Michigan show today

[Greg Merritt <gregm@vwtype3.org>]

Hi all,

	I went to the Western Michigan Vintage VW Club's Douglas Walker
Cookout today.  Douglas Walker is the name of a park, and, well, there
wasn't much of a cookout!  Just a bunch of VWs.  There were about 40 VWs.
Mostly Beetles--two Things (181), several busses, no Karmann Ghias(!), one
New Beetle (diesel), a pair of 914s and a 356 (or a replica--I didn't check
it out before it left).  Three Type IIIs in all--'66 & '67 Fastbacks and my
'69 Squareback.

	Both of the Fastbacks were a bit rough, but the owners were nuts
about them--that's what counts!  The owner of the '66 bought his first VW
in 1954--a 1949 model "in the crate."  He explained that the chassis was
assembled, but the rest of the car (body, interior) was in pieces.  Brand
new, but in pieces!  (Imagine buying a Honda Civic in pieces...)

	I picked up a decent muffler (no heat riser, larger tailpipe
opening) and a 1971 or 1972 Squareback brochure:  "The sedan for people
who've outgrown big sedans."  It includes a picture of a trailer hitch
which is very different from the hitch on my '71:  it looks like it
attaches to something like the rear engine carrier or the transmission, not
just the bumper.  Interesting!

	On the way home from the show I stopped by Dan's (My65Notch) place.
His Notch is ready to go for the Auburn Hills, MI show next week!  After
what--two years???  He took me for a spin.  Fun stuff.  Lowered a bit,
polished five-spokes, redone interior, 1776 engine.  He also gave me a spin
in his '65 Beetle.  When I rode in it a year ago it had a 1600 (give or
take).  Now it's got a 2.1 liter fuel injected engine, and it's INSANE.
Throws your head back going into first, second AND third gears.  It pulls
*hard* when Dan steps on the gas at 80mph.  Absolutely ludicrous!  It's
great!  Flooring that car @80mph is like flooring my 1600 '71 at 35mph in
second gear, at least.  And, what's amazing about the injection is that the
damn thing idles smoothly at 900rpm.  Yup, an over-2-liter engine.  He's
also got this trick German big exhaust that has two chrome tailpipes that
exit at the dimples on the rear apron, just like stock.  Wild.

	A fun VW day all around.  While the show was a nice get-together,
I'm not sure if I'll make the trip next year--the better part of two and a
half hours for me.  A number of folks were leaving the show by about 12:30,
I believe--not really an all-day thing.  Oh--only two or three swap
vendors.  Again, a nice gathering, and the weather was gorgeous, but maybe
not *quite* worth the 5 hours of travel (given that there are larger,
closer shows later in the year around here).

-Greg
'69 & '71 Squarebacks
'63 Beetle