Built in December 1985 in Zuffenhausen, Germany and registered in the UK on this day in January 1986.
This cars been in my possession for going on ten years and during that time undergone some major upgrades – including a 16v conversion, lightened & balanced flywheel and clutch, custom S2 intake, custom exhaust and adjustable SPAX poly bushed suspension now rolling on rare early offset 16” 944 Turbo Teledial alloys – amongst other upgrades.
Don’t mistake this standard looking Porsche 944 for a lethargic cruiser. It’s a whippet having had some mild lightweight treatment to compliment the increase in performance.
The unmarked burgundy pinstripe and half leather interior is completely original, and features the later oval dash style and an early 90’s period CD player – that honestly is hardly used due to the burbling exhaust soundtrack.
Long live #TheHoff944
Read more about TheHoff944 on his blog https://944lux.blogspot.com/
After more than five years of trying to be a #tshirt brand started by friends and family, it’s been decided to expand the objectives of ‘Love & Thunder’ to better reflect the passion for adventure & automobiles that we share with you.
Love and Thunder will continue to design and make T-shirt’s but we’ll also share more of the personal adventures and custom car projects that are a part of this journey.
Adventure & Automobiles.
We will always be a family & friends thing – Love & Thunder is not some big business with incredible marketing budget. Like many others Love & Thunder is a fledgling small family business buried underneath a passion for adventure in the great outdoors and a love of the automobile. We also kinda like T-shirt’s particularly as they’re cooler than our poor sun tans.
We hope you embrace us and what we’re trying to do. Join us on our journey, watch custom cars and campervans be built on a budget & thoroughly enjoyed. And if you’re so inclined buy a T-shirt.
This throwback Thursday we’re recalling that time we drove the Ruta Del Cares 4×4 trail in northern Spain.
People will often tell you that something can’t be done, when they’ve not even tried themselves – “you can’t go off-road/adventuring/overlanding/roadtripping in that!”, choose the naysayers words! But, a few years ago we took a Land Rover Freelander through the Picos de Europa on an amazing adventure through pristine Spanish wilderness. Something very few people have the privilege of doing.
We took what we had and went.
If we’d listened to all the naysayers and internet experts we’d probably never have left our street let alone plan and undertake a family adventure road trip that tackled a backcountry wilderness route in a four wheel drive the haters proclaim as not being a real Land Rover – I wonder what those internet trolls think of the new breed of Landies? Anyway I digress. We had a Freelander at the time and we weren’t going to let other people’s opinions and prejudices stop us from going exploring.
Having read about some of the off-road routes in this magnificent region of Spain’s rugged mountainous north, it was decided that it had to be experienced. Details are thin on the ground but if you dig enough and scan google earth for coordinates, you’ll find wilderness & adventure.
Too many people allow what they don’t have to stop them from getting out there and having an adventure of their own.
Don’t be one of those people – look at what you have and make the most of it. If we’d decided to wait until we could afford an overland equipped Land Rover Defender or VW Syncro campervan, we would not have the amazing memories & experiences. Those are the real treasures, not the expensive fully equipped under utilised vehicles sitting on our driveways.
We strapped our surfboards to the roof (for when we hit the coast of course), packed up our camping gear, loaded the kids and followed the road.
The Ruta del Cares climbs steeply up into the Picos de Europa national park. It’s a proper 4×4 off-road trail that snakes it’s way through incredible valleys overlooked by towering peaks. It roughly follows the small river of the same name. It truly is a spectacular route. The sense of remoteness is staggering.
At the point where the panoramic photo was taken we’d climbed relentlessly up onto this ridge line flanked on either side by a steep slope hundreds of feet high. Below in the valleys either side there were scattered sheep and a chapel used the the shepherds who still graze their herds here in the spring and summer. Although we didn’t see them, wolves and bears still roam these mountains freely. The thought of that added to the thrill of being in such wilderness – here in Western Europe… a wonderful thought: not all of Europe is hustle and bustle. Wilderness and solitude can thankfully still be found.
Its always interesting watching the trends across our website during the month and over the seasons – which t-shirts people look at and which they buy. Looking at analytics and sales figures provide interesting insights but like most things might never tell the whole story.
Take this past months “top flier” – our Life Liberty Justice t-shirt featuring crafted typography and a message that goes beyond a call for freedom for just one nation but those across the world. Perhaps it’s our concern for what’s happening in certain parts of the globe in places such as Syria. It might even be our own hearts cry for adventure and a true sense of freedom and fairness – a freedom to be completely ourselves without threat to body or mind. A desire to be treated fairly.
For whatever reason this particular chocolate brown typographic tee is an underground favourite.
You can buy yours here and join the ranks of those making the statement.
This past Sunday marked the second annual OhSoRetro Show held in Margate, Kent. What we like about the show, besides being a local-ish end of summer-season gathering, is the great & varied collection of cars that make their way out onto the show ground.
For only the second running of the event, the turnout was near on 400 cars, and it’s not dominated by any one kind of genre, make or era. Despite it’s name this is a lot more to see than strictly “retro” cars from the eighties and nineties. There are proper classic cars – owners of which would never think of slamming their rides on air bags and scrapping their floor pans – all the way through the the hard core hotrodders, retro car lovers and custom car modifiers. It’s a great autumnal celebration of the automotive hobby enjoyed by all ages. People known as Petrolheads.
Few things bring together people from across the cultural spectrum, who may not share a conversation otherwise, than do car shows.
Being a “trader” at one of these shows belies our love of cars, creativity and petrolhead tendencies! We get to watch the show go by and participate in a way other attendees don’t. We also pay to be there. And it’s not about making a fast buck either, if you’ve ever traded at a show you’ll know that’s just not true. For Love & Thunder it’s about joining in the festivities, enjoying the cars and adding some of our flavour to the event and we’re very grateful for those who stop by and buy one of our t-shirts.
