Errhh... whats up, bug?

We just returned from Bugs Funny #1. I really hope this event will return. It was a lot of fun. I thought I'd go there to show my support for a new danish event and didn't expect to much. We were welcomed by old friends I haven't seen for years. I realized that small local events like this one are really needed. Sad our party of six (three cars) were the only from Jutland. I loved a lot of things but here are the top 5.

1. the bar was decorated with carrots - bug's own favourite!
2. the mile-high type 181 with type 4 engine
3. drawing contest - I should have entered but got nervous...competition was fierce
4. no pocket bikes
5. coco loved the field nearby and enjoyed the beer and carrot menu

15.000 hits • Full service

New wine on old bottles

One of my suppliers, my favourite signmaker AROS skilte, send me a picture of this new beetle pick up. Its being built/converted somewhere in Denmark. If anyone knows more let me know. If anybody knows where to find a reichspost box van, call me day or night!

A visit from the ugly sister

Yesterday this nice K70 was parked behind my shop. I was in a hury, so I took a picture through my car window. Being watercooled jet with some of the aircooled charm I think she's cool. Could you imagine RO80 fuchs, extensive slamming and Golf Vr6 engine? Of course you would keep the golden hue, the beige interiour and the whole 70'ies detective TV-series feel. I've noticed a change in popularity of Golf mark 1's and T3 transporters so why skip these weird rides? I wish there was a "weird vw selecta" Then I could show you...

Taking my best friend for a ride...Vol 2.

Coco got the chance to enjoy the spirit of the nineties. Nobody installs Porsche seats in Mercedes fabric anymore for their dogs to enjoy. Spending an entire weekend installing a fold down armrest from a Ford Taunus in a beetle seat is not common seen. Not a lot of Britax ragtops being sold these days either. I do enjoy the car and its "old tricks" once in a while though.

Good taste lasts longer

This beauty caught my eye on a shopping trip to Aarhus. I remember this car from years back when it was owned by "Detail Henrik" of Aalborg. Before it was sprayed green I beleive it was blue with a type 4 engine. I took a couple of shots of it before I was on my way. When seeing the picture again I got to notice the Polo 6n in the background. I wonder if those ugly taillights and tribal vinyl graphichs will still be as cool as this cars motometer gauge set in 50+ years? Invest in precious metal!

14.000 hits

Cyclop on its way

I found this weird third light for splitbusses on Volkszone and had to have it. I haven't seen a lot of these in mainland Europe but they seem to be a big hit in the UK. You either love them or hate'em. I think they are really cool and can't wait to receive it. Thanks to Ray for holding the item while I found a friend with PayPal. Does anybody know the story behind these. Are they from fire and rescue vehicles? Where they sold as accessories or are they just headlights of 1940'ies US cars?

Sleeping beauty

A few years back the later version of the bus was something you didn't think twice about cutting up for parts. They have however gotten a lot more popular and prices have soared. Søren, Jesper and Christian of Team Angora was a bit ahead of time as they actually cut their teeth on bay windows. At the time they were plenty, and they were dirt cheap. The three friends were young and money were tight. Jesper had a panelvan on Mercedes AMG alloys, Christian had a late pickup with a 3.2 Porsche engine and tranny and Søren SP had among others this project.

The car itself is a 1971 crew cab. The fact that the indicators sit in the bottom on the front panel makes it an "early bay". Søren spend a lot of time restoring the body, drilling out original spotwelds, making up parts from scratch. But Søren also had some great ideas along the way. How about a "walk through" crewcab? (walkthrough means access between the cab and the passenger area, not to be confused with double door!) He drilled out all the parts from a deluxe bay and grafted the option in. A option never offered by Volkswagen but very cool. And how about some sunshine for the crew? A ragtop from a Renault Twingo fitted the bill. Genuine Porsche brakes will make the car stop when Søren wants to. There is plenty of other cool tricks in this car, and Søren has kindly offered to keep me updated. I miss the times when people mixed parts from different cars and styles. The project has been sleeping for a few years. But as Søren has sold of his famous airride squareback, the itch is back..

A mudbath brings out your beauty

This jet set girl is living proof that a good mudbath followed by a nice scrubbing peeling and a fresh layer of make-up will make you the hottest girl up- or downtown. Marc has taken it all in the stride and made his ghia survive being flooded in its underground storage facility. Good work Marc! Check out www.luftkraft.ch

13.000 hits

One night the argueing next door stopped. Never again did the neighbours hear the wife shouting: "Sell that damned vw or I'm not putting out no more - I wan't to go to Hawai! - Its either me or the car! Come to think of it, digging sounds were heard from the backyard that night. Well, nevermind...

