This page last modified- 11/3/01

Picture above taken by Peter Cook while following me up to the NH club show on June 25th, 2000.

June 4th; the VVWCA Northeast Classic in Norwalk CT (My '57s first show!!);  Third place, class B ('54-'57); CVA President's award for Best Restoration

June 18th; the Litchfield Bug-Inn (now held in Harwinton, CT);  Third place, class B ('54-'57) 

June 25th; The NH club's summer show in Hopkinton NH; First place, class A/B ('46-'57); Best of Show overall

July 23rd; "Time Machine's", Durham CT, sponsored by the Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society; First place, all VW class 

August 20th; the CVA'S summer show in Terryville CT;   Second place, class B ('54-'57) 

September 24th; the Green Mountain VW Club's show in Johnson, Vermont; Chosen as participant in the "Tournament of Champions" class, awarded a participant's trophy. 
 

 It was quite a year!!! 

 The last big Northeast show of the summer. This time the weather was perfect again, coolish, but bright sun and blue sky. I had arranged to meet up with Paul Blanchette who lives in Amesbury, MA and who was debuting his '56 Euro Sunroof Beetle, at the I-495/MA Turnpike toll plaza at 7:30am. Just after the plaza, we would meet up with Peter Cook and his '58 sedan.

 When I left in the morning at 7:00am, I turned the key and nothing happend. I quickly retracted it and turned again and it started right up like it normally does. Barely 3 minutes into the trip (at my nearby gas station), the '57 gave me another surprise. As I coasted up to a red light, it just stopped. I went to re-start it and nothing. No starter, no lights on the dash, nothing. The light turned green, fortunately there was no traffic, no one behind me. I got out and pushed the car accross the intersection, the road sloped down ont he other side and their was a gas station on the left. Halfway across the intersection, I hopped in and coasted to the gas station. Trying not to panic, I got out and grabbed my 6-volt-bulb-on-a -pair-of-clipleads tool. I found that there was power at the headlight switch (the first palce the main feed from the battery goes) but none at the ignition switch (next stop). As I moved some wires, I saw the main power feed lead to the ignition switch move in its terminal. I twisted the screw on the terminal, it was loose. I tightened it up, and the car started right up.

 I met up with Paul Blanchette at the toll plaza, his car was beautiful. We went on through the plaza on to the MA Turnpike, then pulled on the shoulder. Moments later, Peter Cook and his dad came along, towing his black '58 with a small motorhome. We proceded down the pike to the Charlton rest area, where we met up with Dave Tosi in an Explorer (I think) pulling his trailered '65 Beetle "project" that he was going to try to sell at the swaps. On I-84, leading the caravan, I passed abeige late model Beetle on the shoulder, engine lid up. I hesitated, thinking of my moral duty to assist and aircooled owner stranded, at the same time considering the convoy of 5 vehicles I was leading. I opted not to stop, but was releived to see Dave and the trailer swerve over to assist. I later talked to Dave at the show and he told me that the owner hadn't a clue and had begun losing power on the highway. Dave adjusted tha badly timed engine, got it running but was all but certain that the fella had lost the #3 cylinder. He advised him to limp home on the back roads...
 

Paul took a much deserved first place in the B class ('54-'57), I took second. Paul's car is the black one next to mine in this picture to the left. Characteristic of a euro model, the car has semaphores, cloth interior, blade bumpers. 

The were 16 split window Beetles at the show, among them a '50 from a near-neighbor of mine, Gary Constantine. Gary had just taken delivery of this car from Italy weeks prior. Black, very nicely done interior. As they were trying to break the record (again) for the number of splits at a show (they did), the split calss wasn't judged. The swaps at this show were as good as any I had seen before. I picked up a nice dent free 36hp air cleaner for $10. All in all, this show was excellent. My car ran perfectly on the return trip, still slogging on some of the bigger hills, but running straight and strong on the level at 65mph. Only disappointment was that there is still oil leaking around the fuel pump somewhere. Not enough to drip, but enough to make things in that area "wet". Also, my speedo will have to come back out again, it is "twanging" a bit and the needle is bouncing. Oh well, something to keep me working on the car..... 
 

