Team Deaf Volks Update

New announcement is due, as we have a third international Deaf Volks member joining us, just because the temptation is too great for a fellow mountain men like Clemens Zefferer... hailing from Austria near the majestic Alps! 

Clemens was born and raised in Klagenfurt which is not far from the Grossglockner which is the one of the higher peaks of the Alps in the area. When he was 10 years old, his mother bought a white 1983 MK1 Rabbit. That was when Clemens started his fascination with Volkswagens and he has owned few since getting his drivers license.

                                                                   

When Clemens relocated to America with his daughter in late 2011, their hearts remained loyal when it came to main means of transportation... only Volkswagens. When in Santa Fe, New Mexico since his daughter loves VW Beetles, Clemens got a 1973 Pastel Yellow Beetle and considering a Ghia in the future. Currently based in Indiana with an American partner, the allure of Mt. Shasta was too much for him to resist especially camping out in the backwoods in one of the most exhilarating VW bus adventures... he couldn't say no to the opportunity.  Ya know, who's stopping our fellow Austrian Alps fella from coming along? The force is strong with this one.

Clemens will ride with Jonas and Germi in the loaner 1957 Dove Blue Kombi. Three countries, all merged in a Kombi for the challenge of a lifetime. Throughout this weekend Team Deaf Volks will wrench on all of our buses which totals six at this moment. Main focus will be to make sure everything's dialed in and prepare contingencies such as spare parts tools survival gear, so on. 

Typical pre-Shasta Snow Trip WrenchFests look like this one hosted by Eric from NorCal Relics, check out this video.

link to YouTube Video: Eric's WrenchFest

Yes, it is HARDCORE!!! Keep checking back, we will post up more pictures of our progress this weekend. 

International Deaf Volks Rally Team

Greetings... sorry to have you hanging on the news we were about to announce, but here it is!

As you all may know- Deaf Volks Club has been heavily involved with The Shasta Snow Trip, an annual off road expedition rallying through the Mendocino backwoods up to the Mount Shasta base. To learn more about this trip, please check out Shasta Snow Trip website.

But wait, there's more... here's the exciting part!  Shasta Snow Trip which will be happening NEXT WEEK, starting on 30th of January and ending on 3rd of February.

Do you recall the flags we just posted earlier? One belongs to Catalonia and other one belongs to Finland. Whats so special about the countries? They host one of hard core Deaf Volks members we have- and we are proud to welcome them onboard this exciting expedition, our posse of six split window VW buses officially named Deaf Volks International Rally Team

Representing Finland for Team Deaf Volks is our one and only 

Jonas Torboli!

Jonas fell in love with VW's when he was in United States studying at Gallaudet University in Washington DC. He spotted a Ruby Red VW Bug while cycling on his regular route to the university and one day his bicycle was stolen. Jonas decided to check the guy if he was willing to sell the bug, and the owner agreed.  Jonas travelled all over America in this Ruby Red VW bug, as far to California and back. This went on for five years until he fell in love with a Finnish woman, sadly he had to sell the bug and packed his bags for Finland. 

Once arriving in Finland, his love affair with VW's wasn't over- he became one of most active Deaf Volks member in Finland among few others. His first VW there was a 1970 Pritschenwagen, since then he has collected and sold various types of VW's including Syncros, T1 T2 buses along with some bugs and currently working on a nice original Anthracite Grey Ghia. 

Representing Catalonia for Team Deaf Volks is our one and only Germinal Freixanet Alier, also known as Germi Volks in the VW community. As you may know, Catalonia is still fighting for its independence from Spain. 

He was born and raised in Barcelona where he grew up in love with Mini Coopers until he bought a 1974 Morris Mini Cooper when he was 17 years old. Germi went to many Mini Cooper meetings and fell in love the vintage automobile scene. He originally started with collecting and building 1/24 model cars and grew to owning a Mini Cooper before biting the "bug." Germi decided to hunt for a bus, and it took him two years to find his Dove Blue Double Cab which he slammed on Porsche Fuchs and added accessories. Check this BLING out! 

Germi is heavily involved with the VW scene in Catalonia and can be seen having fun in his Double Cab. Recently, Jonas went to visit Germi to join him at one of biggest VW events in Andorra, which is nestled in Pyrenees mountains bordered by Spain and France. They had a blast, and this is where they hatched a plan by Jonas, to come to California for the Shasta Snow Trip. Then.... there was Green Light!

After they already booked the tickets and anticipating the grueling challenges of this extreme backwoods adventure in a split window bus... hey, but what bus? Through Deaf Volks connections in California, we were fortunate to have Robert Skinner from Skinner Classics in Vacaville to loan a 1957 Dove Blue Kombi from his personal collection. We are grateful for his willingness to provide us the opportunity, this is where dreams happen but actually this is where the fun begins!!!

The 1957 Dove Blue Kombi, Deaf Volks International Rally Team vehicle #6

In the next blog, we will highlight some of activities to date such as preparations and wrench-fests. Also we will feature the rest of Deaf Volks International Rally Team vehicles. This year there are approximately 30- 35 buses attending and we are proud to be the largest contingent with 6 buses representing Team Deaf Volks!  

We want to send deep appreciation to the VW community that has embraced Deaf Volks Club, and welcomed us as part of the family by offering support in any way they could... They include Kombi Haus, Nor Cal Relics, Old Volks Club and Skinner Classics to name a few. 

SHASTA SNOW TRIP IS COMING UP!!!!!!

Please follow Shasta Updates here and on our other sites as well.

Deaf Volks on Instagram!

We are back! Well, we were never gone- just busy and out enjoying the VW scene...

If you have already noticed, we have an Instagram account- just come and check us out on Instagram and dont forget to look for the #deafvolks hashtag. Hey, do us a favor- follow us!

As always, our club has evolved as necessary or it wouldn't have survived. 

Long time ago, we use to do small club meetings and BBQ gatherings at Little Bear's compound littered with VW relics of the old... those days are long gone however due to increasingly smaller world compromising of newly found gadgets that allow us to get closer to each other while staying on their faraway home soil... We have technology literally at our fingertips, thanks to mobile smartphones. 

We are proud to say that we have gone international... we have seen hardcore VW enthusiasts all across the globe start popping up but that doesn't mean they were new to the scene but just recently connected because they were already neck-deep into it. Through the power of social media such as thesamba.com, Faceboook, Twitter, Instagram and many more outlets, we are connecting with each other  instantly. We can enjoy checking out the hashtags and friend's personal postings of VW culture that we breathe, eat and sleep with without time taking its toll due to the distances... 

Because of this, we are looking forward to more fellowship- there will be definitely some exciting developments coming up for 2013, we can't wait to start sharing the good news! 

Hint: what countries does the following flags represent, and what does it have to do with Shasta Snow Trip and Deaf Volks?  Whoa... think we gave away one too many hint already?