Dub Country

A diecast toy company really hit the big time in recent years. Apart from collectors taking the stocks off the racks briskly, so too were the competition, briskly taking a serious interest into the 'Dub City' look. Even the mighty diecast company, ‘Hotwheels’ was prompted to release the 'HIN series taking cue from the same style. What is the Dub City style anyway?
Most of it seems to revolve around custom treatment and big shiny wheels. Bling is big on this look. Muscle cars, Hot-rod, Euro, you name it, are fitted with 20 inch wheels, in scale of course. On the 1:1 cars, the ‘Dub City’ look has caught on too. Especially with the rap artist, Hollywood brats, pimps, thugs, care-free rich and just about anyone into bling.
If our local Vdub guy wants to be in the act too, a refreshing bling of choice should be a Sakbayan aka Country buggy. Clearing those wheel wells is mandatory. Body channeled and dropped with narrowed beam and bagged suspension. Everything is spruced up, from the exterior and down to the tiny interior details. To complete the local flavor, Malabon stainless craftsmen were tapped to hand-form the alloy body. In keeping with the custom-look, fiberglass panels are created making for one rust-free coachwork. And last but not the least, the meat of this transformation is of course, the TIS wheels.

Dub Country, Rolling Big

Campagnolo

Italian Exotic – VW Connection

Campagnolo is a much respected name in cycling. It is also much revered and prized to say the least. Cult following is very passionate, very Italian and very loyal. I would add from a point of view of a collector, very collectible but pricey, much like the great Italian bicycles outfitted with Campagnolo parts.

Campagnolo for decades manufactured alloy wheels also for famed Italian cars like the Lamborghini, now a Volkswagen owned car company. The wheels are as exotic as the cars, they were mounted on. Campagnolo alloy wheels were available also for the VW air-cooled models, and now these are very collectible and desirable. Sadly the company doesn’t produce anymore car wheels, thus increasing the value of alloys it once manufactured.

The company now focuses on the bicycle parts and groupset market, as this is their core business. The product line-up offered is really a deliciously fantastic marriage of technical and aesthetic solutions, and will not disappoint the fanatic. Curiously the company’s branding of their products particularly the bicycle wheel-sets are names of cars.

From the range are three Volkswagen nameplates which caught my attention. Somebody in Campagnolo must have liked VWs!

Scirocco (VW water-cooled sports car, Guigaro designed-Karmann Built)
Vento (Mark3 Euro-version of the VW Jetta)
Bora (Mark4 Euro-version of the VW Jetta)

Fast-Back to the Future

Conspiracy Theory Series

Covert Meeting Place:
Porsche-Piech Family Villa, Austria

Grand Conspirators:
Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, Porsche engineer par-excellence, Member of family owned Porsche AG, and Chairman for life of Volkswagen AG.
Bernd Pischetsreider, CEO of VWAG, he can’t resist conniving with Piech.

The Conspiracy:
Piech can’t shake off his desire for swift VWs, bringing back driving excitement and creating passion into the Wolfsburg brand. He thought he did this by bringing the New Beetle into the line-up, thereby lending coolness and craving, back to the marque. The maverick that he is, wants to do it again, being inspired by the hot response merited by the new Golf5 GTI. Piech also noticed the success of the co-op effort with the VW Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne. He also admires the way the Porsche Cayman was designed and manufactured. Alas! Porsche owns 18% stake of VWAG shares and more joint developments are forth-coming. This convinced him to do a co-op again, this time around a VW coupe as a brother of the Cayman but with a twist; a 911 positioned engine.

The Project name: VW Neu FastBack

Accessory to the Conspiracy:
Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO of Porsche AG, he must connive with Piech.

New Fasty....

The available colors are 'Lambo' swift Orange, Green and Yellow for the
'S' model....