Total miles driven this trip: 206

 When I set the valves, I first check to see if a .006" blade will fit. If it feels loose, I try a larger one to see exactly what the clearance is. Once I find what it is, I record it, then re-set it to .006" If the .006" one won't fit, I first try .005". If .005" fits, I leave it. On any one but #3, I will also leave it if it measures out to .004". But any thing smaller, and I re-set the clearance to .006". 

I changed the oil and also pulled the strainer. I was stunned to see a good 3/16" circle of black goo all around the screen!! It felt like soft grease, and was not gritty or didn't look like it held any metal particles. I had changed the oil frequently, but didn't remember ever having pulled the strainer. I was a bit embarrassed (but no one saw it). I cleaned it off with solvent, blew it with compressed air. The screen looked like it was in excellent shape. Fine mesh, no deformation. I cleaned off the sump plate and replaced it all using new gaskets.

 I pulled the fuel pump (again!) to replace the gaskets, there was still oil leaking underneath. I checked everything out (including the placement of the push rod with the convex end toward the engine case) and re-installed it. A few minutes of running the engine, and the oil leak was back. Closer inspection revealed the oil pressure switch just above it leaking. I had suspected this earlier, and tightened the switch in the case. But now it was clear that the switch was leaking out of its "face" the bakelite insert around the screw terminal. Luckily, I had an NOS correct one that I bought on eBay sometime last year. Getting a fat socket on the switch proved quite the challenge. Eventually I succeeded buy pulling the distributor, and the loosening the fuel pump nuts (AGAIN!) so it could slide to the left a bit. I used a "deep" 1 1/8" socket, a bit big, the correct one would be a 27mm. Didn't have one of those. No more leaks.

 Lastly, I spent some time to determine excatly where top dead center on my crank pulley was. I had been having a strange, intermittent spark droupout problem (See the NH show entry, below) and had never really taken the time to insure that the engine was setup properly. Using a wooden dowel in a spark plug hole, and some pencil marks, I confirmed that my pulley was correct for the 36hp engine, and that the notch was at 7.5 degrees BTDC. I set the timing properly, with the vacuum line disconeected, and verified that both the centrifical and vacuum advance were functioning. I alsoe set the point gap again.

 The engine now ran smoothly and rev'ed nicely with no stumbling. 

The 2nd largest Hot Rod show in CT, with its own special VW class sponsored by Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society. The entire show is for cars 1975 or older and this its 22nd year, probably had 400+ cars (my guess). The VW class was judged as a whole, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There were about 20 VWs, one Ghia and the rest Beetles. My '57 was the oldest of the lineup. I won first place, but by far the neatest thing was how they awarded the trophies. After they announced the winners, you got to go get your car and drive it up to recieve your trophy in front of the awards tent. Big thanks to Steve Burns (who found a '55 Beetle Sedan in a barn, totally solid and complete minus and engine, and was given the car. Today he wanders the swaps for hours and points out the incorrect adornments on the early ovals at the shows) for taking these pics of me driving up to receive my trophy. The row of outhouses in the background are a nice touch Steve.

 The car ran well with its new clutch. It was nice to be able to hold the roller pedal on the floor going up the long hills and not to have to strain through all the road noise to hear if the clutch was slipping and the engine revving up. Still was dipping below 50 at the tops of the hills though. I took a 10 second mpg with the Mavica while I was driving home, click here to see it if you have an mpg viewer and can tolerate a 540KB download. Also on the way back, I stopped at a rest area and flipped open the decklid to check the position of the cooling ring (always want to check up on that thermostat). Then I looked under the fuel pump flange and there was a 14mm nut down there! I fished it out and started looking for where it came from. It was a shouldered nut, it almost looked like some hardware from inside the case! Then I spotted it. It was the throttle lever retaining nut on the carb. I had pulled it loose when I did the clutch to get clearance for the accelerator cable tube and didn't honestly remember tightening it again.

 Hats off to Steve Mierz and the Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society for a great VW event!!! 

