My 1957 Volkswagen Beetle brought to by Leica M8 & some Vintage LTM lenses ~

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by Ronald_H

Gorgeous car! Love the patina too. Make sure it runs well and enjoy it as much as you can. Drive an oldtimer myself, but although I am a VW nut, I never drove one myself. I love to make picture of them though. Here's another oval, in fake German police colors. It also seems to be a bit... low


Beautiful Budel 2010 by Ronald_H, on Flickr

Hahahhaaha that's a kool one

I once knew where a *real* North German Polizei car was (unrestored) it might still be in that collection?

Yes, it seems that the "new" trend is to make Vintage Volkswagens "Lawn Mowers" ~ I personally HATE IT and wish that people would end the trend, but with like 60% of the Vintage cars now getting slammed, mag wheels added and narrowed front axles, the *original* cars just get rarer and rarer and harder to find.......

My car will NEVER change it's height or stance, it's Original For Always!

Really to each his own in this hobby, it's a "peoples car" for everyone's personal taste and enjoyment - you will see everything imaginable driving with a VW emblem and a air cooled motor in the back!

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by FrankS

I remember that my father's first brand new car was a 1963 bug, and I too fit in the storage space behind the rear seats. Later when I was in high school and university, I had a used baby blue 1971 bug.

Yes, I love to hear those old "behind the rear seats" story's, my Family always had Karmann Ghia's so we didn't have a nice little "Coobie Hole" to hide in, my car has a Kamei accessory storage shelf with a hatch cover, so the carpet back there is really like "new" so it was impossible for anyone to crawl back into........

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by Dralowid

Beautiful Beetle!

A bit 'off topic' I know but I am a proud father of a son in his 20 somethings who carries on the tradition of looking after old cars...but he has made a movie of his engine rebuild...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVDrGsaDME

Watch, it is only a couple of minutes but make sure you have the sound up!

Michael

Hello Michael,

THAT MOVIE IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

He did a fantastic job, I would love to do the same thing, but rebuilding a 36HP VW block

I will buy a spare 1950's 36HP motor if I need it to use if I have to pull the original for a rebuild, I know a guy here in my town who has one now for sale, I think it's a 1958 block?

Tell your Son I enjoyed the movie very much and that I might ask him some advice to do a VW still-frame picture movie sometime.

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Here's a shot of the "first" car show I attended with "Blauchen"



It was the small but nice monthly old car show we have in downtown Winter Haven, oh and that's my friend Greg's *Sea Sand Beige* (rare color) 1966 Steel Sunroof Beetle named "Dusty" ~ yeah seems we all name our cars for some reason or another that's a norm for Volkswagen owners Worldwide!

I'm still using the LTM 1954 Nikkor HC f2/50mm lens here, seems that lens really "does it" for me when it concerns color work, it's sharp at f2 but still has that creamy "Sonnar" look with the added punchiness in the colors and things still look "vintage".

Enjoy!

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by dannynono

Great story Tom - My older daughter (who craves an old bug) and I are quite jealous.

also slightly off topi - I hadn't seen (or heard of) the semaphore turn signals until this morning. Seinfeld's new show: Comedians in cars getting coffeehttp://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/ just launched and the inaugural video is with a 1952 bug and Larry David.

Yes, that was a rather odd show, the car has it's moments in the beginning and someone with a "Vintage Volkswagen" feeling had influence in the camera filming angles, the car was very nice and looked correct restorationwise, BUT and now here comes the but, it had a narrowed front beam and it was dropped in the front, quite a strange stance, the car would have looked good either stock height, or correctly evenly slammed low, but the way it looked in the movie it was very strange/not really pretty, it also looked after hitting some bumps like the front end is also not adjusted well, the car rode badly and normally 1952 Beetle's DON'T ride all bouncy etc. etc.

But, Jerry using the wipers and the Semaphores was a riot amd that transmission sounded very nice ~ Needless to say I wouldn't kick that Split Window out of my garage, I just think it needs to be stock height with a un-narrowed beam.



Well, about the show, it was funny, not side splitting funny but it was amusing, I think they could have spent more time with the car, but then it's really a show all about Jerry being Jerry and getting coffee ~ You gotta love him! *I've watched it now a few times and it really gets BETTER after you watch it once* It's a funny show

Tom

P.S. I wanna see Jerry get coffee in his 1959 Ruby Red Porsche 356A Carrera Speedster!!!!! ~ Like at 90 mph!!

[tj01]

This was two years ago, when it still had 2 tones. My faithful drive.

[emraphoto]

Originally Posted by Dralowid

Beautiful Beetle!

A bit 'off topic' I know but I am a proud father of a son in his 20 somethings who carries on the tradition of looking after old cars...but he has made a movie of his engine rebuild...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVDrGsaDME

Watch, it is only a couple of minutes but make sure you have the sound up!

