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Racing at VW Action (30th August 2019)
One of my favourite VW shows is VW Action, it has the feel of Bug Jam, but without all the idiots!! It also has a drag strip, which meant drag racing! It was really good to get back to the track. Performance wise car was running a bit slower than expected (click here for timing data), but on later inspection at home I realised that when the pedal was fully down it was bending the throttle shaft, which stopped me getting full throttle for the rest of the run. This will be addressed soon (See 'upgrades').

Anyway here's me racing at the track. I would like to thank/ credit AF Photography, Danny Allen, Gilo, Joly Jim, and my ever-patient wife Nat for the photos and videos.

And heres some videos.

 

 

And for a bit of a different view, here's the in-car footage from one of the runs. Yes my hand slipped off the shifter as I shifted into 3rd!!

 

Show and Shine at VW Action (31st August 2019)
I hadn’t planned on entering the show and shine, I was just happy to have had a weekend at the track racing. However, my good friend Danny Allen, as well as my wife, kept nagging me and eventually talked me in to entering! It was however really nice to put the car in the show though (secretly I felt very proud!), and I got some great comments about it from new and old friends alike, which was reward enough in itself. However, I was over the moon when they announced that the car had won the prestigious award of 'Baddest Bug'! (Bad as in good, not bad as in bad!!). Such as cool award to get! I was so pleased!!

For full result of the show and shine click here.

Another picture of me grinning like a idiot!:-)

I think Nat was pleased too!! (Note: this didn’t last as the throttle cable on her split broke on the slip road of the M42 causing a 9 hour journey back from the track!)

 

Yet another PB at Avon Park RWYB! (24 July 2016)
What with work and home commitment I was unable to attend a lot of VW based race meets, and it wasn’t until 2016 that I managed to get back to the track. This was a spur of the moment thing, where Stretch and myself decided to put the car on a trailer and take it to a RWYB event at Avon Park. Boy was I glad we did as I set yet another PB of 13.21 at 101.29mph! Broke the 100mph mark and it's so close to a 12! Thank you so much to Stretch for his help, and also the loan of the trailer, I really appreciate it.

Thank you to Josh Lydiard for the great photos you see below.

And heres some footage Stretch took of me running against a Skyline which I well and truley whipped!

However it was me that got whipped running against this fuel altered dragster! Amamzing car to race against though :)!

 

Drag Racing at Big Bang, New PB and a Great Trophy! (22-24 April 2016)
The car hadn’t been to the track since VW Action last year so I was itching to get it back on the track, especially as I’d sorted the throttle pedal issue, and I wasn’t disappointed. During the weekend at Big Bang the car was well down into the 13's, and I even managed to set a new PB of 13.29 at 96.73mph.

Thank you to AF Photography for this great photo of me in action below. :)

As if that wasn’t enough, I also somehow managed to win the fastest air-cooled street car for the event! This is a very cool trophy to win, and validate the car street strip concept. A true Cal-look car. :)

 

Dude's Beetle on the Meguires stand at the NEC Classic Car Show - (13-15th November 2015)
This year has been an amazing year. Not only did I get to take the car to the Volksworld Show and VW Action, as well as running some respectable times at the dragstrip, but I also got to take the car to the NEC Classic Motor Show where I was invited to display it on the Meguiars Showcase Stand.

For those that have never been to the show, it is a truly amazing show, where you can find any make or model of classic car you can think of, from priceless racecars to ‘back to the future’ Delorian’s. There was even a copy of John Lenon’s Rolls Royce!

Here’s my car next to a stunning Capri. :)

I got a really nice set of engraved glasses for attending the show from Meguires. :)

And here's the car that won the Meguires Showcase Stand Concourse competition. Not only was the car stunning, but the standard of detailing was amazing! A well and truly deserved win. :)

And a random selection of the other cars that were on display throughout the show.

 

VW Heritage Blog - (7th November 2015)
This month not only did I get an amazing feature in Volksworld Magazine but I also got a really nice write up in VW Heritage blog.