 Total miles driven this trip: 206

 Besides being a great place to get a roast beef sandwich, Riley’s (a local chain, I think) has a special VW connection for me. First of all. that 3 story apartment building you can see behind it is where I lived from ’88 to ’90. During that time I was driving my ’67, and it was in that parking lot that I hack-sawed the nose off the ’67 and welded a new one in. See my scrapbook page. Rileys opened just before I moved out of that apartment and bought a house. But in the early 90s they began hosting a “cruise” night on Saturdays. And as a practice, the local Hot Rod club that organized it took pictures of all the cars that came, and the restaurant owner taped them up on the walls of inside. I began taking my kids there for dinner when my wife was working nights pretty often in the mid 90s, and my son used to look at all the cars on the wall. I used to tell him “When daddy finishes his Beetle, we’ll come here in it for cruise night and maybe they’ll even take a picture of it and hang it up.” We talked about this each time we went there, and it became yet another pressure for me to finish the car and not let my son down.

In the fall of 1999, I finished the car and Ryan and I drove it to Riley’s for cruise night. We did it a couple times that fall, but we were never approached by a photographer. Then, in the spring of 2000 when the weather turned warm, I decided to go out to Riley’s one Saturday night with the Beetle. I asked Ryan if he wanted to go, but he declined (and wanted to play a game on the computer instead). So I went out on my own. But just backing down the driveway, the garage door flew open and my wife and daughter Eryn flew out “Eryn wants to go with you!” my wife shouted. “Ok” I said, and Eryn climbed in the back and buckled up. At Rileys we got a good spot out front and no sooner had we got out of the car than a man approached with a camera. “Mind if I take a picture of your car for the restaurant?” he said. “Sure!” I replied and Eryn and I backed away. “No” he said, “stand next to it with your little girl. This is how we do them now..”

So now there on the front wall (to the right as you go through the door, along the front down near the end) is a picture of my Beetle. My son Ryan has seen it now, me, my '57 Beetle and his little 5 year old, red-haired sister in it squinting in to the sun.

 On nice summer nights, the Riley’s cruise is quite a site. The event covers not just the restaurant parking lot, but the bank next to it, the Mobil station across the street and the Exxon station across the intersection. Hot rods, antique restos, motorcycles, trucks new sports cars, you name it. The restaurant does a serious business on those nights and does a surprisingly good job of keeping up with the customers. And my Beetle usually gets quite a bit of attention at the event. I noticed lots of disinterested spouses being drawn to it and hear lots of stories about the Beetles that were in their past.

 Total miles driven this trip: 24

 I have started enjoying maore and more going to "Cruise Nights" in between VW shows. There are several very close to me. Hebert's Candy Mansion is a big candy factory about 25 mins from my house. The facade of the "factory" is actually very picturesque (sorry, no pic) and they are well know in the area, notably for their "Haunted House" at Halloween. I had heard a rumour that their Thursday night Cruise Night was even bigger than Riley's Roast Beef's in Framingham, so I decided to check it. I got home from work a bit early and with the lure of ice cream, got the whole family to go.

 We got there around 6:30p and waited in line behind a 70's Corvette 'vert to get in. Once on the field I got directed to an end spot next to a massive black Chevelle. "Got room for a small one right over there" the guy said. (see if you can find my car in the picture). My car gets lots of attention at these types of shows as it really stands out. The "disinterested in Mopars" spouse always stops and says "now would you look at that, remember when Uncle Leo had one ...... "

 No judging, just a fun show and shine. Interesting talking to other enthusiasts, marque aside, there are some very common personality characteristics....

 Total miles driven this trip: 32

 Not letting an annoying ignition problem slow me down. I put a 12 volt coil in the '57, a 12 volt battery under the hood, a quick re-wire and some clip leads, off I went. (It was the only was at that time that I could get the car to run right!!). It turned out to be a hot hazy summer day (no rain!!!). With the A class ('46-'53 splits) and the B class ('54-'57 Ovals) combined at this smaller show, I found my self flanked by Geoff Aldridge's (NH) black '50 sunroof and Steve Hammond'd (ME) grey '50 standard. Both of these guys are DKF members and BOTH took their cars to Germany on the "Return to der Fatherland" tour last year. VERY nice restorations. I was VERY surprised with my first place win out of the 5 cars in the class. And like the Northeast classic show, I was truly honored again with the "Best in Show" award which is drawn against the entire show field at this event (watercooleds too!).

