DAS - Der Autobahn Scrapers' thread

[JeePee/DVK]

Some more.

[ESH]

Cool topic, a great bunch of people with some very cool cars for sure. Keep on Buggin'... 

[yvre]

Bitburg Test Session in July 2007.


Wheather was nice and the week-end was looking good.


As usual, Chris broke his gearbox on the saturday.


But on sunday, Mike also gave up due to clutch problems...


...closely followed by Phil, who blew a nice big hole in one of his heads!!!



Oh well, we still had fun!

[Sarge]

Awesome pics, guys but we need more club "stories" here.... you know, drunken tomfoolery

[Frank LUX]

Awesome pics, guys but we need more club "stories" here.... you know, drunken tomfoolery

Hmmm....

Can't remember any of those...

Frank

[Frank LUX]

I remember my second visit to Spa: it must have been in 2001 when I arrived in my freshly rebuild oval (I was given the "bible" about one year before from some guys of a german club called DFL or omething like that... . The car can be seen in the background of one of the pics, parked next to Manuel Brügger´s (Luftkraft) stunning grey single cab). I was so overwhelmed when I drove to the plateau where all those beautiful cal lookers were parked for show and shine. Right in the middle was a huge tent with lots of cal lookers parked around it. It was the DAS club booth and I was overwhelmed by the quality of the cars. The one car that was my favorite back then was Mike´s blue oval with gasburners and a Berg 5-speed if I remember correctly.
On the long trip home to Wolfsburg we talked for hours about what we had seen as we had never seen so many cool european cal lookers in one place before.
Well done, DAS!

Tobi

Thanxs for the kind words Tobi, Mike's car runs a "normal" 4 Speed tranny with a "Berg 5" shifter handle...but indeed a very nice Car...!!!

Frank

[Frank LUX]

Nice cars and people . what i like most is that you are the club in europe i know that brings the most cars for racing . Keep on like this

See you
Udo

Thank You Udo...!!!

Frank

[Sarge]

Awesome pics, guys but we need more club "stories" here.... you know, drunken tomfoolery

Hmmm....

Can't remember any of those...

Frank

   sigh.....

[jamiep_jamiep]

Awesome thread guys, would love to see more pictures!

How about UK road trips? I know there's been a couple!

[TiDi]

[Dave Galassi]

Some really great cars!  I've always enjoyed Pat's sunroof car.........clean, small but stout engine(69x90.5 if it still the same as when I spoke with him some years back) and a pretty color combo.  The tan car with American's (please excuse me, I don't know who owns this car) is beautiful as well...........heck, they are all great!  Thanks for the pictures.

[yvre]

Some really great cars!  I've always enjoyed Pat's sunroof car.........clean, small but stout engine(69x90.5 if it still the same as when I spoke with him some years back) and a pretty color combo.  The tan car with American's (please excuse me, I don't know who owns this car) is beautiful as well...........heck, they are all great!  Thanks for the pictures.

Pat's car had a 1776cc until last year (best E.T. around 13.15 I think). He switched to a 78mm crank last summer and immediately did a 12 something (can't remember). Well, when I say He, I should say She... Vanessa (his girlfriend) is driving the car nowadays... and she's faster than him!!!

He is now building a dedicated racer.

[Dave Galassi]

Thanks for the update Yves.  That is one serious project.  Again, congratulations to everyone in the club and give my best to Pat.

Dave

[Georg/DFL]

I have lots of memories connectet to DAS and his members, but there is one that will always be remembered.

Seven years ago my friend and fellow club member Sven and I took off for a trip to the Super VW Nationals in France. You have to know that the french border is just 15 min away from my home in Germany but we had to go to the other side of France - to Lège-Cap Ferret at the Atlantic coast some 1300 kilometers (around 800 miles) to go.
We drove all through the night and arrived at the following morning in our camp. Kobus was so nice to book a cottage (shanty, what ever you want to call it) for us and our swiss friends Chritophe and Marc. The green Split used to be Christophes car and now resides in the states, the Ghia is mine. The cottages were between pine trees and and there were lots of VWs, mainly Cal Looker, mainly DAS cars.

[Georg/DFL]

It was so cool to get up in the morning, woken up by a barking pair of IDAs or two... And imagine you open the window shade in the kitchen and you are looking at Muppet Racer - great!

