Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i VolksWorld

Car manufacturers generally follow the seemingly simple concept of model years, though that in itself was a later development designed purely to shift more units. In the case of Volkswagen, the model years ran from 1 January to 31 December up until the end of 1954. Then, in 1955, it all changed, as that’s when VW adopted a different strategy and updated its vehicle range on 1 September each year instead, running through to 31 July. This allowed the various VW factories to make the necessary tooling changes in August every year, while a large number of its employees were on holiday – a social trend that continues to this day. Incidentally, if you haven’t already worked it out, this means the 1955 model year lasted only seven months, from…

This diecast metal Oval Window Volkswagen toy has been sold under various names over the years, but was originally designed and manufactured by the Morris & Stone Limited toy company in England. Located in north London, Morris & Stone made and sold toys in the mid-1950s under the trade name of Morestone. The initial series of Morestone vehicles comprised 20 different diecast miniatures, including a Beetle (no.8) and a VW Microbus (no.12). The Morestone series was designed to compete with the hugely popular Matchbox toy car series that started in 1953 and, due to similarities in the size and construction of the toys, Morestone VWs are often mistakenly called Matchbox toys. The diecast body has cut out windows to represent the 1953-’57 era of Volkswagen production. The metallic silver blue…

Email: VolksWorld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Quick 'n' easy bearing measures Fresh from The Dub Shop in America is this neat kit that allows you to quickly assess Type 1 crank and case bearing sizes without the need for expensive or difficult to use measuring tools. The four precision machined steel pieces enable you to gauge bearing saddles, crank journals and the thrust surface (rear main) quickly and accurately. They’re laser etched with the relevant sizing information and will prove invaluable to any amateur engine builder working on Type 1 motors. How much? $34.95 (email for shipping quotes outside the USA)From: www.thedubshop.com Adjust-a-Raise gearbox cradle Raising the gearbox in a VW used to be a job only carried out on race cars, but is now regularly seen on heavily lowered street cars to prevent…

CUSTOM ’57 OVAL Meet Kevin Davies. He describes himself as ‘a local entrepreneur’ from Grand Junction, Colorado. For 30 years he has called that city home, though he actually grew up on the west coast, in Fontana, California to be precise. Kevin is a dyed-in-the-wool domestic car guy. “It’s definitely my thing,” he says with a big smile. “I have over 20 vehicles in my collection – mainly 1960’s Fords and Mopars, but I also have a ’63 and a ’64 Cadillac. All of them are one-off builds that I rotate and drive regularly.” But Kevin also harbours a dark secret that his domestic market buddies just don’t get – a love for that funny little German car with the engine in the back. Cool community “I just love the…

SHOW REPORT - EUROPEAN BUG-IN We say it every time, but this year's EB-I really was something special as Mike, Freddy and the team pulled out all the stops to ensure the 10th anniversary event would be one to remember. Working with the likes of Russell Ritchie of Gasser Garage, the guys not only managed to assemble a good number of Der Kleiner Panzers (DKP) club members, but also the most original DKP club cars ever displayed together outside of the USA. Amongst them was the blue Oval belonging to Nao Fujita of Flat4, who shipped his DKP club car all the way from Japan specifically to be part of this special event. The California Look display was a key part of the event this year, with a total of…

’57 OVAL RAGTOP When I first saw Kevin’s Villa’s car at European Bug-In in 2019, it was a standout in terms of the level of detail. And that’s saying something when you consider the number of show cars that head to Belgium for that event that are built to an incredibly high standard. However, Kevin had gone the extra mile and displayed his car with its wheels off, as people were more prone to do in the 1980s, and everywhere you looked, it was flawless. I’m only sorry I didn’t take more pics of it than I did back then, so I could better understand all the changes he’s made since. Kevin bought the ’57 in 2010 and, by 2015, had rebuilt in its first incarnation, which he called Chocolated…

’64 TURBO FUSCA The man behind this insane build is Paulo Moraes, a 36-year-old construction business owner from Sorocaba, São Paulo. With thanks to his good friend, Ataide Junior Pressendo, who stepped up to help with translation, we were able to get the scoop on how this project came about. Together with his dad, Roberto, and brother, Rafael, Paulo is well known in his home country of Brazil for building crazy low Volkswagens. You can find out more about their builds on their Instagram page, @irmaostudao.Irmãos tudão, incidentally, directly translates as brothers in everything, but the boys prefer to explain it as brothers riding low. Very low. The idea for this low rider was hatched in 2017. ”We didn’t wait around for long,” laughs Paulo. “We were set from the…