 On the way back, I saw a smattering of VWs on the shoulder of I-89. I did my duty and coasted over. A late model 'vert and a split window bus had stopped along with a late 60s Beetle. The kid was staring into the engine bay. "It just stopped" he said perplexed. The engine was VERY hot. And guess what folks? That is right. NO engine bay seal, NO rear breast plate tin, and NO fresh air hoses (outlets wide open). Nice chrome "Zoom Tube" exhaust though. I don't think he cooked his engine completely though. He tried to start it, it sputtered a bit and wheezed and stopped. I told him if he was lucky, he was just boiling gas in the line and would be OK if he let it cool off;... until it overheated again. I lectured him about the need for seals and tin and hose. He got some new hoses he had bought at the show and started putting them on. Newbie for sure. That engine was HOT. He said it was fine in the morning. But it wasn't 90 degrees in the morning I told him.

I got home just after 5:00, and later was sitting on the steps of my house with my wife an kids . The late afternoon sun was sparkling through the trees and relfecting off my '57 that was sitting down the driveway. Nice shot I thought, and I grabbed the camera.

 Total miles driven this trip: 190

 The brainchild of Bill Berckman in 1998, this year's day had the promotional support of enthusiasts everywhere plus the big VW magazines. My drive was nice, save for a failing ignition coil that made the car run like a suddering tank after the first 15 mintures. I did drive it around the perimeter road surrounding the office complex I work at several times at lunch and took some pics. To and from work, I got lots of stares, waves and a couple toots from passing motorists.

 In spite of the fact that it was running poorly, I drove my kids to my son's baseball game in it after I got home.

 Total miles driven this trip: 90

 The forcasters really blew it on this one. I actually took this picture on the left on the way back. when I left the house at 5:30 AM, it was bright and sunny. About halfway down I swept under a thick gray could cover. About 45 mins after I got to the show and set the car up, it started to sprinkle. I was walking the swaps at that point, everybody looked up and said "oh no, it can't be". In 12 years, it had not rained on this show once. But today was the day. It began to shower steadily so I headed back to my car to get some stuff I had left outside under cover. 

As I approached my car, I saw Dave Cormack (aka "KaferDave"") next to my car, gingerly trying to close the driver's side door. He had rolled up the window for me. We had arranged to meet at this show, and he knew my car well from its "exposure" at this website. As I approached, I yelled angrily "Hey! Get away from that car!!!". Now Dave did not have the benefit of having seen my picture in VW Trends like I had seen his, so he didn't know my face. He turned and with an expression of a 12 year old being scolded by a strict grandmother said "Oh, I was trying to close the window and keep the rain out....." as I grinned he said "...are you John Henry?"

 Believe it or not, I didn't really by much in the swaps. A knob that might fit the SWF window windshield washer that I found was about it. I did buy 3 key blanks and have new keys cut for my door, ignition and decklid (all different keys!!). Cost me $28.

They had a ferris wheel at the show, that was free to ride (although they were taking donations for the charity the show's proceeds were going to and were doing quite well with that). My wife and kids drove down in the afternoon, inspite of the rain, and my kids had fun riding the ferris wheel. Here's a picture of the show field from atop the ferris wheel. My car is just above the red canopy. This was taken very late in the afternoon and at least half of the show cars had left already due to the crappy weather.

We hung around for the awards ceremony, and again, I got 3rd place in class "B", Stock Beetles '54-'57. There were 12 Ovals in that class. On the way home I stopped at my in-laws for a Father's Day dinner. Just as I pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine, I looked down at the speedo and saw this:
 
 

Neat huh? Anyway, despite the on and off rain all day and ZERO sunshine, it was a pretty good show. The rain didn't hurt my '57 any, in fact it came home with far fewer bugs on it than it would have had if had been sunny. For some more pics from the Litchfield show, check out this page. 

Total miles driven this trip: 240

I have setup another page detailing this whole show event, the Northeast Classic 2000. But I'll give a quick summary.

 I won two trophies! I won 3rd place in my class (stock, '54-'57), bested by Humberto Lapa's gorgeous black '55 sunroof, and Erik Smestead's Coral Red '57. But I also won the CVA President's award for Best Restoration. I was thrilled. The trip wasn't without a couple minor mechanical problems. My speedometer cable broke just 25 miles out. Later investigation revealed the cause as an improperly bent cable tube under the hood. I also found a small leak in my fuel pump, a rebuild kit is on order. And my clutch continues to slip a bit. Isn't getting any worse, but I have ordered a new pressure plate and disc.

