Hubert's Trip To The
Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Festival
Volkswagen of America Headquarters
Auburn Hills, MI
May 2001
Thursday morning, May 17, Nick, and I started our journey
along with Hubert (my '74 Sun Bug) to Michigan for Michigan Vintage Volkswagen
Club Festival in a thick fog. We were hoping the fog would lift as the day went
on. It did lift a little until we crossed over the Upper Peninsula border and
got closer to Lake Michigan. It would be clear for a bit but then we would be in
a low area with thick fog. It slowed us down a bit but we were enjoying being
away from the daily grind and anticipating the fun weekend ahead of us.
We would be staying in Michigan with a couple we met while in the Air Force. They too were a husband and wife team in the military and were also Ground Equipment Mechanics. Not easy raising a family when both are in the military, but we managed. Our sons played, fought, and grew up together. Ten years ago we spent nearly every weekend and holiday together when we were unable to go home to family.
When we saw the Mackinac Bridge we could only see the very top posts of it because of the thick fog. When I saw the sign that said there was one lane closed, I immediately slowed down and started to white knuckle the steering wheel. This bridge is the longest suspension bridge. This coupled with the fog could not be a good thing. Well it even got worse, when I saw that they were actually working on the bridge in this dense fog! Why would they risk an accident with this heavy fog? So we paid our toll and start across the bridge and wouldn’t you know I was at the head of the line of cars. I could just hear the drivers behind me groaning about that slow poke Bug in the way. We were in the lane with the metal grating so you get that wonderful floating on air effect if you were driving too fast. We were going along fine, when out of the heavy fog a construction truck towing some kind of equipment pulls out in front of me. A few expletives and a quick check to see if my lights were on happened after I hit the brakes. Yes, my lights were on so why did this idiot pull out in front of me! I continued on being a little more cautious. We reached the halfway point across the bridge when another construction worker pulls out in front of me. More expletives and no check this time to see if my lights were on. We finally made it across the bridge and the line of traffic behind was zooming past me. I pulled off at the next exit to trade places with Nick. I was tired, my nerves were shot, and I wanted a nap after driving 260 miles in and out of fog with the last ten minutes being the worst part of the drive. Nick would drive the remaining 280 miles to our friend’s house in Howell, MI. Howell is about 40 minutes West of Auburn Hills and about 10 to 15 minutes West of where the group camped last year (Pontiac Lakes Recreation Area).
Friday morning, we went to the Henry Ford Museum. We hoped we would miss most of the rush hour work traffic. I guess it seemed like there was less traffic but compared to here I would have said it seemed like rush hour traffic. We made it to the museum but I’m not exactly sure how we made the exit, as I had gotten lost in my directions I had printed from the web. Nick just chose an exit and there it was! Then I had to hear his human compass routine for the next five minutes. Somehow we had come in the back entrance. Anyway we were here and ready to see this grand museum that we were sure we would enjoy. We enjoyed the museum so much we spent most of the day there. There was a 1949 Split Window Beetle that I couldn’t help but drool over. Nick was enthralled with the Manx Dune Buggy and the 1959 Camper Bus. Oh yeah, there were other old cars there too. The 1969 GTO caught my eye for a moment as I remembered riding with my brother in his back in 1975. Also, the car President Kennedy was riding in when he was shot was there, too. After our tour through the museum we went over to the Automotive Hall of Fame, where they honor some of the automotive industry’s pioneers and leaders. It is more about the people who made the automobile come alive throughout history. I was surprised to find a 1965 Beetle in their display so I was happy to drool over another VW for a while and with our ’65 waiting for its restoration I began to make mental notes on some things. Click here to see pictures from Henry Ford Museum.
