Strike a light!…. Yet another year has passed us by…. Did you manage to keep last years ‘new year resolution’, or did you bale early on in the proceedings?…. I blew it… As usual… But this year was a corker as usual… Many a great achievement came to pass around the ‘collective’…. Deadkombi clicked off a low 13 second quarter, Boz drove his magnificent 23 Window Splitty back from Tassie, Buk got his Bay finished, Lego released the very cool VW T1 Splitty Camper model, Russ scored a sweet low-light DC from the east coast, I finally got my hands on a very special, long sort after T34, it looks like I finally have the POS is running correctly, the scaled back ‘Free’n'Easy” was a hoot, The VW Club of WA has entered into a new era of management, headed by BJ and ably supported by many of THM (The Hills Mafia), culminating in the presentation of this years edition of DoVW…. 2011 was the best and busiest year yet!

This one will be a short message though…. No point beating around the bush…. NoH2O has gone through plenty of trials and tribulations, highs and lows this year… Some members have had health scares, some have gotten married, some have had babies, some have left the scene and many have just discovered it, some have left the country, some have just arrived, some have completed projects, many have begun new ones… The cycle continues and long may it do so.

In closing I thought I’d post up some of the pics that you guys have put up in the various threads this year…. Cheers for your support this year guys…. I really appreciated all the work you guys put in to keeping this forum WA’s most active and comprehensive ‘collective‘.

Happy New Year everyone!

Man this is crazy…. I’m not sure how it happened, but happened it did….. One day I was just crusin’ through life, diggin’ what I do, then BAM!….. I got old.

That’s right folks…. The Humpster is having a birthday…. That’s not unusual I know, we all have them…. Once a year in fact…. Unless your the queen (that’s twice she has got a mention on this blog!)…. She celebrates her birthday twice a year here in Oz….. She must be fuggin’ ancient!… Speaking of ancient…. I just referred to myself in the third person…. Is that a sign of aging too?

To prove that I’m not too old, I’ll post here a link of my namesake homeboy getting it on…

I’m just so hip it’s scarey!

Cheers Stevie for the link….. Other news to hand…. We’ve recently had a spate of  lil’dubbers joining the family ‘collective’….

Welcome Keira Amanda and congrats to Joelene and Dero and not forgetting the rest of the Beaver clan… And to Dave (Modnrod) and his family on their new arrival… Daniel Troy…. We’ve also got a recent wedding happening soon too…. Rusty is tying the knot real soon…. Awesome stuff!

Back to the VW stuff….. Earlier this month we had a very successful ‘fill in’ VW event…. As you know the “Free’n'Easy” didn’t happen this year, for reasons I wont go into here, but at the last minute Kim (Way2cool), our events management hero, came to the ‘collective’ aid and hooked us up with a spot of parking in Hillarys for the afternoon….

Check the thread for more pics and feedback from the arvo out…… That’ll do for now…. Got some work to do tonight…. Only two weeks to go before I’m on 2 months holidays…. Ya for me!

Peace out.

That’s right folks…. Life in WA has gone mad….

The Queen is in town, the pollies from around the globe are patting each other on the back, and they are all looking forward to a very bright unilateral future…. Get your CHOGM fix here if you like!

But enough of this, we are all here for one thing, and one thing only…. Dubbin’!…. News of the day include the Great Continental Cruise of the Boz and his Bus….

He’s been on the road the best part of a week, taking it easy in brand new bus, taking in the sights and sounds of this amazing landscape, all the while enjoying the freedom that comes with driving a strong running 23 Window Splitty at speed!… I’m sure Boz will update his build thread as soon as he gets back….. Another very active ‘collective’ contributor is young Chris (or cnfabo on the forum)… He’s been constantly developing his street Bug in to a sprint/hillclimb/track contender the past couple of years…. Turn up the volume!!!!