More metal madness

For long time followers of my blog you may have wondered what happened to the split project. All though a bit on the backburner, its still alive. Just before Devil lady made me blind, I ordered these cool panels for the engine compartment. The yellow parts are the trademark of "Hookeys" in the UK. Sadly I couldn't find a piece from a donor car good enough so i called Steve who swiftly send me the corners. The middle piece is to my knowledge not available from any parts supplier so I had Jesper Vang make one up. Such a pitty he's not into v-dubs anymore. We really miss him don't we?


For nice fitting panels...
http://hookyspanelshop.com/

10-4...chhhtt... I think we have a convoy..

My bus aint no beauty queen. But she is a lot of fun! Last weekend we took her, the 1967 MKP and the "Goldbergs" to the lakes of Silkeborg. Camping and Kannoing makes me smile. Hot coffee from transportable gas stove by a lake is something the Toyota drivers will never comprehend.

12.000 hits • Finally a use for water

You sure come by to visit the blog a lot. If its still you 11 guys out there you have been here 1090,9 times each.

Getting back into shape • Vol 2

More pictures from the wizards lair. Peter was kind enough to once again waste his boss' money by stopping by at the panelbeater to shoot a couple of pics. Now the metal is straight again. He even tried to straighten the weird headlight ring for me - I think with some luck. Of course it needs rechroming. German Karmann Ghia part supplier Lars Neuffer found a N.O.S. complete bumper for me. All these nice and talented people make it really hard to be pesimistic. The painter have looked the car over today and found that some of the primer and paint don't work to good together resulting in peeling. I believe the entire front will be stripped before repaint.

Less is more

Sometime less is more. Esben is a man of few words. He's not the guy at the car show holding court telling people every detail about his ride. He's not at every show either. Sometimes I run across Esben at swapmeets. He's often carrying stuff for his vast collection of vintage racing motorcycles. Esbens new toy is every bit as subtle as his personality. No frills except the mandatory fire extinguisher. Check out the periodperfect licenseplates. If ever there was a cool kit car this is the one. Why build something that looks italian out of german parts. This is more like it! I would love to have this baby in my garage!

More scientific evidence...

From our research and development unit in Aalborg we have received this piece of cruising history. Subject A: "Uncle Poul from Aars" was nothing less than the winner of the first danish cross country motorcycle rally. Then as now, cruisers are being drawn to the top of Jutland. These days its for the resurection of the old danish "Skagen" vw meets. Subject B: is Rasmus "Rasser" who besides building his engines by himself has a nasty cruising habit. The relations between subject A and B clearly adds to the overwhelming evidence that cruising abilities are infact enherited. Rasmus has also got the racing gene surfing around in his body. Wonder where he got that from.

P.S. I still need type 34 headlights and bumpers!

Don't mention the war!

Faking it

I know its a fake but still I cant sleep at night. At 40.000 DKK / 6.250$ the machine gun will be expected to work and be able to target pitbikes. All jokes aside, I wonder how the boy on the pitbike is doing?

Getting back into shape

Long time friend Peter "Plade" lives near the wizard that is hammering away on poor old Devil girl. He took a detour just to check up on the progress. I think things are looking a lot better, than last time I saw her. I'm stunned that people with these skills are actually still around. Remember I still need to find the 3 big parts for the front bumber. The horns are ok. I also need a set of headlights.

Please help!

Panel-beater-guy can't save the frontbumper. Horns are okay but other 3 parts will candidate for worlds most expensive boomerangs this year. One headlight ring has the impression of a crocs shoe in it that just wont pan out. They are kind of special, so i figure I'll need a complete set of regular headlights. Good news is the front fender is fixable!

Are cruising abilities enherited?

I've looked in my bloodlines to find out if my sick addiction to let me transport in cool stuff made of steel is a result of environment or heritage. Look at this old guys positure. He is leaned back, obviously satisfied, smilling but still concentrated about the job at hand. I believe he is cruising and not just plain driving. This old guy is my grandfathers father. I bet my family have been cruising since the dawn of the world.

She will live!

I spoke to the panel beater today. He has made the first attempt to pull Devil Girls attributes back into desirable form. He sounded positive and promised me that she would infact live. Allan Opstrup has been helpfull to provide some parts for the rebuild. I hope they will be enough. If not the type 3 detectives will have a call on their special red alert telephone.