[Georg/DFL]

Another picture of our little camp. Sorry for the crew cab on 17" cup wheels. 

[Georg/DFL]

Anyways, I guess you got the picture. Sunshine, cool show, fantastic cars, what else can you ask for. Our good friend Serge Le Flohic of Super VW Magazine invited us to his house so we drove in a convoi to his place. It was awesome to drive with so many DAS Lookers in one long queue. The following pictures are taken in front of Serges house. Wonder what the neighbors thought. 

[Georg/DFL]

Another one. I was really proud to have my car there. 

[Georg/DFL]

The best part is still to come. 

At the early afternoon of the last day of the show (Saturday) Sven and I drove back to our cottage. The swiss guys had left allready and our plan was to clean up the place, packing things up, taking a nap and then going to a 60s styled McDonalds in near by Bordeaux in the evening. After meeting up with other people there we wanted to go on our trip back home.

It never happend this way...

We were just sitting in the car, talking about the last days as all of a sudden the windshield broke a thousand pieces. A big hole was at the passenger side of the windshield, luckily Sven was ok. We stopped, had no clue what had just happend. I thought: "Ok, it's nothing serious, it's just the windscreen. It's easy to fix!"

Yes, easy if you have a new windscreen. But we weren't in Germany were I know people with Razoredge parts, we were in the middle of nowhere. It took me a while to realise that...

[Georg/DFL]

Some Germans stopped to help us and so we took the windshield - or what was left of it - out of the frame. Some other friends of ours from Hamburg, Germany, came by in their Split Bus and we followed them in their slipstream back to our camp.

[Georg/DFL]

Back at the cottage we started to think about what to do. Sven suggested to lend two helmets of Serge and drive back in style. 

After an hour or so the DAS guys came back from the show and Kobus, Freddy, Laurent and the twins instantly started to help us finding a solution. Laurent suggested to use two Type 3 sidewindows he had like on a v-screen 356. We tried it and even "borrowed" a wood slat from one of the slatted frames in the cottage that we wanted to use as the center piece. Needless to say it was to flat to cover the whole opening.

Suddenly my friends from Hamburg suggested to take a Baywindow windscreen. They even knew of an abandoned Bay close by. Ok, give it a try I thought.

They drove to that place, took the screen and came back. Kobus gave us the rubberfoam mattress of his T3 (T25 for you brits) Bus, that is located on top of the engine service flap. We used it to dampen the Baywindow glass and taped it onto the Ghia. Then we took the T2 screen and taped it also. After that we cut out the rubberfoam from the inside.

[Georg/DFL]

It was dark in the meantime, we still had to clean the cottage and packing up. We were frickin tired because we got up that morning by 6 a.m.

I rubbed Rainex on the screen because it looked like it was going to rain. I really wasn't sure if this would bring us back savely but there was no other chance. We left Lège-Cap Ferret by 10 or 11 a.m. and had no sleep. When we hit Bordeaux after like 40 km of driving I was so tired that Sven had to drive. We swap seats every hour, one and a half at the max. We just stopped for gas and to pee. We had rain two times at night and we didn't drive faster than 120 km/h (75 miles) all the way.

The Ghia looked like it had diving goggles... 

And that is the view from the inside:

[Georg/DFL]

After 15 hours of non-stop driving we arrives at my house - tired but very happy.

I was really glad to had Kobus, Freddy, Laurent, the twins and the guys from Hamburg. They gave us good support and encourage us.
Thanks again after seven years, I will never forget your help! And Kobus, I think I still owe you a rubberfoam mattress! 

That is real Cal Look friendship!

[speedwell]

  awesome georg

[vwcab]

Hi Georg,a nice story with a happy end.
It's nice to have some people who are willing to help when you're in trouble(especially so far from home).
Like you said:"callook-friendship"   

[Stephan S]

Fantastic story! Love the pictures, too.
Thanks!

[MacRavens]

Tero, thanks for this dedicated post
It's great to see unseen DAS pictures taken by other peoples !

Hum, I need to answer to Sarge (he told us some great stuff last week  
So, what about stories and histories from the Der Autobahn Scrapers vw club ? This is Belgian Volks Genesis... Let's degin five years before Das was created.

