Brighton Breeze [pics]

[luckyseven]

Split barndoor patina 52 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Last year was a disaster. Mrs L7 had been in hospital for an operation and then stayed in... not because she was loving the crumbling NHS' hospitality but because she caught sepsis and pneumonia as a result of her incarceration and was stuck on some drips and the Machine That Goes Ping. I'd been wrestling with trying to change the entire interior on the Beetle singlehanded, and failing. Plus having finally got it to a state where it was driveable, it proved to... well, not be driveable due to abject engine self-mutilation. At the eleventh hour, we decided Mrs L7 was going to survive at least one more day so me and the kids should go anyway. And that went badly, too. We had to take the Beryl and it was cold. And the McDonalds was closed for refitting so we were hungry. And the Beryl experienced a failure to proceed and we were late. And our mates buggered off and left us to it all on our own.

In short, as adventures go it was pretty much an abject failure from start to finish. BUT... and it's a reasonably bigger than medium-sized but... the quality of the cars and buses and the feeling of special-ness that is an intrinsic part of the Breeze somehow made up for all the grief. And should you wish to revive your memory, the thread on it may be found here;

forum.retro-rides.org/thread/206805/brighton-breeze-2018-pics


So we were going to be doing it this year, and it was going to be wonderful. Except in a perverse case of history repeating, the Beetle was still engine-less a couple of weeks beforehand, the Beryl was laid up as she had no interior. I'd stripped it all out and then found there was no apparent way of stopping it leaking. And progress ground to a halt while I waited for divine inspiration. Or the elves to lend a hand.

Turns out it's God's millennium off, and the elves have fallen on hard times since the cobbling trade fell to bits. They're all hanging out by the dumpsters in the alley behind 'Spoons out of their tiny pointy skulls on Spice and Aftershocks. No work ethic left in the elves of today. But soft.. what light through yonder window breaks and all that jazz? The way my luck's been going any light at the end of the long, dark tunnel was apt to be an onrushing train although my life's been so surreal lately it's as like to be the chaos train from Green Eggs and Ham as something cool like a Deltic. Despite being five months overdue, the Beetle engine was in and plumbed and running!

Well, knock me down with a fevver.

All I had to do, then, was run it in; 500 miles in less than a week. Which sounds easy until you realise that means less than 3000rpm, which in a Beetle is maybe 50mph (it's hard to tell, the speedo is a damned liar due to the small front tyres). And that has to fit in around the rest of life that carries on regardless. So that week saw me in every spare moment clattering around the B-roads of rural Sussex trying not to hold up too many tractors. Sometimes I had my two little wingmen... errm, wingpeople with me for company


wingfolk by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

but it didn't take long before their attention span wavered and the "conversation" descended into arguments about why Mowgli was allowed to play on his phone instead of joining in the talk, and how unfair it was that The Cat got to sit in the front on the way there because it was much longer than the way back, and if we stopped to get chocolate how they promised faithfully not to get any on the seats, and how it wasn't reasonable to keep a girl away from YouTube and slime for this amount of time


Halfway by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

So, mostly, I was on my own with the stereo and the fweem of an aircooled lump grumbling about the fact the cam only really came on at 2800 and thus had 200rpm to enjoy itself before my self-imposed limiter kicked in. It was certainly an exercise in self-restraint. Fortunately, even in the rainy greyness of late September, the Sussex Downs and Weald are beautiful places in which to lose yourself, and Dolly and I enjoyed ourselves as much as you could reasonably expect. And so, one day before the Breeze I was throwing away a perfectly good week-old £22 oil filter and re-filling the engine with a surprising amount of oil, given that the old 1200 lump had only held a couple of pints. The new one with external filter and cooler and deeper sump took three and a half litres, almost like a real engine would!


22 quid 500mile filter by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And so it was on, like a destitute elf on a wrap of rocks. We set off in the cold pre-dawn, relishing how increasing engine capacity by half again made the ancient heating setup of a Beetle transform from an asthmatic death rattle to something more akin to peering over the roof of Chernobyl Reactor Four into the heart of the exposed reactor core and hoping you could close the vents before it burned your face off. And with no drama, no fuss and via a now-open purveyor of Soss an Hegg McMuffins, we made it to Hook Road Arena in the parish of Greater Londonshire to take our place in the phalanx of varicoloured joyful aircooled righteousness gathering in the faint rose wash of a brave new dawn


waiting in the dawn by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Like ranks of ancient, primordial beasts the buses queued up waiting for the cry to havoc and let slip. The big campers and vans and microbuses loomed in the misty rays of the watery sun, ranks of diplodocus grazing peacefully while little Beetles and Type 3s scurried around their ankles, tiptoeing around the deep puddles.


