Ep 350 KARMA: The 1955 Karmann Ghia That Won the Al Slonaker Award | Type 1 Restoration at the Grand National Roadster Show
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Release Date: 02/13/2026
Ep 376 Bill & George talk winners of OCW and details of the weekend
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Bill & Geroge talkk about the specfic cars that were built and winner of OCW 26. The events broken down. Lots of details that you may not have realized behind the scenes and some of those supported One crazy weekend. We also discussed where a lot of the cars came from and potential opportunities for next year. Show shirts available here
info_outline
Ep 375 One Crazy Weekend Wrap up show with Joey G and Spike
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
What an incredible weekend! This week on Let’s Talk Dubs, I’m joined by Joey Giordano from Werkstat Restorations and Andy Finch from Spike’s Vintage Restoration to recap One Crazy Weekend 2026 in Las Vegas. We talk Baja builds, preparations for a 600-mile road trip to the show, and the Wednesday-night Baja cruise down the Las Vegas Strip. Then we dig into the Baja trail run—how it went, what stood out, and the stories that came out of it—before reliving the rest of an unforgettable VW weekend. There's also the poker tournament, the strip cruise, the car show and poker run. Oh, I...
info_outline
Ep 374 VWTraders.com Chris Picco
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Finding the right vintage Volkswagen or that one hard-to-find part should be part of the fun. For longtime VW enthusiast and collector Chris Picco, searching classifieds on a phone often felt harder than it needed to be. From his home in Ontario, Canada, he decided to build the kind of marketplace he wanted to use. Chris created **VWTraders.com**, a free Volkswagen classifieds site designed to be easy to browse and open to buyers and sellers around the world. It’s his way of giving back to the hobby and helping VW people connect over the cars and parts they love. In Episode 374, Chris joins...
info_outline
Ep 373 EFI for the Stock guy Danny Foerster with Foerster Performance
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Danny Foerster has spent years working in the automotive industry, specializing in fuel injection, tuning, and programming. As an air-cooled Volkswagen enthusiast, he saw the need for an EFI system that was reliable, easy to install, and truly designed for the everyday VW owner. The result is the Forster Performance plug-and-play fuel-injection system. In this episode, Danny explains how he developed one of the most comprehensive EFI conversions available for a stock Volkswagen engine. The goal was simple: create a true “set it and forget it” system that works right out of the box. No more...
info_outline
Ep 372 Luft Ziegen Interviews Danny A & William Noguera
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Back in June at the Luft Zeigen show I had an opportunity to sit down with Danny a a.k.a. Danny Alvarez one of the old-school lettering guys that let a lot of cars back in the 80s cars like red alert, bad temper, bad temper too and many more. We sit down with Danny talk about what it took to get into the business with lettering and how that all started and some of his history short interview it's pretty good. Also, William Nera fresh out of death row, and now on the path to make things better he's got a new book out where he works with trying to help solve murder cases. Good to see him trying...
info_outline
Ep 371 One Crazy Weekend 2026 UPDATE
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
On this weeks episode I discussed where we're at with the car show. We stopped selling spaces cause we wanna make sure everybody's got plenty of room if you're planning on coming and you don't have a room still come to the show there's plenty to catch up with and plenty to do. From the poker tournament Thursday night at 6 PM in the poker room. Then on Friday early morning at 7 AM the Baja rally to Goode Springs. Friday at 3 PM, the Ross Wolf bowling tournament. Friday night strip cruise. Saturday morning the car show from 8 to 2 PM. And then at 5:30 the world famous let's talk dub poker run...
info_outline
Ep 370 Barts parts David Harner Bakersfield
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
This week we put one more piece together with the bakersfield crew V-Dubs LTD. October 1987 was the month the "Chamange Notch" graced the cover of VW Trends Magazine. It was a really cool notchback sitting on some cookie cutters with a 1904cc engine. Dave showed that car for a while until the fatal run with California Highway Patrol changed the future for that car. Some say the car ended up in Japan some say the car is here who really knows but it's a wild story. We talk about starting from the bottom as an employee at Barth parts. Being overlooked in the succession plan and as fate would have...
info_outline
Ep 369 Wide Eye Baja Kit with Burly Burlile
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
First came the “Bug Eye” Baja kit, pioneered by Miller-Havens and helping launch a whole new look for off-road Volkswagens. But the evolution of the Baja Bug was just getting started. After finding success with the Sandwinder dune buggy, Don Rountree and R&H Fiberglass turned their attention to fiberglass bodywork for the Volkswagen Beetle. Around 1972, Sandwinder introduced what would become one of the most recognizable Baja Bug designs of the era—the “Wide Eye” Baja kit. Instead of mounting the headlights close together in the nose like the earlier Bug Eye kits, the Wide Eye...
info_outline
Ep 368 Air Cooling Engines with Jake Raby
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
Air-cooling a Volkswagen engine has always been as much science as it is art. For decades, enthusiasts have debated which fan shroud cools the best, what compression ratio is ideal, which cylinder heads run the coolest, and how today's fuels affect engine temperatures. This week on Let's Talk Dubs, we're joined by one of the most respected names in air-cooled Volkswagen engine development—Jake Raby. Jake shares the incredible story behind the extensive cooling research that changed the way many enthusiasts think about building reliable, high-performance air-cooled engines. Beginning in...
info_outline
Ep 367 Bill's thoughts on So Cal month & Brian Reed DKP II
Let’s Talk Dubs a Classic VW Podcast
info_outline
“Karma” is the latest ground-breaking creation from Type 1 Restoration — Dennis Troggio's 1955 Lowlight Karmann Ghia that just captured the coveted Al Slonaker Award at the Grand National Roadster Show, the highest honor for non-roadster vehicles at the most prestigious indoor custom car show in the world.
This wasn’t their first shot at Slonaker glory.
We get into the second attempt — and how lessons learned from the legendary “Turmoil” split-window Beetle (a build that redefined what was possible in the VW and hot rod world) shaped the philosophy behind Karma. Turmoil raised the bar. Karma shattered it.
The 1955 Lowlight Karmann Ghia is already one of the rarest early production Volkswagens ever built — the very first year of Ghia production. Owner Dennis Troggio was also hands on with this build. But this car goes far beyond restoration. Nearly everything on Karma has been re-engineered, re-imagined, or custom-machined from scratch. The list of untouched parts is shorter than the list of one-off components.
From custom-machined brake rotors carved out of solid cast iron, to intricate mechanical detailing throughout, no surface was overlooked. The interior, crafted by the world-renowned Recovery Room, is a masterclass in craftsmanship and restraint. Power comes from a 300 horsepower, full-race engine built by Doug Gonzales of RevMaster — a monster Type 1 powerplant that proves air-cooled performance belongs on the biggest stage.
Competing against multi-million-dollar customs and elite coach-built machines, Karma didn’t just show up — it changed the conversation. This win is proof that when precision engineering meets vision, a Volkswagen can stand toe-to-toe with the best custom cars in the world.
We also talk about the evolution of Type 1 Restoration, the misunderstood builds, the favorites, the setbacks, and the relentless drive to keep pushing the envelope.
If history has shown us anything, it’s this: the next build coming from their shop will redefine expectations all over again.
This episode is about craftsmanship, competition, redemption — and changing the game for Volkswagens on the biggest stage in custom car culture.