VW Club of Victoria Day at Scoresby.
I am very pleased to report that the Annual VW Club of Victoria day
at the Caribbean Gardens in Scoresby was, for us, very successful.
The Club allocated an area for the Syncros and we were able to park
in line. (See pics) I was amazed at how many people a constant
stream, in fact were drawn to the Syncros, and particularly the
Syncro pop-top campers. They were all impressed by the ruggedness
of the Syncro and its evident ability to go anywhere and in comfort,
plus the practicality of the pop-top campers. All of the Syncros
were examined by many hundreds of people and each Syncro owner found
himself conducting tours for nearly the entire day. Our ability to
exchange information between ourselves was impaired by the non-stop
stream of visitors, but we did manage.
Attendees.
Rick (?), 91 Trakka pop-top camper, drove from Sydney to attend
Stuart Parry, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Ronnie Atlas, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Les Harris, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Brian Reed, ex-Telecom, fixed roof, home camper conversion
Werner and Alice Tritt, fixed roof
Roger Bell, pop-top camper, which he bought in WA and drove it back
to Vic
Mark Boys, whose double cab wasn't finished in time, unfortunately.
The star attendee was most certainly Rick and his son, who drove
down from Sydney to join us. He was very pleased to find a real
live Syncro group and told us that equivalent meetings in NSW simply
don't attract any Syncro owners. Rick owns two Syncros and I will
get a pic of the other one from him to post on the website. We
will organize a weekend on the Murray later in the year so that Rick
can join us again. Who knows, we might be able to enthuse a few
more NSW Syncro owners into coming.
Technical Information
When we weren't conducting tours for the envious public, we were
furiously swapping information between ourselves. Everyone had bits
of information to share with everyone else and that alone made it
worth attending.
One excellent and topical piece of information came from Mark Boys,
who told us the wiring already exists that cam be used directly for
the decoupler in any Syncro that has a rear diff lock fitted. This
wiring is for the front diff lock but adapts directly to the
decoupler.
Thanks to everyone who attended and a special thanks to Rick for
coming so far. Thanks also to the VW Club of Victoria for providing
us with a dedicated strip where we could park side by side; that
certainly drew the public.
A Bit of History
Mark Boys' double cab is the vehicle which ran in the Wynn's Desert
Safari way back when and Mark is restoring it. I will post some
pics when it gets back on the road. Yurik Orlowski has the other
Wynn's vehicle, an extensively modified 16" high top which has been
through several hands. Yurik is over on the east side somewhere but
haven't heard from him. It would have been brilliant to have him at
the VW Club day. His vehicle alone would have pulled the crowds.
Upcoming Events:
Great Ocean Road Weekend
Brian Reed proposes that we have a weekend at Stephenson's falls,
off the Great Ocean Road and on the Melbourne side of Apollo Bay.
All of the Great Ocean Road area is beautiful, no matter what time
of year. By the time we organize this, it will probably be the
colder months but that's nothing that a campfire and a good sleeping
bag won't fix.
Murray River Weekend
Brian also proposes a weekend on the Murray, possibly Echuca, later
in the year, probably into early spring. This might attract some of
the NSW owners as well as Rick.
News Item
Brad Connell (see Subaru item below) reports that he was looking in
a cars/parts magazine in Brisbane and found a picture of a vehicle
that he was interested in. In the background of the pic were SEVEN
Syncros! He tracked down to owner, on Bribe Island. (One of the
Syncro owners was heard to mutter "we should go and liberate them")
More details to follow, we hope, from Brad.
Subaru Engine Conversions
One of our many visitors was Brad Connell, who has a full time off-
road business in Brisbane, which includes a high VW component. He
also does EJ22 Subaru engines into T2 and T3 Volkswagens. This is
very widely done in the US, but that's a long way from here. There
is a lot to be said for having local manufacture and support.
Without entering into debate about purisms, the Subaru engine as a
lot going for it for anyone who has a terminally ill WBX engine.
There is a link now added for Brad's business.
Last Word: Those who didn't come on Sunday missed an excellent day.