Bays queuing by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


All colours All shapes by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

So we were here. I even had time to tie my rally plaque to the front bumper with the thoughtfully-provided string that comes in your pack. Once more I have to commend the organisation and commitment of the Split Screen Van Club who put the event on; once you're registered via the website and your place is confirmed, all you have to do is turn up on the day with your run number and mirror-hanging token and at the gate they furnish you with your rally pack. This includes your plaque, string to tie it on with, magnetic souvenir crest, enamel pin badge, free T-shirt and any others you may have ordered extra... Faultless and flawlesss smooth organisation. Impressive. So here we were...


Dollys rear by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

...but where were our wingmen? Was it history repeating and we'd been blown out? Nope, it was simple human error. Despite the last thing any of us had said via WhatsApp the night before was for Ada to remind Lewis to not forget his entry pass, he forgot his entry pass and had to go back home for it With the ten minute call ringing around the arena, they finally turned up. Fashionably late but better than not at all.


tres amigos by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And we were off! I handed the camera to the Boy, who'd blagged the front seat. Mr L7 jumped into Lenny the Poppadom Beige Beetle with Ada, whether he liked it or not, and as we watched rank after rank of buses slither out of the muddy Arena, the sense of excitement and of ... belonging... grew. It sounds a bit naff but this really is an event where it's hard not to feel that you're part of something; part of something special, something very out of the ordinary and wonderful.


The ranks move off by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

As you bump and clang over the potholes and slide over the mud out of the Arena (because Beetle, and surefooted as a mountain goat we never once feel like we'll start the day by being towed out of a bog) and into the maze of roundabouts, all you can see in front and behind is VWs of every imaginable flavour. Families wave from the roadside, children clap gloved hands at every toot of the horn or clenched-finger-VW-wave, early morning dog walkers pause to watch in fascination


Looking back by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Eventually we come to the four-way lights at the Chessington Road and it all goes a bit Pete. The lights cause both a huge queue and yet still manage to split up the massive snaking convoy. Unfortunately we're stuck behind a huge Syncro, towering above us on giant knobbbly tyres and a suspension lift kit... lowering is soooo last millennium, darhlink... which tends to cut down the view somewhat.


T25 Syncro grey 87 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Like a vignette of industrial plant from How It's Made, the lights cut us up, turn and endless kaleidoscope tube of colour and variety and pattern into chunks of individual Starburst fruit shades stuck together in eights and tens.


Queue here by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

We swoop down the slip road onto Chris Rea's Road to Hell, Gaiman's mystical oghedra rune, the never-ending river of grief that is the M25. Fortunately the traffic is as light as it ever is this early, and we only have to make it two junctions before departing for the apparently endless 50mph variable of the roadworks on the M23. Smart motorways, answering questions no-one ever asked while giving motorists a chance to feel bad about themselves as they inefficiently sit at an arbitrarily slow speed. Give it a few years, there'll be Tesla Lanes that smug SJWs can use to three-figure waft past proles like you sitting at 40mph in your primeval fossil fuel CO² manufacturing plants. But today, it's ours and once the river of flashing orange lights and cones dissipate, once the yellow towers full of glassy eyes watching you end their indifferent stares, we can properly own it. And even though I'm still trying to mitigate the use of revs, it's hard not to let the Nu Dolly off the leash a bit now and again


On the 23 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Before you know it, we're snaking up the long drag past Newtimber Hill, the trees still breathing out their wonderful gasses like a scene from a documentary about Orangutans. In another life I dug steps into a footpath up this hill, carving human geometry out of solid chalk laid down by the death of a billion seacreatures an entire epoch ago. Now I probably couldn't even walk up it in one go. But its wooded sentinel speaks silently from the roadside "you're getting close now"


Newtimber mists by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Running down the other side we pass another gaggle of buses slowed by the long climb, T25s taking pity and showing solidarity with their older sister Bay Windows and Splits. Dolly walked up the hill like it wasn't there; the old 1200 mill would have been down to 45, 50 by the crest. Now with her cosmetically enhanced new 1776 lungs she strolled up without falling below 70. Almost like a modern car...

