In March 2003, following a long involvement in the classic Volkswagen community, as part of undertaking a portrait photography exploration of the people and faces in the VW drag racing scene in UK, I started racing what I had. A 1963 sliding door split screen delux van, and so the Sambasaurus was born. I threw myself headfirst into the bizarre mix of quarter miles, flat four engines, cross country roadtrips, intercoolers, ECUs, roll cages and bright red fire retardant booties that makes up the Volkswagen racing scene.
As the van got faster and friends and family gathered to help I started to print shirts for the rag tag team and pit crew that came together. Helping, advising, cooking, cleaning, spannering and fixing to get us in a no-budget team through the next race meet. The slowly unfolding result was, completely by accident, Akciddento: a race team, clothing brand and arts project.
Where did the name come from?
The original name akciddento came from my daughtert and I cutting up and rearranging a ‘don’t be a dick’ sticker we bought for charity while camping at bugjam 🙂 the spare ‘b’ was put in the clasp of the 4 point harness of the passenger seat of the samba …
Time, and vehicles move on and since racing the brutally fast, 200HPl, totally street legal (and used all the time as daily driver and camper) super rare splitscreen sliding door samba we moved. The Junkyard turbo vanagon T3 builders van, westfalias in all shapes and sizes, double sliding doors, more westfalias including a super rare turbo Oettinger - Schick converted in the current line up - including the Akciddento 1983 T3 double cab pickup. aka troubleCab.
See you at a show real soon - and remember - sticking stickers on random things you don't own is only vandalism if it isn't funny...
XXX Big Love