Lets Talk Dubs

This year in Europe there are two big shows happening the first one is Hessisch Oldendorf . The second show the following weekend is European bug in. European Buggin is the premier event in Europe for the custom VW crowd. Held in Chimay Belgium they turn the streets into a dragstrip the parking and camping areas into a large rave and swap meet spaces. It is absolutely an event to behold. One of the best things out there is the gas or garage set up. Vintage gassers and drag cars from early Volkswagen racing history are on display and are not only on display but are also drag raced. With an appreciation for a lot of the American VW drag race history you may get the opportunity to see some VW legends drag race some of the old cars that they once owned. On this episode we talk to Russell Ritchie who's been putting on VW gasser garage since the beginning. We talk about the cars that will be on display and some of the first times that he was racing with people like Roger Crawford, Darrell Vittone, Ron Fleming and m

At the VW Classic this year tons of cars showed up for the first time. One of those I caught up with was the Jetta Bus that was featured in Hot VWs recently. Greg Sloma is a hadcore VW enthusiest. He was a born & bread Chevy guy. His son wanted a VW. From that point on he fell in love with the people in the scene. His 1965 VW bus that has been merged with a 2008 Jetta. Its a top notch job. His attention to detail and the quality of the build speaks for itself. Its a great bus & a great story. He also has quite a few other VWs so take a listen.  support the podcast here One crazy weekend Show page  

Robert VW kid earned his nick name being one of the young guns hanging out with 2nd Gen of Buggs Buddies. With his 66 Pegali bug on alloys & convertible decklid. We talk about the early LA VW scene that has a huge lowrider influence. From Cal-Style to logo'ed cars. Cruising Whitter Boulivard & building your cars for the girls. its a bit of early VW history in LA.

Bill & George are hyped for the VW classic Weekend. It kicks off Thursday night with the VW Trends founders party. Friday afternoon wirth Pierside parts open house Followed by DKP cruise night at Main St in Garden Grove. Satruday is OCTO in the AM then RVA Show then an open house at ISP West. Sunday is the VW classic at the Orange County Fairgrounds. We talk about what George has been up to at his shop & What Bill has broken or destroyed. 

The Berlin Buick was at the grand national roadster show in the gathering of Hot VWs display. It is by far one of the nicest done mid-engine conversions I have seen. The quality of the build the fit & finish as well as the body mods that have been done to such a high level. it's a car that must be seen to appreciate.  Look at pictures Here Support the podcast, register for one crazy weekend or find out what we are all about https://www.letstalkdubs.com sponsors https://vwtrendsmagazine.com https://rosswulf.com  

On a previous episode wth Andy Finch from Spike Vintage Restoration. Andy obtained his dream car. Dennis Hydes Ghia. The pink ghia in Colin Burnham book. When he gets his dream car his plan is just get it runnig & drive it. When he starts to go through the car it goes off the rails in a quick fashion. Challenged with preserve or re-do Andy is in a tough spot. Find out all of the details on what happens when you get your dream car and its not exactly what you thought. 

Dave Conklin is a VW & Porsche journalist & enthusiest. Started when he was just a kid at the young age of 13.  His 1969 bug was the first car project wiht his father. Finding a hot VWs magazine in 1980 he was hooked on the cal-look since. He helped moderate the Cal-look top 10 fastest cars. Since then its been a wild ride with his VW story. Find ut what its like to be a cal-look guy in the mid-west.

Bill has disappeared  for the last 2 months. On this podcast, we find out where he’s been. Abducted by aliens? Taken by Big foot? Mexican prison. Find out here.

Lance Mcdonald & Marty Salerno have been good friends for quite a few years. What do you get when you want to stand out at the drag strip? How about a Type 34 Ghia? Now thats cool! Marty & Lance with MAS motorsports have been campaining this car since the car througout the county since the 90's. Sitting down at the Grand national Roadster Show we get the scoop on this incedible race car. It is for sure one to behold. great guys and a great story.

This episode we catch up with Burly Burlile. We discuss the Cal-Look Diagram. The 32 Duce kit for  the VW he designed. The story of how it got away then he bought it back and who owns it now. We also talk about Mexican beetles. Driving a brand new air cooled  VW. Lots of history here. 

