I’m a bit of a reluctant car show participant.
But, when I was at a local cruise night with my VW, I got handed a flyer for a local VW show during an upcoming Sunday afternoon. It was only 20 minutes from my house, and since it turned out to be a beautiful cool sunny day I decided to go for the drive to check it out.
My 1963 VW had been wrapped in it’s car cover for a few weeks while we were on vacation, so I unwrapped it and washed the worst of the dust and cobwebs off. That was the extent of my pre-show prep.
Arriving at the show I drove up to the organizer’s tent. A very nice lady checked me in, thanked me for coming, and gave me a little gift bag. Classy!
About 40 Volkswagens attended, and it wasn’t just Beetles either. Here we see a Rabbit pickup, and a nice Type 3 sedan with EMPI (??) wheels in the middle. Also there were a surprising number of Westfalia Buses, mostly the 1968-1979 Bay Window type. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a bus someday, but there are a few issues:
First of all they are eye wateringly expensive. In the Toronto area $10,000 will buy an incomplete and/or hopelessly rusty project, and Westys in good condition fetch over $20,000. If you can even find one to fetch.
Second, I’m not sure I’m the right kind of guy for this. I’m a 50 year old married dad, with teenagers and a professional job and responsibilities. As good as it sounds, I am not about to kick off for six months to surf and eat fish tacos in Baja Mexico. If you look at bus videos on YouTube those people all seem pretty hip, and if you’ve met me in person at a CC event you will know, I’m pretty straight laced and not hip at all.
Maybe later in life, perhaps all those hip youngsters will grow into a set of responsibilities of their own, and not need their buses just around the time we become empty nesters?
I got a kick out of this, it reminded me of Ed Stembridge’s former Herbie.
Then there was this. I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of hearing 1950’s music over a PA system. I have nothing against Buddy Holly, but that part of my brain is now full.
As we have seen elsewhere at CC, it is considered indelicate to criticize others’ valid VW choices but just for fun let’s check off the currently fashionable VW accessory cliches seen here:
Lowered – check
Patina – check
Swamp Cooler – check
Roof Rack – check
Two Tone Paint – check
Vintage luggage in the roof rack – check
Vintage sports equipment in the roof rack – check
That ol’ fella walking by looks pretty depressed about this state of affairs. I should have told him to cheer up, at least we didn’t check additional chrome, fender skirts, Porsche wheels or surfboard.
And that brings us to the most enjoyable part of the event. Several casual attendees approached me and said “Is this your car? Now that’s what I remember a VW looking like!” As you may know my goal is to present what a normal daily driven Beetle would have looked like in the mid 60’s. So that means zero accessories, with some allowance for scratches, dents and dirt. That allows me to enjoy the car without being too concerned about keeping it pristine, and it’s very gratifying that other people seemed to appreciate this approach as well.
After about an hour and a half I’d had sufficient, and we had family coming over for dinner so I headed out. The nice lady at the entrance tent protested that the door prize draw was about to happen, but I told her I’d already lost my ticket.
I stopped at a farmers market on the way back, and got my own prize: a raspberry-peach pie and a half dozen ears of freshly picked corn. Yum.
One of my co-workers attended the 1800 car Moparfest on the same weekend, so his tolerance for single marque car shows is obviously far greater than mine. How many hours can you take?
Yours is definitely my favorite of everything you have shown us, though that red one next to it looks awfully nice too.
As more and more people “build” an old car (as opposed to restoring or preserving one) the proportion of modified stuff keeps going up.
I am also with you on the music. But then I am not sure what I would replace Buddy Holly with, someone will hate whatever is picked.
So many are organized by aging Boomers, so the pick of music genre is usually oldies by default. The issue with music at these shows is that they could easily solve the issue by playing a variety, but very few organizers ask for a variety, or they hire a oldies specialist DJ instead. Think of the last wedding reception you attended. Chances are the DJ played everything from current top 40 to country to oldies to kiddie songs, with the Electric Slide for Aunt Tilly. Yeah, they might hate the song currently in play, but the next one might be their favorite. As an aging Gen X/Boomer, it grieves me that they play the oldies crap and then complain about no kids being interested in the hobby.
“As an aging Gen X/Boomer, it grieves me that they play the oldies crap and then complain about no kids being interested in the hobby.”
The best bit of truth I’ve seen on this site in quite a while.