By now it was getting to be late in the afternoon and we decided we had better get out of town before the real rush hour started on a Friday afternoon. We took a wrong turn and decided to fill up at a gas station before getting ourselves back on track. That turned out to be a smart move. We got back to our main thoroughfare and everything was going fine when suddenly traffic just stops. Well, I guess we had hit the rush hour and now would be bumper to bumper in three lanes of highway on I-96. After about 20 minutes of this, we start to smell brake fluid. Shortly after that as Nick is braking, he tells me we lost our brakes and starts to grab the emergency brake. We stop in time but we both know what happened, we had broken a brake line. Since we had replaced all of the outside brake lines we had a pretty good feeling that it was the one inside the Bug that runs along the tunnel. We had a choice of pulling over to the shoulder and hope that AAA could make it through the rush hour traffic in maybe 2 or 3 hours or to drive it back to our friends by use of downshifting and the e brake.
Nick chose to drive it. I don’t condone this, but at the time and in our circumstances I decided if Nick was up to the challenge then so be it. So in about 10 minutes we were out on the connection that we needed to take and tooling along at 55 in a 65 mph speed zone. We made it to our friends house in Howell and told them all about our fun day. They said we were crazy just like the old days and we had a good laugh. A quick peek under the floor mats confirmed that indeed the inside brake line had burst under the driver’s seat. A beer helped calm the nerves and soon we were off to the local parts store to get some metric brake line. Of course we had to piece two lines together to make one of proper length but we didn’t care. We were just happy that they had something that would work.
I cleaned up the fluid and the original floor mats that evening. The next morning we installed the brake line while our good hosts prepared breakfast for us. There’s something about smelling breakfast cooking that makes you want to finish your work a little quicker. By the time they said come and eat, we had the new line installed and bled. We ate our breakfast and then went back out to the garage to adjust the brakes on the Bug. We took the Bug for a spin and all was fine again. After the morning of work, we were ready for a little fun so we decided to go antiquing.
We ended up in Brighton and found a place along the road that was having a Petrol Antique Show. If you ever wanted one of those old gas station fuel pumps this would have been the place to go. They had every old brand imaginable. Nick found a guy who was selling actual oil company and automobile stocks; some old, some good, and some new. He happened to have some Volkswagen of America stocks in his collection. So now we are the proud owners of two fifths of one share of VWoA stock and have 2 of the paper stock certificates that they use to issue. Nick also found a sample certificate of the German VW stock. It is pretty neat. It has the picture of a Beetle with the semaphore sticking out on it plus samples of the individual coupons. We know it is a sample because it has Muster stamped on it. My find wasn’t quite as exciting as Nick’s but I was happy I found something. I found a little metal device that was called an oil meter that the Sinclair Stations use to give to their customers. It has some brass rings with numbers that you were suppose to use the brass pin included to set it to the next mileage when your oil was due for a change. The device then could be stuck in your car’s visor or headliner as a handy reminder. It has the name Oakland Oil & Gas Co. on it. I was told that it is probably from Oakland County in Michigan.
That evening I drove to the Banquet at the Marriott Centerpoint with no problems. Saw the Holcomb's in the parking lot. If I hadn’t been staying with friends, I would not have had any problems staying there. Timothy Olind, Karmann USA VP and COO reviewed their history with Volkswagen and touched upon some of the other automotive companies they have business with. He even touched upon some of the company’s future plans and it sounds like they will be involved with Volkswagen for the future as well. A very good presentation.
After the presentation Bob Case was presented an award for his work with the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club. We moved to the hospitality lounge where we were tempted by chocolate covered strawberries, cannelloni (Excellente!!) , other dessert items, and coffee. The room was buzzing with socializing. There was a cash bar as well. I met some of the Michigan VVC folks. We had a fun time chitchatting about the hobby and our experiences. I reluctantly decided I should probably get out of the downtown area before it got dark. I was getting more familiar with the roads but didn’t want to take a chance. The ride to our host’s home was beautiful with the outline of trees against the setting sun. I drove with the sunroof open and the windows down and even though I was driving through the metropolis, I felt like I was on a country road. There was a lot less traffic and it was the most enjoyable drive I had in the Detroit area the whole weekend.
