Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 20:37:27 -0800
From: Charlie Ford <cford@mindspring.com>
Subject: The Milan VW Show and Tell


On Saturday after Sunday which for some reason fell consecutively, Gary and
I drove down to Ypsilanti to hook up with several folks that would be
attending the Milan VW bugfest.  We all had a little gathering that night
at which I met Mark Janello, Ted Finesman and several other folks that
involved themselves quite deeply in Volkswagens of all makes and models,
shapes and forms.

We each enjoyed our share of Mexican type food which created enough hot air
in all of us to power our way down to the show the next day.  This guy
John's wife prepared what I would essentially call a feast.  We had
enchilada's, beans, tortilla's with more beans, frijoles and beans.  Oh,
did I mention beans.

A good time was had by all, along with some really good conversation
concerning everything VW.  Some of us took a look at John's collection of
VW memorabilia and eventually got to plunder all of his boxes of excess
parts.  From which I dread out a shift extension that would allow me to
recline my seat in the Mothership and still have enough arm to reach the
shifter.

Carl, Gary's buddy and his brother also came and played VW head for a
night.  i think he may invest if we push him hard enough.  They stood
around talked with everyone just like everyone stood around talked about
things with everybody else.  I think they had a great time.

That night Ted and all the rest slept in John's home while I slept in The
Mothership.  I have grown very used to the small space and she is my
personal favorite.  The heat was awful and honestly I think I may have lost
about thirteen pounds that night alone.  Finally I rigged my fan onto my
window so at least I had cool air blowing at one general location of my
body.  I drifted off to sleep and dreamed about beans.

The next morning we all rose early and headed off to the VW meet.  It was
only a few miles from John's house so we hit the interstate and quickly
rose to the very high speed of 70 mph.  I still haven't figured out what
the rush was all about.  Hell it was 6:30 and the meet didn't even open the
gates until 7:00.

The Mothership and I kept up with the caravan of three VW's and a Chevy
truck.  I could have passed all of them but really didn't want too show
them up.  They were all driving showy type cars and I would have hated for
the Mother and I to make them feel bad on such a special day for them.

The best two busses, the only two busses in the caravan were Ted Finesman
and mine.  His bus is very nice with wood trim around the edges just under
the window hump.  He and I both later discussed the high rate of speed it
took for us to arrive at the closed gates to the Milan Dragway.  We
approached John about the issue and he said "Gee, ya'll should have flashed
your lights or something.

Now if we had done that then the whole damn bunch woulda pulled off to the
side of the road thinking that one of the cars had broken a piston ring or
slung a rod or something.  And of course, if something like that would have
happened, we would have just pulled out our trusty roll of bailing wire and
fixed the problem right there on the spot, being the expert motor heads we
are and everything.  We decided we would wait and complain laughingly when
we all got together at the track.

After all the complaining was done we all sat around in this long line of
cars wondering how everyone beat us there.  I had only been to one of these
meets since being on the road and I was a nervous as a hog in a holding
pen.  I made as much small talk as I knew how to make and so did everyone
else.  As we stood there were show cars coming in on trailer after trailer.
they all looked nice and shiny and clean.  These things surely were not
daily drivers at all.

Finally after a few minutes of what seemed like hours the announcer came on
the crackly PA system and heralded us all in.  If we were showing, then we
could drive right past everybody else and proceed to the ticket booth where
we would pay our $12.00, and move onto where you paid even more money to
show your car.

Ted and I stood there and talked and he said, "man, you ought to show the
Mothership".  I looked around me at all of the fine straight bodied VW's
and decided he was right.  This crowd needed to see a good old fashioned
daily driver.  I paid my ten dollar entry fee, got my little "happy jack
goody pack" sponsored by Rocky Mountain Motor Works, for all those who
show, and moved to the show arena for type2's.

I cleaned The Mothership up nice and tidy, and dusted as much of the road
tar off as I could, and opened her up for all the world too see.  Ted kept
walking over and telling me that she cleans up pretty good and that I
should win the show.  I knew he was just being nice, but I will have to
admit it gave me a bit of pride.  She is a good lookin bus, bondo and all.

I made up a quick map of my route showing all of the 14000 miles I have
traveled so far and stuck it up on the window.  I also put up a guest book
for people to sign and leave me an e mail address so I could write them and
they could go and visit my web page.  I made sure that on the map it said
"VERY DAILY DRIVER".  I also wrote that I was celebrating my 40th birthday,
and that this was her second trip around the country in the past 4 years.

That day I sat there and had about 50 people drop by and admire the
interior which is all custom built.  They oohed and awed.  The Mothership
sitting there by all of the busses with beautiful engines, nice straight
bodies, and perfect interiors made The Mothership stand out. that CaCa
brown paint mixed with a light tint of bondo shining through.  the custom
scratches placed there by me at one time or another, that faded color of
tan that shades her roof.  Man! If she was a woman I would make a move on
her.  I was proud of her even if no one else was.

We even had one punk that trailered his bus in, and unloaded her like it
was a jewel or something.  This kind of made me sick.  The fact is that
what good is a car if it is not being driven.  That is the test of any
"truly good vehicle".  But at this meet, just like the others I think, they
are judged cosmetically and not functionality.

When the judge finally got to the Mother he was not impressed at all.
Although he was impressed when he saw the map and saw where she had brought
me from on my way to Milan.  He shook my hand and said he wished there was
a category for function.  He spent all of two minutes looking her over.
Then he walked off.

I sat there in the blazing heat about another hour.  Finally I closed her
up and loaded all my gear.  I couldn't;t resist but as I left I drove
around the show grounds one time with the side door open just too make a
point.  Speaking of points, folks from all around looked at her and
pointed.  the interior is comfy as all get out.  It looks it and it truly
is.  Those folks just don't know what a privilege they shared that day.

After leaving, I drove all the way back to Gary Gibson's home in Detroit
and settled in for the night.  He had suffered Peugeot problems and had
been working on it so he wasn;t able to make the show.  The next morning I
got up and packed out for Toronto.  Before leaving Gary and I sprayed some
contact spray into my ignition switch to see of we could fix my problem of
turning the key and nothing happening.  Well it fixed it alright.  Nothing
at all happened, at least before we sprayed it you could juggle it around
and the thing would work, now it did nothing.

I had a push button so Gary wired that in for me.  It worked fine, but
later conked out on me as well.  I guess it is time to rebuild that little
system.  I couldn't do it then, I was on my way to Ron Mighton's home in
Toronto.

I crossed into Canada with no problem, and headed northeast.  Canada is
once again clean and nice.  It is amazing, but the roads in Detroit beat
you to death.  The roads in Canada, not 300 yards away, are as smooth as
glass.  In Detroit every car you see has rust all under it and over it.  In
Canada they don't.  I think Detroit needs to get their act together.

Next post will be the week at Ron's on beautiful Lake Ontario.

Thanks for tolerating my rambling's.

Charlie Ford


"79" Transporter, dressed for the road
The Mothership

 The"Turning 40 Nostalgic VW Service Tour, and
Search for the Beginning of Wind".

http://www.armory.com/~y21cvb/charlie/charlie.html

"Wider still and wider.....shall thy bounds be set"