Yeah. Let’s be honest. My generation isn’t exactly going out of its way to include the tuner, et. al. crowd.
Yeah, but the stuff today’s kids listen to is complete garbage that just gives one a headache, and their only interest in “the hobby” seems to be driving clapped-out Japanese cars with no mufflers. All I want from these “youts” is that they stay off my lawn!
Quod erat demonstratum…taste in music and taste in cars are completely subjective, and needlessly putting down others’ with unsourced blanket statements will just result in car culture becoming more and more insular and niche when it’s supposed to be more open and universal.
Well, yeah, The 50’s music needs to go. Went to a weekend car show held every year, here in Kentucky, Elizabethtown. Whole downtown area is roped off. No 50’s but had a cover band kind group that did Karaoke covers of more contemporary stuff. Not bad, actually. My beef is the car shows on TV that all the same damn cliches. ALL vehicles must be lowered, mandatory. ALL background music must be of metal variant of loud crashing guitar licks on a continuous loop. ALL mechanics must have stupid haircuts, scraggly beards that have all the appeal of armpit hair. MUST be covered with tattoos, MUST wear black in the hip-hop generation style i.e.: baggy shorts that hang down to the ankles and look like womens culottes. And lets not forget the oh-so-dramatic OH MY GAWD!!!DEADLINE!!! Oh and of course throw in a “babe” as a feisty office Mgr. or a “specialist” of some sort.
I never had much of an interest in air cooled VW’s but starting too. Have seen some pretty cool ones lately. Agree about the cliche stuff too. Drop the ugly roof racks, don’t lower it, and peeling paint looks great, really? Just my two cents.
Music played in public (other than a concert) is invariably a bad idea. It’s a major turn off for me. It inevitably offends the taste of some, or more than some.
There were actually several very nice stock and stock-ish sedans there, including an early ’60s beetle that appeared unrestored.
It was so sunny that day I couldn’t see the screen on my phone and wound up taking fewer pictures than I thought. I apologize for the crap photography on this one!
I enjoy seeing stock standard cars, the low n slow look is overplayed and faked patina is getting boring, a friend has a x couple of VWs a 63 beetle almost restored and a lowered 66 van undergoing repairs even his wife is sick of how useless the van has become due to the low ride height, it doesnt handle very well and is barely capable of driving on a lot of local city streets but it looks cool. The look isnt worth it apparently.
There’s lowered and there’s hammered. My ’63 Bus is lowered properly and because that allows me to eliminate the reduction boxes on the rear axles it improves highway speeds. That coupled with a fresh and strong 1600 with a slightly more aggressive cam allows me to easily maintain 70mph on highways and while it does have a stiffer ride, it being lowered of course lowers the center of gravity and makes it more stable in winds. I’ve had one hammered as well as a Beetle that was and they were tiring to drive. Both were raised back to a reasonable (yet still lower than stock) height.
Attached is my ’63 Bus.
I really miss the sound of the VW flat four in traffic, or out walking.
My city has a radio station that used to be considered leading edge. They were introducing The Clash, Gary Numan, The Cars, when these artists were brand new. Now this station endlessly plays songs like ‘Free Fallin’ or ‘Crazy Train’, as research and ratings appear to dictate it. It is embarrassing what they have become. I guess the majority of people don’t mind hearing the same songs from their best years, repeatedly.
Two weekends ago, I was in the Pittsburgh area for the MotoAmerica Superbike races. While driving thru Pittsburgh (first time in twenty years) I passed the office building owned by WDVE, 102.5 on the dial.
The station was founded in 1969, and was one of the first East Coast radio stations to do to FM radio what was already huge in San Francisco. Playing albums, no set play list, introducing all sorts of new artists nobody had ever heard of. The two big ones they really pushed in that first year was Atomic Rooster (I loved them), and some guy named Elton John (meh).
So, going past the station, I flipped the stereo on the Wing from SiriusXM (Ozzy’s Boneyard) to DVE (as we called it) and listened to . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . the same damned songs they were playing when I was in college! I don’t think they’ve ever updated their playlist since at least 1978.
