Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i VolksWorld

There are several big anniversaries this year. VW Action commemorates its big 4-0, while the real game changer, Bug Jam, marked its 30th. It seems rather poignant then that our pilot issue, which went on sale on 25 September 1987, carried a report on the very first event. By all accounts, as well as Kylie Minogue hairdos, surf shorts and bleached denim jackets, Cal Look was at its most prolific back then. Indeed, the scorched Santa Pod showground was drenched in bright yellows, pinks, vivid blues and retina-blasting greens that July, with the report’s author and VolksWorldfounder, Keith Seume, boldly announcing that “the day proved beyond all doubt that the ‘Look’ has definitely arrived.” It’s difficult to accurately predict the reception some of those show-winning cars would get if they…

Hard as nails Split David Broughton, Maidstone Dear VolksWorld, I recently spotted this fascinating military-looking Bus at a big military show in Kent and wondered if anyone could tell me something about it as I couldn’t track down the owner. It looked pretty authentic, with a shrouded spotlight at the front to avoid aerial detection and tethering hooks had carefully been welded to the roof to accompany the industrial-looking roof rack above the cab. At the back it looked like there was some kind of exhaust with a peculiar sliding door arrangement above it. The socket above the nearside rear lens could have been an electrical socket. The ‘CH’ sticker is possibly a giveaway – maybe it served in the Swiss Army? Assuming they have one, although given that you…

There’s nothing better than a Volkswagen Beetle and a Haynes manual to turn a retired head teacher into a fully fledged, spanner-wielding mechanic. That’s exactly the metamorphosis experienced by John Hemingway when his wife, Christine, told him the news that her father was considering parting company with the family Beetle due to ill health. It wasn’t an overnight transformation, and nor was that of this outstanding 1971 1302S, originally brought into the family by Christine’s sister, Helen, in 1993. Even back then, at a little over 20 years old, the Beetle was no spring chicken in automotive terms. Still, as one of the most technologically advanced classic Beetles ever made, its MacPherson strut set up and ‘sporty’ 1600 engine made it the perfect companion to Helen scooting around the pre-Congestion…

Dean (Deano to his friends) Jones had a couple of objectives when he started tearing apart his daily driver 1971 Bay Window Camper. He wanted to construct something that no one else had done, and it had to be top quality as the Bus was to be a rolling advert for his business, Classic Car Revivals (www.classiccarrevivals.co.uk / tel. 01462 659833). “My now-wife, Becks, and I bought the Bus – he’s called ‘Nev’ – in 2008 after university and used him for camping holidays and shows, which helped further her interest in the Volkswagen scene,” remembers Deano. “Mainly we got Nev because he was cheap. My friends thought there was too much work involved in getting his rust repaired…” Those friends may have had a point since Nev had quite…

“Friday night’s stage appearances always go down well after a full day of tyre kicking” “we wonder what the next 30 years will bring for Bug Jam?” Is it really three decades ago that we all queued along the narrow road that leads to Santa Pod for the inaugural Bug Jam? Well, according to the organisers it is – and to mark the occasion this year’s festival of all things VW was more special than ever. Of course, we’re all used to the sounds, the RWYB, the BMX’ers and the general madcap shenanigans that make Bug Jam significantly different from any other VW gathering. But this year there was something for the young’uns to do too in the form of the Little Buggerz kids activity area for the…

OWNER INFO NAME: Cathal O’Toole OCCUPATION: Recidivist rusty Beetle purchaser CARS OWNED: GT Beetle, ’77 Cal Look Beetle WORK THIS MONTH Assessed and re-booted project, fitted doors and wings, some panel beating I really don’t want my Cal Look Beetle project to become one of those unfinished projects we all see in the for sale sections of magazines and forums. If I can remember back that far, the last time you saw my retro ’80’s Looker, Duts and I had just collected the body from Trevor Brady, delivered it to Brian the blaster man and left it beside the chassis I delivered previously. The hope being it would be ready to go back to chez Trev soon after for any welding repair work the blasting process might reveal. Unfortunately, Brian…

