Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i VWT Lifestyle

We’ve just come back from our first proper camping trip for ages. We’d booked a holiday to Spain, but the flights had gone haywire and for one reason or another we decided to cancel. In case you didn’t know, I live in Brittany, so have access to some spectacularly good countryside, coast and campsites. We chose a site I’d been to before in my Beetle on the Côte D’Armor, the north coast, which is lovely and sunny, quiet and just a 10 minute walk from a sandy beach. It used to be a municipal site, I think, one that’s run to an extent by the local council, so it’s not expensive. At this point I have to confess that while I was in a VW (or two, to be precise,…

SHOW US YOURS My wife Sarah and I have owned Dolly, our 1976 Devon, since February 2007 and she has been our rolling project ever since. I always tell people it’s like having two hobbies – camping in summer and vehicle restoration in the winter! Dolly still has her Devon roof but the inside is all home made.The bunks have gone and in their place is a three-quarter width bunk bed for my daughter, Isabelle. I’ve replaced the front seats with ones from a MGF which I’ve had retrimmed with matching door cards, rear trim and rock and roll bed. The engine is a 1600 with twin Dell’Orto DRLA36 carbs and a Vintage Speed exhaust The early bumper conversion was done by the previous owner, however I have lifted the…

Being the director of an international car importation company does have its advantages as Gavin Stafford, the proud owner of this 1965 Sundial Camper, knows only too well. However, when it came to the gruelling business of carrying out a full restoration, along with a host of modifications, he admits he didn’t really know what he was letting himself in for. “As MD of LHD Car Supermarket, I’ve had plenty of experience importing cars. Sourcing projects and bringing them into the UK is relatively straightforward,” Gavin explains. “That said, most of the cars we deal with are much newer than this, and while I’d imported and restored an older Porsche 911 and a Mercedes SEC500, these didn’t need anywhere as much work as the Split.” The idea of owning and…

It’s not a nice thing to think about, but fire is the enemy of the air-cooled VW enthusiast. Every summer horror photos appear on our Facebook feeds of Beetles and Buses ablaze, and sadly it’s often due to something trivial like a leaky fuel hose. To reduce the risk of a fire ripping its way through your vehicle, therefore, it’s worth considering fitting an extinguisher system. There are two main types suitable for engine bays. One is an inert gas type, the other a powder or foam. There are pros and cons for both. Gas leaves little in the way of clear up, should it be deployed. However, being a gas, there is a risk of it being blown around and perhaps not targeting the area in question. The powder…

“an e-bike is a different experience from riding a ‘normal’ bike – and just so much fun” E-bikes are massive at the moment. In fact they’re the fastest growing sector of the bike market. In the UK alone, e-bike sales have risen from a few thousand in 2015 to 70,000 in 2018, and the upward trend is likely to continue. Everywhere you go these days you’ll see bikes with batteries with riders of all fitness levels zooming up and down rugged trails with relative ease. Now, you might consider it to be cheating, but in reality that’s far from the truth. Indeed, electric mountain bikes are better described as ‘power-assisted’ and, as I found out when I hired an e-MTB, you still need to pedal to get anywhere. Indeed, an…

Back in the day, when I was editor of Safer Motoring, we drove VW Transporters in all forms and had regular vehicles on loan for road tests. Our Type 2 guru for a number of years was Chris Burlace, whose reports provided plenty of detailed information on model changes and deviations. Looking back through those articles, I often find an interesting snippet that makes me sit up and think – yes, he’s right but that had never occurred to me! One such instance was our test in the May 1982 issue of a Camper conversion that’s definitely in the ‘you don’t see many of those’ category – the RGA Huntsman. In his intro, Chris said rightly that the air-cooled Type 2 had enjoyed a quarter of a century of success…

Ian Dyer from Hadleigh, Suffolk, is the proud owner of one of the nicest Westfalia Campers we’ve seen in quite some time. Ian told us, “Over the years I’ve owned Bays, Ghias, the odd Type 4 and 23 (maybe 24) Beetles.” He continued, “But then, back in 2009, I found myself without a project to tinker with, hence I started to look for a Camper.” Having followed up on a few leads, Ian turned his attention to the Internet and, one Sunday morning, spotted a solid but scruffy-looking ’71 Westfalia Campmobile on theSamba.com for just $1200. Ian laughed, “I didn’t hesitate – I just called the guy up, agreed a deal and wired over the money.” Only later did he realise that it was actually in Colorado... some 1200 miles…

More often than not the topic of a VW magazine feature is all about the vehicle. However, once in a while we like to flip things and write about the owner… especially when they happen to be a popular and colourful character like Kev Goldsmith. The fact that he also happens to own a very cool pair of Type 2s is an added bonus – so let’s get started! Back in the ’70s, Kev’s father picked up a ’52 RHD Split Window Beetle which was initially used as the family car and later became his pride and joy, which the family drove to various VW events across the country and on holidays, the roofrack loaded with camping equipment – it was exactly the sort of reliable vehicle that made the…

Getting away from it all, that’s what we all crave once in a while – which is why VW Campers have such a huge following. As the ultimate lifestyle statement, nothing comes close to jumping in a Volkswagen Bus with a bunch of friends or family and heading out into the countryside… It’s no wonder then that ever since he’d learnt to drive, Andy – a customer service expert at Heritage Parts Centre – had always wanted one. And it wasn’t long before he turned his dream into reality, purchasing a 2005 T5 T30 with the 1.9 TDi engine in 2010. But as he wanted to build it himself, he had to think outside the box and rope in the help of family and friends to transform it from a…

