Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i VolksWorld

Here’s the story behind what is surely set to become one of the most recognised Bay Windows in the world. Considering there were nearly three million built, that’s a pretty bold statement, but we have evidence. A simple behind-the-scenes shot from this photoshoot leaked out onto the internet and, for a couple of weeks at least, its owner, Tom Goldsmith, got to experience life as a Kardashian. Please don’t ask which one. “It was mad,” he says. “I had people from all over the world messaging me about it and asking all sorts of questions about how I’d done it. The funniest thing was that so many people thought it was Photoshopped, or that it was a very detailed model.” I personally had to comment on the Facebook post on…

Like many who were an active part of the VW scene in the 1980s, Frenchman, Laurent Di Maio, ended up taking an extended break from it all when life and work priorities took over. Such people usually find their way back to the VW fold eventually, though, as Laurent did in 2009 when he purchased his fifth Beetle (see what I did with the title of the feature now?), which has since evolved with a classic bit of Gallic flair. The funny part about Editor Paul asking me to write the feature on this late ’Looker is that I’d already penned my column for this month about EMPI eight spokes (see p98). Having been stuck down that particular rabbit hole for a few months, I’d rooted out a lot of…

Every once in a while, we spot a car across a field (or in this case, across a lake) that simply demands closer inspection, and that’s exactly what we have here. Whilst camping at a VW event in Wanroij in The Netherlands a while back, we eyeballed what looked to be a pretty radical – and, it must be said, pretty rusty – Porsche parked up on the opposite side of a large body of water. Knowing it might not stay there too long, we jumped up, grabbed the camera gear and immediately set off for a closer look. What we found was this insanely low 1960 356B (T5) on Dutch plates, and we definitely liked what we saw. The next job, then, was to track down the owner. After…

Email your news, thoughts, opinions and products to VolksWorld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Where to be seen in 2022 JUNE Hessisch Oldendorf (vintage) Date: 24-26 June Location: 31840 Hessisch Oldendorf, Germany Contact: www.uraltkaefer.de Stonor Park Date: 26 June Location: Stonor Park, Henley on Thames, Oxon RG9 6HF Contact: facebook.com/ABVWC JULY European Bug-In #9 Date: 1-3 July Location: Rue du Grand Prix des Frontieres, B6460 Chimay, Belgium Contact: europeanbugin.com Camper Marmalade Festival Date: 1-3 July Location: Bramley Farm, Bay Tree Lane, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 6QN Contact: www.camper marmalade.co.uk Volksweald Date: 8-10 July Location: Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Kent TN11 8DH Contact: www.volksweald.co.uk Dorset Volksfest Date: 8-10 July Location: The Showground, Worgret Rd, Wareham BH20 6AB Contact: dorsetvolksfest.co.uk Volks Power Date: 8-10 July Location: Redcar Rugby Club, McKinley Park, Redcar TS10 3RW Contact: www.volkspower.co.uk Dubs at…

This radical fire Bus could be one of a kind in more ways than just its unusually modified state. Tom’s research into its history led him to a small village called Niederdorf (Italian name, Villabassa) on the Austrian border in northern Italy. With a population of less than 1,500, the village has strong links to Germany, with over 90% of its inhabitants speaking German as their native language. Now for the one-off bit. Nationally, Italy had a contract with Fiat for emergency service vehicles, not VW. So, was this one a trial vehicle to see if VWs were better? There’s no way of knowing for sure, but Tom thinks it could be the only Italian VW fire Bus of this era in existence.…

Levi Weir runs Pandraggers in Phoenix, Arizona (www. pandraggers.com), a company that manufactures a range of products for air-cooled VWs, and whose inventory runs from narrowed beams through to Beetle front safari windows. He builds plenty of cars to showcase his products, but the usual recipe is slammed to the ground and, well, dragging, with a plethora of accessories for added bling. Phoenix isn’t too far from Las Vegas, so Levi was familiar with the Elite and Just Clean VW Show, and its Ultimate Build Off concept. However, committing to enter that, and then doing it justice, all while juggling the demands of the business and a young family wasn’t going to be easy. But, with so many ideas buzzing around in his mind, and a ’58 Bug that was…

