2010 Syncro De Mayo Recap!

[Christian P.]

Last weekend was the annual gathering of Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro (and non-Syncro) at Hollister SVRA.

This year we got the largest number of vans ever. The event was organized by Seth (a follow member on this forum) and his fabulous team.
It was an amazing success with over 140 vans coming over the weekend.

There were several different activities, including and not necessarily in this order...:

-Ride in the park, offering some extremely challenging routes.
-Tequila degustation
-Warren Chapman's Syncro Cup - a challenge consisting of 3 segments; driving skills, Syncro general knowledge quiz and mechanical quiz.
-Potluck
-Classes
-Video presentation
-Raffles
-Trophies
-etc.

Hollister SVRA is a great location offering nice shaded camping spots, toilets/showers, a stage and many acres of offroad tracks - one section for 4x4 and one section for dirt bikes.

One highlight of the weekend was the miraculous rescue of a Syncro on Truck Hill by Marco (from BusLab) on Friday. The Syncro broke an axle near the summit.
Marco took the wheel and did an unwanted 3 turns point in reverse down the hill, proving once more how well balanced the Syncro is.

It's also interesting to see how very few Syncro remains with original engine (at least at this event).
All other combinations are well represented - 1.9 TDI, Subaru 2.2,2.5,3.3 (SVX) , Ford Zetec, etc.

Here are some pictures and a video of the infamous truck hill (credit to their owners):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-v6ljzIOqY

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=413672&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

 

[vanderpooch]

Holy Pucker!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdpow5QNHMc&feature=player_embedded

 

[adventureduo]

Looks like a great turn out. Glad it went well. That always seems like a fun event to attend.

 

[SOAZ]

Love it! Syncro people are just cool people! :sombrero:

 

[otiswesty]

We were wheeling at SDM and came upon this jeeper that had flipped while driving down a V-shaped trail. His girlfriend had been spotting him. He had just bought the Jeep 1 week prior and his girlfriend was pretty clueless. I loved the license plate frame. We used his front mounted winch and a couple of straps he and I had to pull him down the gully and get him righted. Nice to learn from the mistakes of others.:costumed-smiley-007

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I've been digging the Syncros lately, unfortunately, my fragile manhood would suffer if I were to buy/drive one.

 

[Moody]

I have always had a soft spot for the Vanagons, but especially the Syncros. Awesome to see them in use and modified.

The father of one of my students bought a cherry Syncro off of a dealer lot shortly after trade in by someone else. Went in and asked how much it was, and they told him 4200. He bought it right there, and they called him the next day offering him 10 to buy it back. Perhaps the nicest I have seen. I hope he made his way here to the Portal and sees this thread. If so, hello to Mr. Flower!