Awesome development to be sure….. If you wanna see more…. Click here, and here….. Other news on the project front is our old mate Simon (canyoudrivestick) is back from the UK temporarily to put the finishing touches on his awesome Squareback…. I know this car very well, it was such a sweet car when Simon got his hands on  it… Frankly I would have rolled it just as it was, but ‘our kid’ Si had other ideas…. He’s a perfectionist…. Nothing but perfect is good enough for him….

So a complete resto (short of a pan off deal) would be good enough for him!

That’ll do for this month…. I gotta get back into the shed and get the POS running!

That’s right folks….. It’s (almost) summer time…. The festivals are ramping up, the car shows and cruises are filling the events calendar, productivity is the sheds is at fever pitch and I’m on holidays for the next two weeks!…. Life doesn’t get any better!!!!

Joel has been slowly and methodically building up a stonkin’ great stroker to put in his Dad’s dbl door Splitty PV… It’s gonna be a massive step up for Bob… The current very tired 1600 will soon be retired, and we will see Bob scootin’ down the highway (and the drag strip!?) in the very near future.

Also news to hand is that a few of the local dubs have been moving inot other people garages…. All legit like…. nothing dodgy going on…. My SquareHack II has gone to Matt, Marks early Fasty has gone to another gentleman with the same name, and a few other members have moved on some very cool projects…. Most of which have stayed within the collective too, which has got to be a good thing.

Other projects making waves at the moment have to be mentioned…. Tony has been going hammer and tongs with his late DC project, as has Coastlaw and his SC project….

And of course lets not forget Jason’s bad bug project!… This is the way to do it…. Buy a solid car, get your hands on the best engine combos, built by the one of the best engine builders in the country and your on your way to having a very hard core streeter that will scare the live crap out of everything on the road!

That’ll do…. I need to chill out…. Chat with you lot at the next one.

And what a month it’s been!… I’ve waited till the very last minute of this month to bring you the images from the Feral Brewery gathering on the weekend…. Moz tabled this idea a couple of months back, and the timing couldn’t have been better… The Feral is long way from anywhere, but in an awesome part of Perth’s outer lying suburbs…. Nestled in the heart of the Swan Valley wine region….

This day out was a hoot for one and all…. Tucker was top notch, the service was a little slow, the beer was cold and the company was typically awesome…. Cheers Moz for sorting out this event, and for everyone that made it out for the day… For more info on this great event, pictures and comments, be sure to check out the thread in the events section.

Also in the last weekend, the Western Australia Hotrod and Streetmachine Spectacular…  I didn’t make it this year, which was a real shame, as this is the final year of the show being held in the Burswood Dome…. The Dome is coming down in the very near future, soon to be replaced by a 60,000 seat stadium so I hear…. Shame really…. The Dome is not huge, has terrible acoustics, and it a pain the arse to get in and out of, but that’s part of it’s charm…. Anyway…. Here’s some pics from the day, and check the thread for more.

Another update on the Free’n'Easy show for this year…. It’s most definitely on again…. The Freo council is still pulling their plans together, so have not given me details confirmation, but I’m pushing to finally be able to get the advertising stuff together in the next week or so…. Got a few cool little limited edition trinkets lined up for the show too, along with a new range of t-shirts.

That’ll do….

As this month title suggests…. Event’s are progressing, being planned or happening as we speak…. Earlier this month we had the German Car Day in Northam…

Unfortunately, this was yet another event I couldn’t make it to, but from what the gang have posted here, it was a awesome weekend…. In no small part for those that made the camp-out in York on Friday night…

I hear the drive out there was also a gas….

Planning for this years Free’nEasy is well in hand…. Meetings with the Freo Council are ongoing, the Festival Committee is looking forward to having us there and the space for this years show is confirm…. Be sure to check the “event’s” section for upcoming details.

The workshops are getting a hammering this winter…. Joel is working out the tricks for building a big arse stroker for his Dad’s dbl door PV…. Evan has begun his baby stroker that will ultimately be fitted to “the whale”…. His high roof low-light….

And Steff has made massive progress on Terracotta…. Or maybe “the PhatBus formally known as”?…. And finally…. The T34 is slowly getting closer to local rego….

