Introducing El Roacho

Jimmy Roth is nuts about VW's. You can tell by his 1956 VW Cabriolet in the following photos...

We have exciting news for you all... there is a footage captured of this beast on steroids huffing & puffing on Judson supercharged 36 hp engine with a slew of vintage performance tricks under its sleeves.

How do you think the engine sounded? We wouldn't know, since we can't hear... ;-)

It has been placed in previous shows & mentioned in vintage enthusiast magazines already, but Jimmy's just getting started, be sure to look out for the upcoming vintage air-cooled VW shows in California where El Roacho will surely rumble the pavement...

We will be back to feature few more of our member rides and....

Epic Shasta Snow Trip videos/stories coming soon!!

It's coming... Shasta Snow Trip

Everyone, the holidays has come and gone. Since then The Deaf Volks crew has been busy wrenching and preparing for the annual Shasta Snow Trip (www.shastasnowtrip.com). This year, we will be sending FOUR VW microbuses to join in the rest. There are ongoing discussions about this event on the forums at the popular VW site, www.thesamba.com/vw, if you shall pay them a visit.

As you may know, the Beauty has been resurrected off a riverbed to be retrofitted to a second life, an adventurous camping machine. The clock was ticking but thanks to Kombi Haus in Sacramento for providing many of the vital mechanical support, including getting the motor, steering, suspension and safety stuff all sorted out. Here you can seen the Beauty in deep background, with the author's blue microbus- Roscoe's yellow crew cab had its main seal replaced along with clutch- plenty of buses getting ready!

With Clint getting his bus set up, I was also preparing my own ride as I am also going. This is a 1965 Sea Blue Microbus original Arizona bus, more on the story later on... Sitting pretty? 

This bus had recently completed traveling across the USA for 4 months through the summer of '11 with my wife, 2 little girls and 2 rat terriers. It was quite eventful 8,500 mile trip and the transmission was nearing its demise. I sent the transaxle to a reputable rebuilder in Richmond to do a complete refurbish. Check it out!

The pressure is on! With some good progress we will be all set to start the trip on Wednesday Noon Feb 1st onto the Rampaging Spot. From there we will meet up with other groups that had traveled from other states and places to celebrate the ultimate backroads experience... here are some photos from the past:

Hippy Tim wrenching on his ol' Mutant... photo credit: Richard Kimbrough

Hippy Tim bathing the Mutant... photo credit: Richard Kimbrough

Look out for more posts and videos coming from Team Deaf Volks as we dispatch four buses to participate in this challenging adventure, stay tuned folks. Please post comments as we will love for it to become more interactive with the audience and who knows... you might as well come along for the ride through this portal!!

Kudos to Kombi Haus VW Repair & Restorations:

2635 34th Street

Sacramento CA 95817

(916) 456 5615 

Shasta Snow Trip 2012

Coming soon, February 2nd through 5th 2012.

For more information go to www.shastasnowtrip.com

the Tale of the Beauty, continued...

We have been busy grinding on the Beauty, a 1966 VW Standard Microbus that was dragged out from a riverbed to be resurrected once again...

Kudos and major props go to Robert Skinner from Vacaville Auto Body Center, Inc at 938 E. Monte Vista Ave. Vacaville, CA 95688, website: www.vacavilleautobody.com 

The plan of attack once we brought the Beauty over to Robert's shop was to fabricate and install the heating components which were rusted out after years of sitting on the riverbed. We also smoothed up some of the body panels so it will be safer without having to cut us up while walking around the bus- it had too many jagged and rough metal edges all around the bus.

 Towing the bus to the Vacaville Auto Body Center

Clint (Deaf Volks member and owner of the Beauty) discussing the task 

at hand with Robert Skinner (shop owner in dark blue sweater)

Vacaville Auto Body Center, Inc

Patching up the rusted rocker panels with whatever scrap metal parts we can find.

 Work begins on the Heating ducting and system

 Cleaned up and ready to install new piece!

Fabricated and installed scrap metal hose so we have HEAT during Shasta Snow Trip!

 As you can see above, the front heater elbow piece was nonexistent. 

We added in donor metal piece, thanks to Robert!!!

 Cleaning up the area for install

 The donor elbow piece fitted in place, so the heated air can travel to the front cab area.

Welded in the piece after all the measuring and fitting.

Next up: Shaping the body panels to smooth it up.

Pounding away....

Whoo, you can see the rear corner taking shape. It was smashed in all the way in, and its amazing with the skills Robert got, it nearly got its shape back when it first left the VW factory!

Whew, burnt all the midnight oil, gotta stop for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Here, the Beauty is hoisted up in the air among its friends at Vacaville Auto Center...

