2008 Bug In 33
April 6, 2008: California Speedway, Fontana, CA
2008 marked the return of the Bug In! At least, the return of the return of the Bug In. After a twenty year hiatus (following the closure of the Orange County Raceway), 2005 saw the return of the Bug In event. The new location was the California Speedway in the city where I grew up, Fontana, CA.
The 2005 show was a huge success and it received a ton of favorable press. A follow up the next year seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately the managemenet of the California Speedway had decided to close down the temporary drag strip facility on the south side of the speedway and proceeded to build a more permanent facility on the north side of the track. So the Bug In was absent from the 2006 and 2007 calendars, but 2008 was the return!
This year I tried to get a bunch of my VW buddies together for the show, but it seemed that destiny was working against me. So this year in spite of my best interests, only my future father-in-law (Charles) and I made the show. I'm hoping that next year I can make it with my Bug or the Imp and maybe a few more people!
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The only Type 4 conversion I found in the whole show this year was this quite radical Type 3 Notchback. As you can tell from the left photo, the owner has elected to give up the trunk to use the Type 4 in an upright conversion. The rear suspension featured some crazy fabrication work with airbags and custom diagnol arms.. |
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| A few early Porsches even made it out for the Bug In this year. This 914/4 with 2.0 Fuchs wheels was quite striking. |
This panel was particularly cool in my opinion. The theme for this Bus was the old Deano Dyno-Soars company, complete with the company logo. Very cool! Put a set of 5-lug EMPI Sprint Stars and it would have been perfect! |
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| This Fridolin (Type 147) featured a pretty nice looking engine. My only concern with this engine is the cooling setup. This particular system is from a Brazilian front engine alcohol-fuel VW and the word is that it doesn't work as well as the stock Bug system. I would have used a DTM and been set! |
There was a whole section of dune buggies, so I kept my eyes open for any cool buggies. This two seat EMPI Sportster caught my eye. The Sportster is a particulary rare occurrence, so to see one was a treat. It makes me want one of my own!! |
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| This Meyers Manx is known as Big Red and it is the first Manx ever made by Bruce Meyers. I've seen this one at shows before, as Bruce is a frequent attendee of Southern California VW shows. This show I noticed the cool early model ignition distributor and the air bags on the rear. |
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| This fiberglass dune buggy was something to stand there and analyze. As you can tell from the photo it features an A-arm front suspension with coil-over shocks. Very high-tech! |
That's Charles checking out this extremely bright neon orange chop-top. We saw this Bug rip through the parking lot and it sounded healthy. Definitely an eye-grabber!! |
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| Ok, as you all know, I'm a sucker for a good looking Cal-Look '68 or '69 Bug. This tan one was absolutely gorgeous!! Thumbs up to the owner for building a nice late model Looker!!! |
Eventually I want to get a hold of a fourth original 2-piece 15" EMPI 8-spoke wheel so that I can finish my set! This one featured nice center caps and a natural as-cast finish for the spokes. Very nice! |
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| Of course the appeal of attending VW shows is running into friends that I haven't talken to in a while. This year was no exception. On the left is my friend Johnny Salazar and on the right is Don DeMello. Johnny was out there with his Bus club VTO (Vintage Transporter Owners) running the raffle for the show. It's always great to get caught up with friends there. |
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| This custom Bus belongs to a "Hot Dog" Fred, a Bus guy who's pretty well known here in SoCal. The Bus was customized for him by the legendary Chip Foose, but I have to say I didn't like some of the changes Foose did to the Bus. They seemed to be changed for the sake of change. C'mon Chip!!! |
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| This '57 Cal-Look Bug was belonged to the actor/comedian/car-nut Tim Allen. I was particularly pleased with the style of it, though it would be cool to have seen Tim out there with the rest of us VW nuts! |
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| This beautiful '58-'61 convertible Bug was definitely to my liking. The color (an original VW color), combined with the EMPI Sprint Star wheels, made for a nice looking cruiser. Imagine driving up PCH in that with the top down? PARADISE! |
This black Type 1 Karmann Ghia featured quite a powerplant under the decklid. This engine featured a 4-barrel carb, a nice turbo installation, and the obligatory Porsche fan conversion (yawn...). |
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| I believe that this little dragster is a replica of the one that the legendary Gene Berg raced back in the '50s and '60s. Gene used to drive a Bug to the race with this dragster strapped to the roofrack. He'd race the Bug, then remove the engine and install it in the dragster. At the end of the day, he'd pack it all up and go home!! Crazy!! |
No Bug In is complete without drag racing. This nice Notchback made it's way down the strip looking very nice. |
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| The "Toyo Tires Bullet" Fastback was crazy quick, as evidenced by this wheelie at the start. The car seemed to do quite well. |
The Japanese company Flat-4 built this Inch Pincher Too replica and even allowed to have it driven down the strip. It was almost like being at the original BugIn!! |
