It started with a coffee chat in the office, a summer day (winter day actually) after I came back down to Rio after a short summer holiday (winter holiday actually) in August. Still confused? Good…
The seasons are, as you might understand, the opposite down here, so it's very easy to get confused when we talk about what we're going to do in a given holiday season, when you have to switch between who you're talking to, Rio colleagues or family at home. In any case, since the temperature or looking out the window does not help, as it does at home, one must actually check the calendar.
Well, we quickly found out that a car meet that is not too far away, and which also takes place on a weekend - we must be able to find that. As said, so done. Pleasant colleagues, as well as previously mentioned colleague Arcindo, hinted at a car meeting already the following weekend, and only a short drive away. I therefore received an invitation via Instagram to a meeting called "Serra Bugs", which was the eighth in a series of annual meetings for this small club in Itaipava outside Petropolis.
My colleague Einar and I agreed to book a hotel and go on a trip. The problem was that I still hadn't got the Brazilian license, so then we either had to hire a car with a driver, or take a bus. The latter was not very tempting, but after casually mentioning the upcoming excursion during another coffee break with my boss Andre Pires, he volunteered as driver and tour guide as his wife had gone away just this weekend, and that he could also say that he liked both cars and beer. YES! Thus, the plan was in the box. A lovely little Fiat was hired for the trip, and 3 adults in this little gunpowder case should be a fun experience on our excursion.
What I was NOT aware of was that there was a little "Ayrton Senna" (a local and somewhat famous car man) living in my boss! And the trip from Rio de Janeiro city, via Petropolis, therefore became an experience with hands clasped in the roof strap, on a two-lane road up the mountain side with slalom maneuvering between cars and screeching tires, in addition, the stomach muscles really got rid of balls of laughter as the trip progressed forth. In any case, we arrived safely after approx. 1,5 hours to the small town of Itaipava. We found the incredibly cozy hotel we had booked, which actually felt more like visiting a friend in his luxury home...
After a quick unpacking, we headed down to the park in Itavpava, where the meeting was. And WHAT a hit! A gigantic park with beautiful cars everywhere (97% VW), with beer stalls everywhere, as well as "churrasquieira" (grill/barbecue) in all shapes and sizes. It was also arranged that entry was free, but everyone who handed in 5 kg of food (flour/rice etc) was entered into the draw for a VW Brasillia. This is to give something back to all the poor in the immediate area, as poverty is HUGE in Brazil in general. A fantastically great idea by the club!
The car (VW Brasillia) is very similar to a VW 412 seen from Norwegian eyes, but somewhat shorter. This was placed quite conspicuously approx. 20 meters up in the air, on a mobile crane hook, next to the big LIVE stage. Yes, of course there was live music all day with different bands…
After more than 3000 (!) cars, a few barbecue skewers and maybe a couple of glasses of beer later, we of course ran into a colleague from offshore (what are the odds?) who turned out to both live there, own a VW (the very short one) and who knew the right people at the meeting. Because, of course, there was an SP2 on display, so I had to have a chat with this man. After I was taken to Mr. Galpao and started talking about cars, he says; "All these 5 cars here are mine", and pointed to the row of various cars (not just VW). "That's right!", I answered shortly. "Not bad to have 5 identical cars at the same meeting". My chin dropped quite far to my chest when he responded with "Yes, 5 may seem like a lot, but I have 150 cars in total..." (of all days; what kind of guy is this?)
Of course, I had to find out more about this, and quickly returned to my local colleague to find out more about this figure and his claim. Yes, it could be confirmed that this man had approx. 150 cars and had inherited them all from his father who was a very big car collector in Itaipava, and who was well known in the veteran environment as a passionate car collector and restorer of old vehicles. WOW! We MUST be able to check this out, right? What does it take to get a look at these cars?
Yes, his mechanic was standing right across the street and willingly talked about all these stripped down cars they had a full time keeping running, as almost all of them were in very good condition or restored to their original condition. He could of course show us the cars if it was OK for the owner? Yes!!
It was then agreed to meet at a specified address the following day at 08:00 (!) I couldn't help but accept this invitation, although something in the back of my mind protested wildly at the time, as years of experience tell me that this could be VERY early after a long evening of cars , food, beer and music (and of course good company).
Of course, the back of your mind was absolutely right, because back at the hotel there was a billiards tournament with the other guests late into the night. The next morning I woke up to my boss standing in the middle of my room calling my name, and thought I had to get on my feet if the agreement was not to be broken.
I managed to drag myself out of bed and could ascertain that I was sleeping very heavily with a combination of a lot of drink, and both hearing aids on charge... He thought the worst since I hadn't answered all his phone calls, and not least the pounding on my door like the rest of the hotel heard... but not me... After a quick breakfast, we got into the car, only one hour behind the agreed attendance, but fortunately my colleague and the mechanic had persevered and waited for these strange Norwegians.
The gigantic gate opened, and -WOW- what a sight greeted us! One polished car after another was lined up in a large garage, sorted by car type, year model, colour, size, yes, you name it! Damn flat so raw! I think the pictures manage to convey most things, but still have to say that everyone should have experienced this, because the quality and presentation of each individual vehicle was magical. Of course, it wasn't just VW, but they were fairly overrepresented.
There was also a separate department with both MCs and mopeds. In fact, he also had all the Honda CB Super Bike sizes from the 70s as well. And a separate department with all the Yamaha DT 125cc models, every year from 1980 to 1990. In addition, he had some 275cc motocrossers, of the Agral SXT 275 brand, but this is beyond the author's knowledge without Googling...
In addition, there was a long line of other motorbikes, and even ordinary tricycles of unknown makes, but a rich and fun selection that was a feast for the eyes.
Own range of both Chervrolet's (Opala), some selected Mopar, Ford, various Japanese, French and not least a lovely little yellow Fiat Sport Coupe 850. Also an impressive collection of all sorts of rarities through the -70s and -80s with everything from MC helmets to telephones (even a Norwegian 1967 model) and refrigerators and model cars.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, and hope there will be as much space as possible in this article, because I sent a lot of pictures!
See
Puma
From its base in Rio de Janeiro depicts Curt Fauskanger car enthusiasm and the Brazilian car brand Puma. The Puma GT is a car that makes you want to own it at first sight. See more
Serra Bugs Air Cooled on Facebook