If you were to transport a VW Camper owner in the 1950s through time to the present day, they would scarcely believe how far Volkswagen’s basic commercial vehicles have progressed. Let alone just how advanced and sophisticated they’ve become inside, particularly those kitted out for life on the road. What started out as Spartan machines providing just the bare necessities for camping have become palaces on wheels, offering levels of luxury and technology that, not so long ago, many people would have been delighted to have in their actual homes. Or at least in a hotel room. But while today’s VW Campers are broadly similar in what they’re designed to do, the evolution from the classic models shows up some fascinating quirks and idiosyncratic options that appeared along the way.…

Volkswagen model kit builders, let me have your attention, please. Yes, put a new blade in your craft knife, buy a fresh pot of glue, ready those paintbrushes and clear off about three square yards of work area, for your mission this month is a big one. Th e big one. You might also want to say goodbye to your family and friends, because you’re not going to be finishing this project in an afternoon! If you’re wondering why we’re referring to a Revell plastic model kit as ‘the big one’, check out the scale on the box. This isn’t your regular 1/24 or 1/25-scale kit, oh no, the Revell Classics Volkswagen Käfer comes in at a whopping 1/16th scale, meaning it’s approximately 10 inches, or 25.6cm in length. Best…

Karmann chameleon Dear VolksWorld, My Karmann Ghia was featured in VolksWorld in March 2002 (and also appeared in a special issue, too) and I thought I’d share a few fresh photos as I’ve recently given it a new lease of life. It’s same same, but a little more ‘hench’, thanks to a 148bhp Type 4 sprint motor with CSP Porsche-style cooling and a few suspension mods to achieve a more purposeful stance. Ian Landon via email VW: Great to hear from you Ian, and good to see you still own the car. We’re loving the updates, it must be even more fun to drive now. Whitewall worries Dear VolksWorld, I bought a Bug five years ago with a fresh set of whitewall tyre flaps fitted and, while they did look…

How do you like the idea of taking a rare Bus, of which only 19 are known to exist in the world (at least, according to Dane, Tonny Larsen, of the Barndoor Registry), chopping it about and customising the whole damn thing? If you do, you’ll love what The Compound Restoration in Bellflower, California have done with this ’55 Panel Van. Wait, Panel Van you say?! To put that statement of rarity into some sort of context, this Bus was originally ordered as a model 21E, later given the factory code of Type 215. These numbers would have informed the Wolfsburg production line workers that the customer required a left-hand drive Panel Van with cargo doors on both sides. Not that radical an option sheet you might think, but unusual…

It’s funny how growing up with old VWs often leads to ownership later in life. Whereas if your folks owned an Austin Allegro, or a Vauxhall Cavalier, when you were growing up, you’re unlikely to follow suit, are you? Having been into Volkswagens since being transported in the back of his father’s ’69 Ghia as a child, Dustin Petrasek became an integral part of the 1980’s VW scene in California himself. Then took a bit of a break – a 15-year break in fact – before returning with another ’69, this time a Savannah Beige Bug. With that car, he became a member of Der Kleiner Panzers, thanks largely to working at the same company as club members, Bill Schwimmer and Scott Pescuma. It was while he was helping Scott…

Following the move to Gmünd in Austria in 1944 to seek sanctuary from the Allied air raids on Stuttgart, the staff of Porsche’s design bureau became used to living in relative comfort. Gmünd was in the heart of an agricultural belt, food was in plentiful supply and the Porsche family home at Zell-am-See comprised a huge farmhouse, capable of accommodating up to 25 people. All things considered, life was actually pretty good. The drawing offices and workshops were located in a former sawmill, which was promptly nicknamed Vereinigte Hüttenwerke (associated iron and steel foundry) by the workers. The wooden buildings would have attracted little attention from the air. Indeed, it turned out later that the Allies knew nothing of their purpose until after the war. Much of the work carried…