G-T3 Zagato

1963 Type 3 (T3) 1500S Chassis # 3 was finally located and transformation went briskly. Brisk performance is the order of the day and akin to the car that took form in the Italian ‘Zagato’ auto works. Extensive use of aluminum panels employed, all hand-beaten over wood-molds, the traditional Italian coach-building way. Chrome trims were selectively applied, making for a period specific 1960’s look, of course hand formed. Cockpit and interiors received the period Grand Turisimo (GT) racing treatment; Italian ‘Nardi’ wood-rimmed steering wheel, full instrumentations with chrome rings, leather racing buckets and aluminum faced panels.

Running gear is a different route altogether. Modern suspension, 6-cylinder boxer engine and 6-speed ZF transmission are from Stuttgart. Beefed-up structural boxed frame, radically upgrades the Type3 chassis. Transferring all the torque unto the pavement is via massive 17” alloy wheels specially manufactured for this GT car by ‘OZ Racing’, with special ‘Pirelli’ rubber; thereby rolling on all ‘Italian Job’.

And one more thing…this G-T3 Zagato was flagged down in the Autostrada due to speeds in excess of 230kph…a ‘Fastback’ indeed.

FB3 GT Zagato

Urban Legends Series

A filthy rich British entrepreneur with German ancestry got hold of an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, from an auction for US$ 2.7 million. For the uninitiated, the 6-cylinder DB4 GT Zagato is regarded as the rarest and the most beautiful Aston Martin. It was originally offered from 1960 to 1963 and very exclusive, since only 19 examples were built.

So smitten by this Zagato that an obsession soon followed and further complications developed. Having a soft spot for Deutsche-made cars due to his German mother, he suddenly fell for a VW T34 Fastback. Flaming that enthusiasm is the fact that the roof line resembles that of his DB4 GT Zagato, so he pestered the owner to acquire that car. Unfortunately that VW owner won’t sell the T34 Fastback as it is the only one in existence and he is also an eccentric billionaire collector himself.

Not a guy to let go off his passion so easily from a slight setback, he embarked on having his own, no matter what. The solution with a vengeance; built his very own and exclusive to him only!

He set out to look for a period correct base for his creation and found it in the form of the very first chassis numbered 1963 VW Notchback 1500S to roll out of the Wolfsburg factory. The base car could have been a VW Fastback, but the first one came out in 1965, thus missing the correct era of 1960-63 for the DB4 GT Zagato. Incidentally, the T34 Fastback was derived from the original ‘notch’ configuration, so all the more the 1500S became a correct route to make the transformation. Contracting Zagato, the firm is easy enough as he has handsome ‘donation’ already in that company’s coffers. The result is a 1963 Zagato styled VW FastBack Type3, so exotic it is worthy of the name ‘FB3 GT Zagato’. So well made, that he commissioned another one, for his vintage rebel racing adventures!

FB3 GT Zagato, Street version using chassis #1

FB3 GT Zagato, Mille Miglia version using chassis #2

This guy is still pursuing chassis #3…….to complete the last of the FB3, the GT3 Zagato…….

A few of my favorite things

As a teen growing-up north of the metropolis, I was exposed to the simple life. Life that centered on family, good values and no-frills, is my foundation. I was much into cars very early, since my family’s business revolves around automobiles. With this exposure, appreciating and driving one became sooner than most kids my age.

My fondness to VW in particular, was a result of a Notchback being part of our family during that formative early adulthood. A 1963 VW 1500S to be exact, that contributed to making those years memorable. It has transformed from one color to another, from one style to the next, but it was better remembered as a dark blue Cal-look VW. My father named it ‘Mad Max’ due to its dark color paint,the black ‘banana’ centers its wheels sport and brisk acceleration.

Everyone recognizes ‘Max’ and was a constant companion on teenage fun and curious misadventures. I always had enjoyable errand-rides with it, while listening to new wave music on its cassette player radio. I can still recall how punchy the engine was and the unexplainable special ambience of just being inside.
‘Max’ was sold one infamous summer, much to our regret now. All of us miss ‘Max’ and are keeping our eyes open if it suddenly reappears. For now I’m Notch 1500S hunting, to get me back to where I started in VW. I’ll be patiently waiting for the right Notch to come my way.