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy working on old VWs. The first early stages of work on my ’68 Beetle have, however, revealed a number of flaws in my workshop procedures. The fact I haven’t once had to resort to a manual of any kind has impressed the various members of my family, curious to oversee what I was doing in the garage. The sight of me on the hunt for missing tools, becoming more and more frustrated by my lack of utensils, has been less convincing… To recap, I bought my Beetle unseen in June. It was advertised for sale in Portugal and, at one point, I really wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to see it at all. Finally, it appeared at my home in Brittany and, having…

Kitchen kitsch From: Various, including Amazon, TruffleShuffle, Find Me A Gift, Campervan Gift, Prezzybox Price: from £49.99 Check out this magnificent new range of kitchen kit and caboodle from Fizz Creations, developed in collaboration with Volkswagen. The VW toasters (£49.99) come in either blue or red and obviously take their design cues from the Split Bus front end. They are made from stainless steel, feature defrost, reheat, bagel and browning controls and come in a branded box. The kettle (available from mid-October), which also comes in either red or blue, follows the same theme and retails at £59.99. Then there’s the in-car compact travel fridge (RRP £49.99, available November), which has a capacity of four litres and is perfect for keeping your drinks and snacks cool, or hot, depending on…

“the fact all of us have interest a personal and a VWs passion is the for driving force” VolksWorld:How did Bromsgrove Auto Trimmers (BAT) come into being, and why the bias towards VWs? BAT(Angela): Pete’s been in the trim trade for 35 years and started from the bottom up, working on everything from furniture – which he hates – to dealership cars and everything in between. His first car was a Beetle, but his focus on trimming VWs came in 2000 when he bought a 1967 Bay Window Bus. We went to a few shows and decided we’d be silly not to get involved doing interiors. The fact all of us have a personal interest and a passion for VWs is the driving force, and we hope that shows in…

OWNER INFO NAME: Jon Robinson-Pratt OCCUPATION: Photographer CARS OWNED: ’64 Bug WORK THIS MONTH: change clutch, tighten my hub nuts (again) and win a trophy! This car is really starting to test my patience! Actually, it’s not the car’s fault. Having been sat in a garage unused for about four years prior to my ownership, now I am using it on a regular basis parts that perhaps should have been replaced are just beginning to fail. Understandable maybe, but also annoying as it keeps happening just when I really don’t need it. Recently, I wanted to take the car to the bi-monthly Sunday morning meet I organise. On the Friday evening, two days before, the clutch decided it had had enough of propelling the car successfully and, whenever the clutch…

Job info TOOLS NEEDED: Decorator’s roller Sharp knife Steel rule or straight edge Tape measure MATERIALS USED: Chalk Clean cloths Soundproofing materials Spray adhesive White spirit or panel wipe TIMETAKEN: 4-8 hours CONTACT: Noisekiller Tel. 0161 6527080 www.noisekiller.co.uk COST: Soundproofing kit for Split, Bay and Type 25: £300 Roof soundproofing material: from £120 Interior soundproofing kit for Beetle / Karmann Ghia: £199 Fitting at factory: £100 Mobile fitting: £200 Rattles, squeaks and engine noise inside a vehicle can become very frustrating, especially once the rose-tinted glasses have been removed after having driven a newly purchased VW Bus a few times. However, there are many solutions to help keep that noise and vibration to a minimum. For example, panels that vibrate can be lined with material that either stops it happening…

2017 is a very special year for VolksWorldand The VolksWorldShow. We celebrate 30 years as the UK’s best-selling classic VW magazine, and The VolksWorldShow celebrates its 25th anniversary as the world’s largest indoor / outdoor classic VW show. Now, that’s not half bad is it? Back to its traditional date of the last weekend of March, we are planning to commemorate this momentous occasion in style, but we need your help to make it our best ever edition. Show display vehicles Help us celebrate the 2017 show in style by making this the year you get that long-term restoration finished in time to display at the show. If you are planning to have a car or Bus finished, please contact us, giving brief details of your plans and a couple…