Michael

outstanding! loved watching it

[Ezzie]

Sweet Tom, really Sweet. Since it´s more or less original, I would be tempted to keep it thus too. There are five cars I really have a soft spot for, the 50´s Beetle is one of them. The others are the original Mini, the Series I Land Rover, the 2CV and the Fiat 500 Nuovo. Groundbreaking cars all of them. I have the Land Rover (my dad took his driver´s license in, one). I would very much like the Fiat next (my dad had one of them too, and a Mini), if I ever get round to having them all is a one of life´s big questions.

Good luck


P.S. Old cars and Leica´s are a match made in heaven:

Hermione in the woods by Eirik0304, on Flickr

[LeicaTom]

Here's some more shots from the first old car show I attended with "Blauchen" downtown, (I censored my license plate for safety reasons)





And on the very short drive home, I shot these photos along the lake next to my house.........I find the L 331 Horizon Blue very photogenic





Still using my 1954 Nikkor HC f2/50mm ~ I really like this lens, it renders nice and sharp @ f2 and the colors have a little punch, I have my M8 set on High most of the time anyway, when I shoot color.

I have to buy some chrome Exhaust Pipe Tips soon, there's not too much left on the car to fix, but these old tips are ugly looking and take away from the car.

Dig those crazy headlights on high beam ~ Funny it's like driving with a Zippo lighter burning in front of my car lol!!!!!..............ohh but, I'm NOT complaining, I really do LOVE THE 6 VOLT SYSTEM!!!!!

Enjoy!

Tom

[robert blu]

A beautiful car ! Nice to see it. My father had one VW but a little more modern (around 1970) and I had a beetle as well a few years later. I wanted to buy the cabrio but money was an issue!
robert

[Paulbe]

LeicaTom--what is a semaphore turn signal?
I know the term (semaphore) from railroading, but not from the automotive arena.
Thanks!
Paul

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Paulbe

LeicaTom--what is a semaphore turn signal?
I know the term (semaphore) from railroading, but not from the automotive arena.
Thanks!
Paul

In my day we called them trafficators!

[Paulbe]

Ahhh--thanks Keith!
NOW I remember seeing them.
I'm sure some agency up here in the US would/has outlawed them for safety reasons...
Paul

[goodtimes]

Originally Posted by LeicaTom

Wow is that a French Ford??? *57* end tags that's old Paris Plates right??? ~ I watch my vintage French Noir Gangster Films and your car would be perfect for a Jean Gabin movie We just need some Thompson Submachine Guns, some Hand Grenades, some Sunglasses, Fedoras and some French Models who look like Jeanne Moreau and Anna Karina and we can have some fun!!! (see I do have a wild imagination)~ I have some Electrial Issues I have to correct and also have to buy "new" tires, the ones on the car are collectors items, vintage Dunlops, well the new tires are going to cost $$$ so that's what's next on my list, making the car as safe as possible for driving

Best of luck with the Ford and Happy Driving!

Tom

Yes this is a French Ford Vedette from 1950 powered with a venerable Flathead V8, same design as the V8-60 but with aluminum heads. The 57 registration is from Moselle, North Eastern France.
I have done new wheels for this car allowing me to run it with tubeless tyres. The car is very reliable and on some days we drive it for 500 km !

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by goodtimes

Yes this is a French Ford Vedette from 1950 powered with a venerable Flathead V8, same design as the V8-60 but with aluminum heads. The 57 registration is from Moselle, North Eastern France.
I have done new wheels for this car allowing me to run it with tubeless tyres. The car is very reliable and on some days we drive it for 500 km !

Ohh sorry Paris plates were 75, now I remember from the old movies, that's a really kool Ford, one we never see in America.

Yes, I have to special order radial tires for my Beetle, off the Internet and they aren't cheap @ $120 each, but I should get some really good mileage out of them and the car will also drive alot smoother as well, I can't wait!

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by Keith

In my day we called them trafficators!

Yes, that's the English word for them, they are also known as "Idiot Sticks" ~ "Machts Nix Sticks" and the German word "Winker"



Here's what a VW Semaphores looks like - (as seen on a 1954 Oval *this is not my photo* I borrowed it from the net for educational purposes)

I will take some really kool photos with them once they are back from Germany. ~ My Semaphores will be Yellow in color, they changed lens colors from Orange to Yellow sometime in 1955.

Semaphores + Pretty Girl/Photomodel & Leica camera = BADASS PHOTO!