We bring along our 1OF1 custom PT Cruiser panelvan and some old school bmx bikes because they’re conversation starters – which for us is a great experience. We love chatting to people about “back in the day” on BMX bikes or discussing the build process of turning an unusual five door, five seater retro-styled hatchback into a one-of-a-kind steel body panelvan that we lug our t-shirts and kit around in to select shows around the country.
The OhSoRetro show 2015 was a great event – if we never met you this time around hopefully we’ll meet you at another gathering in the future. In the meantime Dream Build Drive!
Sunshine, blue skies, trips to the beach, car shows, festivals and generally feeling warmer than any other time of the year. Summer. What’s not to love?
I don’t know about you, but life is always better when the sun is shining.
Now without this becoming another shameless plug to buy one or more of our awesome t-shirts (nudge nudge wink wink) this really is about spending less time at the desk, and even less time in the garage, and spending a lot more time with friends and family enjoying this far too short solstice for us who live in certain parts of the northern hemisphere.
So, buy a sketch book and pencil – draw some stuff, write some poems, do some hand lettering typography – and dream, not just a little… Dream a lot. Maybe about your next roadtrip or adventure, or even dare I say it – a new hot rod project?
Already we’re hearing people say “ah the nights are getting longer now..” – honestly! Can we not just enjoy the warm fuzziness for as long as possible before plunging into daylight savings? The English summer is rather splendid when it gets going.
So, how about focussing on the joys of summer – the getting out more and living life to the full kind of thoughts – which, let’s face it, always start with a spark of some kind before evolving into a full fledged plan.
So what’s your plan for the summer? Vacation time is precious and all too often far too short we always say. Get out and do stuff. Stretch the weekends out. Make memories!
Perhaps your time will be spent dragging an old classic aircooled vw camper or beetle around to the various volkswagen enthusiast shows. Or maybe you’ll be hauling out the retro car and heading off to some music festivals or the retrorides gathering for a spot of hill-climbing.
Maybe you’ll buy a pop-up tent. Maybe you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about because you life stateside or some other far flung place on this lovely planet!
If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook you may have seen that we started June off with a trip to Denmark & Sweden, then a weekend fling to amazing Le Mans 24 hour race, followed up by a 1800 mile roadtrip from Ukraine back to England through 10 different countries. Why? A friend needed to relocate back to the UK. Hey, where there’s roads we’ll travel…It was a remarkable trip and has left the three of us with some great memories and a stronger friendship.
Love and Thunder fully endorses much fun and laughter – it’s an antidote for the seriousness that often engulfs us.
This brilliant vintage typography design by Cymone Wilder – Life is better when you’re laughing – sums up our sentiments and those of so many others who enjoy a good laugh out loud.
Available on unisex/mens Super Deluxe 100% cotton t-shirts in either traditional Navy Blue or environmentally friendly Forest Green – or on a soft touch fitted ladies t-shirt in antique sapphire.
With three choices you’re sure to find one just for yourself.
Thank you for your support this year – it’s been a big deal for Love & Thunder Clothing Co.
After conceiving Love and Thunder back in August 2013 it was a long road to bring this vision to fruition this past year. 2014 has been a very interesting and exciting journey – and you’ve been a part of it. Thank you.
From our first product releases; the launch of the Artist Series of t-shirts; to our first public appearance at the Retro Show at Santa Pod Raceway, it’s been hard work and fun. Not to mention a great learning experience with both highs and lows – all of which is going to help the vision of Love & Thunder grow from strength to strength over the coming years – that’s the hope anyway!
So now with the year drawing to a close, all that’s left is to wish you and yours a joyous Christmas and prosperous New Year. If you’re having a holiday – we hope it’s a happy one.
Here’s to 2015 and we hope you continue to support us on this journey.
Love and Thunder Clothing Co. Super Deluxe T-Shirts feature:
100% Cotton
Super Heavyweight 200+gsm fabric
Classic traditional fit
Reinforced neck & shoulder seams
Premium quality screenprint
Original artist designed artwork
Soft-touch ink
Damask woven Neck and hem label
FREE Sticker
FREE UK Shipping
Worldwide shipping available!
It seems the shopping world goes mad for sales and honestly it’s difficult to keep up with all of the special occasions that are now linked to big retail discounts. Just like you – we also love a good deal, so…
We’re still offering you £10 off when you buy two or more of our t-shirts!
The discount of £10 is automatically applied to your shopping cart, and if you live in the UK you get free shipping too. If you’re an overseas buyer and you purchase three or more t-shirts we’ll refund the shipping cost to you – how’s that sound eh?
As a small independent apparel brand who don’t make their garments in the millions over in China or somewhere in the far east, we have shark infested waters to navigate as it is, so massive discounting is just not possible for a small entrepreneurial business such as ours – but that’s the risk of bringing original illustration and authentic typographic based graphic designs to the open world market.
We hope that you find something rare and special at Love and Thunder Clothing Company – we’ve spent a great deal of time and creative effort to do something different and showcase some great designs on high quality 100% cotton Super Deluxe t-shirts.
Where else will you find such great illustration from real artists with old aircooled Volkwagens such as the iconic beetle and Samba camper van bus; custom build Dream Build Drive hot rods; high boy hotrod roadsters; and 1949 Mercury Coupe adorned with raging flames?
Not to mention the screen prints featuring great typography, monograms and cool vintage aged effect graphics! Woooweee. We love a good t-shirt!
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Take this past months “top flier” – our 
Love and Thunder fully endorses much fun and laughter – it’s an antidote for the seriousness that often engulfs us.