Les Harris
Australian Syncronauts
I am very pleased to report that the Annual VW Club of Victoria day
at the Caribbean Gardens in Scoresby was, for us, very successful.
The Club allocated an area for the Syncros and we were able to park
in line. (See pics) I was amazed at how many people a constant
stream, in fact were drawn to the Syncros, and particularly the
Syncro pop-top campers. They were all impressed by the ruggedness
of the Syncro and its evident ability to go anywhere and in comfort,
plus the practicality of the pop-top campers. All of the Syncros
were examined by many hundreds of people and each Syncro owner found
himself conducting tours for nearly the entire day. Our ability to
exchange information between ourselves was impaired by the non-stop
stream of visitors, but we did manage.
Attendees.
Rick (?), 91 Trakka pop-top camper, drove from Sydney to attend
Stuart Parry, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Ronnie Atlas, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Les Harris, 89 Trakka pop-top camper
Brian Reed, ex-Telecom, fixed roof, home camper conversion
Werner and Alice Tritt, fixed roof
Roger Bell, pop-top camper, which he bought in WA and drove it back
to Vic
Mark Boys, whose double cab wasn't finished in time, unfortunately.
The star attendee was most certainly Rick and his son, who drove
down from Sydney to join us. He was very pleased to find a real
live Syncro group and told us that equivalent meetings in NSW simply
don't attract any Syncro owners. Rick owns two Syncros and I will
get a pic of the other one from him to post on the website. We
will organize a weekend on the Murray later in the year so that Rick
can join us again. Who knows, we might be able to enthuse a few
more NSW Syncro owners into coming.
Technical Information
When we weren't conducting tours for the envious public, we were
furiously swapping information between ourselves. Everyone had bits
of information to share with everyone else and that alone made it
worth attending.
One excellent and topical piece of information came from Mark Boys,
who told us the wiring already exists that cam be used directly for
the decoupler in any Syncro that has a rear diff lock fitted. This
wiring is for the front diff lock but adapts directly to the
decoupler.
Thanks to everyone who attended and a special thanks to Rick for
coming so far. Thanks also to the VW Club of Victoria for providing
us with a dedicated strip where we could park side by side; that
certainly drew the public.
A Bit of History
Mark Boys' double cab is the vehicle which ran in the Wynn's Desert
Safari way back when and Mark is restoring it. I will post some
pics when it gets back on the road. Yurik Orlowski has the other
Wynn's vehicle, an extensively modified 16" high top which has been
through several hands. Yurik is over on the east side somewhere but
haven't heard from him. It would have been brilliant to have him at
the VW Club day. His vehicle alone would have pulled the crowds.
Upcoming Events:
Great Ocean Road Weekend
Brian Reed proposes that we have a weekend at Stephenson's falls,
off the Great Ocean Road and on the Melbourne side of Apollo Bay.
All of the Great Ocean Road area is beautiful, no matter what time
of year. By the time we organize this, it will probably be the
colder months but that's nothing that a campfire and a good sleeping
bag won't fix.
Murray River Weekend
Brian also proposes a weekend on the Murray, possibly Echuca, later
in the year, probably into early spring. This might attract some of
the NSW owners as well as Rick.
News Item
Brad Connell (see Subaru item below) reports that he was looking in
a cars/parts magazine in Brisbane and found a picture of a vehicle
that he was interested in. In the background of the pic were SEVEN
Syncros! He tracked down to owner, on Bribe Island. (One of the
Syncro owners was heard to mutter "we should go and liberate them")
More details to follow, we hope, from Brad.
Subaru Engine Conversions
One of our many visitors was Brad Connell, who has a full time off-
road business in Brisbane, which includes a high VW component. He
also does EJ22 Subaru engines into T2 and T3 Volkswagens. This is
very widely done in the US, but that's a long way from here. There
is a lot to be said for having local manufacture and support.
Without entering into debate about purisms, the Subaru engine as a
lot going for it for anyone who has a terminally ill WBX engine.
There is a link now added for Brad's business.
Last Word: Those who didn't come on Sunday missed an excellent day.
Les Harris
Australian Syncronauts