COMMON.GEAR Report:Antique Volkswagen Participation at the "Time Machines 2011" Antique Auto Show, Guilford, CT, Sunday, 7/24/2011
(this page originated 12/5/2011)
COMMON.GEAR Report:
Antique Volkswagen Participation at
the "Time Machines 2011" Antique Auto Show, Guilford,
CT, Sunday, 7/24/2011
(this page originated 12/5/2011)
NAVIGATION LINKS FOR THIS PAGE:
Overview
List of Award Winners
List of Useful
Internet References
More
of the People who made Time Machines 2011 Memorable and Fun
Time
Machines 2011 Antique VW Image Gallery
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information provided electronically, on paper, or otherwise is strictly for entertainment purposes only with no guarantees of any type, expressed or implied. Participation in any activity is strictly voluntary and done at one's own risk. The Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society web site and it's author expressly disclaim all responsibility for any & all damages or claims, however caused. Observe all safety precautions when engaging in any activities with antique or modern automobiles. Obtain proper coverage from qualified insurance professionals for any type of activities, auto-related or otherwise, in which you may wish to engage.
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I put so much into this year's Time Machines event that it was a little hard mustering up the energy to create this summary report!
Don't get me wrong--this was DEFINITELY the coolest and most impressive-ever Time Machines event, as far as Antique VW Participation goes.
But it was really an all-out effort leading up to Show Day, and that day itself was extremely exciting and action-packed for me. A lot of me still wants to procrastinate on putting this official report together; it is now early December 2011 as I am writing this--though to be fair, I have spent a good amount of time processing photos and photo subject information, to try my best to keep this info as accurate as possible. And I know that I have to have our own Official Record that we can stand behind and also present to everyone else for scrutiny, and also to have available for reference use on into the future.
It has been noted that 2011 marked the 33rd Annual version of the “Time Machines” antique auto show & flea market, at the Guilford Fairgrounds in Guilford, CT, organized and run by the CT Area Classic Thunderbird Club. And this year, for the first time ever, Volkswagen was the Featured Marque. With the desire to try to do something extra-special to commemorate this, I set out, a short time after having received confirmation from the T-Bird Club guys about VW as the 2011 Featured Marque, to see if something beyond the "normal" special VW-only dash plaques could be done. I worked with the folks at "Rallye Productions, Inc." of Waukesha, WI, from whom we've been ordering our magnetic dash plaques for the VWs ever since the year 2000, and who, it turns out, also offered custom-made bumper badges among their products. We came up with a design that fit nicely into a circle, utilizing a slightly reworked version of the Common Gear official logo--it appears as black & white artwork at the very top right of this page, and a photo of one of the actual bumper badges and magnetic dash plaques that were given out to all participating Time Machines 2011 Volkswagens are shown at the upper right (click directly on that photo--or HERE--to bring up a larger version of the image). I think they came out very nicely, and I think all TM2011 VW car show participants were pleased with them.
To further illustrate the "Featured Marque" status for VWs this year, the following are clickable hyperlinks to some scans of the actual printed TM201 flyer (these were the flyers that the T-Bird Club had made up, and which got distributed at CT car shows "far and wide" during the early part of the old car season, prior to July 24th):
As you can see from that List of Show Car Classes scan, there were actually TWO classes for Antique VWs to fit themselves into, within the overall "Featured Marque" framework. Where in "normal" years, we invite ALL Antique Volkswagens, both stock & modified, to participate in the SAME class. It worked out well for this special year, however, to have stock & modified cars separated by class (it was the owner's option to decide which class their car fit into most appropriately), since the Featured Marque vehicles were all at the head of the car show field anyway--so the VWs and VW people were still "all together," as we like to be!
Here is a
TM2011 Samba threadthat I originated and worked hard populating
with a bunch of info about Time Machines VW participation
history, photos, and much more--on up to many
"overall-type" event photos from this year's event as
well: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=457686
IMAGE AT RIGHT: Our VW friend Fred Stedtler who drove his '67 Bug all the way up from New Jersey to participate once again this year, shot this overall photo.