The road curls like a hook, point stabbed deep into the slightly fishy gullet of Hen Night South's capital city. The stone towers on the outskirts announce that you have reached Brighton (and Hove)


Brighton City Limits by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Traffic coagulates around the pillars of the A27 coast road overhead like eddies caused in murky water. We circulate in a swirl that leads up to the road East. The Boy snaps a photo of Lewis and Dex Beetle that a lesser mortal would have managed to get in focus and on-target and thus made it a markedly less interesting picture. If ever one shot summed up the vibe of the whole crazy bobsled run of a trip down from London, this was it. And to be fair to him, he does like graffiti and that and our reflections are perfectly in focus


Conrad does surreal by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

We swoop up over the edge of the Downs and descend into the Deans, past the steel crenelated bowl of Brighton's superb new stadium where later today they'll give Spurs an unexpected and totally unaccountable beasting.


Down into the Downs by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Down, down... this is the easy bit... through little villages still sleepy under the towering hills and down, further down past the marina with its wharfs of yachts and houseboats and trendy vegan restaurants, cinemas and Wetherspoons (drunk elves not pictured) and down one last time, down the ramp to the old ironmongery of the Prom, crumbling Victorian grandeur fading into peeling turquoise paint and rust, parked-up Traveller vans and aggressive electrically augmented cyclists, joggers in crossback vests defying winter's onset and dog walkers swinging tiny bags of fresh excrement like honour badges of social conscience.

we have arrived. The kaleidoscope resumes.


spinning by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

we join the queue while the marshals fight to get everyone parked up. In my mirror I can see Ada "enjoying" a cheeky Scotch Hegg. Apparently, a black pudding one. He's from the Grim North, he can't help it


cheeky scotch hegg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Bored of the queue, The Boy Mowgli, wanders off with the camera to take a few last snaps before handing it over. And he takes one of my favourite photos ever, and not just because it means a lot after the trials of the last year. Just because it's a bloody good photo with some really cool cars in it. And even if I do say so myself, I figure we've earned the right


arrival on the front II by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Feels like an achievement, it really does. And in the next thrilling installment, we'll wander about and see what else managed to make it, if you fancy that?

[The Rascal King]

Yay! An L7 picture essay!

Thanks for sharing, man!

[Paul Y]

You have made my 60 minute conference call just about palatable.

Please continue.

P.

[SmokeEm]

At last L7 returns to his best. Carry on please. Have u thrashed her a bit yet!

[astranaut]

Cracking post, makes me sad I never made headway with my 74 Bug. One day I'll get another. Love how yours sits, wheels are perfect.

[tonycocacola]

Superb.
Can't wait for the rest.

[samta22]

Brilliant - good to have you back sir. I really must sort the splittie and do this one day...

Instead that day I was venturing over your heads on the A27 over to Chichester and back, if I'd known I'd have stopped and spectated for a while.

[gtviva]

I'm not a VW fan but if its a Luckyseven post its always a great read with pictures, I like pictures!

[johnthesparky]

Woohoo! Thanks for another great post

[luckyseven]

Once you're in, the fun is sort of over a bit. All that's left to do is wander up and down Madeira Drive and take in the spectacle of lots of VWs parked up in the same place. Funnily enough, I was reading a thread on A.N.Other forum the other day where lots of people were moaning about how they find this really boring. It's weird innit, people who go to a car show and then complain because it's an area full of cars? I certainly didn't find it boring, but then I like old cars and especially old VWs. I suppose if you accept that cars are there to be driven then this is the ideal show because you get to drive there and be involved in actually making it happen, then you get to soak up everything you missed while you were concentrating on driving. I guess we can't all set a new lap record of the Evo Triangle, nor especially want to.