And yes, I’m sick of Fifties Rock on cruise nights. In the first place, rock and roll started for me in 1962 with Del Shannon’s “Runaway”. (To those in their thirties or younger, back when I was a child you didn’t listen to rock and roll or start to act anything like a teenager until you entered junior high school, 7th grade. If you were in grade school, you were a child, played with Barbie’s, collected baseball cards, etc. Your clothes were bought in the children’s department. And if you had older teenaged brothers or sisters, you left their stuff completely along. The concept of ‘tweens’ didn’t exist. That 12th birthday was the first big milestone in life.)
I can’t listen to commercial radio anymore. I’ve got SiriusXM in both my Abarth and Gold Wing. And the channel presets are widely dispersed from 40’s big band, thru Bluesville, all the metal channels, and BBC world news.
My phone and my 16GB flash drive provide all the entertainment I need. I’ll listen to NPR or independent stations sometimes but nothing where every two songs are buttressed by three commercials.
That’s one reason I’ve gladly paid the $100 a year for XM. Between the 70s/80s/90s/00s, Alt, XMU, opera and classical nearly every itch is scratched at any given time. The wild card recently has been the Beatles channel…I’m a huge fan but thought I would burn out immediately, however the analysis and back stories are fascinating.
On the way to work/school in the morning it’s Hits 1 because I have a 16 year old. And even though I’ve never been a fan of radio “zoo” teams and the such but that one is tolerable for the next 2 years.
Doug, your car is one of the contenders for best in show”. The red coupe is awesome as well. I never got the customization piece – whether it was the custom rods from my dad’s day or the F&F crowd.
A few weeks ago I posted a couple of pics to the Cohort of a VW that lives a few blocks from me. What struck me about it was that it’s first Beetle I’ve seen in I don’t know how long that actually appeared to be someone’s daily driver. Sure, there are plenty of VWs out there, but most of them are restored examples in the hands of collectors, or have been customized, or are loaded with patina. This one was just a humble white 1970s Bug, reasonably well cared for but with some minor rust, scratches, and dings typical of a 40+ year old car, parked in front of someone’s apartment. Actually given the fact that it wears disabled license plates and doesn’t seem to move from its parking space very often, my guess is that it belongs to a proverbial “little old lady”.
I am not really a VW fan but some of these are a bit interesting. What’s really nice is that they are not all restored to factory spec or hot rodder heaven, but still look to be in original, daily-driver condition, unrestored and unmolested.
I’m 53, and while I like 50s and 60s music, I am really more into 70s and 80s stuff, and lately I’ve had a bit of nostalgia for the stuff from the 90s (yes there were a few good tunes in that decade). After 9/11 it seemed to me that music, like much else about our culture, took a real nosedive into oblilvion. Or maybe it’s just that I really am getting old.
No, music really took a nosedive, Frank. The only band I like that is still making music is Green Day. I listen to a lot of 80s mixes on YT while I go about my day.
Given that I’ve spent weekends at the Studebaker-only York & Reedsville (both PA) swap meets since 1985, you’d think my tolerance might be high… but then a group of us goes to those for mutual comfort and confusion.
I always went to the South Bend swap meet alone from Chicago — why are my Studebaker friends all on the east coast? — and for that one I’d only spend 2-4 hours there, depending how much I needed to find a part that was being difficult to find.
Count me in as not a fan of the slammed and patinaized approach. Your stock ’63 looks good sitting next to that also unmolested ’68-’69 Bug.
We’ve got a lot of that at Cars & Coffee Richmond. The most radical is on an air suspension that puts the pan on the pavement when deflated. And, of course, the carefully structured patina.
In fact, the only stock air cooled Volkswagens I’ve seen there is one early 70’s Karmann-Ghia that’s a regular, and a guy who showed up with a stock 1998 Beetle (Mexican) with some fast footwork on the paperwork to get it licensed in the states.
That one was worth seeing. Canvas sunroof, air conditioning compressor hanging off the engine (that’s what got me interested in looking, I know what a bug motor looks like), the dash is as changed as it can be and still be the plain, flat Volkswagen dash.
Back in 2004 a friend of mine here in Alabama got his hands on one of the last 2003 Mexican Beetles and did the grey market thing to have it here. I asked him how it drove and he replied “the keys are in it, take it up the road!” I was 18 years old and though I’d been into Volkswagens since I was a toddler, they were always old cars to me. I was driving a very nice, well kept, two owner ’71 Beetle then and while it was still a nice, tight car, it was still 30+ years old. That Mexican Beetle had 300km on it. It was so strange to drive. It felt like a brand new car but it was an air-cooled Beetle. It had that factory fresh feel but it was an air-cooled Beetle. I remember coming to a stop and pushing the clutch and thinking the engine died because it was so quiet at idle.