When I was reading Sarge's stories about is school memories with his VW friends I was thinking about Pat Deperne (Beril green '62) and me at school. We met in '88 in a art and achitect school from Brussels caled St Luc. We were in the same classes during 2 years.
I well remember his low '6O  Resto-Cal parked in front of the school. For a school work we went together to Versaille, King of france Palace  whit the '60. +/- 350km from Brussels.
What a incredibel travel for me ! This car was so cool, so old, so low ! On the way we saw a Split bus and Pat and the guy made a hand sign. So far from your home you knew this guy ? I asked him ! ...He told me "No, this Bus is a Volkswagen too" ! I was thinking ! Hey ! Thats a realy cool car !

In '89, my neighbour and best friend was restoring a '72 1300 in azul blue and customizing it a bit whit large white painted modular wheels Like all the Bug Fans at this time, we buy custom parts to one of the first Volks Shop in Brussels "VW Auto kit " (chee d'Alsemberg). They got a lot of Jonhy speed an chrome parts My neighbour took me to a garage where I met the boss, Fabio, the brother of Rowan (DAS '67 yellow). Some years after Fabio began his well known shop, whit Pat, ScaraBe. Pat and me go separately to a show at the parking from Autoworld museum from Brussels. "Hey what are you doing here ? Hum, something like you I gues !

In '90 Pat left school and and make his military classes during one year. I did'nt saw him again until 1992.
In '92 I buy a Buggy and I decide to go at is home. He was there working on the restored chassis of his actual '62. Until this thime we never stop to see eatch other. We went to Jabline where he won a best of show trophy wit the fresh restored '62.

In July '93 I brought a german imported sea blue '66 from "Le garage de Paris" a place dedicated to VW too. The '66 became my daily driver for years. Whit Pat's help the beetle became à Resto-Cal on  4,5 polished Fushes. At this time, like today, I was leaving in Brussels. at 25km from Pat's father's house Braine-l'Alleud. I remember my father just past away and I was there as often as possible after school and the weekend.

We went to Volkswagen auto dismantler all over the country to take parts. Type 3 long ratio gearboxes was the holly grale to finde. We try to go as fast, as low as possible. Some places of our local highways were in real bad shape and by night we made scratching on the road... making udges sparks all the way.
I met there (Braine l'Alleud) new buddy from the town. Phil Poliart ("No fear' Green beetle) and after "The Twins" Fred and Mic and some one who left the club now David Baland ('55 black Oval - DKP replica).

At this time there were a dying club in Waterloo caled "Doc Genie Cox VW Club". (translation: like doctor in genicology vw club...)
Pat and Phil where members of this 20 dissapeared members club. We took the same stickers, we whent to the same meeting place, the Quick hamburger restaurant, all freeday, during one year. Some time we were only two or tree people on the place. Having the new Super VW magazine was always a cool moment to share. We learn about Cal-Look at this time whit articles about DKP story from Stephane Szantaï.

In July '93, Pat whit his '62 an me whit my Buggy, went to our firs Bug Jam at Santapod in England. We discover Drag Racing Races. We foud this so incedible ! We saw pictures in magazines but we discover the track, the sound, the smell ! It was realy amazing for us and so different from our continental basic meetings. It was like USA for us!!! We swore ourselves to do Drag Racing one day on this track ! UK seene was so active compare to what we knew at home.

In November '93 we decide to found a new and more serious, DKP inspired, name for the club. Late at night in the garage from David Baland. Pat, Phil and me talked about names. And we remember what we dit on the highway during the year... And our new name ; Der Autobahn Scrapers was created. Pat Designed the new logo and the new stickers took place on the lateral windows.


That's "my begining souvenirs..." back in the days...

Pictures :
Pat '60 in '91
Pat' '62 un '92
Our LowFlyer back in '93 or '94

[MacRavens]

The club is also realy active in Off Road whit the DOD Der Off-road Division. Here in '94 Rowan's '68 passed where famous others do not want to pass.

[Rennsurfer]

Very cool. Enjoyed reading the stories and looking at the pictures. I especially like this one.



Some class act cars.

[Sarge]

WOW....  Great stories guys!!  Reading this stuff brings tears (happy ones ) to my eyes.  There's something about having to "Mc Giver" stuff up out on the road when misfortune strikes that makes travel in an old air cooled car exciting.  Thanks for sharing some interesting stuff... makes The Lounge what it is!