The Smittybilt awning made its way from the Bay Window to the Vanagon, but never got used. Finally one morning after a coffee run, we […]
Bug Jam 2019
For an outdoor weekend event complete with camping in November, Florida sounds like the right place. And so it is every year that thousands make […]
No Dough 2019
It has been mentioned before on these pages, that behind many of the events that we have witnessed and enjoyed, is a person with a […]
Platform As Canvas
Somehow, the cars of mid-20th-century Germany lend themselves more than the products of any other nation, to become platforms for Art. Why? I do not […]
East African Coronation Safari 1953-1954
With the Dakar underway, long distance endurance rallies are on the mind. Going back in time, these rallies were really extended reliability trials. If you […]
The Variant
As covered here before, (see the rise of the type 3), Volkswagen was among the first automakers to really leverage a single chassis for multiple […]
An Unexpected Stop
I had passed the shop many times before, but never during regular business hours. It had been an automotive repair shop, and then unoccupied for […]
The Buses of PVGP
Summer events, riding, and driving have limited the blog entries, but here are some cool machines from PVGP…
The Rise of the Type 3
In the late 1950s, VW determined that they needed a somewhat larger sedan to compliment the Beetle and Karmann Ghia, and to compete with more […]
First Blood
It was baby blue, but it was really mostly oxidized metal brown. It was vintage, hailing from 1969, but it was really mostly old and […]
The Unwanted Podium
So there I was, standing in the engine bay and staring at the empty bell housing. The bad torque converter was on the garage floor […]
Hoarding for Gearheads
I am in possession of about a dozen brand new oil filters of various types and sizes. I know that many of them do not […]
2013 Deutsche Classic
If there is an event that almost perfectly matches the theme and scope of Classic Velocity, it is Pennsylvania’s Deutsche Classic. The event has been […]
Type 14
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was the dream of designer and builder Wilhelm Karmann. He had built the Volkswagen beetle cabriolet, and wanted to design a unique […]
Volkswagenwagons
Throughout the history of the automobile, you would be hard-pressed to find a vehicle that has been more modified, “enhanced”, experimented with, or generally altered, […]
Cool Flow Air Conditioning
I have only had two types of air conditioning in vintage vehicles; not present, and not working. Well actually, that is not entirely accurate. The […]
Volkswagen Fastback
In 1961, Volkswagen introduced the Type 3 line with the Notchback (See VW Notchback), and the Type 34 Karmann Ghia. The cars were also known […]
Air-Cooled Cool
One of my earliest and most formative automotive memories, is standing on the seatbacks of my uncle’s early 60s ragtop Beetle with my torso sticking […]