So, I wasn't bored... but maybe a bit overwhelmed. The sheer number of amazing old buses eventually beats you into submission. There are simply too many of them to maintain the correct level of awe and amazement. In any other context one or two splitscreen Type 2s would stand out as something to be admired and drooled over, but here they blur after the thirtieth example! Its almost like a pauper kid starved for years inheriting a chocolate factory, you wouldn't know what to gorge on first. Actually, now I think about it, that'd make a great plot for a book. Anyway, while we were still starry-eyed and fresh, I snapped away while the kids worked out their cramps scrambling about on the handy playground beside the Volks Railway and Mrs L7 sat with a cup of tea. These pics can be taken as representative, there was much, much more but it simply got to be too much. In a vacuum I'd photograph everything, but then I get told off for taking too long so look at these pics, multiply them by seven and imagine the rest.

Oh, and some were taken by The Boy, so credit to him where it's due


bays parking up by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

we always love a Ghia, don't we? Yes, we do, especially when it's an early Lowlight like this. Turns out this one was even more special than that, and we'll catch up to it again later


Ghia green 59 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I don't really get excited by the more modern VW vans; the T4 onwards are just any old van, front-engined, water-cooled, might as well be a Transit or *whispers the mortal insult* Renault. However, this Crafter deserved recording if only because of its indescribably vast size. Seriously, the thing's absolutely bloody humongous! A mate who runs a local VW specialist is convinced that Crafters are the Next Big Thing in camper conversions not just because of the huge space they offer (even in SWB) but also because they're insultingly cheap for a VW, usually more so than the equivalent Transporter. They've been used as minibusses by big firms and now they can't pass emissions to get into the ULEZs that are popping up everywhere so they're popping up in auctions at ridiculously cheap prices. You heard it here first, kids. Top tip


Crafter behemoth green 15 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

A(nother) mention must go to the ladies and gents of the SSVC who put on and marshal the event. Always friendly and helpful, and veyr slick, they make the whole day a pleasure to be involved in. And I think our own RR events marshal could maybe learn something from them. Like; this is how you get about when marshalling an event


How to win at marshalling by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Because they do such a great job and are so friendly, and because the programme notes specifically request you to not argue and to do what they ask, we didn't argue about being parked up with an interloper Beetle in the midst of our MWVW club display. After all, what's better than three brightly coloured Beetles in a line? That's right, four brightly coloured Beetles


Beetle bums by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I'd thought we were near the back of the field, as we'd arrived quite late tot he Arena and you get parked up/depart in the order you arrive, but as we wandered around there seemed no end to the vans and cars queuing to get parked up. Maybe they got lost and defeated by the speedhumps through Ovingdean like we did


still they arrive by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Funnily enough, Bay Windows do not especially blow my skirt up... maybe it's just because there was one rotting on every street corner when I was a kid and I became immune to their charms through continued exposure to the worst examples. Some definitely reward a second look though


#Bay & trailer green 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

...and then there are some cars that would stand out in almost any situation!


Beetle oval patina 56 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I mean, yeah you know it'd leak and be horrendously draughty, but look me in the eye and tell me hand on heart you don't really want a safari windscreen right now. You're going to Hell, Satan takes all the liars...


Beetle oval patina 56 f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I've moaned plenty in the past about faked patina and I'm not going there in this venue. This, however, I love. This Arizona car has clearly got the way it is by simply being in the fierce sun and it's not so much patina as a really, really strong suntan


Beetle oval patina 56 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Today was clearly the Day of The Squareback. Strange, you don't see one for yonks and then three turn up all at once. Hmmm, there's a proverb int here somewhere. Anyway, as broady of this parish has proved with his awe-inspiring Fastback resto thread, VW's Type 3 is a nightmare to keep going and/or restore, mostly because they love to rot and spares are premium due to rarity. They're not like a Beetle where you could build an entirely new car purely from off-the-shelf parts. To keep one on the road takes a lot of dedication and skill, and that's why they're getting properly uncommon. And that's why it's great to see them still out in the wild


Squareback beige 69 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


driving daschund by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

There seemed to be a lot of T25s/T3s on the Breeze this year. It was only a year ago I was writing in this very organ as to how they were about to take off, and it seems I might have been unusually prescient in that. Bolstering the numbers were several really tidy examples that had apparently come over from the Continent; our brethren from the Netherlands and Belgium enjoying maybe their last chance in the guttering flames of accessibility before Brexit removes us from the circles of this world.