Thank you to very much to VW Heritage for this and for all your support with the build, it is really appreciated. If you would like to read the blog please click on the photo below.

 

Volksworld Magazine Feature, and I only got the front cover!! - (November 2015)
Well 3 months after the photoshoot my feature has finally come out in Volksworld Magazine!! Not only did I get the December issue (which actually comes out in November!), but I also got the front cover!! :)

To say I am pleased with the feature is a massive understatement! I am over the moon happy with it and still grinning from ear to ear! It's amazing! :) Thank you Jon from Thru-A-Lupe Photographic for the amazing photos and Mike Pye for doing such a great write up.

 

Drag Racing at VW Action (21-23 August 2015)
The car was always built to be raced therefore it was great to finally get it on the strip at Santa Pod at VW Action. Straight off the trailer on the Saturday I was running 14.4's, and managed to run these times pretty much consistently all day. However at the end of the day I discovered that the car had only been running on half throttle all day. :-s

Although it was bloody expensive I decided to enter the car for Sundays Peak Performance session, and I’m pleased I did as I ran a 13.6 at 96mph! Not only was I over the moon with the time, but it also meant that I had also final ran the times for entry into the club that I had been aiming to get into for years, The Der Kafer Rennfahrer (DKR) VW Drag Racing Club (Cars must run sub 15's).

Here’s some photos of the car from the event.

Grinning like a loon. Does it show I’m pleased to be back in the driving seat!!

Finally got my DKR Stickers! :)

 

Show and Shine at VW Action (21-23 August 2015)
After running a PB in the strip I thought my weekend couldn’t get any better. However, the typical British weather was showing signs of setting in, with rain looking imminent, so I thought I might as well enter the car into the show and shine. In typical ‘Dude’ style I nearly miss the cut off time for entry!

It was great to have the car in show and shine as there were some great car there, and it was also nice to have a bit of a rest after a busy racing weekend! When they announced that the car had won the prestigious award of 'Europe's Most Beautiful VW' I was ecstatically happy, and still can’t quite believe it! Thank you so so much!! :)

For full result click here.

Yes I look awful!! And again I’m smiling like a loon!

So honoured to get this trophy. :)

 

Volksworld Magazine Photo Shoot (August 2015)
Following the Volksworld show I was delighted to be invited to have my Car featured in Volksworld Magazine. :)

Although it took a while to organise due to my work schedule (sorry!), I finally did my photo shoot in a abandoned warehouse in Weston-Super-Mare in August. Although I don’t want to show any of the actual photos until after the magazine is out, here a few pictures that i took on the way to and during the photo shoot.

Thank you to Jon from Thru-A-Lupe Photographic for a massivly enjoable photoshoot and for taking some great photos. :)

Excited! :)

 

The Finished Car Debuts at the Volksworld Show.... and wins Best of Show! (28-29 March 2015)
One of the reasons for the hectic final push to finish the car was that it had been accepted to be shown at the Volksworld Show. This is one of the biggest VW shows in the UK, attracts cars from all across Europe, so I was over the moon to be invited to take my car!

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I was thrilled when on arrival the organiser decided to put the car by the front entrance. :) I had an awesome weekend at the show, with so many nice comments about the car from both friends and people I had never meet before. Glad you like it. :)

At the end of the weekend I was amazed and honoured to hear that I had actually won Best of Show! :) :) :)
I was also invited by Meguiars to show the car at the NEC Classic Motor Show which I delightedly accepted.

Here’s me and Nick from Double H Restorations after winning (Thats Nick’s happy face!)

And here’s the trophy. :)

To add to the amazing weekend I I also got to meet one of my hero’s, Ron Fleming! Ron is widely credited for being one of the creators of the Cal Look, and to get the seal of approval from him was the icing on the cake. :)

Well I had to get him to sign the glove box didn’t I! :D

And here’s me sitting in the car grinning like a loon. :)