The next morning we awoke early in anticipation of the highlight of our weekend - The Vintage Volkswagen Festival at Volkswagen of America Headquarters in Auburn Hills. I was ecstatic that for the first time I knew how to get where I was going without a map! It was a weird feeling after planning every single route to take to get to our destination every day for the past 3 days. I even started to pick up on the stop and go light timing. Nick said I was starting to drive like I lived in this town. We followed a sweet looking split window that was being towed to the show to be put in the car corral. It was a good thing we had the Bug because I must say I was definitely tempted by the car. I know I can only tackle one project at a time, though and I’ve made a promise to the ’65 bug that it is next. I’m not so sure I’m ready for a split window project just yet. Give me a few more years then maybe . . .
After we got parked, Nick said I’m going to the swap meet area. I knew I might as well register because I wouldn’t see Nick again until his arms were full of treasures. The goody bag that was given out was a nice canvas bag with the Michigan club’s logo on it, very nice and full of good things. They also had limited edition miniature Karmann Ghia cars to go along with the theme of 100 years of the Karmann Ghia. I shined up Hubert as best I could and then happen to glance at my watch. Good thing, because it was 9:30 am. At 10:00 am I was suppose to take a picture of the members of the Common Gear Discussion Group that were at the show. The Common Gear Discussion Group is an email group of VW folk on the Internet who are joined together by a common interest in the vintage Volkswagen. At shows throughout the country and overseas the members get together to meet and take a picture to post on the Common Gear website. Nick happen to come back at that time with his second trip of treasures from the swap meet so I took a quick walk with him down a couple rows of the swap meet and then told him I’d see him later.
After the picture, I had some final business to take care of before it was time to relax and enjoy the show. I passed out flyers for our club’s upcoming show in August. By then it was time for the Historical “Pass In Review”. The show actually has specially selected vehicles from the show area do a special drive by review, while someone commentates on the history of the specially selected vehicles, which this year was the Karmann built vehicles built through the model year 1979. But before that started, Dave Cook of the MVVC was paging Bill Bowman. Dave had a special award for Bill and by now some of you have heard that Bill was one of the nominees for the Common Gear “Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award” this year. The other two nominees were Rich Kimball from California and Chuck Pisconski from Connecticut. This award program was originated in 1999 to help recognize those people within the antique Volkswagen hobby world who have especially given of themselves to help other hobbyists, often with little to no personal gain or attention. If you’ve ever met Bill Bowman from Missouri, you know he never seems to be at a loss for words and this time was no exception. It was a speech that encouraged everyone in the hobby from the experienced to the beginner.
Timothy Olind from Karmann USA was on hand and spoke a bit about how Karmann USA was very pleased to be a part of the show and the history of Volkswagen. Karmann USA is a true friend to our hobby. The “Pass In Review” was fantastic. They had some great examples of the historical changes of the Karmann bodied cars through the years. There were even 2 examples of the Type III Karmann bodied cars. It was very educational for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I spent the rest of the afternoon snapping pictures of some of the wonderful cars that were there.
I found myself over in the vintage Beetle section most of the time. I guess you never really lose sight of the things you love. I did pull myself away though to look at some of the buses that showed up. Joe & Gail Mond and the Holcombs brought Joe's ambulance to the show. Karmann had their display up as well. I found another Sun Bug owner at the show and we parked our Bugs together. It was fun to see everyone comparing the Super to the Standard version. Mine is a Standard Beetle. The guy told me he spent most of the day explaining some of the differences, as I wasn’t near my Bug for most of the day. He didn’t mind. He was intrigued that I had the original deck lid emblem and shift knob, though. Well enough about Sun Bugs. The weather was great. It was a little chilly in the morning but warmed up and was sunny. I also had a few minutes to visit the museum inside the building. I had seen it last year but wanted to just take a quick look to see if they had added anything new. There were a couple cars that I didn’t remember seeing last year so I was glad I took the time to do that.