Thanks to Fred Stedler of NJ for taking this picture of me cleaning the bugs off my hood after arriving in Norwalk.

 Total miles driven this trip: 300 [Note: after disassembling my speedo to fix a seized input shaft that was caused my the mis aligned cable tube, I "adjusted" the mileage shown on the odometer to reflect the 275 miles that weren't clocked on this trip.] 

This was a "family" trip, one day after my son's eighth birthday. Last year we did this trip in the family wagon and took the dogs. But dogs are not allowed in my Oval. We packed a blanket and a picnic lunch. It was just a tad cool, but the sun was nice. The turnout for this non-judged, no swap meet event was better than last year.

 The car ran great, all packed with kids, picnic supplies, books and some toys. The only real problem I continue to have is the clutch slipping. At 40mph, in 4th gear, up hills, it will slip. Perhaps I'll be pulling the engine this summer.

There were many Beetles of all years, lots of buses and a surprising number of Things (I'd guess at least 4). Across the road, the watercooled hobby was on display. In the pic on the left, Peter Cook's black '58 can be seen next to my Diamond Green Metallic '57.

 Total miles driven this trip: 150 

 Total miles driven this trip: 73 

• I removed the plastic cover from the carbd
• I filled the oil bath filter and put it back on the carb
• Re-tightened the spark plugs
• Put the battery back in
• After a 20 minute drive, I drained and replaced the oil

Next time I take it out, I'll check the valve settings and go over the ignition, points, etc. 

 On a very cold December day, I took the car out to the gas station to "top off" the tank, and then come back and complete the "winterizing" storage procedures (see Page 22 of the Resto Series). But the fuel stabilizer has to be added to the full tank and then the car must be driven enough to get stabilized fuel back into the carburetor. So I took the opportunity for one more drive.

I went to a very special place near my home to shoot a few pictures. It is Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. I had been wanting to take the car there and photograph it. In the first picture, the car is parked near a stone wall which runs adjcent the Grist Mill. The Grist Mill is a waterwheel powered mill where two huge, round stones grind corn and flour into "grist" or a cornmeal for baking. In the summer the mill is still used for exhibition purposes and the grist can be purchased. Henry Ford (yes, the car guy) bought the Inn Property in 1923 and built this water-powered grist mill as an educational replica not far from the site of the original 1740s grist mill.

The Martha Mary Chapel is another building on the Inn grounds. The Chapel does not have a congregation, there are no Sunday services there. But the building may be rented for weddings. On weekends in the spring and summer months, 3-5 weddings a day are held there, you have to book the building a year or two in advance. The Chapel was built in 1940 by then owner Henry Ford (yes, the car guy) in memory of his mother-in-law and mother. Some of the wood used to build the chapel came from trees that once grew where the chapel now stands. Many were blown down in the hurricane of 1938 and Henry Ford decided to put them to good use. 

My wife and I were married there in May of 1990.

 The actual Inn on the property still operates. Rooms can be rented, but the Inn is best known locally for its restaurant. The original Inn was built between 1702 adnd 1707 and served as an important stop for travellers going in and out of Boston. The Inn is very rich in colonial history and is very pretty place. The resaurant is outstanding and very reasonable. Go to the website listed above to read more about the Inn, and if you are ever in the area, be sure to visit. The Inn is roughly 22 miles due west of Boston. (and about 5 minutes from my house too.) 

 As we approached the very rural airfield (Sterling airstrip, about an hour west of Boston) I saw that they were in fact towing gliders up. I also saw this stunning WWII Biplane parked out front of the hanger. I had seen it there before and thought it might be nice to take a picture of my car next to it. But when I went to leave and go back past the hangar, it had been put away.

