2014 Fall (pdf file ~1.7MB)

Winter 2014
In this issue:
Membership information – Reports on VDub shows and events – VW sightings –
New VW reading –Swap area/Marketplace
Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
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Happy Winter everyone!
It‟s with great pride that I take over the role of editor of the CCVWC newsletter,
Wind & Water, from Troy. Thanks for all your hard work! I have owned a VW since
the 1970s…starting with an already rusty and bondo-covered Bay window Westfalia.
I left it up on axle stands after it gave up the ghost, or more accurately I ran out of
time and money to keep it going, in my parents‟ driveway. My family would go
“camping” and ”on picnics” in it without leaving the house! Volkswagens have been
in my life since then. My 3 older brothers all own and drive VWs, but that‟s a story
for another issue.
Let me know what you think of this issue and we‟ll make changes as we go.
Rob Criger
Membership Corner
A new membership is only $25 and includes one T-shirt, a
windshield decal, our quarterly newsletter Wind & Water,
and an annual Breakfast Banquet. Membership renewal is
$20.00 per year. Memberships are valid from January 1 to
December 31. Anyone who joins from August on is a
member until December 31 of the following year. Please
contact a team member in the Contact Patch to obtain
further membership information.
Welcome two new members John Learned and his son
Noah bring 2 VWs with them, a 1968 panel that should be
on the road this year and a 1971 Beetle that is a long-term
project.
Contact Patch:
Web-page http://www.ccvwc.ca
E-mail: [email protected]
Events: Ron Bell............................................
Ralph Landry.....................................
Finances: Ed Psutka.......................................
Membership: Keith Walker...........................
Web Page: Hans Brouwer.............................
Newsletter: Rob Criger...............................
Club Storyboards: Frania Granville...............
BusFusion: Frank Condelli.............................
Volksfest: Shawn Rutters..............................
Deadline for submissions for the Winter 2014 edition of Wind
and Water: January 24, 2014.
Remember, your submissions are what make this newsletter
interesting, personal and enjoyable.
613-832-7294
819-771-2507
613-836-5586
613-731-8422
613-833-3227
613-293-5122
613-727-8122
613-256-6763
613-448-2836
VWBlues
For the next issue, a section will be reserved for:
Spring Cleaning and Maintenance Tips for our sleepy VWs.
Technical, maintenance and project tips are always welcome.
And there is always room for personal VW stories, as well as
photos of Volkswagons that you have spotted on your
everyday trips or far away travels.
To submit your material, contact Rob Criger (pronounced
like bigger) at [email protected]
“Looks like Fritz has been riding in the back seat
of his split window with his shirt off again.”
Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
Welcome 11 new members:
Isaac Biggin
‟68 Type 3 Notchback
Leah Dixon
‟70 Beetle convertible
Paul Hopkinson
‟96 Mexican Beetle sunroof
John & Noah Learned
‟69 Panel Van & Beetle
Robert and Liz Muella
‟66 Beetle
Emad Radmanesh
Stephen & Wendy Robbins
„70s World-travelled Westie
Jeff Rogers
Vanagon Tristar
Greg Sorkilm
‟87 Vanagon
John Upton
‟71 Super Beetle
Doug Wallace
`79 Beetle convertible
Tammie Winsor
Weekender Van
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Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
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Shows, Fests and Events
June Jitterbug 2013 Niagara Falls
Late June in Niagara Falls, Ontario is a
beautiful time. The city is green and clean.
Perfect cruising weather. And on the third
Sunday in June every year, out in the City‟s
north end, Firemen‟s Park fills up with
Volkswagens. Sponsored by John‟s Bug Shop
of Welland, Ontario, the annual June Jitterbug
has been attracting Volkswagens and their
admirers since 1987. There are Volkswagens of
all ages, shapes, sizes and mutations. On the
air-cooled side, there are bugs, bajas, dune
buggies, ghias, things and vans, vans, vans.
Survivor cars, restorations, resto-mods and resto-rods. Impossibly low slammed cars and vans. Bradley GTs, 914s
and a Puma or two. And there are the water-cooled dubs. Golfs, Rabbits, Sciroccos, Jettas, Eos and the rest. Full
stock to full custom. Vendors? You will find the usual parts and products companies, but also vendors with cool
collectibles like vintage Coke coolers and tie-dye t-shirts. My favourite vendors are always the regular folks who
have cars or parts for sale and stories to tell. Clutch eater contest. Engine teardown and rebuild contest. Burgers
and soft drinks. And a guy sitting on his Golf wagon tailgate playing polka music on his accordion. My brothers
and I grew up in the Falls. We moved away years ago, but we make it a point to get back home every June for the
Jitterbug. It is always a good day with good cars and good people. Check out http://www.johnsbugshop.com/ or
http://www.thesamba.com/ for more information.
