Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i VolksWorld

“In 2005 I stumbled across this sad, pulled-apart Beetle on eBay, did the deal, and had it recovered to the workshop” ‘Money’, said Pink Floyd, ‘it’s a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.’ Similarly, ‘it’s all about the Benjamins’, claimed shapeshifting multi-monikered rapper Puff Daddy back in the nineties. But this is all a load of cobblers and, much as we’re loath to take the advice of bewildering popstrel Jessie J, she does have a point when she tells us that, sometimes, ‘it’s not about the money, money, money…’ Theres nothing to be gained from resenting those who build big-budget project cars. Wouldn’t we all do the same if we had the means? Of course we would. But the nature of capitalism is that some…

The first weekend in June saw the annual VW Expo take place in sunny Oxfordshire and this year proved to be one of the best for a long, long time. The scorching hot sunshine brought out a superb mix of cars and the whole place had a great vibe. Air-and water-cooled cars and buses – VW, porsche and beyond – everything just seems to blend in so nicely at Stonor, there’s always enough of everything to keep you interested. As always, the show field saw some super slick cars sitting next to original paint gems, and there were some fauxtina rats scurrying about too. Big shout out to the Karmann Ghia Owners club who won the best club display. “there’s always enough of everything to keep you interested” One thing…

Held in the fields behind the picturesque Battlesbridge Antiques Village, this event always attracts a good crowd from Essex, Suffolk, Kent, and beyond. It’s a weekend gathering with a show and shine on both the Saturday and Sunday, as well as the usual collection of traders, a beer tent and some entertainment on the Saturday evening. This is a popular meeting amongst local clubs and it was good to see so many of them getting involved, not only by supporting the event, but by lining up cars in the show and shine too. If you’re looking for a relaxed family weekender, you could do far worse than heading for this Essex-based meet in 2019!…

In recent years there has been a boom in local hand car washes and mobile supermarket operators all willing to wash your car for under a tenner. Whilst this might be fine for your workhorse, it’s really not good for any classic or specialist vehicle as the majority of methods used within this type of clean can create the ‘spider web’ swirls in paint, which we have all have grown to hate. Therefore we are going to guide you through the ‘two-bucket’ wash method and drying techniques, which will minimise swirls and the risk of damaging your paintwork. Grab your bucket We insist on using two buckets, both with grit guards; after your first wash the reasons will become immediately apparent. When using a single bucket, you are simply washing…

If someone told you they had heard about a diesel Beetle, you would be forgiven for thinking ‘so what?’ After all, Volkswagen has used a range of engines in the New Beetle, including the TDI. But what if this were an air-cooled, classic Beetle? Yes, one did briefly exist, and I jumped at the story which we ran in the May 1991 issue of VW Motoring. The idea of an oil-burning Beetle appealed to the company long ago – 67 years ago, in fact, when several factors made the concept attractive. Not only was diesel fuel cheap, but there was the prospect of shortages caused by the Korean War; on top of that, Mercedes were proving very successful with their diesel range, introduced a couple of years earlier and favoured…

July Dub Odyssey Date:27-29 July 2018 Location:Hooton Lodge, Rotherham Contact:www.dubodyssey.com Dubtoberfest Date:27-29 July 2018 Location:Cheltenham Racecourse Contact:www.dubtoberfest.co.uk Kent VWFestival Date:27-30 July 2018 Location:Coldred, Kent Contact:www.kentvwfestival.org.uk Super VWFestival Date:27-29 July 2018 Location:Le Mans, France Contact:www.supervwfest.com August Le Bug Show Date:3-4 Aug 2018 Location:Spa Francorchamps, Belgium Contact:www.vwbugshow.be Beachdubbin Date:5 Aug 2018 Location:Southsea Common, Portsmouth Contact:www.beachdubbin.co.uk Tatton Park Date:5 Aug 2018 Location:Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire Contact:www.vwnw.co.uk Dub Vacation Date:6-12 Aug 2018 Location:Stonham Barns, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk IP14 6AT Contact:www.dubvacation.com VW Whitenoise Date:9-12 Aug 2018 Location:Euston Park, Euston, nr Thetford Contact:www.vwwhitenoise.com VW Festival Date:10-12 Aug 2018 Location:Harewood House, Leeds Contact:www.vwfestival.co.uk Let’sBug Together Date:14-19 Aug 2018 Location:Lesce-Bled, Slovenia Contact:www.lets-bug-together.com Viva Skegvegas 9 Date:17-19 Aug 2018 Location:Revesby, Lincs Contact:www.vivaskegvegasvw.co.uk Volksfest Wales Date:17-19 Aug 2018 Location:Watton Show Fields, Brecon Contact:www.volksfest.wales VW Field of Dreams Date:31 Aug –…

Kenny McBride hails from St Albans in Hertfordshire and is the proud owner of this understated and oh-so-classy Camper. He told us, “I’ve been into VWs since childhood and have fond memories of my mother’s Mk1 Scirocco, which she drove for years.“ He continued, “later I had a friend at university who was really into VWs and I spent a lot of time looking through his VW magazines, which is when I decided that I’d love an air-cooled VW one day.” Back then Kenny was into Karmann Ghias. In fact, his passion for Karmann’s finest hasn’t faded, as he’s recently picked up a new project – a lowlight Ghia. However, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, as it’s this cool, ’73 Westy we’re interested in right now. “the idea was…