Show day, for me was pretty much a "blur" of activity. I tried my best to keep on top of all the incoming VWs, to write down names & hometowns to go with the vehicles, to hand out one badge and one dash plaque per car, and to try my best to take at least one decent photo of every single participating VW in the car show (to be used eventually for our finaly report, which you are now viewing). I also need to thank long-time old-VW buddy Fred Stedtler from New Jersey who passed along several photos that he also took on show day, and several of which I am happy to include on this page--thanks again Fred!
In the later part of the morning, I got busy doing judging for both of the VW Featured Marque classes, which also kept me pretty busy. Finally, at the opening part of the end-of-show awards ceremony, it was my honor and pleasure not only to announce all of the car show award winners, but also to announce Jeremy Clayton as this year's "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" honoree, and be able to present him with his well-deserved wall plaque.
In the IMAGE ABOVE, which is courtesy of Connecticut Volkswagen Association's webmaster Heather Fox, which was taken right after the presentation of the "Heroes" award plaque, Jeremy is being congratulated by several members of of the organization which he has most ably headed up for the past 10 years (the CVA of course), including (left to right): Bill Arute, Mac McDonald, Ellie Lowell, and Chris Fox. Several CVA members also wrote wonderful letters of nomination of support of Jeremy being honored as this year's "Hero of Antique Volkswagening," and you are urged to check out the "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" page for more details.
As is usually
the case when we get a good turnout of Volkswagens for a Time
Machines car show, a major note of thanks is due to the leaders
and members of the Connecticut
Volkswagen Association, who always display such
great support & enthusiasm! Thanks again CVA guys and
gals!
IMAGE AT RIGHT: Another Fred Stedtler overall photo.
And finally, a sincere Thank You again is due to the CT Area Classic Thunderbird Club for the typically great job they did organizing the overall Guilford event.
And finally, the biggest Thank You is due to all our VW Friends for making Time Machines 2011 a truly memorable day for Antique Volkswagens!
As I always
say, the award winners are certainly more than spotlight-worthy,
for their having brought some truly magnificent specimens of
Antique Volkswagen out for everyone to enjoy viewing--there is a
heck of a lot of dedication and effort involved with restoring
and preserving a top-notch, top-quality antique auto (and or a
state-of-the-art hot rod creation), and we definitely tip our
hats to those people who have the drive to achieve excellence.
These top-quality Antique VWs also add a great degree of "legitimacy" to the overall car show, and to the reputation of Volkswagen as a serious collector car marque.
IMAGE AT RIGHT: Here's another photo by Fred Stedtler, showing Mark Lasky standing next to his spectacular '66 Deluxe Microbus from New Jersey that was awarded "Best of Featured Marque" for Time Machines 2011. You might call Mark's Bus "The Cream of the Crop!"
I cannot thank the owners of the top-quality antiques who participated this year and really made the 2011 event special!
Here are the judging results for the two Time Machines 2011 VW-only classes, PLUS, the overall "Best of Featured Marque" honoree (who superceded all of the stock & modified place winners):
STOCK
MODIFIED
BEST OF FEATURED MARQUE
IMAGE AT UPPER RIGHT: Speaking of "state-of-the-art," here is a Fred Stedler photo of Tim Scheller's award-winning ultra-modified '65 Bug, all the way out from Coventry, Rhode Island. Tim is not only the master builder behind this monster, but is also the talented owner of the "401 Restos" VW-specialized restoration business, reference: http://401restos.com/default.aspx. Tim really went out of his way to get to Guilford this year to participate (Tim had a full support vehicle and helpers that made it possible for him to bring his spectacular '65).
IMAGES BELOW: Fred Stedtler also captured these shots of some of the owners of TM2011 award-winning vehicles posing with their trophies. Left to right: Miguel Bracero (1st place modified), Jimmy Arcucci (3rd place stock), Jeff Miller (2nd place stock), Mike Bonczewski (1st place stock).
More of the People who made Time Machines 2011 Memorable and Fun
It's of course not just the cars that make our Antique Volkswagen Hobby so enjoyable and fulfilling--it is, of course, about the people--perhaps even more than the cars. Here are a couple more photos from Show Day that focus on some more of the great people who made Time Machines 2011 special...