Meanwhile, this NotchBox is regularly gracing my desktop till the real deal comes along.
NOTCHback-BOXster in my favorite ‘Max’ color….dark blue.

VW Street Day

Last Sunday is fun-day! As akin to warming up to a cup of coffee on a very fine early morning, an ideal fun-day starts with an ideal fun-run. Meeting up with old friends and making new ones, is always a recipe for delight. We began by blasting through the Metro Streets in our VW waterwagens, like boarding-school boys on a sem-break loose, we were in for unadulterated gear-head rush. With the Euro-wagens in a brisk convoy it seems as though we were on the Autobahns or Autostradas of Europe. A feeling of maybe a surreal road racing course like ‘Monte Carlo’ comes to my imaginative mind. After that blast of a fun-run, the Euro-wagens met up with their brethren down south for an all VW Gathering. Initially a gas station ‘pit-stop’ was in order, for a regrouping of more convoy members. Posing, parked and lined up with Old-Skool VW machinery, got merits of happy stares from on-lookers. The highlight of that day and the destination course is ‘VW Street’. A street officially named after a hardwood but for now it is designated as VW Street (I had the liberty of renaming it for you Volksbuddies) every last Sunday of each month. Fittingly that strip was packed with eighty-one Vdub of every type, style, stance and most of all with friendly owners having a fun time. Surreal? I tell you, this is real!

Dropped Riding

Custom Selecta Series

Low scraping the road is a style so cool. There is something about the mean dropped stance that is worthy of praise and obsession. Again, afflicted with never-ending creative obsession (for the nth time) I’m back to playing with Custom Selecta. This time, focusing on the weed-killer stance of VW and the lifestyle it represents.

Lowrider. A vert ‘Labaja’ T34 with speckled bright paintwork and pinstripe, chrome goodies and that smallish wire-wheel. Viva La Raza.
'Labaja Salsa'


HoodRide. A Panel ‘Bodega’ Bug with patina all around and stencil logo-sprayed on, shiny Randar wheels. In Rust We Trust.

Hog Bug

Conspiracy Theory Series

Covert Meeting Place:
A rebel outpost in Sturgis, South Dakota

Grand Conspirators:
Willie Davidson, grandson of one of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company’s founders and the designer of the 2002 Harley Davidson Vrod.
Fred Hidalgo, artist responsible for one of the most influential Hot Rod VWs, the 2002 ‘Stink Bug’ Vrod.

The Conspiracy:
The two artists realized they both have significant contributions to the gear-head society. Knowing they are part of the most influential ‘mutual-admiration-society’ of rebel designers, decided to join creative juices for a project vehicle codenamed, ‘Hog Bug’.

Accessory to the Conspiracy:
Martin Smith, designer-builder tasked to undertake the construction of Hog Rod Beetle in SoCal.

Harley-Davidson Owners Group Hot Rod Beetle, the Hog Bug

Up-close, front end

Up-close, rear end

‘Targa Florio?’ Revisited
My Points of View

My first ever bug-run was documented in an article I made in ‘BugsEye’, the official news-letter of VWCP. Had a blast joining the mountain road run to a lake resort and surely, the first is always the most memorable one.
I do hope that the article rubbed on to my fellow Volksbuddies, what it was like to join the ‘running of the pack’. But as they say, “pictures paint a thousand words”, so I’m sharing photos of that run from my vantage point, inside my car.

Early part of the run


KG preparing to pass me


On course to the Lake resort


Tail-gating the Karmanns


My Golf over-looking the lake

Euro-tuner

Custom Selecta Series

European flavor to customizing is distinct as they come. What’s tasty to the Americans might not be as delectable to the Europeans. Take the VW Beetle as a case study. The Yankees go for the pre-’67 Bug as their basis for custom rides, and generally frown on the obese, bulging later models which are great to capture the German-look.
I’ve gone trying to capture some Euro-tuner look in Custom Selecta from scratch again. Tune in to some of these wacky suggestions, or maybe creative obsessions.