It was such a cool experience for me being a VW enthusiast born after their heyday. I’d always wondered what it would have been like to drive a showroom fresh air-cooled and I got to experience it first-hand. Sadly, that friend passed away from cancer 5 years after that. Any time he gets brought up in my VW circles that’s one of the stories I always tell.
I had a ’62 Beetle in what seemed to be the same colour as yours, except mine was badly faded and full of rust. She lasted me less than a year when the engine gave out, but it was a fun car in its own ways. I still have a copy of the ignition key.
I have Moparfest on my calendar for next year, I wanted to go this year but things did not come together. When I went to the Fleetwood Cruize in earlier this summer, about 3 hours in the sun and heat was sufficient.
I love that orange Type 3; I was not particularly fond of that body style when it was current but this one really strikes my eye. A couple of friends had “Squarebacks” back in the day and I found that body style more appealing than this sedan version. I wonder if this one has the stock drivetrain or if it has been modified; those wheels really look good on this car.
As someone said above, terrestrial radio is virtually unlistenable; nearly all of the stations here play either “alleged country” or “oldies”. I have Sirius XM in my car and find myself switching among 8 or 9 different stations on a regular basis. For me, a reliable music source is a must for any vehicle; I can’t imagine any kind of drive without a variety of music to listen to.
My son describes my music listening choices as relentless, and could “Make my ears bleed”. I enjoy a WIDE variety of music, going from Roy Orbison to Carmina Burana, to Willie Nelson, Sound of Music, Del Shannon and Gene Pitney to Harry Stiles and Niall Horan, Angela Landsbury to Depche Mode. His music choices are Country, and something that sounds like a continuous car wreck destroying musical instruments in the process.
Thanks for including Moparfest info, being in California I wasn’t aware of it. For years I didn’t think about VW Beetles one way or the other. Then one day all twelve of my cars were down at once, call my friend Doc, with 32 collector cars. Ask if one needs exercise. He lent me his daughter’s new 1979 Champagne Edition triple white VW convertible (with wide whitewalls and chrome rims) A/C, AM/FM, 2300 FI and rally lights. I fell in love and started paying attention to bugs.
Heh. Country is the one genre I can’t stomach. I feel my IQ roll back 10 points. This doesn’t include Americana Country from 50+ years ago, which I do find fascinating.
Neat article. My oldest brother owned a couple of bay window pop-top Westie campers back in the day. While he loved the practicality and room, he said that he grew tired of the flat-out speed of around 55 mph, the glacial acceleration, sensitivity to the slightest crosswind, and the lousy fuel economy.
Taking your car to a car show is a lot like trying new foods you aren’t so sure about – you can say with certainty it ain’t your thing!
Your idea about having your VW look mid-60s is a great idea. My old ’63 looks rather like it’s 1983, so I’m a bit envious of your late model look!
Looks like a nice little show.
I’m the host of the largest VW show in Alabama. We always have over 100 cars. In fact it was just a couple of weeks ago. Would it be VW overload if I posted some pics?
Nope.
Tired of Fifties Rock also. I’m in my early 60’s and I grew up with the British Invasion. Motown, and regular mainstream Pop music. Guys that grew up with Buddy Holly, etc. would have to be in their mid 70’s now. Don’t see many geezers at most car shows. I don’t go to the usual Hot Rod and Muscle car type shows anymore due to lack of interest. I’ll go to an all British show, Concours type events, or my favorite, Friendship Day. Pacific Coast Dream Machines usually has a good mix of cars and airplanes too. I’m beginning to enjoy looking at actual antiques and classics.
Great write up Doug, your Beetle looks great! I think you and I are similar when it comes to car shows. I have only ever taken my car to one show and it was “ok but I am in no rush to go to anymore. I did manage to stay for most of the event, but I also skipped out before the awards and doors prizes were given out. I might take my car to one cruise night a year, but I quite honestly prefer driving in the car with my family, rather than having it parked. That said, I do enjoy going to shows, especially with my son who is a huge old car nut.