Russell Ritchie is the name, collecting & preserving VW history is the game! He's been a committed enthusiast since he was a small lad in Scotland. Seeing Herbie the love bug in the theater with his father lit the fuse that has evolved in to what is now an intense passion for the VW hobby & history. From the pages of the magazine to real life. He and his team of VW friends have restored & preserved some of the most Iconic Gasser & Drag racing VWs from the 60's and on. This passion as now turned to early restoration care as well. He has in his collection, the Arronson Holmes 63 "Cal look" bug. A re-creation of Bill Schwimmers Pepto Squareback. Gassers and drag cars for days. He's a genuine great guy who would give you the shirt off his back and trade it for some rare VW parts LOL. All kidding aside he's one of US! A die hard enthusiast that's memory has been impacted by the magazines & history of our hobby ! Enjoy

The "Big window Zwitter" 1967 Beetle is a transition year before VW released the all new 1968 Beetle. This year is one of the most coveted Cal-Look beetles. There are over 25 changes that are one year only. We enlist "Frenchy" Dehoux & Dean 'Deano" Kirsten. These 2 guys love 1967 beetles and we walk through the one year only items. Its a great listen. So sit down get in and buckle up your lobster-claw seatbelt and fins out what makes the 1967 Beetle so special. 

Karstan & Maxine are a high energy couple that have traveled the "Loop" in Austrailia. You can find them on instagram Here. Karstan being a V-dub enthusiest met Maxine and its been a whirwind since. find out that its like to take off for a year and live out of your VW Bus. The highs & the lows but mostly good time & irriplacable memories. Also the ocasional roadside repiars. They have a new youtube channel out here https://www.youtube.com/c/KarstanAndMaxine/videos  And now they have baby Zuri too. Their new adventuers are more off the beaten path. With a new to him bus lifted a bit more for theses crazy offroad adventures.

Clyde Berg is the youngest of the 3 Berg brothers. He started in the shop when he was 6 years old tearing down engines. He eventually moved into the head shop. Porting heads is his specialty. We talk about growing up in the Berg family. How it was to work with Gene. The trial and error of drag racing. Some of the work on head development & experiments. The early days of being at the track. 

In the land down under they do 2 things the right way. BMX & VW's proof of that is Clint Millar. Pro BMX rider turned BMX mogul. He was hooked on VWs before he ad enough money to pay attention. Sacrificing his favorite VW to go BMX around the world served its purpose but he needed to fill that void and he did. His cup runnith over with dope VWs he's a big type 3 guy favoring squarbacks, rabbits, Kombis, brasilias & frids. With an Idea and determination he started a BMX company from scratch & found great success being a rider/ CEO. He's a down to earth guy with a passion for VWs & BMX. http://colonybmx.com.au

Danny Gabbard is a Master metal fabricator. Cutting his teeth in So cal welding steel flares on 80's Porsches. His VW passion has had him specialize in making Tools & parts for the VW community. From door pin tools to hand built replacement sheet metal. He's the guy that did the steel deck lids with the Empi scoop. Check out his parts on www.thesamba.com

Suspension is a very touchy subject. There are many different schools of thought. Charles Adams with KiniTech is man behind the Atomwrek. They make rear raise & lower plates that are fully adjustable.  New spring plates that allow you to raise & lower your car without compromising the ride. Their roller bearing retainers stop wheel hop & help your hi-po VW hook up. We discuss his history & how he uses his engineering knowledge to make better performing suspension parts. We also talk about his hydro HAT suspension. Check out their site here. https://atomwerk.org

Bill, George & Stephen discuss this last year. What we learned from the guests and what shows we went to. Also we discuss the new engine Stephen is having built for his 67 VW Bus. He heard on the podcast about the Fi-tec EFI system from AJ sims. We see how that went. And Bill earns some merit badges. George gets combative. Some of the guest we had on this year. Lance Armstrong, Brian Erra, Rick Meredith, Tory Alonzo, Steve Noll, Tom Slider, Scott sain, Lucas Hand, Andy Finch, Dave Gruntvig, Paul Davis, Stanly Escolano, Stacy Sizelove, Shannon Aikau, Randy Long, Dominic Lupino, Craig Turner, Michael Squier, Lind Bjornson, Duane Mayer, James Sopher & Bob Ellis. 

Bob Ellis is from Manistee Michigan. His home shop  Der Vintage Werks has restored & preserved a lot of Volkswagen of Americas collection of air cooled vars. He was also involved with the 1964 Beetle "Max" campaign. There was also some crossover with VW of Canada.  

James Sopher is an Ohio VW enthusiasts who is committed to the hobby. From way back in high school till today. He has been involved in the Ohio scene for quite a while He also puts on the "bug infestation" VW show at Geneva at the lake. We also talk about finding cars in Ohio and what the scene is like in the mid-west. Car show FB Page