Split reflecting T25 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

See? Another Squareback, and one that once again proves my unreasoning bigotry to be unfounded and plain wrong. Y'see, I've always disliked the default option of bolting Porsche/VW 914 alloys onto late PCD four-stud VWs. In fact, I've always thought four-studs get a rough deal with the "normal" alloy options. Even the BRMs look cack in four-stud pattern. Anyway, turns out what was putting me off 914 alloys all along is that most people detail them in a Fuchs-lite style with half the spokes black and half polished. And Fuchs are so played out even in proper fitment that they make my teeth itch, even more so in an ersatz 914 style... and let's be honest, who in their right mind would chose a four-spoke arrangement over five? Anyway, it appears that simply making them all one colour completely transforms them and I rather like them. There, I've said it. Exploding prejudice since 1966...


Squareback beige 66 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Impossibly shiny Ghia was very adept at capturing the feeble sun before it gave up altogether and hid behind the increasing cloud for hte rest of the day


Ghia black 67 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I couldn't decide which of these I preferred so you can have them both and make up your own minds


Reflections by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Ghia reflecting bug by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Civil Service Motoring Association? Who knew that there was such a thing?


Beetle grey 68 badge bar by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Interloper! Somehow this Subaru seems to have sneaked in under the wire without anyone shouting "Halt! Hände hoch!" at it. Not even if you squint... it's about as much like an actual Type 2 as a Mituoka Viewt is like a Type II Jag!


Subaru Sambar green white 04 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

All sorts of Beetles turned up. This one landed on The Boy while we were having a cuppa and seemed rather confused by what he actually was.


Lady Bug by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I thought I'd seen this picture somewhere before, and it was nagging me until I realised I'd taken one almost identical last year. Anyway, we like a nice Syncro. Apparently every year


T25 Syncro grey 87 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

In these days of EMPI apparently being an acronym for Egregious Mank Produced In China it's nice to remind ourselves that there was a time when their products were at the forefront of the VW aftermarket and added power, style and interest in equal measure


Splitscreen green 66 step by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Split late grey white at the Concorde by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Another car it appears I papped last year. Still love the colour, still love the Vintage Speed roofrack. See what I means about the four-spokes, though?


Beetle gold 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

There were a delightful number of Ghias on the day, and even though later models were slightly blighted by the boxy Europa bumpers and ridiculously huge lights and indicators, even these excrescences could do little to disrupt the superb purity of line when viewed in side profile


Ghia blue 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Splitscreen blue 67 wh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

It appears that some people having been coming on this li'l shindig for quite a while. All the other year plaques were on the dash!


Beetle white 71 plaques by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

This is a pretty rare old beast, not just because it's a completely stock, stock ride height late model Beetle when most have been fiddled with by now. Nope, mostly because it's an Automatic. And if you're thinking "I didn't know you could get an auto Beetle" then you're forgiven because no-one did.


Beetle automatic green 69 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

No-one bought them. Y'see, VW in their infinite wisdom thought "what is it that puts people off buying an automatic? Is it that they've nothing to do with their hands other than steer?" And thus the idea of an auto with a normal gearchange was born. Yep, it had the exact same H-gate as every other Beetle, but it just had no clutch pedal. Talk about answering a question no-one had ever asked, the gearchange was apparently far from what you'd call seamless and added much complexity and weight whilst ignoring the exact reason that most people bought an auto simply wanted to shove it into D and waft along without all that tedious waggling sticks around nonsense. So they sold almost none and quickly moved on as if it had never happened.


Beetle automatic green 69 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Likewise, really, the 1303 and 1302 Super Beetles with the bulgeous bonnets and prolapsed windscreens and newfangled MacPherson Strut wizardry. By the mid 70s the only people still buying the anachronism the Beetlehad become were people who REALLY wanted a Beetle and what they really didn't want was a bloated, ugly parody of the Beetle. Even though it drove superbly, much better than any torsionb-bar version ever had. And as for headlights that actually lit stuff up at night? It was practically madness. So no-one bought any of these, either, and VW slowly let the Beetle die as they arguably should have years before. Except of course, it didn't and those people who really wanted a Beetle, a proper, torsion-bar flat-windscreen Beetle, went on buying them, self-importing from Mexico or Brazil where they continued to sell in their millions for another two and half decades. Seems that sometimes there's nothing so short-sighted as massive multinationals


Beetle 1303 yellow 74 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

[stealthstylz]

The reading voice in my head turned into the narrator from Ivor the Engine for a couple of your 'journey' paragraphs.