“Rose intervened and said we’d take on the upkeep of it” Tim and Rose McCarthy, 1974 Bay Window “Our Bay Window Camper, which still retains its original Devon interior layout, was previously owned by my father-in-law, who had it from when it was only a year old” explains Tim. “When he passed away, the Bay’s future looked very uncertain, there was even talk of scrapping it! But with so much family history associated with it, my wife, Rose, intervened and said we’d take on the upkeep of it. At the time I thought to myself, what the hell does she want that for, because it was in one helluva state!” The Bay was originally painted blue, but that changed to green during its resurrection. “After the new Skoda Apple Green…

“The result is a hybrid, with an American market body, now RHD, on the original UK-specification floorpan” You’ve got to respect a fellow VW fan like Nick Greenfield from Bewdley, Worcestershire, as he doesn’t settle for anything less than exactly what he wants. This 1959 Karmann Convertible Beetle proves this fact. When Nick bought the car in 2012 it was running and driving, in fact it was a pretty cool looking ride. Painted bright red under an off-white hood, lowered and sporting a grey Connolly leather interior, most people would have been more than happy just to own it, but not Nick. Why? Well, there were a number of things about the car that weren’t right for him. The car was a right-hand drive ’59, but it didn’t have semaphore…

Seeing a commode instead of a driver’s seat should have set alarm bells ringing for Merv Renshaw. Or so you would have thought. But no, after a three-year hunt, and having driven all the way to Kloosterzande in Holland on a quest to find his perfect Fridolin, he wasn’t about to let little details such as this stand in his way. In fact, given the sheer amount of fabrication needed to sort the rotten bodywork, the previous owner’s unpredictable toilet habits were the least of his worries. But before we get into all that, let’s find out a bit more about the Commercial VW-loving, 39-year old from Devon. Our template owner questionnaire reveals that he owned a ’72 Bay Window when he was 18, which later caught fire at a…

“cheap Our as sometimes advice is not the to fit buy and panel shape can be a mile off”     “Collectors rarely like to part with desirable pieces, so Lloyd managed to swap a few unwanted bits from his own stash for items he needs for this car” When you’ve got your project back from the media blasters you can assess the damage of the rust throughout the body and panels. At this point it’s best to make a comprehensive panel list, then start looking at the best places to acquire the panels and body cuts you need to finish the job. There are lots of very good panel providers out there, but some stand out more than others regarding quality and fit. Our advice is not to buy…

Wolfparts and Metal Restoration, Sweden Website: www.wolfparts.com  Tel: +46 707 640 511 In my opinion, these guys make the best quality reproduction panels on the market for early Beetles. They specialise in front and rear valances, rear bumper mounts, body-to-’pan closing panels and lower spare wheel panels. The attention to detail in the pressings is amazing, all panels being pressed in a similar way to how they were originally made by VW, using dies made from new old stock panels. Virtanen Restoration Panels, Finland Website: www.restorationpanels.com  Tel: +358 (0)45 809 5100 Another excellent producer of early Beetle replacement panels, with a comprehensive, and quite different, range including inner lower ribbed door repair panels, rear body mounts, front body mounting / fuel tank support panel, a-post outer…

 When most people – readers of this magazine excluded of course – think of high performance racing engines, Volkswagen’s venerable old air-cooled units don’t generally spring to mind. Granted, Porsche founded its post-war sports car empire using the VW flat four, but it wasn’t too long before it started building its own engines that were, well, a little more energetic. “By 1970, there were about 3,000 cars in action across the globe” Still, throughout the 1950s, Volkswagens did take part in sport, mainly long distance rally events or circuit racing with different, often homemade, special bodies plonked in place of the original. Most of this happened to the complete disinterest of Wolfsburg, which was much keener on seeing its vehicles dominate the ordinary roads of the world. But in 1959,…