BELOW: Over in the flea market area, I caught this shot of Rich Bonsall (left) and Greg Mattesen (center) catching up with "Mr. Masterseries" Chuck Pisconski (right), at Chuck's Masterseries restoration coatings and supplies booth. Chuck is very well-known in New England VW hobby circles for being the tireless organizer and promoter of the summertime "Litchfield" and "Terryville" annual VW extravaganzas.
BELOW: Another man who has more than made his mark on the history of the Antique VW hobby in Connecticut, and helped out innumerable fellow enthusiasts along the way--Tom Matulis. Tom was selling some stuff out of the back of his Suburban and taking in the scene at Time Machines 2011.
BELOW: The guys in blue shirts with their backs to the camera are David Cardone (farthest left), and some of his staffers from Westbrook, CT's "Cardone & Daughter Automotive". Looks like they were getting filled-in on some of the fine points of Tim Scheller's amazing hot rod '65 Bug. That's Tim in the gray shirt facing toward the camera, and Tim's '65 Bug is in the background--Tim is the owner and creative force behind Coventry, RI's "401 Restos.".
BELOW: And finally, there is no way we could not tip out hats to another super-nice couple, who have supported the old VW hobby, and this event in particular, for more years than we can remember--we are referring to Clay & Mary Smith of "Das Bulli Haus" fame, from North Franklin, CT. Their flea market space at Time Machines 2011 was a popular hangout for other fellow VW nuts (see how many you can recognize, apart from Clay & Mary who are in the middle of the shot below), and was backed up in style by their well-known & well-traveled dove blue '62 hi-roof panel truck (see second shot below). While looking Das Bulli Haus up on the internet, we ran across a great picture of Clay on another of their collecting business web sites: http://www.icollect247.com/dasbullihaus/
List of Useful Internet References
Main Time Machines Car Show web site (seems to be contain the "latest & greatest" official info) = http://www.tbirdsofconn.org/timemach.html
What appears to be an obsolete Time Machines info page: http://www.geocities.com/tbirdsofconn/timemach.html
CT Area Classic T-Bird Club site (they are the club who organizes the overall event): http://www.tbirdsofconn.org/index.html
CT VW Association (our statewide VW enthusiast friends who always do such a great job supporting this event): http://www.ctvwa.org/
Time Machines 2008 VW Review: http://home.comcast.net/~commonsteve/TimeMachines2008/TM08VWReport.html
Time Machines 2009 VW Review: http://home.comcast.net/~commonsteve/TimeMachines2009/TM09Report.html
Time Machines 2010 VW Review: http://home.comcast.net/~commonsteve/TimeMachines2010/TM10Report.html
Time Machines 2011 Antique VW Image Gallery
Since it's the most valuable for documentation purposes, we'll concentrate on making sure we have all of the individual car photos posted, and try go oldest to newest as we usually try to do. Perhaps later on we can add some "overall scene" type shots--but do be aware that the previously-mentioned dedicated TM2011 Samba thread already has a bunch of those types of shots already posted...
BELOW: Mark Meyering's '54 Bug from Middletown, CT.
BELOW: Antonio Arcos posing with his '58 Bug, from New Haven, CT.
BELOW: Rich Bonsall's '58 Bug from Brooklyn, CT.
BELOW: John & Sue Iverson's '59 Bug from West Warwick, RI.
BELOW: Keith Tellier's '60 Bug from Bristol, CT.
BELOW: Mike Richards' '62 "Herbie" Bug from Uncasville, CT.
BELOW: Chuck Ackerman's '62 Karmann Ghia from Litchfield, CT.
BELOW: Dave Casolino's '63 Baja Bug from Orange, CT.
BELOW: Miguel Bracero's '63 Bug from New Haven, CT. Miguel's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Jimmy Arcucci's '64 Bug from Hamden, CT. Jimmy's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Pete Vega's '65 Bug from Stratford, CT.
BELOW: Allyn DeVars' '65 Bug from New London, CT.
BELOW: Tim Scheller's mega-hot-rod '65 Bug from Coventry, RI (that's Tim himself around the back in the gray shirt, tending to his car). This car is the flagship of Tim's well-known VW restoration business "401 Restos" in Coventry, RI. Tim's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Jim & Ann Rolston's '65 Westfalia Camper Bus from Deep River, CT.