The scrap pile of Crafter/T5 engines we have at work puts me off them. As van engines go, after 2.2 Transit's they're about as bad as it gets (new 2.0 Transit notwithstanding, they're going to be the king of crapness)

[bstardchild]

Oct 11, 2019 18:18:10 GMT gtviva said:

I'm not a VW fan but if its a Luckyseven post its always a great read with pictures, I like pictures!

There in a nutshell is the thing - a luckyseven post sucks you into to the event/story and the pictures just bring it almost to real life

Anyone can do a picture dump but I want to feel like I've been on the same journey - it takes time and effort I know and I thank Nick for his efforts......

[johnthesparky]

I am a VW fan (in case you didn’t know )

But, yeah... though I think my dump of photos are better than nothing, there is something altogether nicer about a luckyseven photo dump

So please carry on

[luckyseven]

OK then

I've got one of these in my own bus. Although mounted inside, lol. Maybe I just lack imagination, or the correct number of mates likely to pass by randomly and need to open a bottle.


Bay bottle opener by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

I've got some of these on my bus too. But being EMPI ones they're rusty and even if I try to clean them they rust again so fast I'm propping up the rat-look scene again before I've even done the last one


Wolfsburg wheel by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Chicks dig scars. Wear your lifestory with pride


Split late grey white wrinkles by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Not all campers need to have high roofs or poptops. Sometimes a neat, unadulterated van is all you need. And to be short. But it does look undeniably sleek. Great colour, like the pudding of champions *


Split beige white 58 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Slightly arbitrary arty shot of Ada's Lenny Beetle. Dunno why, I just liked it. Although now I think about it, it's worth a shout out to Aircooled Accessories, who when Ada emailed them to say his brand new Albert Swann mirrors had started to rust around the edge, they replaced them no-quibble. Which in a world of increasing indifference to the concept of customer service is a refreshing change


Lenny d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Loved this little touch. Many people walked right past without noticing it, but can you spot Wilson in this picture? Who's Wilson? Oh, come on


Bay white 71 wilson by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Bay grey 71 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Split red 60 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

The nearer you get to the city end of the prom, the older and more exciting the buses tend to become. I suppose it's fair enough, the "Split Screen" part of "SSVC" is maybe a giveaway. It'd have been nicer to be down this end I guess but hey, as stalwart BNMAC members, we're used to being parked round the back behind the bins so we can't embarrass anyone. *ahem* But before we committed totally to the Land of The Splitscreen, me and The Boy and the li'l 'un scurried up the steps to take a panoramic shot or two


the view down by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

OK, they scurried. I waddled like a fat old walrus with bad knees.


Beetle rank by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

From up here you can really see the state of the middle tier of promenade. Brighton And Hove Council claim it'll cost some insane amount of millions to fix, so they just wrapped it in scaffolding and ignored it. I've raved about it for years on this and various Brighton Speed Trials threads, but really it's about bloody time they did something about it. Brighton is HEAVING on any weekend of the year, even a grey rainy one like this; I refuse to believe that they're as poverty-stricken as they claim. Still, on the plus side, there's some lovely weathering on the wood of the handrail


Old wood by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Split green white 64 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

If the Type 3s are rare and lowlight Ghias rarer, then rarest of all must be this little fella


K70 green 73 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

A mechanic mate who served his apprenticeship at a VW dealer in the 70s once told me that the reason the RHD conversion on the MkI Golf was so shoddy and the clutch bulkhead grommet so prone to failure was that VW never expected to sell any. They'd had so many tries at replacing the Beetle that nobody ever bought that the top brass were almost resigned to another white elephant hanging round their necks to go with the Type 3s, Type 4s, Passat ...and this. People had obstinately refused to believe that a watercooled front-engined front-drive Volkswagen was an acceptable thing and stayed away from the dealers in their droves. Then someone realised that the Golf was actually bloody excellent and suddenly dealers were busy welding big washers onto the RHD firewalls to stop the clutch cable peeling them open like tuna tins. To the best of my knowledge this is only the second K70 I've seen in recent years at any show, so probably the most exclusive car here! By comparison barndoor Splits are common as muck!


