Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i VWT Lifestyle

Despite the repeated lockdowns and the grim reality that we're still in the thick of the battle against Covid-19, I am trying to start 2021 with a bit of a spring in my step. And, judging by the correspondence that's been flooding in via camperandbus.ed@ kelsey.co.uk, so are you. It seems you've all been out buying new Vans, or doing up the ones you've got, which is great news. If you haven't sent in a pic of your Bus already, put down your cuppa and do it! The thing is, whatever Bus you buy there's always an opportunity to put your own stamp on it. If you prefer cooking outside, maybe you'll ditch the stove to gain a bit more storage space, or perhaps you'll decide to rearrange things out…

ALL WORK... Hi Camper&Bus, I am a furniture restorer by trade and here’s a pic of my work van which I’ve owned for around eight years now. I’ve had it tubbed at the front with a 4in narrowed beam, dropped spindles and adjustable spring plates on the back. Matt at Ballsd has worked on it in the past but most of the lowering etc was undertaken by my good friends at Weldwagen. It’s no show van as it’s used to haul furniture to earn its living as VW intended but I love it all the same. Wayne Draper, Diss, Norfolk TOUCHING THE SKY... Ciao Camper&Bus! I wanted to tell you about the Bus we bought in 2017 having spotted it abandoned in a meadow while on a camping trip to…

Mike and Fee from Oxfordshire love travel. And that’s despite Mike spending time as a kid being crammed in the back of a Ford Cortina with his siblings, trailer in tow, on various pre-aircon camping capers across Europe. Fee had enjoyed lots of trips to far flung places when she was young, too, but as Mike explained, she was less keen on camping. “Being of South African origin, and used to the heat and humidity of a KwaZulu Natal climate, she often joked that there was no way she’d ever go camping in the UK. It was ‘too bloody cold and wet,’ as far as she was concerned!” Nevertheless, they did go – and they loved it. As we all know, once you reach a certain age the prospect of…

Like anywhere in the world, finding automobile events in Southern California has been quite a challenge – the wall calendar looked rather bare in 2020. Quite a shame, in a region typically blessed with countless happenings every week. Yep, this gave us the opportunity to do a few jobs on our Buses but after a few months we all had the urge to get out and about and stretch those radials (or bias-ply tyres) with some mates. Options have proven rather limited since last spring. A handful of cruise nights (and ‘cars & coffee-style’ events) still entertain the crowds, though they are few and far between. Some car enthusiasts took it upon themselves to organise new shindigs as well, in the vein of the monthly Quarantine Cruise in Huntington Beach.…

The Split Screen Bus must surely rank as one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable vehicles on our roads, a claim to fame it’s held for many years now. Yet, strangely, John Paul Jones had paid scant attention to the Splittie until seven years ago when he witnessed a small convoy of them travelling along the A38. “I’d always considered buying or converting a camper van, but a large modern motorhome with all the mod cons was more up my street,” John laughs. “But having seen that parade of Split Buses on the way home from work I began to do some digging as I thought they looked so cool.” Perfectly timed, John discovered Busfest at Great Malvern was taking place the following weekend and promptly booked a hotel…

CJ Smith, ’65 US Import I’ve only owned my Split for about a week! I had a Split Screen many years ago and decided I wanted another one so I could get back into the scene again. I’ve literally just sold a Late Bay Double Cab, a Bay Camper and three Beetles. I simply had a bit of a clear out of my collection. I think I’ll settle for just one Split for now – I’ve got to keep my wife happy! It’s a California import and my intention is to try to bring it back to how it was originally. It’s powered by a 1641cc engine with a straight axle conversion and a Freeway Flyer gearbox, so it goes along very nicely. I’ve recently had a Wolfsburg West headlining…

As situations change, plans and objectives alter accordingly. And reading through our notes supplied by the owner of this cool Bus, Austen Hornsby, it occurs to us that our title applies just as much to the Hornsby family as a whole as it does ‘Jasper’ the ’74 Bus itself. Indeed, the Late Bay can probably claim to be the sixth member of the clan after wife Nicky, and the children, Aoife, Fintan, and Orlagh, (or seventh, if you count Bella the Pug). The Bus, which left the factory as a Panel Van before the Hornsby’s purchased it back in ’99, was bought originally so Austen and Nicky (then his girlfriend), could ‘do Europe’ for a few months. Prior to this, both had got involved in the scene via Beetles, Nicky…