On the picture is a type 34 that probably won't cruise again.
Lee, the owner, survived the accident (Thank god!) A woman in a truck drove over him on the freeway when switching lanes!

Remember: Against stupidity, even the gods fight in vane.

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Elegance in motion. How cool would it be to have the unicorn of Volkswagens? A type 3 ghia or notchback with no steel between you and the sunshine.

Vintage holiday

Came across this picture yesterday from one of our many trips in my panelvan. I thought this looked much like a 1950's or 60's holiday photograph. Apart from the 17"inch modern rim it could also be from an old commercial for fabric softener or something. Soon we will be out in the countryside again, living the good life, parking by a lake somewhere. Bus ownership is a special state of mind.

Coming home, I hope so anyway

Today the battlescared Ghia is due to arrive on these shores. At least I'm told so. In the next few days the panel beater is going to pass verdict on my Devil girl. I knew she was bad news when I heard she was red. When I met her the first time I had to be with her even though she had to be a maneater. Of eastern european origin she was more exciting than the other girls. Long leggy lines and nail-red paint was a sure trick to lure me. Maybe she was a secret agent with a mission to get pictures of strange vw parts on microfilm. Maybe the guy on the moped was a hitman reacting to a contract put on her lovely gloss black head? Oh I can't wait to be with her again.

10.000 Hits

Thanks for all the visits. This wife of an enthusiast from the states finally realized what pushed her husbands buttons. She posted this in the classifieds section of the Samba.

Get back on track • Vol. 2

Mr. Spring finally got the design I made for his seats sewn into them. I have to say I think it looks so cool. A pad on the back for a very nice car that can really rip too. Glad I could help. I like to do designs for all of you but can never deliver on exact dates due to "real" work. I do this for a living, you know. Good friend and vw owner Norbert did the actual stitching.

The house project • Sneak preview

Absolutely of topic. But I've mentioned my house project a couple of times. Thomas Winther pays a visit, fixing my somewhat leakyroof. Later we build an testet the chimney.

East block

Ran across this weird engine at the tuesday meeting at Kalø. This is how Eric Honecker managed to have aircooled fun. The fact that it has 8 plugs only ads to the glasnost.

If it's a pocketbike, keep it in your fuckin' pocket!

I thought about not posting this nightmare picture, but the blogs name IS life and cars of Gustav_t, even when life sucks. Saturday morning my beloved type 34 was hit by a guy on a pitbike. I hold no grudge against the boy, who did what almost everybody else did in Mantorp - act stupid and inresponsible. I have once been a testosteron fueled young man, and acted stupid to. This is where the eventmakers should take action. What the hell has chinese mopeds to do with old beautifull Volkswagens? Please make some noise on the forums about this issue. And lets tell people that reckless driving between people and cars is not ok. But please don't thrash the mopeddriver on the forums.

I would like to thank all the people who donated cash for the cars recovery, the people who have send me text messages and e mails and those who have used time at work to sort out the rebuild of my dream car. To those who thought they could buy this car cheap from my insurance company - don't hold your breath while waiting..

I also has to say that keeping my good friend Guller in one piece even though he was sitting in the passengers site is the most important thing.

9000 hits •

9000 hits are nice. Please note that there are no pitbikes in this picture, and everyone is smiling. It must be at a Volkswagen event.

Men at work

Guller found this picture on an belgian blog. Thomas will join us at Bug Run. I'm wondering if he can find the energy to wash and detail my car without the help of brother Stefan. On a scientific level: Are these brothers anatomicly modified? They show absolutely no butt-crack! If I as much as lean into a car that low the moon is all over the place. I to want a buttcracktolomi! Donations welcome...

Parcel shuttle testdrive

I spend last weekend at John Doe's. Cold beer and Volkswagens made the night rush by. The event was well visited allthough there was room for the rest of you guys. Next time stop by. For me the highlight was testdriving Lars´Fridolin. It was noisy inside but it drove really well. Postman Pat would jump up and down and loose his stuffings when the 1700 type 4 roared in the back. Lars is thinking about selling this sweet project but I think we talked him out of it. Next weekend is Mantorp - I hadn't had the time to look forward to it yet. I put a small dent in the bus a couple of days ago so I think I'll drive the Ghia up there.

Trust me, it wont come down!

The past few weeks have been busy on more than one acount. Lots of car events to attend to, a busy work schedule and my house project. Today the floor was laid after months of digging, tearing down walls and redirecting pipes. I have to thank the people that put in the muscle to help me out. Well, Nørholm used his brain instead of the muscle.. Thanks guys, I really appreciate your effort!