K70 green 73 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Nice to see a Ragtop Beetle, everyone's favourite...now. In a familiar theme, not many people bought them in the day, ensuring their desirable status now because as Joni Mitchell so poignantly pointed out, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Personally I've never been a huge fan of Karmann Cabriolets because they look like a Silverline pram shagging a Morris Minor when the roof's down, but I do acknowledge the craftsmanship. The hood on the Beetle 'vert is about the best on any car at any price point. So it's understandable that not many people bought ragtop Beetles new when they cost a whole load more than a saloon tintop, and almost as much as a true convertible. But me, I know which I'd rather have of the three...


Beetle white ragtop 69 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And speaking of amazing price strategies, how about this for a survivor?


Beetle green 70 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Nope, not because of it's lovely shiny paint or it's (replica) BRMs with their weirdly prolapsed centre caps. But because of this;


Beetle green 70 bill of sale by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Yep, the original 1970 bill of sale on this very car. Can't be many of these historical time capsules left in the world, and doesn't it make interesting viewing? A stamp cost 2D (that's two new pence to our younger post-decimalisation readers). But on a car costing 766 pounds, nine shillings and four pence, the foresighted and safety conscious Miss Hands of Lavington Road, Worthing, was willing to spend another ten quid on seatbelts. Must have seemed the height of luxury and frivolous overspending back then, and I can remember our own Beetle grudgingly being retro-fitted with rear seatbelts sometime in the mid-70s. Mind you, five quid for number plates? They're having a laugh aren't they?




* butterscotch Angel delight, Obvs

[Mercdan68]

Great pics, that K70 is a fine looking car
And the squareback is very sweet too
Thanks for sharing

[tonycocacola]

Oct 12, 2019 15:34:36 GMT johnthesparky said:

I am a VW fan (in case you didn’t know )

But, yeah... though I think my dump of photos are better than nothing, there is something altogether nicer about a luckyseven photo dump

So please carry on

I'm a VW fan too, you may or may not already know that, but haven't got anything at the moment, nor will I any time soon.

I'm of that opinion too, that any of my meagre offerings after a show are better than none.
And once more I will say, I've been to loads of VW shows in the last 30 years but I've never been to the Breeze. I must rectify that.

The writing and pictures, as always, are quality and much appreciated.

[espeno]

The 1303S is my favourite Beetle. Fuchses, no matter how played out they are, are awesome.

There, I SAID IT.

Oh, and fantastic pictures and words. You’ve made me want to go to Brighton now. In a 1303S. With big fat ATSses.

[MiataMark]

Just to echo others not a VW fan but enjoyed (as always) reading that!

[grizz]

Excellent series and write up a Nick.

Thank you.

[luckyseven]

Yow, better get it finished up then

Day of the Squareback, like I said. And this is what I mean about the 914 alloys. Look completely different when detailed don't they? Needless to say, like everything I post that's an opionion, that's all it is and I don't expect anyone to agree. I mean, given how many gazillion Fuchs/Fuchs replicas there are on VWs worldwide, clearly I'm in a bit of a minority anyway, lol


Squareback blue 67 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Again, it's amazing how much like modern car a Type 3 is compared to the austerity of the pre-war design like the Beetle. In actual fact, early Beetles were if anything far more exotic in terms of dashboards than later ones up to the mid 70s (when the horrid padded dash abomination came in) swapping chrome and trim detail for unembellished painted steel. The Type 3 and Ghias, in contrast, had an actual dash with, like clocks and everything!


Squareback blue 67 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Of all the flavours of Beetle, the Oval is my favourite by some margin. Especially when in a superb colour like this sliver/grey


Beetle oval grey 55 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Beetle oval grey 55 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And now as we near the City end of the Prom, we're really getting into the land of the Splits. It's what everyone wants to see, after all and they come is such a bewildering array of styles and colours it's hard not to be sucked wholesale into the appeal and tacit approval of the stratospheric hike in prices in recent years


Split green white 65 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Split pickup red white 63 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Of course, there are still a few interlopers. I treat people who don't name their cars with great suspicion; they've clearly got limited soul quotient. However, I've never seen a car culture as insistent on not only naming their vehicles but making sure everyone else knows their name as well