- Brock Criger, Proud owner of a 2009 VW Eos.
Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
WIND AND WATER
Coincidentally
I have a go-to person for body work, paint and car-related camaraderie. Fraser owns Laurie
Auto Body on Bronson at the Queensway. The shop has been there for decades and so has he. Fraser
knows so much about vintage cars that you could easily stand around the shop for hours “learning”.
On my most recent visit, Tuesday November 19th, he was showing me his Golden Anniversary 1952
Cadillac convertible. He had rebuilt the #s matching 331 c.i. 4 barrel motor last summer and
completed the exterior bodywork and paint this year. It was a gleaming red with black top beauty
with no interior, not even a floor.
So where‟s the coincidence? This is a VW club after all.
Well, it turns out that the Caddy came from a certain VW wrecking yard in St. Regis Falls, NY
owned by none other than Joe Paquette.
Joe has been the source of many project cars and buses since the 1980s I‟m sure. And, it was former
Club president Ron Cashman who told Fraser about the Caddy in the first place. Furthermore, Ron
arranged the purchase and delivery of the car. So therein lies the coincidence. I have included before
and after pictures of the Caddy…..
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Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
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Coincidentally Part II
Picture yourself in Mexico on a comfortably hot Sunday afternoon. You‟re surrounded, not by tourists,
but locals, most of whom are driving VWs of one vintage or another. It not only looks good but it sounds like
music to your ears. Then you spot an early red Bay Window Westie with a CANADA decal across the top of the
windshield. Anyone out there know who the occupants were? Red Westie? Mexico? Think I could remember
their names? No? I tried in vain to flag them down, then continued on my way back to the resort, racking my
brain. I had met the couple at a CCVWC dessert meeting at Island Park this summer. They were writing a blog as
they traveled the world. Sounded like lots of fun to me.
So the week went by, surfing, running, swimming, over-eating, repeat as necessary with no sign of the
van…until our last morning. Saturday at 8 a.m. we were out for a run. A man said “Hi” in perfect English but it
wasn‟t the owner. “Do you know the couple driving the VW Camper” I practically shouted at him. “Sure, Steve
and Wendy are in Apt 3. Just knock.” So we did. Steve came out in shorts, it was early Saturday don‟t forget,
and after a little difficulty remembered meeting me at Island Park. “The yellow convertible, right?” He dropped a
valve seat so they decided to stay in Ixtapa and get the engine repaired AND have the van painted, including some
new window rubber. Steve claimed it was about a third of the price of the same work in Canada. We didn‟t stay
long but I promised to include an article in Wind and Water about the chance rendezvous. So there you have it.
Coincidences by definition are
Learning to Fly
I got my driver‟s license the day I turned 16 and my
father immediately took me to the Ikea parking lot
on Greenbank road to practice. It was a 1995 red
Volkswagen golf and we lurched around for about
an hour before our stomachs gave up. The clutch is
not an easy thing to master. But, with his patience –
and maybe one replaced clutch, on a 1992 yellow
Cabriolet we nicknamed “Lucy” – I mastered it.
When it came time to get my full license, however,
I failed, and the license expired days later. It was
back to the starting line for me, except a move to
Toronto for university was on the horizon.
With the city‟s subways and streetcars, and my
extreme lack of funds, driving took, well, a back
seat. In the summer of 2013 I was due to turn 29
and I knew I couldn‟t hit my 30th birthday without a
license. Without telling a soul, I started at the
beginning again. I gained my G1 and G2 in a matter
of months and began preparing for my exit test.
With the help of a very kind Toronto instructor, I
passed, days before my birthday. The first person I
told was my dad. His response? You have to come
home and try my 2013 GTI.
Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
WIND AND WATER
During a visit to Northern Ireland last summer, I went into a shop
called Regency Gift House in the city of Bangor, in which an entire
wall was filled with die cast vehicles from a company called Oxford
Diecast. Showing great restraint, I purchased only four VWs: a bay
single cab pickup, a bay surfboarded window van, a bay pop-top
camper, and a Vanagon high-top camper. These particular models
are in the Oxford Commercial range, and are 1:76 scale. Made from
mostly metal, they are solid and fairly weighty. Nice, smooth bright paint and lots of detail make
them very nice additions to any collection. Each of the VWs I purchased cost around£5, so they won’t
break the bank. The full range, which focuses mainly on British vehicles but also includes cars, vans
and trucks from other countries, in varying scales, can be seen at the following
website: http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/index.htm. Overseas shipping is possible.
- Troy Heisler
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Capital City Volkswagen Club Newsletter
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SWAP AREA/MARKETPLACE
_______________________________________________________________ _____
VWs spotted...
New Beetle at a Marina in Havre de
Grace, Maryland.
_______________________________________________________________ _____
CCVWC
1620 Wilhaven
Drive
Cumberland,
Ontario
K4C 1M9