Well, these two idiots, Dylan and Ricky, both decided to start projects in February, with goals of having both together and drivable for SoWo 2013. One being a ’72 Squareback that needs a fair share of rust work, and the other being a Volksrod (if you don’t know what that is, you’re about to find out). Ricky gets to do most of the hard work on both the cars, seeing as how that’s his day job, and Dylan doesn’t know how to weld… Pretty fucking ambitious, wouldn’t you say?

Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get down to the business end of this shit-tastic shit storm of rusty metal, sheet metal, cut-off wheels, welding wire, and… well… more rusty metal..

Dylan’s ’72 Squareback is quite the little sexpot, she’s been around a few blocks, and its been rough on the poor girl, to say the least. She’s been the victim of abuse, some real “ridden hard and put up wet” kind of stuff. To make the poor, beat up, old lady even harsher on the eyes, there’s been some real shaky cosmetic work at some point in her 41 years on the road. By who? Who even knows at this point. (As a side note, even Ricky owned her for a short time. Eskimo brothers? What!?!)

The girl is getting her inner fenders mostly cut out and replaced with clean sheet metal the RIGHT way, with a welder, for once. None of that shower caulked and sheet metal screwed in air duct flashing bullshit that was in there before (those fucking hacks)! There are some (read as “many”) holes in the floor pan that are getting attention as well, and the gas tank needs some love, and the bulk head, and the beam, and most of the suspension… She’s old! Cut her some slack. She’ll also see some reupholstered seats, cleaned up interior and exterior trim bits, and some new paint. We’ll see how much of that we can squeeze in before SoWo.

Now on to the next one…

Ricky’s Volksrod started life off as a’70 Beetle, and the top half is still mostly from the same beetle, although the original sunroof section is now gone and replaced with a rag top from an early model. The chassis is mostly from a ’66 Beetle, well, the front beam mount is off the ’70 and the trans mount/rear suspension is also off the ’70, so I guess the floor pans and original tunnel are from the ’66, at this point, it all kind of blurs together.

Side note: Lets define “Volksrod” real quick. At it’s most basic, it is a beetle with no fenders thats lowered and has a kind of “hot rod” looking appearance. And at its most basic, its really not all that amazing, just a fucking beetle with no fenders, woopty-fucking-dee-da-doo. Now a REAL Volksrod is going to have some sort of roof chop and/or body section and will usually have a front end extension and really incorporate a good deal of hot rod/custom facets, often involving lots of fabrication and what experts would refer to as a “fuck ton” of welding.

Ricky started his project a couple of years ago, swapping bulk heads on the chassis and doing the 7.5″ rear end/tunnel raise (essentially creating a 7.5″ body drop in the rear), repairing some holes in the floor pans, pretty much finishing the modifications to the chassis, and starting the chop and section of the body. The roof is chopped 9.5″ and the body is sectioned 4″ (that makes it 13.5″ shorter than a normal beetle, for those of you who aren’t so good at math). The roof section from the ’70 was cut out and replaced with a rag top section from a rusted out bug that ultimately found its way to the crusher (aawwww, sad face). The chop and section was tacked together, and then it sat, for two years, under a tarp, sitting, collecting dust, and random crap that was laid on top of it…

However, the build sheet for this ol’ girl looks a little more extensive than that for the whore of a Squareback: Finish the chop and section, finish the rag top section install, weld in the rear window section, build body supports and package tray area, build door window arches and fill the window gaps, smooth door handles and wiper holes, set the ride height on the suspension, build seats, find a motor, make windows, get tires, do burn-outs, get bitches…. and probably a few more things that I forgot… like paint, and electricals, and lights, and…fuck…

This meet happens every Wednesday, so if you’re in the area and haven’t stopped in you should. Also, if you have attended and would like to be interviewed, drop us a line via our Contact Page! We would love to hear more about this event!

The Mega Meet series has been going on for some time now and they have moved venues once or twice. Some of you may remember the Manassas shows and how the parking lot would fill up almost immediately. While it was still a good time, parking could be a bit of a hassle. The new venue at the Marley Station mall was 100% better in that sense, 1,500 parking spaces to be exact, and the area was much more accessible.