Bay yellow d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Now, I know I've blithered on about how cool crew cabs are before, but bear with me, this one really is a bit special. From the front it's relatively unassuming, just a tidy, well-finished Doka T3 all the way over from Germany. Which shows admirable dedication if nothing else; my T3 struggles to reach the UK speed limit and I suspect might be a fish out of water on the Autobahns. But this blue Doka bears a clue to its hidden secret identity in the discreet "T3RS" decal on the front corner


T25RS Doka blue by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Go round the back and in the neatly-finished wooden load bay is a clue to its alter ego


T25RS Doka blue d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

...and poke your nose in the open engine lid and all becomes clear. This outwardly humble workhorse is most definitely more Hong Kong Phooey than mild-mannered janitor! With an underside full of 4.2 litre Audi V8 and capable of holding 140mph on the Autobahn, this must be one of the best sleepers around and capable of breaking any heart in the traffic-light GP. Properly cool


T25RS Doka blue bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And so back to the Splits. Here's a unicorn for you...


Split barndoor Samba red brown 54 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

That right there is a Deluxe Microbus, according to VW nomenclature. To enthusiasts it's acquired a few other appellations over the decades though, any one of which will have vintage VW aficionados dribbling into their mung bean casserole. Arrange some of these words in almost any order and watch the drool flow; Samba; Barn door; Chestnut Brown; 23-Window; over Sealing-wax Red. Seriously, play "most desirable Type 2 ever" Bingo and this is what you end up with when you call "House". Shame the owners had a healthy dose of "go away and don't talk to us" about them, which we all found a bit weird in people who've chosen to exhibit their unbelievably desirable and superb VW at a VW show...


Split barndoor Samba red brown 54 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

And while it might be the one everyone wants, it's not even the oldest in this illustrious company. This much more humble spec but equally desirable Kombi is probably the oldest bus here, and wears its age so well it's hard to find an argument in favour of painting it


Split barndoor patina 52 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr


Split noses by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Some vans wear their life story so plainly that's it's easy to imagine they were grown rather than being built. Every scar tells a story


Split blue patina 67 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Cool Flo are seemingly an integral part of the UK scene and show no signs of slowing down in terms of presence or representation. One of the most-photographed buses on the day was their union flag wrapped one. Not sure if wrapping will ever become a VW bus thing especially though, given how people go made for original paint, patina and signwriting nowadays when the Holy Grail is to restore a van whilst leaving as much of the original everything as possible


Split van Coolflo 64 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Slippers the Split is another seemingly always-present member of The Scene, and certainly puts out some noise (and smoke, and lights) but for me more than the choooons, what impresses me is just what a great piece of packaging and engineering it is. From full-on self-powered DJ station


Slippers the split by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

...to tidy but unassuming, wouldn't give it a second glance splitty panel van


Slippers the split closed by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Love a doka, dunno if I ever mentioned that?


Split Doka blue by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Another example of why you don't need a Samba or Westie camper to have a cool Type 2. This immaculate panel van shows the way. We got to chat to the owner at a Brooklands meet one time, where he seemed slightly confused by all the attention. He says it's not unkown for his gorgeous Panel to be pressed into service hauling bags of cement or ballast onto the site!


Split panel red white by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Think VWs can't be made into performance engines? Would you like to think again?


Split olive white 65 bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Samba-spotting tips; compare this one to the earlier brown over red and you can see that this is "only" a 21-window, having lost the iconic rear corner windows of the earlier version. Easy spot from the front are the late-model "fish-eye" indicators riding high on the front panel. Also the smaller engine lid (as debuted on the earliest pickup variants) replacing the "barndoor" high-rise one of earlier vans, larger rear lights, etc etc. But y'know, to us mere mortals, they're all good. I'd be willing to settle for two fewer windows...


Split 21window white blue 66 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Another excellently patinated bus, only let down (IMHO) by the slightly council looking mirrors. Mind you, I bet they're a different league in efficiency over the hopeless stockers


Split patina 63 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

The li'l un, making tie-dye cool again. As if it ever stopped being cool...


The Girl by Nick Liassides, on Flickr

Speaking of which, I suppose I'd better get her from school. Tune in to the next thrilling installment where we'll see more Ghia, more Beetle ,more bus and pick Vehicle of the Day (in a completely arbitrary and undemocratic way, of course)