Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i VolksWorld

“it’s the one show that has absolutely everything going for it” I’ve long my trip European Bug-In (EBI). It was my first visit to Chimay in Belgium, my seven-hour trip from Brittany meaning that I had to negotiate the ghastly Paris ring-road to get there. But despite the travelling time and the rubbish weather, it was well worth it. In many respects, it’s the one show that has absolutely everything going for it. You can chill in the campsite, wander around the swapmeet, kick some tyres in the show ’n’ shine, saunter around the pit-lane, then go and see cars do their thing on the strip. And then, when you’ve done all that and want a bit of a breather, have a meal and mooch around the town. It goes…

“The VW scene in France has never been about honking high capacity or dual carb’d motors” The following and passion for air-cooled Volkswagens in France has many similarities to the UK. At virtually the same time as we published the very first issue of VolksWorld way back in 1987, a very similar magazine, Super VW, was launched for French VW fans. Three decades ago, as we were all going nuts for our own take on the California Look that later became known simply as the New Wave, VWs which were similar in many ways to our own cars were being built in France. As the ’80s came to an end, joie de vivre and Gallic flair saw French customised VWs morph into a style all of their own; they became…

As found, complete with faded red paint and 14in Fuchs. Sam ran it around like this for a while until a MoT fail prompted him to do some work on it Having been sandblasted, the ’shell showed rust in all the usual places, including the sills, heater channels and front and rear valances Sam had always wanted a ragtop, so when he spotted a roof cut in Lincolnshire he got straight over there and snapped it up While all this was going on, the running gear was sand blasted prior to being powder coated Check out that quilted sound proofing in the rear panels. Impressive, eh? A custom wood construction was made for the rear speakers then trimmed by Keith at Kens Customs With a comprehensive audio install planned, Sam…

“On some vehicles, the clutch pedal mechanism needs to be removed” JOB INFO TOOLS NEEDED Block of wood; brake cleaner; breaker bar; chocks for the front wheels; clutch alignment tool; flywheel locking tool; hammer; impact driver; long hollow pole; M6-M8 bolt to plug fuel pipe; multipurpose grease; panel wipe; paper towels; penetrating fluid; pliers; pry bars; screwdrivers; spanners / sockets 8-36mm; torque wrench; trolley jack and axle stands; vice grips TIME TAKEN 1-8 hours COST DIY £20-£100 Clutch related problems on air-cooled VWs range from an annoying judder when setting off (sometimes caused by the clutch cable dragging) to equally annoying drips of oil from between the engine and gearbox, which can result in eventual clutch failure. We’re showing how to fix all of these problems and more this month.…

We reported last issue on Just Kamper’s success at the Mille Miglia in Mark Reynolds’ ’56 Beetle. Well, another ’56 car is being entered into the even more challenging Carrera Panamericana, a gruelling 3,300km feat of endurance held over seven days which takes place in Mexico this October. Famed for being the longest race in the world, the event dates back to 1950, when racing drivers from all over the world such as Ferrari, Osca, Lancia, Mercedes, Porsche and Maserati lined up on the starting grid. But it was the Argentinian, Juan Manuel Fangio, five-time world F1 champion, who won the race in 1953, which really bought the race to people’s attention. For 41-year-old Frenchman, Olivier Bouvet, however, the race was more than just something to ponder over in a…

You may have spotted Andy’s gorgeous 1967 Beetle on display at The VolksWorldShow this year, but you probably haven’t heard the story behind it. No ‘ordinary’ show car, this Beryl Green beauty represents one man’s determination to make the best out of a bad situation. Andy purchased the ’67 Beetle back in the summer of 2014, having found it on eBay. The initial idea was to give the car a quick once-over, get everything tidied up and safe, then hand the Beetle over to his daughter to learn to drive in. Having done the same thing for his son already, Andy was pretty confident that he could do it again. This confidence was bolstered by the fact that the Beetle came with around £11,000 worth of receipts, detailing what had…