Loads of parts have been making their way into the shed and onto the car…. Scored a genuine GTV wheel, some correct bumper over riders (with very good chrome) and license plate lights housings, loads of seals, some NOS tail-light lens, NOS side marker lens, near mint fog lights, NOS doors strikers, check straps and wedges…. The PS door is working perfectly now in every way, all the locks are working and keyed, and I have most all of the rubber seals needed to make the car water tight…. Who said T34 parts were hard to find?

That’ll do…. Hopefully next month I’ll have some progress on the 2276 and the POS to report, and maybe Ev and Joel will have their engine projects completed…. Plus I know there are a few other cool things that will be ready to show to you all….

Peace out.

Took the bus for a spin the other night…. What an experience that was!!!!… Canning Highway, driving through Alfred Cove, the pavement was awash…. There was no road to speak of, the central island was asunder, the outer curb was lost, peoples yards were inundated, and many a 90’s Falcon had been rendered in operable on account of copious water ingress into the air intake! Thank the Lord I was rolling my VW that night…. Unstoppable these Dubs are…. Unstoppable!

Speaking of unstoppable…. Have you guys checked out the classifieds section on NoH2O lately?… There has some major transactions and moving about of cool stuff, these past weeks…. Chrome Radars with tyres going for a song, Reub EFI stroker sold for a good wad, but still an awesome deal for Jason… Everyone is happy…. Of course…. Given that its winter, there are fewer events going, but that is not say, that it’s been totally quiet…. A couple of weeks back with had a visit from GFresh of the DSK/Melburg Luft forums and owner of one of the most extreme ratty splits in Oz…. I only made it out to Como to meet the dude, but many of the crew went for a spin up the hill for a pint and feed…

Who let that Pug get into the shot?… Word is the arvo out was a good’un, and one we are looking at replicating again real soon…. Check the events section for more info about the impending Feral’s Brewery run…

Next up I’d like to keep you guys up what’s happening in the sheds…. In mine, the T34 is getting ever closer to rego…. Still need to get the transaxle rebuilt, but the wiring is almost done, the new fuse block has arrived, loads of little bit’n'bobs are coming in from across the globe and soon it will be legal and rolling WA roads… Here’s hoping it will happen within the next month!… The POS is about to get it’s long overdue rebuild for re-rego….  First step is to send the body off for paint…. Look out for the build thread on the transformation to commence….. 66brm has his new engine together and run in…. Just needs to get the Mouse and pan married up and we are good for yet another awesome streeter…. Hertzie has finally gotten back to his amazing build….The Belsen Zwitter is just balls out nuts!….

Jason’s aforementioned purchase of Reub’s stroker is surely to tick some ‘awesome’ boxes…. Sure looking forward to that one… Not forgetting, we have the amazing resurrection of Norm down at the Munster Garage…

Then finally we have Joel’s build thread of the stroker donk he’s building for his dad’s dbl door Splitty PV…. I wonder if Mr Beaver know’s what his boy is up too?

I reckon that will do you lot…. It’s a pretty good month really…. I thought it might be a little light on in content this month, but looking back at this lot, I can see that you guys are really getting some awesome stuff together… So looking forward to have a couple of my cars back on this road this summer, as I know a good many of you guys are too…

Catch you guys at Alfred’s next week…

Yes folks, that’s right…. It’s winter time…. Or in classic car parlance…. Time to get the tools out!

So out they come, for me at least…. That’s right folks… I have bought yet another project…

And boy does it need some work!… I wont bore with the details here, just be sure to check out the ‘build thread’ so ably created by deadkombi in an effort to get me to spill the beans. Also…. The POS is getting a new turbo charged heart, disc brakes on the front, dual circuit MC, electric demister and some new heater channels this winter, along with some EFI and rego…. So looking forward to that one being back on the road.