So today, as soon as we drove in, I pulled up and parked as close as I dared to the plane. Two guys (who I later saw take the plane up) were discussing something, one of them had a small model Biplane and must have been demonstrating something. This plane was stunning. It looked like it had about a 10 or 12 cylinder radial engine. After I posted this pic on the web and mentioned it to the RAMVA newsgroup, someone replied and said that this plane is a "Stearman PT-13/17 'Kaydet', usually just called a 'Stearman'. Used during WWII to train combat pilots. Lycoming radial engine with around 220hp, top speed about 125mph.....and it is aircooled." 

My car continues to run well and be a true joy to drive. AND, the odometer rolled over to "01000" on the way home!!! I think it clocks about 2-5% too fast (so possibly only 950 miles) but considering I only got it "legal" in October, that ain't too bad. One thing I am learning about driving a 36hp Beetle is that while it may be able to go 60-65mph, and feel very happy sustaining that speed, you just don't get there all that damn fast. And anything more than a moderate hill bogs it down a bit. But I am much more comfortable driving it and am enjoying all the looks. 

 The heat in the '57 works quite well, with only the slightest hint of "engine" smell. For those who don't know what "stale air" heat is, it is a system where the same air that is blown across the cylinders, heads, etc. is blown into the car for heat. As long as your engine is fairly clean, the smell isn't bad. But get a good filthy, oily, high mileage engine and you would just as well leave the heat off and stay cold. In '63 the "fresh air" heating system was introduced, where "separate" air was channeled through enclosed boxes around the exhaust manifolds for heat. Anyway, inspite of the upper 30s temps, I was quite warm in the car.

 At Dave's house we got to talking about parts and he told me that he might have that green plastic visor that I needed. We went up into the loft over his garage and he did in fact have a very nice used one. He sold it to me for $20 and my car was now officially complete! The visor was the last part that I needed! 

Went over to the in-laws and took them for a promised ride. Car ran great, clutch still slipping a bit if you really load it just above 40mph in 4^th. Just too tired (big Haloween party last night) to tweak it today. 

 Anxious for any VW “event”, I decided to drive down to Connecticut on October 17th for the “Fall Cruise” hosted by the Connecticut VW Association. Earlier in the week, rain was in the forecast and I vowed to stay home if it rained, but early in the weekend it was clear the chance of rain was very small. ’70 Crew Cab owner and Newport Rhode Island resident John Spohn had indicated an interest in participating, so we arranged to meet up in Putnam CT, just of I-395 south of Worcester that morning. When I last spoke to John, he was troubleshooting a generator problem on “Schnell”. He said that if he did not resolve it, he would still meet up and ride along with me in the ’57.

 I left the house at 6:15 am, having no real idea how far Putnam was. I told John I would meet him there around 7:15. It was dark when I left, my 6 volt halogen euro headlight “conversions” once again served me well. Just south of Worcester, I encountered some patchy but very dense fog. So much so that it was condensing on the windshield. I actually had to use my wipers. I remember when I put them on and tested them, I thought “I’ll probably never use them..” 

I made it to Putnam at exactly 7:15. Had I looked left off the exit ramp I surely would have seen the McDonalds that I was to meet John at, but I didn’t. Instead, I proceeded through the fog through Putnam until it was clear that I was out the other side of town, turned around, asked directions (had to suppress the testosterone), and found the McD’s. John wasn’t there but showed up about 5 minutes later in some Japanese econo car. It wasn’t Schnell, that is all I remember. 

We headed west, through Putnam, along 44 until we got to 79 west, then to I-84. By this time it was bright and sunny, and “Zinny” had no problem scooting along at 60-65 in the right lane. We went though Hartford and took 6 west to route 8 North. I took 8 north, but upon examining the map, John noticed that we should have gone south. We proceeded to the next exit, and followed signs to some town (I forgot what it was called) that looked near our destination Morris, CT. We ended up waaay back in the woods, then popped out in a small town. We asked directions again (gulp) and got back on track. We followed the club flyer’s directions and eventually found the Restaurant parking lot where the cruise was to start. It was about 10:10 (the meeting time was published as 10:00). 

