Sunday, December 27, 2009

Volkswagen Concept: Thomas' Novuhair Truck



Fresh from the 24th VWCP Show. A concept VW pickup by Thomas Adam, a German who is a longtime Philippine resident.

Thomas bought this project at the end of 2008 from Raymond Bayer who's father had started it but, unfortunately, passed away and Raymond had no time nor interest to finish it.

At the time he bought the car the body was almost done. The idea of a VW pickup had been decided. However, Thomas injected a lot of personal touches. He replaced the late fenders, hood, and doors with the appropriate early parts. The paint chosen was 'coral red', an original VW colour of 1953 and 1954. The Dupont paint used was purchased from Highland Trading.

The tinsmithing took almost 4 months and the painting likewise. The project was very much delayed by last year's rainy and typhoon season. In fact, Thomas' place in Taguig was flooded for almost two weeks after Typhoon Ondoy's wrath.

Thomas chose a 1500 engine that he overhauled completely. He also upgraded Other mechanical parts to later era VWs like the bolt joints, dual circuit brake system, high torque starter, etc.

Many of the interior parts were ordered thru TheSamba.com like the very rare oval armrest on the passenger side and the oval ashtray, speaker grill, tachometer with transparent needle, oval sun visor and rear view mirror, handles, etc.

The rims are also special: they come from an early split Kombi (owner decided to upgrade his to Porsche mag wheels), The Alberts outside mirrors are stainless steel reproductions made here in the Philippines (likewise, all the trims, etc.) The steering wheel is an original very early (split) standard steering wheel of Volkswagen which we were able to exchange with Christian (who owns one of the most accessorized beetles in the Philippines) against a new Banjo Steering wheel (Flat4 reproduction). The interior (seats, sidings, headliner, etc.) was made by Mang Rowen in Ortigas. The mechanical installations were done by Mang Bert. The overall supervision of this project had Audwil, who is a fellow vintage volkswagen aficionado. The pick up beetle (no name yet...) has won this year in the "special interest" category.

All in all this project has taken us about one year to finish. There are still many things that Thomas wants to improve, and, of course, has cost him quite a lot more than anticipated. But that's the 'fate' of any restoration project.

The pick up beetle is planned as an advertising vehicle for Thomas' all-natural hair grower (which is being marketed under the brand name Novuhair by Mercury Drug and World of Wellness).

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Volkswgen Concept: Terracotta Slamma

If given the opportunity, this is what I would have done.

Don’t get me wrong, I love what Thomas did with the bug. It’s just, if it were me, I would have taken this truck to another level.

Volkswagen Concept: Teracotta Slamma builds on the great foundation of the Terracotta Truck and applies my own design cues to interpret the design into something my own.

First off, the things gotta be slammed! Stock is good but this VW’s attitude is a lot meaner, more purposeful. Another big change is the meatier meats on body colored Gas Burner rims to replace the wide 5 rims and ‘caps.

For me, the big change is in the body itself, We start off with a little off the top. A 3 inch top chop and matching “shorty” ragtop makes for a prettier profile. Instead of using flat sheet metal to define the pickup portion of the truck, I opted to use, pieces from another VW icon, the Type2, particluarly the corner windows, jail bars and the side intake vents. The re-design makes the truck look that much more in the 60’s VW design language.

A strong 1835, dual Weber fed, bullet-proof Type 1 handles the load quite well. A Narrowed KP/LP front end tucks the front wheels nicely into the early fenders, while a couple o clicks in the rear make the stance simply tasty.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Volkswagen Club of the Philippines (VWCP) All-VW Classic and Custom Show 2009


Volkswagen Club of the Philippines (VWCP) All-VW Classic and Custom Show 2009, Naval Parade Grounds, Fort Bonifacio, Sunday, December 6, 2009





UPDATE: 12/07/09

The turnout was great despite all the calamities that happened earlier this year. It was good to see the Vdubbers enjoy this day even if we had some real bad experiences. It was a time to tell our stories of how Ondoy devasted our community and how we coped, and how we got together to put all the bad things that happened behind and move on.




It was nice to see some cars already up and running but it was also sad to know that there are still some VDubs out there that have yet to recover. We miss them.

Some pictures



more pictures here: http://manilaghia.multiply.com/photos/album/94?mark_read=manilaghia:photos:94