 spoke wheels compliment the paint
colour perfectly.

You can see just how clean and tidy this car
really is from this photo. I did like the rack that
fits over the deck lid.

This lovely white 1963 panel van looked like
a really solid bus. The paint may have been
original as although it didn't have any patina it 
had that 'old' look. I did like the rusty bumpers
that made them look like they were made out
of wood.

The old panel van had those polished Fuchs
style wheels which added just enough sparkle
to look right, and the Empi air scoops and the
all red rear light lenses are the perfect finishing
touches to help this van stand out.

This 1970 beetle has to be the brightest car
I've ever seen. These photos were taken whilst
the sun was behind a cloud and you can see
how bright it is even then. I bet when the sun
shines this car actually gives off a glow!

The bright red painted steel wheels with the
white wall tyres just added to the brightness
of this car... and they did look good.

This is really a very straight and solid old bug,
you can see a gorgeous reflection in the door.
This car had some neat touches like the hot rod
style peep mirrors and the chequered design on
the rear apron.

A close up of the lovely painted steel wheels
and the Empi branded nipple hubcaps. 

In stark contrast to the bright yellow beetle 
(above) this lovely 1971 MK1 GP beach buggy
was painted all in black and looked stunning.

I do like the MK1 GP body, it is the classic buggy
shape and very similar to the original Meyers
Manx.

This lovely looking 1970 early bay had a slight
RAT look to it which looked great with the Fuchs
style wheels and the lowered body.

It looks as though this lovely bus was an import
the same as mine. I did like the all red tail light
lenses and the rusty bumpers.

Looking across into the general camping area,
the place was packed with bugs and buses from
all years and all each one was different from the
next.

This 1969 early bay panel van in what looked
like original condition looked fantastic. I do like
panel vans and when they look this good it's easy
to see why. 

I loved the high ride height which looked stock,
and the twin roof racks which no doubt come in
handy hauling stuff around. I don't normally like
the spare wheel mounted on the front of an early
bay, but this one looked great.

The ratty looking body was fantastic, and yes
painted and shiny is nice but you can't really beat
the original paint on an unmolested bus.

This slogan had been drawn on the hub cap on
the spare wheel, which sums it up nicely.

This 1965 split screen kombi looked stunning
in it's white over green paint. It looks as though
this lowered bus has got a narrowed front beam
for the front wheels to sit that far under the cab.

This may not have been a show standard vehicle
but it was very straight and clean and looked
really solid. I did like the fact the the bumpers
has a slight RAT look going on.

This 1977 beetle looked cool in it's rust painted
colour scheme. I liked the fact that this bug had
been given a old look and which suited it so well.

The polished BRM wheels add some bling to
the otherwise matte finish car. I liked the strap
across the bonnet which reminded me of an
old race car from the late 1950's.

I also liked the fact that this car still had the big
elephant's foot tail lights, rather than swapping
them for earlier bug rear lights. The rope that was
wound around the nerf bars is a classic RAT trait.

On the way home I spotted this bay window on
the back of a trailer, I'm not sure if this is the
new owner or not but if it is it looks as though
that have their work cut out getting this back on
the road. I think it may need a panel or two.

So that was my 4 part review of DubFreeze 2017.
Overall another fantastic show in a great location,
yes the number of traders was down on previous
years but that didn't really effect the show that much.
The were as usual hundreds upon hundreds of
Volkswagen's at the show and my photos show
just a small percentage of all the vehicles that
attended this show. This really is a very good
season opener and gets everyone ready for
a new season of Volkswagen shows. Next
Saturday's blog is all about the Volksworld show
so be sure to come back next week.