Here in the States"Euro" Semaphore cars are pretty rare so many people have never seen them before..................But, I have met some Ex- Military Personnel who were stationed in Germany before 1960 and they tell me really funny stories about them ~ like today, some people drive around with the turn signals on, back then some people drove around with the Semaphore arms hanging out regardless of what direction they were going so came the common phrase amongst US Military Personnel in Germany.......... ~ "Machts Nix Sticks"

Tom

[Trius]

Originally Posted by LeicaTom

Semaphores + Pretty Girl/Photomodel & Leica camera = BADASS PHOTO!

Tom

I have just subscribed to this thread.

[LeicaTom]

Originally Posted by Trius

I have just subscribed to this thread.

Thanks!

Tom

[LeicaTom]

"A Quiet Pause By The Lake"

I finally changed lenses the other day just to see what I would get with my trusty and very fast 1967 Canon f1.2/50mm in LTM ~ the "fastest" lens I own and one of my favorites to use.

I call this photo my "Godfather" photo (note the boat on the lake reference)
~ shot @ full bore/wide open f1.2 and about 30/sec or so at about 7pm here (with my headlights on) and an impending evening thunderstorm on it's way,
(I'll have more photos posted soon where it gets a little darker) ~ little to no post-processing on this one.
(I just fixed the paint in the rear right side rain gutter/rail)

It has a 1950's "postcard" feeling about it, just the right things are in focus too, while the f1.2 isn't known for it's sharpness what it lacks in sharpness it makes up in character and style.
It's not a lens for everybody's taste, but for the work I do, it adapts itself fine, it lets in just enough light, detail and contrast and is flexible in the low light, I can also stop down to get some extra sharpness without losing that Retro feeling the lens delivers at full bore........

Enjoy!

Tom

P.S. Ohh Ohh I have to swap out those old rusty exhaust/pea shooter tips they really take away from the car *sigh* they are something like $40...... Beep!!!!

[maddoc]

That could be from an advertisement for the Käfer! Looks like you found a nice car, congratulations!

Originally Posted by LeicaTom

"A Quiet Pause By The Lake"

I finally changed lenses the other day just to see what I would get with my trusty and very fast 1967 Canon f1.2/50mm in LTM ~ the "fastest" lens I own and one of my favorites to use.

I call this photo my "Godfather" photo (note the boat on the lake reference)
~ shot @ full bore/wide open f1.2 and about 30/sec or so at about 7pm here (with my headlights on) and an impending evening thunderstorm on it's way,
(I'll have more photos posted soon where it gets a little darker) ~ little to no post-processing on this one.
(I just fixed the paint in the rear right side rain gutter/rail)

It has a 1950's "postcard" feeling about it, just the right things are in focus too, while the f1.2 isn't known for it's sharpness what it lacks in sharpness it makes up in character and style.
It's not a lens for everybody's taste, but for the work I do, it adapts itself fine, it lets in just enough light, detail and contrast and is flexible in the low light, I can also stop down to get some extra sharpness without losing that Retro feeling the lens delivers at full bore........

Enjoy!

Tom

P.S. Ohh Ohh I have to swap out those old rusty exhaust/pea shooter tips they really take away from the car *sigh* they are something like $40...... Beep!!!!

[wolfB]

Blauchen is a beauty, for sure!

As for the semaphores, I recently heard they where also known as "Nordhoff-Finger" at the time of the 50s and 60s.

Here's a pic of my Käfer, taken today with a M9 and 35mm Summilux FLE. Car was build in April 1960, hence still has the "Winker" and 30PS engine. Color is Jadegrün. Tachometer turned 63.000 km today.

VW Bug @ Münsterland von wolfB1958 auf Flickr

[gfspencer]

Tom, your Bug is GREAT! It looks exactly like the first car that I bought for my wife . . . way back in 1970. The color is the same. We paid $500 for it and sold it when we blew the engine several years later I would love to have another one.

[LeicaTom]

I just repaired my accelerator cable this past weekend and "Blauchen" is back out on the road, I took it for a little spin around my lake, very therapeutic and relaxing to drive........

















The lens is my 1954 Nikkor HC f2/50mm shot at or around f2 - ISO160 and there's little to no photoshop, just maybe some color channeling for atmosphere.

Still playing around with my M8, I've considered buying up to a M9P, but after hearing about the poor 50mm frame lines, it has me rather concerned, I hope I can get a M9 into my hands to TEST and then I'll make a decision?

Enjoy!

Tom

[LeicaTom]

Took "Blauchen" out again this weekend for a short drive around the Lake.....

1950 Nikkor SC f1.4 50mm @ f2 about 500/sec Beautiful colors in our fall sun sets here in Florida.

I have a car show next week to attend and then some more maintenance work to do on my electrics and also replacing rubber gaskets, my Semaphores should also be ready in a month or so coming back from Germany, can't wait till their back installed, they themselves will be a photoshoot in itself.

Enjoy!

Tom

[swoop]

How fast have you taken it?