Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2021 i VolksWorld

I think it’s common knowledge by now that I’m a Type 3 guy at heart, hence I’m both excited and delighted to be able to introduce you to this summer ’21 special issue celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Type 3 range. Of course, we still have plenty of awesome regular content, including a killer Cabriolet Bug from the USA (see p28), a super slammed patina Bay Window on p54 and coverage of the recent Spring Picnic at Featherly Park in the USA. But nestled between the regulars you’ll find a plethora of Type 3 features, as well as a little history lesson over on p86 courtesy of another long-time Type 3 fan, Keith Seume. “[I] can still vividly recall sitting down with my father, Bob, to watch Top Gear…

It took VW enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic a while to warm up to the Type 3 range of cars. While Beetles were loved for their quirkiness and frugality, Buses for their multipurpose nature, the Type 3s kind of fell between the gaps. If you look back at old copies of Hot VWs, very few appear in pictures shot at California’s famous Bug-Ins during the 1960s and ’70s. The same applies to the early days of our hobby in the UK, with only a handful showing up at Santa Pod’s 1980’s Bug Jams. Even then, they often remained in the camping area, rather than the showground. There were a few pioneers, of course, including the two longest standing Editors of VolksWorld (see p24), and the tide slowly began…

If you’ve ever worked on a Jetson mobile a.k.a. the Type 34 Karmann Ghia, you’ll know they aren’t the most straightforward vehicles to restore. Unlike the other Type 3 models, you can’t just unbolt the wings on a T34 to carry out repairs. Because, like Karmann Ghias, they were assembled by craftsmen at Karmann in Osnabrück, on a far smaller scale production line than the mass produced, heavily automated Wolfsburg-built cars. Luckily for Andy Jewell, the car you see here came from California a bit bruised and battered but otherwise in very good condition, making it’s recommission a pretty straightforward project. Beauty and the fish The Type 34 Karmann Ghia is a bit of a Marmite car. There are those, like me, that think they are beautiful, though there’s something…

A good few years ago now, when Sir Ivan of McCutcheon was the editor of VolksWorld, a bunch of us had the good fortune to ride in his Notchback to VW Action when it was hosted at Herts County Showground. Having never been in a Type 3 before, that car cemented an instant love in me for VW’s lesser known air-cooled sibling. It made a truly beautiful noise and drove like an absolute peach. Even with four drunken fools wedged in around the driver, the ’64 Safari Beige 1500S felt like it had just rolled off the Wolfsburg production line. Ivan actually owned that vehicle twice, but in between those two stints a chap by the name of Alex Noel, who now runs Wolfsburg Restos, sneaked in a summer of…

E10 is coming, what it means to you After two painfully long consultations, it looks as if E10 petrol will be introduced to UK petrol stations countrywide this September. Currently, UK petrol uses a maximum of five per cent ethanol (E5), made from wheat or sugar beet, but E10 doubles that concentration, which could spell trouble for older cars. Why? Because ethanol is hygroscopic, so absorbs water from the atmosphere, potentially leading to corrosion in metal fuel tanks, fuel lines and carburettors. It’s also a solvent, and the higher concentration can eventually disintegrate plastic and rubber, so fuel lines, washers and diaphragms in older carbs and fuel systems could potentially be at risk. The saving grace for classic VW owners is the government has committed to retaining some E5, which…

“helped broaden our view of what constituted a Cal Look VW” Considering the two most memorable – not including our Paul at the helm now of course – VolksWorld editors, Keith Seume and Ivan McCutcheon, were both at one time ardent Type 3 enthusiasts, it is perhaps surprising we’ve only ever done one Type 3 special issue before. We’ve had some memorable Variants on the cover over the years, including a couple of VolksWorld Best of Show winners, but the various publishers of the magazine over the years have never had the faith in the Type 3 model range the rest of us all have. This month, though, for this welcome return of the Type 3 Special, I thought it apt to look back at the cars of those two…

We’ve all seen those competitions to win cars and wondered if anyone ever actually does win them. Well, this Bus is living proof that people do. But even though winning a slammed Bay Window Bus with a lot of the hard work done for £4.99 is a massive result in anyone’s book, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Andy Pitt after he took ownership of this ’71 Deluxe. Let’s just say he’s had to do a bit of work for his winner winner, chicken dinner. It’s sad to admit, but we’re pretty much all a sceptical bunch these days. We’re used to exercising caution in our day to day and, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. I suspect if most of us are honest,…

“campouts have really gained momentum in the last few years” When the Covid pandemic started in March 2020, nobody thought it would mean a whole year off from car shows. But event promoters around the world quickly had to accept that holding events in these troubled times was next to impossible, and just about everything bar a few swapmeets and cars and coffee-type events were put on hold. Thankfully, since earlier this year the United States has had a successful vaccination campaign, resulting in car events slowly returning. In California, this includes the Sacramento Bugorama in late May, the giant El Prado Show & Shine and Bug-In, both in June, and the subject of this article, the 21st annual Spring Picnic & Campout, hosted by the Orange Empire Bus Company…

Bugnana man 2 Dear VolksWorld, I just picked up your July 2021 issue today as there was a nice red Beetle on the front cover, which reminded me of my first Bug. Thumbing through, I saw the article on the Bugnana man (Adam Gratton) Beetle and was amazed how similar the car and story are to my own experience, so thought I would drop you a line to tell you a little bit about me and my car. My story started in 1990 when I was 18-years old and bought my Beetle – a Ruby Red '67 1500. After a year of driving it about, it was time for a little work (ha ha…). Four years later, with all the work done in dad’s garage by me and my brother…

We all know about the one that got away, but this is a story about the one that tried to get away. Even an extended amount of time laying forlorn in a farmer’s field, slowly trying to return to Mother Earth, couldn’t keep Andy Finch’s hands from the wheel of this ’64 Notch. As you’ll see if you read your magazines from the front and have already passed Old gold on p24, the car is very well known in certain quarters of the Volkswagen fraternity. Bought from its original owner (we’ll come back to him later) by ex-VolksWorld Editor, Ivan McCutcheon, in 1988, it was restored over the following three years to epic levels with NOS parts and a plethora of choice accessories before Andy first bought it in 1991.…

By 1961, the Beetle had been in production for almost 15 years, and was beginning to show its age. Critics endlessly harped on about its lack of refinement and performance, so much so that VW management felt bullied into proving Volkswagen was not just a one-trick pony. That the new model was rear engined and air cooled, and even shared the same wheelbase as the Beetle, came as no great surprise. But its slab-sided styling did. Critics either loved its more modern lines, or hated it for being so bland. Either way, few disputed the new car offered more than the Beetle. More space, more power and more refinement. On paper, at any rate. Powered by a 1500cc engine derived from that used in the Type 2, the new model…

“only a couple of other examples are known to exist” This vintage tin plate representation of an Oval-era VW Cabriolet was manufactured by Johann Höfler Metall und Plastikspielwarenfabrik, located in Fürth, Germany. It is a large, 1/15 scale (275mm or 10.75in long) model and has a colorful, light yellow / black lithographed VW Type 15A Karmann body design. Details of the tin plate lithograph design include the bonnet with VW emblem, trim strip, badge and handle and authentic looking headlights and horn grilles. Additional detailing includes door seams, door handles, side trim, running boards, bumpers and American-spec overriders. “a tuck and roll design suggesting the fabric” The engine lid is similarly detailed, with the arched air louvres, handle, number plate light and plate, with the number H-X210. Oval-style tail lights…