We don't do enough of these mini features. When we first started RSM one of the things we wanted to do is show some real people with some real cars and to be honest we haven't done it as much as we'd have liked...hopefully we'll be addressing that more over the coming weeks. This is where it starts:

Lee's one of my oldest friends (I'm not saying he's really old - he's the same age as me - just that I've known him for most of my life!) and we've always shared a love for cars, especially low ones. Almost twenty years ago he built a Fiesta that is to this day the lowest I've ever seen and was virtually textbook Euro-look (with a bit of Cal and hot rod flair) before even the Europeans were doing it. Come forward those two decades again and you can see he's still up to the same tricks, lowness is in the blood around these parts.

Name: Lee Bartle

Age: 37

Occupation: Typesetter

Past rides: 1978 Ford Fiesta 1300 Sport, 1983 Ford Fiesta L - lowered on polished pepperpots, 2 Hillman Imps, 1963 VW Splitscreen Devon Camper, 1991 VW Polo G40.

Belong to any clubs?: Panzer Paint Scrapers

Favourite crisp flavour: Anything Beefy

What's in your dream garage?: Porsche 914, Sunbeam Tiger and a Dannenhauser & Strauss

Choose one...speed or style: Style

CURRENT RIDE:

Make: Volkswagen

Model: Splitscreen Type 2 (ex Swiss army radio communications kombi)

Year: 1959

Mods: REAR: Straight Axle rear end, adjustable spring plates. FRONT: 4" narrow adjustable beam, dropped spindles, GAZ adjustable shocks, CE steering rack conversion. OTHER: 1776 Engine, Safari Windows and a few bits left over from its army past.

 

Plans: Fit narrowed anti roll bar, mild tubbing of front arches, disc brakes on rear, finish camping interior, install seat belts as child safety soon to be of importance

Thanks/shouts: Paul Wisk for majority of the mods, James Wotton, Darren Claggett, Rich Morena, Adam, Simon (Rmad), all the Paintscrapers and of course my lovely and tolerant Fiance Emma, Love you.

Thanks Lee!




Posted on: April 13, 2009 18:09

I’m not a Volkswagen guy. OK, so I have a few Vee-dub mags under my bed, a load of photos on my hard drive and last weekend, I took the rainy drive down to Telford International Centre to check out, what was for many, the 2009 show season kick off.

As soon as I hit the M54 I was surrounded by slammed VAG metal and people hanging out of windows with HD cams and SLRs shooting their friends and fellow forum members; it’s all about the road trip, the convoys and the anticipation people!

As I rolled into the car park it was already rammed with some seriously nice vehicles and as much wheel porn as you could shake a lowering stick at! Car abandoned, I ventured inside (I say ventured, I actually stood outside in a queue for half an hour, but let’s not kill the romance and build up!).

Once through the door I was greeted by thumping base from the DJ set and so much of Germany’s finest I whipped out my camera and got stuck in straight away!

Check out the Flickr gallery for the full set of pics but here are a couple of my favourite cars there:

Textbook MK2 was flawless on Schmidts

Cream Dream; classic euro looker mk1 packing 1.8T power.



The show was packed all day. Check out the Lupo on D90s and the ‘bagged Passat wagon on Bentley rims.



MK3, Chevy rims, killer stance no more words required!



“That Porsche”



Pea Soup



I know this is Retro Scene, but anyone can appreciate how hot this MK5 is! The paint, the wheels, the stance and those arches! Amazing! I know, it’s a lame picture, but I seriously could not get a shot of it without a crowd round it all day!



Honourable mention should go to this rather restrained looking MK2 Syncro. This is why: 3-5-0 wheel horse power, 350, three hundred and fifty horse power at the wheels. No, really, and it’s not even fully mapped yet! I have been promised a drive out in it too so expect to see more of this car over the summer!

 

Bags, coilies, Nu Wave and old skool; Ultimate Dubs had it all and enough atmosphere to plug the whole in the o-zone layer.

OK, if I wasn’t Volks person before I am now; my Ebay watch list looks like a VW dealer stock list!

Can’t wait to check to the rest of the show season this year; ’09 baby, it’s ON!

Posted on: March 12, 2009 08:00