Heres a parting shot for you all until the next update: STAY TUNED!! 

the Tale of The Beauty...

Hello everyone, lately we have been quiet only because we have been super busy! 

With Halloween over, there is Thanksgiving coming up soon and before you know it, it will be already New Year's day! Some things will need to be well planned ahead of time such as Thanksgiving and Holidays. There are lists to prepare, and shop for... the same goes with some hardcore Deaf Volks members who plan months ahead for a single event that occurs only once a year. Similar to the variety of annual events that are special and precious to you, such as birthdays or holidays, there are some spaces in the calendar that are already marked off for vintage VW enthusiasts...

We will focus on a particular event, the legendary Shasta Snow Trip. For more information and background of this event, please refer to their site: www.shastasnowtrip.com. 

Deaf Volks member Clint Dickinson opted to take up a challenge from a friend: Resurrect an abandoned bus (literally!) off a riverbed and get it in running shape for the grueling annual adventurous auto rallying through the tough back roads for few days.

AS FOUND:

IT WAS ON! We placed it up on jacks, rebuilt the brakes and installed our own wiring system because the original wiring system were just simply too messed up. We also tried to do some bodywork to make panels fit and close snugly. There were tons of parts that were donated or bought to make this effort possible. Motor was on loan from a friend, and using its existing transaxle, it moved under its own power!!! 

Check out this video:

Unfortunately the transaxle was not up to the task. It grinds when placed in 4th gear and would not stay in gear. Timing was not on our side, we could not budget or source a transaxle in time for the trip in 2011 However, it is not over. The next Shasta Snow Trip is coming up in Feb. 3-5, 2012, Team Deaf Volks are already starting the preparations and going through the Beauty once again to make sure it's ready.  

Check out the upcoming videos and photos as it will be sent to Skinner's Restorations from Vacaville, CA next week. Why? It will be on a frame rack to verify the chassis is not bent or twisted. From there, some work will be needed to finish the Beauty for a shipshape and safe trip without any breakdowns.  

We welcome any support or feedback from you... Just post a comment!

Success At DeafNation Pleasanton, CA!!!!

On Friday, some DeafVolkers were busy setting up the exhibition display set aside by DeafNation exclusively for DeafVolks members...

 

After setting up, we had to go home and wait until the next morning when the Expo opened for the final set up and exhibition. We nearly bit through all of our nails worrying if our babies would be all right alone at the Expo through the night... thankfully when we returned the next day the VW's were intact... 

After polishing up and final preparations, the gate finally opened at 9am for the 100th DeafNation special event. The crowd were floored with our display and we really enjoyed meeting all the people from various walks of life- many of them had stories of their childhood memories riding in the VW bugs or busses- especially one guy who groaned that his grandma gave away her old '49 split window bug before he graduated in high school, he had been begging for it!!!

We really want to appreciate the sponsors that made DeafNation possible and their hospitality letting us host a mini-car show inside. 

 Deaf Volks Crew (left to right): 

Darrell Utley, Daniel Briones Jr., Danny Lee, 

Jimmy Roth Jr., Kristeena Thaten, Tommy Lee

 Proud DeafVolks member, Daniel Briones Jr. with his 1974 VW Thing

 Proud DeafVolks member, Jimmy Roth Jr. with his 1956 VW Kabriolett

 Proud DeafVolks member, Tommy Lee with his 1956 VW Oval hardtop

Here are some more pictures of our display in action with the crowd...

We look forward to doing this again in the future and those who attended DeafNation at Pleasanton, please chime in as we would love to hear from you!!
Update: a few more pictures...

Deaf Volks at Deaf Nation

We have exciting news to share...

Coming up on this Saturday select few of Deaf Volks members will have amazing opportunity to present their vintage VW's at America's foremost touring trade show of, for, by, and about deaf people... the DeafNation Expo! This majestic indoor exhibition will be their special one, being the 100th event- starting with 6 expos and currently averaging 12 expos annually, all at no charge to the public.
When? & Where?! October 8th from 9am-5pm at Pleasanton, CA  It will be at Alameda County Fair, Young California Building.

Deaf Volks has been participating in VW shows and camping events in the past and still going strong. We are fortunate to be part of a diverse community that comes together to share their interests. In this case, we came together because of vintage air-cooled VW's and at the same time 'Volkers' who use American Sign Language, Deaf or not, were eventually led to the Deaf Volks club. We are anxiously looking forward to showcasing our vintage VW's, and we hope to meet some new 'Volkers' out there!!!

Also, please look forward to live tweets and postings during the day from Twitter and Facebook. If you are near Pleasanton, CA- feel free to come by and say hey... don't forget to register online for a speedy and free admission!

To get more information how to register for the free expo near you, check out www.deafnation.com!