And I agree that every old car event seems to play 50’s music. While at one time these shows and events used to be primarily with 50’s cars, nowadays theys have far more 60’s and 70’s cars. Maybe it’s time to update the music too.
I don’t believe the type 3 sedan (Notchback) was sold in the US. As far as music at car shows, its part of the vib. There where lots if cars songs in the 50’S and 60’S ( anyone remember Corvair Baby and SS 396 by Paul Revere & the Raiders?) Maybe some of these shows need to expand their playlists. My collection go’s from Gershwin to MGMT ,but I wouldn’t play either one of those at a show.
But it was in Canada, where this show was held.
And many were imported to the US privately.
Saw this one in Berkeley CA in 2008
I see a squareback every now and then. A fastback pretty rarely.
I remember seeing exactly one Type 3 sedan, and it was old at the time, judging by the rust and the small round front turn signals. I saw Fastbacks and Squarebacks everywhere.
A bit late to the party, as I spent yesterday evening driving my /6-powered hay cutter around in circles…
Your car represents the original VW brand image best out of what I see at the show – simple, unassuming, honest transportation. I don’t disparage folks that choose a different look – it’s their car and vision, after all – but would agree that there tends to be a herd mentality after a while that makes a ‘plain Jane’ stand out.
As far as music at shows, I agree that it’s generally not needed and intrusive in many ways. My current go-to genre is what all the old folks were listening to in the ’50s (’30s and ’40s jazz, swing and big band).
Took me a minute before I realized you were probably talking about a Slant 6 and not a Slash 6 (mid-seventies BMW opposed twin motorcycles).
I took it as a typo of I6.
Still waiting for Ed to comment on the accuracy of the Herbie decals, I deliberately left that one for him.
My retirement career hope is to play rhythm guitar in a jazz band: See 8:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQXEnd7oQ88
Strum…Strum…Strum…
Those decals are pretty bad… I took great care in creating the artwork for mine, matching to movie screen grabs.
Next time we meet up, I’ll bring my Gibson L7 archtop!
This sounds like something Mr. Regular would call “winga dinga” music. “Winga dinga dinga dinga, winga dinga dinga dinga, good times!”
If you want something that’ll offend everybody equally, try blasting ambient music over the PA.
That’s dreadful, apparently it’s serious too, I would have taken it for a practical joke.
I’m all for silence from the PA, people just want to talk anyway.
The last airshow I went to the announcer guy just wouldn’t stop talking, we’re trying to hear the four Merlins on the Lancaster spooling up for takeoff and all we can hear is “blah blah blah restored blah blah isn’t this wonderful blah blah”
What’s dreadful about it? It goes out of its way to be unobtrusive. I enjoy it when I’m reading or studying. Instrumental and vocal music would draw me in too much to devote necessary attention to the task at hand. But not when I’m drawing, driving, or working. Then I have actual music or audiobooks.
It makes me tense because I’m waiting for the build up that never happens.
I can’t listen to music at all when I’m trying to concentrate, used to work at a place where they had the radio on sometimes and I had to wear earplugs.
The Gilmore has an all German car show each summer. Pretty decent turnout of VWs though the local Porsche and BMW owner’s clubs have gotten into a turnout competition and outnumber the VWs.
For those who may not have noticed it during the CC meetup in Motown, the Golf with the VW hood ornament belongs to Rich Bennett. I said something on the show organiser’s (DeutscheMarques) FB page that I left my VW in the parking lot as I was too lazy to clean the bugsplat off after the drive from Motown. The show organizer replied “we know your car was in the parking lot. there were 72 German cars in the lot, instead of in the show”. so…we’ll see if they can shame and guilt trip me into putting my wagon in the show next year, even though it is a late model and box stock.
This one, iirc a 58, won best VW of show last year.
There is also a sizeable VW show in Ypsilanti. I passed this year as it was raining, but saw some interesting examples last year.
Somehow, my taste runs more toward the early liquid cooled VWs. I had lust in my heart for this one. Ypsi, last year.
Inside as nice as the outside.
Thanx for all the pictures ! .
My current and last Beetle is a seriously scruffy ’59 #113, when I drive it to the local VW Club’s Friday meetings the kiddies all go bonkers over it’s “!PATINA!” .
I’m embarrassed because the crappy $50 paint job is coming off and showing the original paint underneath and of course, the damned rust that will never sleep .
-Nate