And I’m not the only one doing stupid things and buying another car…. I hear Maharg has bought a pommie POS, Dave has got something new to tinker with, and Buk is up to something new…. Speaking of new…. Check out the Munster Garage’s new shop truck…. Norm is a 8 week wonder, that will prolly take a little more than 8 weeks to actually complete, given the fact that guys actually have a business to run… But don’t let that stop you from being totally amazed by the amount of work being carried out and the speed in which it is being done…. Amazing effort!

What else is news?…. Got a new batch of t-shirts on order…. Not sure on pricing yet, but the quality is a little higher than the last lot and these are on coloured shirts this time…. Also have a laser cut NoH2O bumper plate being prototyped at the moment…. These are kinda like the old RAC shields that peeps used to fit to bumpers and grills back in the day…. Hopefully have something to show you all in the next few weeks…

Earlier this month Buk hosted a swapmeet in the parking lot of his workshop, in downtown South Freo….

BJ took some awesome pics on the day…. Be sure to check them out in the event coverage….. A great afternoon was had by all, with many a call for another to be put on real soon…. Not sure how soon, but be sure to stay tuned….

Finally I’d like to show Kev the Trimmers new enterprise… A fully functional and legal wedding VW Bus coach…. Something that has been long overdue here in Perth…. Obviously, the trimming in this bus is awesome…. Can’t wait to see this one in person!….. Imagine a full stretched limo built to this standard?…. The expense would be huge, but you never know… If this works out for Kev, we could possibly see a stretched low-light being built to accompany this jem in the near future….

All the best…

Damn!!!! This months update almost didn’t happen!!!! Here I am at Fairbridge (writting this on my iPhone!!!) enjoying the last hours of sunshine on Saturday arvo. Still another couple of days left of the event, haven’t seen a grown up show yet as I’m hangin with the RoseBud and diggin a really laid back vibe.

Most of the regular festival crowd are in attendance. Bernie, Annalie and Luca, Johnno, Casey, BJ, Debs and Maharg, Pete Arnoldi, Matt B Ralph , Graham M and a few others. A pretty good turn out. Shame more couldn’t make it, but what with the BugIn last weekend, it’s kinda understanding. The dubs have proved very popular with the regulars here, with loads if peeps dropping by for a chat. Even Ben Elton came by for a look!!! Can highly recommend you guys make it to this one next year.

So as I’m attempting to write this on my phone it will be very short…. But part of this update must include the BugIn. Unfortunately I didn’t make it. An early morning bee attack put paid to that idea. But on all accounts the event was a huge success…. Well done to all concerned.

It’s the freakin’ end of March already!!!!?????….. What the heck is with that?…. Next thing you know, that funny fat fella in the red suit will be shuffling down your chimney dropping off your nice shiny new toys, and you’ll be getting revved up for that new years resolution!!!! But before that faithful day arrives we need to get through a few not so insignificant events and no doubt a few life changing ones….. The events of the world these past months have driven home the need to commune and support your fellow man…. I like to think that it some way, this here forum does a little of that…. We have ourselves a nice little community happening here…. Never before has the WA veedub scene had such a strong following…. I’d like to think that the NoH2O forum has had something to do with that…. We are seeing more and more peeps getting together and supporting each other in there endeavours… More reports of road side help being offered, more busy bee days at someones shed, more regular gatherings of a general social sort and more and more goodtimes….

A case in point…. These guys you see in the above pic, took the time to come down to the Nostalgia Drags last weekend, to support a few of us drag racing nutters….

The hero of the day had to be Paul and his mighty black 56….

A huge effort….After only a handful of runs under the loud pedal, Paul has managed to get well into the low 13 second bracket, clocking over 100mph!

Next up we have the big block build thread from the house of Beaver…. Joel is putting together a 2165 stroker for his old man’s Splitty Panel…. I don’t think ol’Bob has a clue about the power he will have at his disposal once this beast get’s out on the road!

Other projects of note would have to be Chris’ Bug project…. He’s just got the machine on the road and it’s looking mighty fine…. Have a look at this little time lapse video for the lowdown on the engine build….

That’ll do…. You get the idea…. Get out there, have a look around the forum, get involved….