All good things come to an end and thus the shows ended too quickly as they always do. I was better prepared this year but it still went by too quickly and I didn’t want to pack up to leave. Nick had his treasures all lined up and ready to be strategically packed into the Bug. I didn’t even know what he had bought throughout the day but I was anticipating seeing them later. He did find a roof rack for the ’65 project and it was a sight to see a roof rack strapped on top of another roof rack. We went back to Howell and by now the drive was a piece of cake. Our friends treated us to a wonderful supper. It felt good to not have to rush and drive back home after being at the show all day in the sun. It definitely makes a difference when you have a good night’s sleep before heading back home on a long trip.
That evening and the next morning we said our goodbyes and we were off on our adventure home. I decided to take the first shift of driving and Nick decided to nap a little longer. I felt that in the short span of 3 days I had grown in many ways. I had learned a little more about a town that I really didn’t know anything about, met some new friends, renewed our friendship with our old friends, and enjoyed being with others who share the same interest as us. It was a great 3 days and it went by too quickly. I made my annual promise to come back again next year and next year we will bring the ’65 Bug. That will give all 3 of our VWs the opportunity to experience this wonderful show. The ’65 will enjoy the luxury of the ferry ride across Lake Michigan next year, though.
The Macinac Bridge had fog around it again on our drive back but not as bad as when we arrived on Thursday. When I stopped to pay the toll, the guy working the tollbooth complimented my Bug. I said thank you and as I pulled away, he tapped me on the arm and said, “Slug bug, no slug bug back!” Darn, he got me. I totally unexpected that one. I’m use to seeing everyone else getting slugged, not me! Oh well, Nick and I had a good laugh over it. We decided it was time for lunch, so we stopped for gas and some chow at a Big Boy. After lunch, I decided to continue driving even though it was Nick’s turn. I was just having too much fun driving and Nick didn’t mind so we continued on westward across the beautiful land of the U.P. If you’ve never been to this area of the country you are missing something. The highway rambles along the shoreline of Lake Michigan with sand dunes on one side and the forest on the other side of the road. A true feast for the eyes with an occasional sighting of the wildlife in the area.
About a half hour later, I was starting to get that after lunch sleepiness syndrome so I pulled over and let Nick take the wheel for a while. No sooner did he get Hubert back on the highway and up to speed when the throttle cable snapped. At first, Nick thought no it can’t be the throttle cable. I had assembled my duffle bag of parts the first year I started driving Hubert and had never up to this day had to open up that duffle bag until, 3 years later, today. I had that spare throttle cable and I certainly was glad. The area of the Upper Peninsula we were in was not near any towns and would have been a long walk or wait for AAA.
Nick and I got busy changing the cable. Nick told me the job should only take 5 minutes. Darn mechanics – they’re always keeping track of the minutes even when it is their own job. Due to the fact that I had never done this job before, Nick was disappointed that it took us 10 minutes. What can I say? Next time I’ll do better. As we were finishing up, a couple driving a Vanagon stopped to see if we needed assistance. This was the only vehicle out of about 15 that passed us that took the time to stop. We explained what happened and thanked them for stopping. We finished strategically packing what we had to move to get to that duffle bag of parts buried in the back of the luggage compartment and were on our way again. We caught up with the Vanagon in no time and noticed a for sale sign in the back window. We followed them for quite a while and then passed them when the two-lane highway started up again. We exchanged a nod, wave, and honked the horn. It was nice to know that someone was kind enough to look out for us. The rest of the trip home was uneventful and I was glad of that. In the three years of driving Hubert, I hadn’t had a break down. It was pretty hard to believe that we had two occurrences on this trip. It made for an exciting and fun trip, one that I will remember for quite some time. Thanks for the memories Hubert and the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club.
Sherri Corrao
President/Northern Wisconsin Volkswagen Club
Northern Wisconsin Chapter Rep
Vintage Volkswagen Club of America