This time around the guys held a Marine Corps Toys for Tots event and encouraged people to bring unopened toys and/or a monetary donation towards the purchase of more toys. It went great and they filled up the van with toys for the kids as the day progressed. There were also a few more incentives to get people to donate cash for the cause, like a certain guy promising to shave his head if a goal was reached….

Some amazing cars were on hand throughout the day. Supras, Vettes, Classics, Drift Kings, Lifted things, Slammed things… Really something for everyone to put it simply. The line of cars flooding into the event started early, seemingly to no end, until the show field overflowed into the neighboring lot. The DJ was spinning live mixes and there were quite a few other vendors showcasing new products.

Dustin offered up his own head in the name of charity as well. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the spikey haired cameraman from the movie series mischief and how his hair was always ‘his thing’. The bounty was set at $500 and that goal was easily reached as the crowd gathered to witness the event. It took a few beers to get Dustin ready once he realized his fate, not to mention it was cold as h*ll that day, he was going to regret this immediately.

I know I know, swapping out the rotary engine of any rx-7 so you can dump in a piston powered knock box is the worst thing in the world to most of you, but this thing was bad. Face it, the 2jz power plant is one of the most amazing engines ever produced so when you drop it in the lightweight chassis of a Fd like this, only good can come of it. The owner didn’t stop in the engine bay either, the entire car was clean as hell and the license plate ‘NO LSX’ speaks volumes. This car was on point.

So that’s our coverage of the Mid-Atlantic Mega Meet’s toys for tot’s charity event. It was a long weekend and this show ended it perfectly, keep an eye on megameet.org to find out when future events will be. We can’t wait until the spring meet, hope to see you all there!

We arrived a little late but the view from the bridge as we passed overhead was worth it. Cars were everywhere and I didn’t know where to start shooting once I got everything ready. We parked near the back and worked our way towards the cloud of tire smoke forming near the skatepark.

This was my first year attending this charity event so I wasn’t too sure where I was headed or what to expect. The location is amazing and it provides a great graffiti covered backdrop for the cars. FDR Skatepark was created by skaters, for skaters and it came to be through volunteer labor and donated materials. The park was built on unused public land in FDR Park under a I-95 overpass about 15 years ago and has since hosted many events and been featured in numerous videos since the mid 90′s. you can even skate the park in Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground!

On top of all of the donations to the United States Marine Corps and the Toys for Tots donations $182 was raised for the skatepark itself!

There were many different makes and models in attendance under the overpass and quite the mix of styles. Everything from pro-street Studebaker’s to RHD S13′s to corrado’s, most of those rear wheel guys rocked the burnout shenanigans but the vw’s threw some in there as well.

Numbers aren’t in on how many toys were raised yet but there were enough to nearly fill two of the trucks pictured below. Everyone really threw down for this one.

We had a blast while we were at the event and when we headed into Philly to explore and grab a cheesesteak at Pat’s. I am certain that this meet will be on my calendar as long as they continue having it. Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

]]> http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dci-toys-for-tots/feed/ 1 http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dead-end/ http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dead-end/#comments Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:41:47 +0000 Shawn Price http://speedhappens.com/?p=2342 This year my buddy Dylan showed up to H2Oi in his freshly widened, shaved, and sprayed B4 Wagon and I knew I had to shoot it immediatelly!

This 1997 Passat Wagon steals the spotlight. Since Dylan purchased the car he has been doing little things to make it his own and in the months before H2Oi he pulled out the stops. He had the rear fenders pulled three inches and shaved the hatch before spraying the entire car Marrakesh Brown.

The wagon rides on Airlift Slam Series front bags as well as Air Lift rear struts and the airflow is managed with manual paddle valves. Dylan then decided on 16×8 Diamond Steelies up front with 16×10′s out back before spraying them a golden color that matches the brown on the body very well. Those are wrapped with 215/40 and 215/50 rubber and laid out with 3″ of camber in the rear and 2.5″ up front, damn.

