Fifty Shades Of Dub....#2

It's that time of the week again when we make contact with the Dub community out there and invite one of them to tell us about theirs.

Last week it was Merlot's turn, but this week it's all about.....

Cuthbert, a RHD 1971 earlybay dormobile

Owned by

The Dearsley family, Craig, Veronica & their lovely children Oli & Tabitha

So Craig, when did the Dub Love start?

Back when I was around 15 my friend’s uncle had a camper and he worked for Volkswagen so the thing was awesome, I was smitten! I had a couple of normal cars after I passed my test but I always had the idea of a camper in my head, then one day at the age of 24 I thought it’s now or never and just went for it. I always liked the early bay and I had big plans for a restoration, so I found myself a 1971 dormobile. It was in a bit of a state but I was smiling all the way home, until the roof blew open on the M25! But that’s another story.

Why the name Cuthbert?

He never had a name when I collected him so on the journey home my friend Gary and I went with Cuthbert and it kinda stuck

How long have you owned Cuthbert and what have you done to him so far?

I got Cuthbert just over six years ago.  I drove it around for a couple of months, took it to a festival, and then decided to get it in for that all important restoration I was planning.  The restoration wasn’t what I was expecting, the camper turned out great but it was a long and painful road. I will talk about this more in the future....

In the mean time I met my wife Veronica and we had two wonderful children Oli and Tabitha. I finally got Cuthbert road worthy and an MOT two days before our wedding! Talk about cutting it fine.

What's happened with Cuthbert since your wedding?

Since then he has been on and off the road but finally this year we have had a good run and we are using him as much as we can. We took him to Devon in May, it was such a buzz when I see the “Welcome to Devon” sign on the M5, I just had to pull over and take a picture. And when we arrived in Croyde there just so happened to be a small VW show on, so we found ourselves in a VW convoy, people were waving and taking pictures of us driving through the town centre, which was an amazing experience!

Do you have anything else planned for Cuthbert?

To finally get my twin carbs bolted on this winter after them sitting in the loft for the last 3 years and getting the interior more camping friendly (cupboards/fridge etc).

The Custard's are loving Cuthbert, we're a bit keen on early bay's and Dormies are a personal favourite's  of mine, maybe that's why we've invited Craig to come back and guest blog about the restoration of Cuthbert in the future.  But in the meantime what we want to know is, where can we see more of him?

I might try to get him to Brighton Breeze if I'm not helping my wife at the most Curious Wedding Fair (think they are on the same day) and hopefully down to air-cooled night at the ace cafe next month.

And finally when your not busy playing with your dub,  what do you do?

I'm an amateur photographer and I've set up a facebook page Craig Dearsley Photo to start showing some of my images.  I'm getting more into photographing vw's so look out for some I took at the Ace Cafe meet last night.

Thanks very much Cuthbert for letting us feature you this week, if you'd like to appear with your dub just shout  Custard Campers, vw campervan hire Essex.  We'd love to hear from you.

Kerry x

Fifty Shades Of Dub #1

Welcome to a new feature on Custard Camper's blog...

   

The idea is get more interaction with our 'liker's' 'followers' and campervan fans.  No use me tapping away at my keyboard if no one knows I'm here!  So every Wednesday we will be saying hello to one of you.     Finding out about a bit more about you and having a good nose at your dub.  So without further ado...

introducing

   Merlot  a 1969 early bay RHD campervan

Owned by

Sam & Andy and young Ben

Tell me more about Merlot...how did he get his name?

Merlot is a 1600 Devon Deluxe conversion (though the interior has changed since then).  We called him Merlot (as in fine wine) as his colouring was deep metallic red and it suited him.

How long have you owned him and what have you done to him since you bought him?

We've owned him exactly one year and since then we've made him smarter with his new Empi-5 colour coded wheels, a new (quieter) exhaust, new interior floors and carpets and painted the interior red and black to match the existing original red vinyl seats and trimmings.

Have you got anything else planned for Merlot?

Yes we've just ordered new decals for him so you'll be able to recognise him by his name.

When do you drive him?

We show him locally about once a fortnight, but generally he's a weekend showing-off/cruising car.  Here  he is with Andy at the Enfield Motoring Pageant from a few months back..

The Custard's are loving Merlot and we've actually seen him a couple of months back and he looked even better than the photos.  Where can we see more of Merlot?

Merlot has his own facebook page and you'd all be very welcome to visit.

Finally what do you & Andy do when your not cruising in your cool ride?

We run Blackcarat, an Essex/London based online fine jewellery shop.  Blackcarat specialises in engagement, eternity, diamond and wedding rings - all things rings.

Thanks very much Merlot for letting us feature you this week, if you'd like to appear with your dub just shout  Custard Campers, vw campervan hire Essex.  We'd love to hear from you.

Kerry x