Picture this: I imported a Bay Window nearly five years ago. On April 20, 2016, I was in the workshop tearing out the rotten interior and pulling the engine. I know the date well because our little boy, Camden, showed up the next day around six weeks ahead of schedule with his adorable little fingers and baby sick dashing my plans of getting the Bus turned around ahead of his imminent arrival Fast forward to half-term 2020 – Camden’s first ever school holiday. The Bay now has a running engine thanks to AirDubs in Taunton, but the interior is still somewhat Spartan to say the least. Parenting, it turns out, is an all-consuming experience! I couldn’t take the fact that my boy is four years old and was yet to…

While a lot of camper van companies have fallen by the wayside over the years, Danbury is a name that is still around today and still turning Volkswagens into homes on wheels. Compared to other British rivals like Devon, Canterbury Pitt and Dormobile (which could trace its origins back to 1773), Danbury Conversions was a bit of a young upstart on the scene. It popped up pretty much out of nowhere in 1964, towards the close of the Split Screen era, yet within a few years had not only managed to establish an enviable reputation for its distinctive and practical Type 2 revamps, but had also gained official recognition from VW itself. Danbury Conversions took its title from the village in which it was situated, just outside Chelmsford in Essex.…

WASTE NOT WANT NOT Cooking up a zero-waste dish in the latest California In the UK a shocking 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted by the food industry each year, of which an estimated 250,000 tonnes is still ok to eat. That equates to roughly 650 million meals for goodness sake! To highlight the issue, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has hooked up with FareShare, as well as top chef and sustainability expert, Tom Hunt, to rustle up a series of tasty, zero-waste recipes – all prepared in the kitchen of a new T6.1 California. The issue of food waste became even more topical right now due to the impact of Covid-19 and tightening of family budgets. Rising to the California Cooking Challenge, Tom cooked up a couple of zero-waste dishes…

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” sang John Lennon to son, Sean, many years after American writer, Allen Saunders had written the mantra in a more encompassing ‘us’ and ‘we’ format. It’s something that’s true for the majority of people on the good planet earth. Sometimes it’s subtle, and sometimes it’s a skiing accident that leaves you requiring surgery. For Nick Gordon it was most certainly the later. “I was immensely career orientated since graduating from Sheffield University,” he told us. “In 2008 I married Sabrina and we had two children, Archie (11) and Elsa (10).” He continues, “I have always worked in the automotive industry for some well-known brands and cars and motorbikes have been a huge part of my life.” Things began…

How’s your Camper doing? Are you fortunate enough to have a fully operational, top-of-the-line, kick ass interior with all the lighting and tambour doors your heart desires? Or, is it looking a little barren out back, with just a blow-up mattress and a portable stove? Well, if you’re closer to the latter, and are just biding your time until you can afford the dream interior, then be prepared for some inspiration. Have you ever considered making your own? If not, that perfect interior maybe closer than you think. When Cal Russell exchanged a bunch of Bank of Scotland pound notes for this 1999 T4 Panel Van with 100,000 miles on the clock, the thought of building his own interior had never crossed his mind either. And yet, here we are…

The VW air-cooled engine’s dynamo is efficient at recharging the battery, but when extra power is required to operate the headlights, indicators, wipers and stereo, then it often struggles to cope, especially if the engine is ticking over. In some situations a better solution is to replace the dynamo with a more modern alternator, which can produce electricity more efficiently and maintain a constant voltage, no matter what the engine is doing. All that’s required is a bit of rewiring and a few new parts. We visited Herbie Hospital of Leeds to follow them completing an alternator conversion on a 1.6-litre twin port engine using parts supplied by VeeWee. The alternator conversion kit from Veewee includes a new alternator, a stand, new tinware and a clamp (strap). You’ll also need…

Autohomes (formerly CI Autohomes) of Poole in Dorset had long been one of the top manufacturers of both motor and trailer caravans before it introduced a VW-based model to the market. Could it have been the underwhelming power of the Transporter that held them back, we wonder? That first Autohomes VW motorcaravan was the Kamper, which debuted at the 1980 Caravan Show, gaining instant popularity. Then 1982’s new water-cooled engines for the Type 2 VW, which also benefited from increased internal dimensions and less engine intrusion, impressed Autohomes sufficiently to bring out the Mk2 Kamper in order to benefit from the increased power and refinement. Our test of the 78bhp version with standard 4-speed gearbox appeared in the October 1983 issue of Safer Motoring. We had already evaluated the vans…