Meet ‘Busty,’ a 1963 Volkswagen camper van belonging to Peter Dunn and his partner Henry Kay. Although Busty is not all she initially seems. She hasn’t always been a Camper, but we’ll get to that in a moment. “I first  had a 1963 Microbus back in 1984,” explains Peter, “I bought it for £300 and loved driving it, but I was trying to buy a flat in London and, needing the money, sold it six months later at a slight profit for £350.” Obviously both Splitties and London flats have shot up in value since then! “I always wanted another VW Bus after that but never managed it, although I did own a 1971 1300 Beetle that was bright red and got nicknamed ‘Slartibartfast’ after the character in The Hitchhiker’s…

“it becomes something of a pilgrimage with people taking months to travel from every part of the globe” For the seventh time now, the numerous cobbled streets of Hessisch Oldendorf provided the venue for one of the greatest classic VW shows on earth. For many, it becomes something of a pilgrimage with people taking months to travel from every part of the globe to get there, including Indonesia, Thailand, Canada and the US. The show starts on the Friday with each street in the town dedicated to a particular style of VW, so there’s a road full of Ovals, another for Splits, one for Split Buses and so on. The only stipulation is that all the vehicles have to be pre-’67 in vintage. Pleasingly, it’s all set against a backdrop…

“it’s rare to find an early Buggy ... that hasn’t been fussed over and ruined” The UK’s auction halls can be a foreboding place for the timid, but if you’re willing to stick your neck out, do a bit of research beforehand and keep an eye on what’s coming up in the forthcoming sales, then you might well land a bargain. The successful bidder on this ’66 21-window Samba at Silverstone Auctions (www.silverstoneauctions.com) sale in June certainly did all right. It’s got a rare sliding side door option as well as lots of nice extras like an Eberspacher heater. Its Certificate of Authenticity from Wolfsburg and other paperwork confirms it was originally delivered to a VW dealership in Hanover in June 1966. It is believed it was then sold to…

By the early Sixties, more and more people were becoming aware of the already legendary ruggedness of the Beetle, and VWs were appearing more often in motorsport, especially rallying. As the decade wore on, however, the British pound was devalued and there was unrest in countries around the world as economies floundered. Sir Max Aitken, proprietor of the Daily Express, felt an event was required that could boost exports by acting as a showpiece for British engineering. Aitken, with Jocelyn Stevens and Tommy Sopwith, dreamed up the idea of a 10,000-mile rally from London to Sydney, sponsored by the newspaper, with a £10,000 cash reward and a trophy for the winner. To provide the greatest land distance, they prescribed a route to Dover, by ferry to Calais, then on via…

‘Mighty oaks,’ as the old saying goes, ‘from little chickens grow’. Or something. You’d have to ask a botanist. And if the sublimely finished Beetle you see here is the figurative great oak of Sam Brader’s achievements, then the microbial stem of a lifetime’s obsession germinated in a chicken shed way back in the swirling mists of time. “Years ago, my brother and I dragged a 1972 camper out of a barn that his future father in-law was using as a chicken shed,” Sam explains. “We hand-painted it, got it through an MoT, and kept it on the road for five years. That was my first experience of the love of VWs.” Ah, love. It’s a loaded and incendiary term when it comes to motor cars, is it not? Often…

“It was much too late to brake – and a good job too” Safer Motoring was always looking to bring readers the more wacky and oddball stories concerning Beetles. And they kept coming! Back in March 1969, we reported on the remarkable feat of the Beetle that crossed a bascule bridge whilst it was partly opened. It happened in Humberside, where the city of Hull’s North Bridge spans the River Hull. Approaching the bridge on what he thought was a routine crossing, Beetle owner John Richardson accelerated up the slightly raised deck, only to get the shock of his life when he was confronted by a sudden gap! Apparently the bridge had been raised about 8ft, in preparation for the arrival of a Swedish oil tanker destined for the Old…