While everyone else was seemingly drooling over Bugs a few decades older, 52 year-old Garry Hunt from Yearby in Cleveland always had a soft spot for curved screen Beetles. “As soon as I could afford it, I bought a 1303,” he explains, “It came with a Kamei front spoiler, spot lights but the engine was standard. At first I could only take it up and down the drive as I hadn’t passed my test then.” Within in a year, and now armed with a full driving licence, Garry began attending VW events such as VW Action when it was still at Stoneleigh, which he recalls as being one of the best places to get parts back in the ‘80s. Since then he’s owned a succession of modified VWs including a…

Air- and water-cooled VWs were welcome (as were Porsches), and vehicles parked up close to the track added to the atmosphere at the iconic Kent race circuit venue. The track was open all day with various sessions for German vehicles (i.e. including BMW, Mercedes etc), which was a great way to get a feel for the main event (Deutsche Fest) that was taking place on site on both the Saturday and Sunday. We’d loved to have stayed for the second day in order to attend Deutsche Fest, however we had already arranged be at another VW event (which you can read about elsewhere). For more info visit www.vwheritage.com.…

2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the Alive and V-Dubbin festival (www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk), which took place at Haughley Park in Suffolk this year. Organised by the Suffolk Bugrs club, this meeting has become a firm family favourite as it has blossomed and grown over the past decade. There’s always a good mix of vehicles in the show and shine alongside an impressive number of trade and food stands. It’s also well known for the countless live bands and music acts that play throughout the weekend, which make this a very well-rounded event, offering something for everyone. We’ve certainly enjoyed attending this event over the years and can’t wait to see how it develops over the next decade!…

I’m really getting to grips with the ’67, working out all the little bugs along the way. I have to admit, while the idea of a classic daily driver is great in principle, in practice everything that doesn’t quite function as it should drives me a little mad! You see, having thrown the car on the road in time for The VolksWorld Show back in March, I’d focused on the MOT and getting the car road legal. What I was now faced with was having a road legal daily driver Beetle, with lots of small niggles. Things like wipers that don’t park, wiper spindles that are so worn that the wiper arms flop around aimlessly, a steering wheel that is out of alignment and indicators that don’t cancel. Having addressed…

I was just reading your editor’s piece with a ‘family theme’ and thought you might like this tale. Last year my family and I found ourselves sadly having to move house unexpectedly. I had been in the middle of rebuilding my ‘74 1300 Beetle which had been given the name ‘Poo Car’ by my son because of the number plate. If I tell you that he was three at the time and that he’s now at university you can get an idea of the timespan and how attached to ‘Poo’ we’ve all become. However, there was nothing for it. Poo was in no state to make the move, money was tight, and so with a heavy heart we put it on eBay for a speedy sale. Poo car was yellow…

This project has been a true labour of love for Navraj Bansal, a 45-year old finance manager from Uxbridge in West London. As Nav revealed, “I didn’t ever expect it to take 14 years to complete but, as the project developed, it just consumed more and more time.” He continued, “however, I’m glad I remained patient and stuck with it as I couldn’t be happier with the finished vehicle.” Nav’s father, Charan, has been a big part of this totally mind-bloggling Buggy project as not only has he helped out with the mechanical and technical side of things, but he’s also partially responsible for Nav’s interest in all things air-cooled. Nav and his brother, Shandy, were driven around in the back of their father’s 1303 Bug, hence it comes as…

The weekend of 9-10 June marked the annual JK Campover and open house at the Odiham-based warehouse. The nice thing about this event is that it feels more like a club gathering than a trade open day, with a great vibe and a whole load of cool VWs. Moreover, the shop was open for business, and trade seemed brisk, as people picked up bargains and goodies for their Campers. “we wished we’d brought a Camper along to join the fun” Outside there were some great catering units and the DJs and live music turned what is usually a car park into the social hub of this relaxed get together. The camping plots had sold out before the weekend arrived (in fact, they sold out in less than 48 hours!) and,…

CVR Auto Supply originated as an idea between two friends who shared a love of classic, vintage and retro cars as well as automotive detailing and has grown into a small business supplying tried and tested cleaning products for likeminded enthusiasts. Their ethic has always been to product good, honest advice on the products they sell hence we caught up with Ben Nash and Nick Munro to put together a comprehensive cleaning guide for classic VWs covering the key areas of vehicle cleaning and detailing plus the reasons behind each stage. In this month’s article, we will cover the advantages of using Snow foam in the pre-wash stage followed by the techniques preferred to wash your VW properly. Incidentally, snow foam should be a key part of your wash routine…

That you can undo a few bolts underneath a Beetle (assuming they haven’t rusted tight, of course), pop the body off and then plonk a new one in its place, has always made air-cooled Volkswagens popular with coachbuilders. Over the years, there’s been the good, the bad and the ugly – anyone fancy a Chinese-built Jinggangshan, for example? Definitely falling into the ‘Good’ category though were the creations of Rometsch. Friedrich Rometsch was born in 1880 and, after learning the coachbuilding trade, set up on his own in the Halensee district of Berlin during 1924. His firm built a variety of vehicles, although it particularly excelled in taxis, forging an excellent reputation based mainly on its Opel creations. That all came to an end when WW2 broke out, and it…