Auto Motor Und Sport look
Swiftback Scalpel
Schweizer Fernsehen look
Swiss-Army Speedster
Top Gear look
Lotus 7-T1

Rebel Vrod

Those who love two wheels definitely know Harley Davidson. This bike is hand-built in the US, and it is an icon of the American way of life. Freedom and mobility, is what it stands for. A loyal following, which shares the same passion of ‘easy riding’ and ‘brotherhood’, fuels this legend. A brawny image of ‘tough as nails’ is akin to it, surviving the test of time and change. Or so it seems.
In 2002 the iconic company decided to rebel against its rebel image. A revolution in evolution, I might add. In decades of seemingly resisting technology for technologies’ sake, the legendary marque introduced its Vrod. A bike like no other in its history, a potential shaking of its image is inevitable. The Harley Vrod came with all the new technology to rival its Japanese competitors, and the biggest revolution is that the engine is water-cooled. A risky proposition indeed, in the eyes of the purist.

A similar proposition happened in the 70’s with VW. The air-cooled cars were steadily declining in demand, the tougher government regulations making them harder to compete, and the Wolfsburg Company is bleeding financially brought about a revolution in evolution. Thus the water-cooled cars came into being, and this proved to be a wise decision on VW, as it has grown to be a better company after that.

What prompted “Hallmark” of Kansas to do a collectible diecast of this Vrod is a guess as good as mine. Maybe their company signifies “hallmarks in time’, as this motorbike is precisely that in Harley’s history. The model is supposed to be an ornament for Christmas, a décor you might say. It’s was meant to be hanged, yet it’s downright heavy to say the least. Maybe it’s too special to hang as it is delicately detailed and really more apt for a glassed-up display case. I find it to be really cool and mine will be on display the whole year round.

Hallmark Vrod

Rebel Racer, Weekend Warrior

Everyone has this other side of his persona. Some dudes are downright docile most of the time but let loose once in the company of cheerful friends. Such can also be true with automobiles. There are in some ways, Mr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde cars, which reminds me of this double persona. The type of car that can be used practically everyday yet on weekends let loose its secret in another venue.

The early Shelby Mustang personifies just that. It is an everyday car, one that was even offered as a rent-a-car in its heyday. Owners and those who rented it eventually raced this on a weekend, as this performance car was really tuned to take the track. Of this genre, my favorites of course would be the cars from Stuttgart, the everyday sports cars from Porsche. First would be the 356 Speedster, a lightweight delight that was favored by the weekend racer. Another is the 911 Carrera 2.7 RS a very desirable stormer at the track in the 70’s. Both are at ease on the street as well as beating club racers with bigger engines on a Sunday. Now, this is what I call ‘Rebel Racer’ and it comes to mind, images of James Dean in his Porsche.

An ideal mold of a ‘Rebel VW’ would be a body beaten, bruised, rough on the edges 1965 Karmann Ghia. No glam-up car here, just real scars and scratches showing it was meant to be driven…fast. A reliable and bulletproof 2.7liter boxer motor with multi-carbs, is blueprinted for daily drive and weekend sorties. The radically reworked suspension is beefed up with tubular space frame stiffening the aging chassis and rolls on massive wheels. Obligatory roll cages, bottle of fire extinguisher, bonnet straps are outfitted for safety not vanity. Just plain, ‘keeping it real’ would do just fine, and this surely is what this “Rebel Yell”.

Karmann Ghia 2.7 RS…. Rebel Speedwagen

Lotus bug gag

Remember the BBC Top Gear episode, wherein Jeremy Clarkson (in typical British humor) trashed a stock Lada for a total makeover by Lotus Engineering....and that certainly made for one expensive joke.
Replicate the same plot, with a '71 VW (T1) 1302 turned over to Lotus for tuning. The talented team sought inspiration from their legendary Lotus 7, the epitome of hot rod Briton-style. The result is a very sick joke, the Lotus 7-T1 (Seven-T-One).