Excessive rattles, squeaks, road, engine and transmission noise inside a vehicle can irritate on long distance camping adventures. 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 or deadens the sound. Floors can be covered in thick matting to reduce road hum and the engine bay can be lined with vibration reduction material to help muffle noise. Even undersealing the wheelarches and underside of the floor can help. We visited Noisekiller in Greater Manchester to follow them soundproofing my Bay Window Bus. What we like about this company is all of the materials used are manufactured in the UK. To really do the job properly, we went to the…

Whether you’re an air-cooled purist, prefer the idea of a diesel or hanker after the smoothness of a later ‘wasserboxer’ petrol powerplant, there’s an engine in the T25 factory line up to suit all tastes. Which is best is up for debate, although the answer for many could very well be “none of them”. You see an increasing number of owners are swapping them out for added poke, economy and reliability. Traditionally, this would have involved fitting a flat-four from Subaru, but the current trend is to fit a more modern, fuel-sipping TDi unit instead, the AAZ often being the unit of choice. We’ll cover those in more detail at a later date, but in the meantime here’s a summary of the good, bad and otherwise of the original VW…

Despite what other specialist VW titles said at the time, the third generation Transporter T3 – or T25, depending on your terminology preference – wasn’t the first 4WD example of the marque when its Syncro variant was launched at the Brussels Commercial Vehicle Show in January 1985. Not by a long shot. In terms of 1980s’ machines, the Passat Syncro had beaten the T3 to showrooms by a few months, being launched in October 1984. But well, well before that, VW had been flirting with 4WD since WW2. During that conflict, it had come up with Kübelwagens, Schwimmwagens and Kommandeurwagens with the ability to drive with all wheels. Then during the 1970s, it developed the Iltis for military service (although a civilian version was available in Germany), which in turn…

E10 UPDATE What are the implications for older Bus owners of a higher ethane content unleaded arriving in 2021? In a move to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the UK government will be rolling out a ‘cleaner’ brew of unleaded fuel containing a higher concentration of ethanol. At present, unleaded contains up to 5% of ethanol (E5) but, as its name would suggest, E10 contains roughly twice that amount. E10 is already widely available in continental Europe, and recent consultations suggest that it could become the standard grade of petrol here next year. The government says its introduction could see emissions reductions equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road each year. So why worry? Well, ethanol isn’t great for older cars. And actually, it’s not brilliant for use in…

If you know about later vans, then you probably know about Vanworx and owner, Dave Garnsworthy. If you know Dave, then you’ll know Dave knows all there is to know about converting Transporters. The English language is something else, isn’t it? This sharper-than-a-double-edged-sword T6 204DSG 4motion is the perfect fusion of modern with a twist of classic for the dads. “I happened to have this Van in stock at a time when I was looking for a new Camper for my family that could also double up as a demonstrator,” recalls Dave. The plan was to do something a bit retro, with the factory white exterior looking cool and sharp on the outside and a throwback theme inside utilising genuine Westfalia cloth. As you can see, the mission statement was…

If you like the idea of a ‘classic’ looking VW Camper but want some of the mod cons of a T5/6, then the T4 might be the perfect solution. The first mutterings about a T25 replacement began back in 1982, at about the same time as the water-cooled T25 replaced the air-cooled version, with the first prototype rolling out a year later. Already, shock horror, VW had decided on a totally new front engine, front-wheel drive configuration. Early drawings looked more like a Renault Espace, with huge amounts of rounded glass area, though thankfully in-house stylists eventually settled for something which took its cues from the Mk2 Golf instead. Wise move because the T4 refuses to date and even the earliest ones still look smart. The final styling solution gained…

The tin roof of a vehicle generates noise, loses heat in winter and attracts condensation if it isn’t lined. Noisekiller sell a 15mm deep self-adhesive acoustic material that can be stuck onto the underside of the roof and is shallow enough to be covered by a headlining. If the original-style headlining isn’t going to be fitted, the deeper (25mm) egg box-shaped, self-adhesive material can be fitted as shown here. Do the job neatly and it can even be left exposed. Both materials help combat all the undesirable features mentioned at the start of this paragraph…

If you’ve got this far and still don’t feel particularly impressed by the factory T25 offerings, there’s always the option of fitting something totally different.A popular choice right now is the TDi VAG PD engine, although its extra height means you would lose a bit of space in the back unless you angle it at 50 degrees and flip the gearbox. Reckon on spending £4,000-£6,500 for a specialist to carry out a turn-key conversion.The flat-four EJ22 Subaru Impreza engine (pictured) has traditionally been a better fit, although while you would appreciated the extra kick in the back, economy would be similar (or perhaps a little worse) than the original VW water-cooled unit.That said, with any of the petrol units here, you could always fit an LPG conversion.…

Rockrider E-ST500 V2 Decathlon has designed a budget-friendly electric mountain bike with a 420 watt battery powering a three-speed motor for rides of 2.5 hours on average. The bike has an aluminium frame and 120mm Suntour XCR fork for front suspension. Price: £999 Contact: decathlon.co.uk Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 500 2020 With a newly-designed aluminium frame for 2020, the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro boasts one of Bosch’s fourth-generation CX motors. Features include Sram SX Eagle 1x12 speed gearing, SR Suntour XCM34 100mm front shocks, Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes and a PowerPack 500w battery. Price: £2099 Contact: cube.eu Volt Alpine The Alpine has a reinforced aluminium frame and front suspension, with a 36v (60 miles) 400Wh battery. Features include a 250 watt SpinTech motor with five speed settings, Shimano Alivio…