BELOW: Jose L. Medina posing with his '65 Bug, from New Haven, CT.
BELOW: David Abelow posing with his '66 Bug Convertible, from Westport, CT. Dave's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Mark Lasky's '66 Deluxe Microbus from Little Falls, NJ. Mark's Bus was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Jeremy Clayton's '66 Deluze Microbus from Tolland, CT.
BELOW: Fred Gallipoli's '66 Squareback from West Haven, CT.
BELOW: Fred Stedtler's '67 Bug from Mahwah, NJ.
BELOW: Jack Tary's '67 Bug from Haddam, CT.
BELOW: Oscar Ortiz' '67 Bug from Hartford, CT.
BELOW: Roy Tracy posing with his '67 Bug, from Springfield, MA.
BELOW: Cliff & Nancy Bullock's '68 Bug from Ellington, CT.
BELOW: Jose Medina's '68 Bug from New Haven, CT.
BELOW: John Talaga's '69 Bug from Woodstock, CT.
BELOW: Greg Mattesen's '69 Bug Convertible from Portland, CT.
BELOW: Patrick Kiniry's '69 Deluxe Bus from Farmington, CT.
BELOW: The Webmaster's '70 Bug Convertible from Stony Creek, CT.
BELOW: Mike Bonczewski's '70 Bug from Shelton, CT. Mike's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: James Canfield's '71 Bremmen Maxi-Taxi from Fort Johnson, NY. According to Mr. Canfield, the Maxi-Taxi was originally made for Shriners.
BELOW: George Oleyar's '71 Super Beetle from Ansonia, CT. Some of George's awesome woodworking creations were displayed with the car.
BELOW: Evaldo Pereira's '71 Super Beetle from Lawrence, MA. Neat "faux patina" finish!
BELOW: Jose E. Medina's '71 Super Beetle from New Haven, CT.
BELOW: Milt McDonald's '72 Super Beetle from Simsbury, CT.
BELOW: Bill Arute's '72 Super Beetle Convertible from Westbrook, CT.
BELOW: Kurt Friel posing with his '72 Karmann Ghia Convertible, from Sutton, MA.
BELOW: Barry Clark's '73 Type 181 "Thing" from Westbrook, CT.
BELOW: Steven Lukac's German import model '73 Super Beetle, from Stratford, CT.
BELOW: Jeff Miller's '73 Standard Bug from Northford, CT. Jeff's Bug was a Time Machines 2011 Award Winner!
BELOW: Bill Winn's '73 Type 181 "Thing" from Litchfield, CT.
BELOW: Naomi Lee's '73 Standard Bug from Wallingford, CT.
BELOW: Emily & William Soares posing with their '73 Standard Bug, from Groton, CT.
BELOW: Travis Lariviere posing with his '73 Super Beetle, from Enfield, CT.
BELOW: Though not technically entered in the VW show at Time Machines 2011, the staff of "Cardone & Daughter Automotive" of Westbrook, CT, had their "trademark" logo'd '74 Super Beetle on display at their flea market space, which was conveniently directly adjacent to the VW Featured Marque class!
BELOW: Joe Femia's '74 VW-based '55 Porsche Speedster replica, from Wallingford, CT.
BELOW: Joey Bourgoin's '74 Super Beetle from Bristol, CT.
BELOW: Mike Ryan posing with his '74 Westfalia Camper Bus, from Durham, CT.
BELOW: Matt Hermann posing with his '75 Super Beetle Convertible, from Southtington, CT.
BELOW: Bill Berluti's '77 Super Beetle Convertible from Oranage, CT.
BELOW: Chris Fox's '77 Standard Bug from Bristol, CT.
BELOW: Joe Nevins' '79 Deluxe Bus from Ivoryton, CT.
BELOW: Ron Rocco's '80 Super Beetle Convertible from Southington, CT.
BELOW: Caridad Alverio's '86 Cabrio from Hartford, CT.
BELOW: And finally, Paul Baillargeon's '03 Mexican Standard Bug from Chaplin, CT.
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