Gag bag contents:
From VW
1971 Type One 1302, radical chopped. Type 4, 2-liter boxer motor.
From Lotus
'Seven'-fenders, OEM ‘chrome orange’ paint, OEM side markers, OEM side mirrors, Xenon headlamps, Custom rear wing, Double-wishbone tuned suspension, Custom light alloy wheels.
From ECM
Creative Boredom, Comic relief design.

Lotus 7-T1 bug

Lowrider T-tres

Saw this custom 70's Benz once cruising along Ayala Avenue and was amused that it was given the Lowrider treatment.
To begin with, the Lowrider movement emanated from the Hispanic Pueblo in North America. Their distinct culture is evident in their cars which slowly captured the fancy of gearheads world-wide. It's a total lifestyle in itself, termed "La Raza". We Pinoys have this affinity to the Hispanic culture, having been a 300 year colony of Spain. A quick look at our well decorated indigenous vehicles will assert this. For me, I envisioned a Lowrider to be an early model Chevy Impala slammed so low and capable of hopping about. But this style can now be applied to a variety of vehicles.
Why not on a VW? To capture the low-slung profile, a Type3 Fastback is chosen. Fitting "Airkewld" bagged suspension and smallish wire wheels to capture the desired slammed stance. For the attitude, throw in rear wheel spats, visors, opera windows, chrome goodies, fancy airbrushed paint and just don't hold back. If you're still unsure, check out our glitzy Sarao jeepney; a bit of inspiration from this, might do the trick.

"La Raza" Fasty

Who let the dogs out!

Custom Selecta Series

Boredom can be grueling, especially on rainy nights. It’s been raining “cats and dogs” these past few days, and a perfect time to be on the PC. How about doing Custom “Selecta” from scratch? Now that definitely kills time and boredom. Doesn’t it?

Starting with a regular early 60’s Sedan, was easy enough. Channeling it to squat close to the ground is easy still. I did not draw any fenders, so that took care of ridding them, out of sight. But the real tricky part is getting the top chopped. Mind you, chopping the Bug is not that easy, due to its curved shape and proportion. On the real McCoy it must be a nightmare of a task, and doing the Selecta made me appreciate, the great skills of those who got them perfect.

Anyway here’s my attempt on the slicing the top….of these mean but loyal dogs.
“Pulis Dog” Volksrod….
“Askal” Volksrod….

An Italian exotic - VW connection and an unusual Vrod.

Lamborghini Murcielago? Or Gallardo? If you were thinking that this is the VW link, you're kinda right. For, Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen AG. Good guess, but not these two hot exotics. This particular exotic is not that simple to guess.
Two Christmas seasons ago I got hold of this rare Italian beauty. Talking VWs and anything with wheels with a buddy in Lawson Street that lazy December afternoon, our topic shifted to two wheels.
This buddy remembered he has an old bicycle in the attic. Taking a look at it, I was surprised to see a gem in the rough.
A week later, just before Christmas, that friend needed a part for a VW Golf 2. He knew I have a spare ECU lying around and that I was drooling over the Italian vintage lightweight bicycle. Without hesitation we traded and that exotic was mine. That treasure came about because of VW, and that unusual connection was sealed by destiny.

My 1960's CINELLI Vintage Lightweight Bicycle.
This bicycle carries the badge of one of the most sought after vintage light-weight road bicycles, proudly displaying where it was made; MILANO. Lugged chromed frame with Campagnolo dropouts. Campagnolo wheel hubs. Cinelli stem and Cinelli Unicator saddle. 

I restored my Cinelli taking cues from prevailing car culture combined with road racing bicycle influences.

"GTV" Gran Turisimo Velo
Or Grand Touring Bicycle.
In touring guise...taking a Resto-Custom approach...the name is a tribute to EMPI's Joe Vittone of Italian descent and inspired by Grant Peterson's Rivendell bicycles.

"Vrod" Velo Roadster
In Hot Rod guise...strip down, fender-less lightweight....Classic Rod combination; Black, chrome and splashes of red…Vintage Rebel.