There were about 40 cars in the parking lot. Lots of Beetles, a smattering of New Beetles, some watercooleds and a bus or two. One Westy we recognized as having been the same one that passed us on I-84. We idled down to the far end of the lot and parked in corner space. Several people strolled over and checked out my car, I got lots of compliments. Bill Sylvestri was the organizer from the CVA, or at least the guy with the loudest voice. The event flyer had a good description of the route, with stops about every 20-30 minutes. Bill pointed out the “lead” CVA member and identified his car to all. And he identified the “tail” driver, a fella in a late model Vangon who would insure no one got lost or stuck. The group was instruct that if they had some kind of equipment failure, to just pull over and that the “tail” driver would help them out. 

It was at this point that I discovered I left the digital camera at home (!).
 

Of course I glanced around the lot to see if my car was the oldest one. It was, for about 5 more minutes. Then a familiar ’52 oval dash split rolled in with (vintage) NY plates. I had seen this car in the parking lot at many of the CVA summer shows. It is a true split window “Driver”. Black, well worn, with lots of “bolt on” signal and marker lights, and lots of dash plaques and other gadgets. But there was nothing irreversible on the car. It was not rusty, but needed a paint job in a bad way. We left the restaurant parking lot, a long line of aircooled VWs scooting down the road. The first stop was a big church parking lot. I had commented to John that I thought it was be neat if the cars were ordered in line by age, or at least all the Beetles together. But it was plain to see that such a logistical effort might have been a real time waster. In spite, I jockyed my ’57 for position at the church parking lot to be near a “cluster” of other early Beetles.

At the church, and at all the other stops for that matter, was the usual VW chit-chat that makes the aircooled hobby fun. While we possibly all at one time or another have strained friendships by going on and on at work or other places about aircooled VWs with folks who have no interest in them at all, all of a sudden here we are in a big group of VW nuts with their cars. No pressure to run off and comb swap meets or detail and primp cars for show judging. Just casual banter, compliments, questions, etc. There were some folks who had seen my resto progress at my website who came up and said things like “It is really nice to see someone actually finish a full blown vintage restoration!”. 

Suddenly I noticed another black split window Beetle in the lot. This one had one of those big plastic “wind up” keys on the back lid. Upon closer examination, I discovered that this sedan was a ’46!! It was an older resto, but very nice and very correct.

 The only real disappointment in the event was the park that they stopped at for lunch. The gate attendant took $5 from CT residents and $8 from non-residents (me) for us to be parked in their lot for a little over an hour! This was not the fault of the organizers, they did not know that the park was taking a parking fee. When you paid the attendant, he gave you a plastic bag and told you that you were responsible for taking out your own trash as there were no trash cans at the park. $8 to park and they can’t put a few trash cans out!? Actually, I did find one in the bathroom. The park was nice, had a big waterfall and wooden nature walk. The event flyer had instructed participants bring their lunch for this near-noontime stop.

 Just as we were leaving the park, we were a bit upstaged by one of the largest and loudest groups of Harley riders I have ever seen. It was simply thunderous. I am pretty tolerant of loud bikes/cars, but this was deafening. It really spoiled the natural beauty of that area. During the day we saw lots of biker groups, they too must have organized riding events.

 At one point in the drive, the road sloped down and went straight along a river’s edge. As I came down the hill, I could see a long line of Beetles stretching out in front of me. What a sight! In this part of the country it is indeed rare to even see a single Beetle on the road. As we drove past homes and small towns, people smiled an waved. Having gotten my vintage 6 volt Hella horn working just days before, I wasn’t shy on the button (neither were others).

 All an all, this was a wonderful event. Hats off to the CVA for the effort. Talking to the organizers, they were as pleased at myself at the turnout and execution, and fully expect to repeat the event next fall. While shows are loads of fun, this driving event was equally thrilling. And for a “first event” for my ’57, it was very rewarding.

 John and I parted the from the caravan in the town of Litchfield, location of the Litchfield Bug-Inn, now held in Harwinton. We stopped and had an early dinner at the "Aspen Garden", a very nice café style restaurant with a wide variety of fare. Then I drove John back to his car in Putnam. On the way, I stopped and filled up the tank. I computed exactly 30mpg. At 8:00, I found myself in dark and in the right lane of I-84 and the Massachusetts turnpike amid 75-80 mph traffic and semis. The car ran well at 65mph or so, even on some long inclines. I got home at 8:45pm, a serious “qualifying run” for my ’57….

 Total miles driven this trip: 375 

 Total miles driven this trip: 78