Dylan is still working on the interior of the car and the goods under the hood but I’m sure the decisions he makes with the rest of the car will only set it off more. Look for him rolling around the shows next year and enjoy the rest of the pictures!

-Shawn

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]]> http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dead-end/feed/ 0 http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dubs-for-a-cause/ http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dubs-for-a-cause/#comments Sat, 10 Nov 2012 04:08:12 +0000 Shawn Price http://speedhappens.com/?p=2357 We rolled down to Raleigh, NC on my birthday weekend to attend Dubs for a Cause and this first year show did not disappoint!

This fundraising event was held by H2O Tuning of NC and Apex Tuning and the proceeds went to the International FOP (Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva – Stoneman Syndrome) Association. The event was free to enter and free for spectators so funds were raised by way of raffle tickets and donations.

When we got to the North Carolina State Fairgrounds Apex Tuning and the members of H2O Tuning were already set up inside of the building they had reserved for the event. Judging by their spread, we were in for a good day. We got to work setting up our booth which was conveniently located near the entrance and before long more cars started rolling in.

If you follow this blog, you’ll know that I am in love with the car pictured above. If you get tired of the pictures of it, just let me know

Bynum Builds had this stunning RHD VR6 Harlequin on display. What more could you ask for really? Rare MK3, awesome powerplant, and then the cherry on top, the RHD conversion… Priceless.

Dubs for a Cause was a great show and I believe it will only grow with time. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled next year for updates about this one, you wont want to miss it.

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]]> http://speedhappens.com/2012/11/dubs-for-a-cause/feed/ 0 http://speedhappens.com/2012/10/h2oi-chillin-on-friday/ http://speedhappens.com/2012/10/h2oi-chillin-on-friday/#comments Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:50:08 +0000 Shawn Price http://speedhappens.com/?p=2325 Chill day on Friday! We spent the morning on the beach, hit up a few meets, cruised the strip, and got some shots while chilling on the sidewalk!

Things were starting to get rolling on Friday as more and more cars started flocking to the streets and the empty parking lots up and down the strip. We hit up the Mk2 meet (coverage here) and spent some time sitting on the sidewalk outside of our hotel snapping these pictures.

The Mk6 above is sitting on some Rotiform splits that bolt from the back for a clean look and the Mk3 is on new MemoryFabs. Both of them look pretty damn good!

Grey team go…? These two cars so fine!

Stay tuned for more coverage from the meets on Saturday, the nightlife, and the Show coverage from Sunday!

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It seemed like everyone wanted to come hang out so there were a few different models lurking around. This post is all about the mk2′s though, I’ll put up the other rides in another post.

After a (very) quick and cold dip in the ocean followed by about three hours of trying to warm back up at the hotel pool we headed out for the day. I was so ready to start getting coverage I nearly left my passengers in the hotel lobby. We cruised up to 100th street to find the gtg and when we pulled in the parking lot was already pretty full. Unix had their beautiful cars on display including the PWV featured vr-t pictured above, it was awesome to see it in person!

Can I go on record here and say that THE CAR ABOVE WAS AMAZING! I loved everything about this car and for good reason, if you had the chance to see it in person you know where I’m coming from here. The interior and body were on point and that 16v under the hood, well i mean, just look at it! Top it off with Ferrari brakes and those OZ wheels… I need a minute, talk amongst yourselves…….

I think it goes without saying that the Mk2 bar has been raised pretty high over the last couple years and this display of cars did not disappoint. The attention to detail and quality of work these guys put into their cars is truly inspiring and most of them are built to use, not to trailer/push around all the time.

We checked into our Hotel in Ocean City on Thursday and the Wheel Whores/Orchid Euro Launch Party was well underway next door. After getting some grub at Belly Busters across the street and watching as the early birds cruised the strip we walked over to the 45th street lot.

Orchid had some awesome right hand drive cars on display and we immediately fell in love with the white polo above. It was freshly imported and had 70k original miles on it, I’ll give you a minute to take that in. I’m not sure if anyone bought it or not but it was priced to sell, for sure!

We had a blast at the launch party and it set the stage for the weekend! I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the very brief article, there is plenty more where this came from! Stay tuned!