Cinelli trivia
- The Cinelli bicycle is an icon of great Italian designs which include the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Vespa. All of which have cult followings.
- The founder and the company bearing his name, is credited with landmarks in cycling history, innovations and designs.
- Vintage Cinelli lightweights can fetch prices beyond the US$4,000 mark today. Many enthusiast-collectors even consider them investments.

Concept Collaboration

The history of Volkswagen and Porsche are intertwined. Fame Ferdinand Porsche was tasked to develop the first VW and later this paved the path for a car company that would later bear his name. It is no wonder that even in the decades to follow; the houses of Wolfsburg and Stuttgart collaborate and thus enjoy the benefits of their common lineage.
Such is project code 914. Essentially a co-op car, a mid-engine boxy shaped design and built by Karmann, no less. Marketed as a VW and Porsche, side by side, depending on which showroom it was shown. Frankly it was one of the misunderstood cars from the era it was introduced. Yet today, it has a growing and loyal fan base. Especially true is the 911 engined derivative, of which was packed with a 6-cylinder motor and suspension upgrade. The car was officially named 914-6 and has under its belt, successful foray in car races. You can identify this 914 on a steroid, externally by bulging bumpers, bulging wheel arches and ultra-desirable Fuchs alloy wheels. It would be an honor and a pleasure to own today, such a rare variant of this co-op car.
Meanwhile our local chap “Sakbayan” somehow resembles the 914 boxy silhouette. A wrecked 911 offers crucial transplant such as the 6-pot boxer mill and suspension, to make this plain local guy turn into our local hero. Muscles bulging from the pulled-fenders, tucking those Porsche alloys making for a much wider stance. A two tone Carrera paint, a targa top and swept windshield transform this into a Co-op Boxster racer.
Sketchy Super hero, Sakbayan Karera…..S914-6Boxy Silhouette Selecta....

Razor treatment

Getting colds can be annoying. It takes you away from your usual weekend habit of being with cars and bicycles. I particularly missed pedaling, the wind-on-your-face blast you get atop cool wheels. So what have I been doing that time? I reckon if I have to spend time squeezing my nose red, might as well do some doodling.
For starters, I got into my usual pencil and marker pen sketches. Subject chosen, is the not-too-oft model that is the Karmann Ghia Type 34. While I’m doing the lines and curves of this particularly queer Volkswagen made me realize something. The guy who originally designed this was a pervert. A genius of a pervert that is, having the creative passion to do a very complex massing of clashing shapes. I would attempt to read that Italian artist during those moments as saying (complete with animated hand gestures), “Controlled chaos is magnifico!”.
Here is my attempt to recreate his sketches…. After a while I went into perversion mode myself. Got unto the PC and made a Razor Selecta with a few twists. Ahh, what do you know… creative perversion can also be contagious like colds. I think it too doesn’t have a cure.
My T34 Selecta…."Pulis Matulis" or Police Razor.
Fastback T34 anyone? ...."Labaha-Kuba"

Miniature Runtrods

Fans and collectors alike agree that, "Hot Wheels" is the coolest car company. Fittingly so, you can find almost all types of custom vehicles in their range of diecast cars. Volkswagens are well represented and generally, they are highly prized and thus very collectible.Even “ire of the purist” lookers exist as one of the “off-the-shelf” variants in their VW Bug model. Primer painted with blazing flames graphic tampo. Halibrand Big and Little wheels giving it the raked stance and red Bug interiors.
Here's mine, parked on my shelf....
Another variation on the theme is the Hoodride. Prevailing feature is the raw and weathered look of classic VWs. Drop stance or mean camber, anything goes. Here a fellow member of MCC has this to share. Totally customize Vdub (not necessary "Hot Wheels") to capture the look quite well. It goes to show, “If you can’t buy it off-the-shelf, build it yourself”, is the way to go.In rust we trust....Thanks much Jerry! Keep on customizing and collecting those cool mini-mean VWs.