Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i VolksWorld

“the original club logo was a Beetle with a Beatles ‘mop top’haircut” I met up with an old school friend last week. We both owned Beetles when we were 17 and were members of the Stevenage VW Club. It got me thinking how the whole nature of classic car clubs has changed over the past few decades. Back then it was all very formal. There was an elected committee, monthly meetings in a cold community centre and the chairman wore a tweed jacket and a tie. Members were treated to a full events calendar, which included organised outings, guest speakers and the usual summer pub run mystery tour. It seemed there was always somebody who knew someone who had a contact, who might be able to facilitate a group activity…

As Jamie bought it It’s almost unrecognisable now, but this is the Beetle as it looked when Jamie bought it – slammed to the ground, painted black with yellow banded steels and Moon Equipment logos on the door. Look closely and you’ll see it still says Sand Scorcher on the number plate… In another life …which explains the presence of this picture in this feature. Believe it or not, before it was matt black, this car was a full-size replica of the well known Tamiya radio-controlled car (but not the one that was built by The Bug Box in Bavaria). Yep, that front end sheet metal that was cut off was put back on again, and then cut off again!…

Gav’s ’65 Bus arrived at 181 Classic Motors in Newark already sand-blasted Despite being sold in California, the Bus originated from New York. Hence the rust. 181 painstakingly cut out and re-fabricated all the rotten panels The window frames proved particularly tricky, each taking many days to restore. Some of the more difficult to find parts, such as the front winding mechanisms, were sourced from the States Once all the metalwork had been finished, the Bus was primed and prepared for repainting Gavin was keen to keep the Bus in its original green and ivory colour scheme The light oak cabinets were handmade from scratch Red 9 Design independent suspension with two-pot disc brake conversion replaces the Bus’ original back end Red 9 Design’s kit was fitted to the front…

VolksWorld magazine – 30th anniversary It is 30 years since the first issue of VolksWorld magazine rolled off the printing presses and hit the streets. In celebration we are putting on a display of ex-cover cars that will illustrate how styles have changed over the years. We have done nearly 400 issues, so lots of great cars have graced the cover of our magazine. Will your favourite be at the show? Richard Krom has started off our quest to find the best examples with his fine cover car from 2011. If you have an ex-cover car and would like to display it, contact Amy at amy.nicholls@kelsey.co.uk Kids go free The VolksWorld Show has always been a great family day out, and now you can bring up to two kids aged…

“It looked like it was intended to amputate the legs of any unfortunate pedestrians it met” Over the years, the simple, bolt-on, bolt-off nature of the Beetle has meant it’s always been an easy car to customise. Some accessories have been weird, some have been wonderful… and rather a lot have come from Kamei. The company, established by Karl Meier, was the first to offer add-on bits and pieces for Volkswagens and along the way, came up with some fantastic items. And the odd utter clanger too. Karl came early to the Volkswagen world, being only the 12th employee taken on at the Wolfsburg factory, in March 1939. His role was as an interior design engineer. Born in 1907, he’d trained as a motor mechanic and worked in Switzerland before…

BODY   inches cut from ; the bottom of the body; dimple died sill sections; louvered 1962 bonnet sectioned 11/2 inches across nose; steel fabricated split rear window; Plexiglass windows INTERIOR Speedwell steering wheel with artillery shell centre boss; Hurst copper shifter on handmade tower; hydraulic handbrake; stock speedo hung under dash; cut-down Kirkey aluminium seats; beer barrel fuel tank; Pearl bass drum pedal accelerator ENGINE Mildly modified 1700ccType 4; dual Kadron carburettors with Plexiglass ‘filters’;Vertex magneto;Saco Products valve dual covers cannon ;EMPI exhaust; skinned heat exchangers GEARBOX Stock Type 1 1300 four speed SUSPENSION Stock 1936 Ford I-beam axle and transverse leaf spring mounted with modified Fordson tractor wishbones; homemade beam adaptor; Panhard rod and no shock absorbers; stock VW steering box mounted sideways and side steer linkage BRAKES…

MODEL 1967 UK-spec Type 144 (RHD) Karmann Ghia 1500 BODYWORK Restored to stock, with additional side passenger mirror repainted in ; Audi Dakota Grey metallic SUSPENSION Dropped spindles, otherwise stock BRAKES Stock 4-bolt VW discs front, drums rear WHEELSAND TYRES 4 x 130 JBW ‘Gas’, 5.5 x 15, ET25; Kumho 145/65R15 and 175/55R15 ENGINE Original H-series 1493cc single port, rebuilt INTERIOR TMI Brick Red OEM Classic seat covers and panels; replacement headliner; oatmeal carpets; original steering wheel, gauges and gear stick…

JOB INFO TOOLS NEEDED Flat blade screwdriver, 10mm and 13mm spanners TIME TAKEN 4-6 hours COST DIY From £0 for parts and materials PRO approx. £150 parts and labour Air-cooled VWs have always enjoyed a good reputation for bulletproof reliability and will often soldier on bravely, despite mechanical problems that would see most cars sidelined. With this in mind, many owners never feel the need to carry out regular servicing, or fault finding, choosing instead to drive them until they stop. Disgraceful as it sounds, that’s just what happens. Of course, even the best maintained and serviced cars can have their faults, with cutting out, flat spots, loss of power and backfiring all traits old VWs can possess. But why put up with this when there’s simple steps you can…

Karl’s 1953 Beetle front spoiler. While it stabilised early Beetles, it did make them look like something out of Mad Max too When Kamei returned to making a front Beetle spoiler in 1972, it looked rather better Kamei’s best-selling Avus steering wheel cover. Das ist lenk-komfort, in case you were wondering Who needed a Volkswagen Type 2 when you could just sleep in your Beetle instead, thanks to Kamei reclining seats? Roof racks and luggage covers were something that Kamei still markets today Kamei’s parcel shelves are much sought-after today. And they’re pretty useful too. Note the extended fuel reserve tap Kamei came up with reclining seats long before Volkswagen did It was probably best not to use this while driving. Especially at night A glovebox make-up kit from Kamei…

Cut here Having decided six inches was the optimum amount to cut off – mainly to dispense with terminal body rot – a cut line was marked four inches above the sills, then Jamie grabbed the angle grinder… Body off No need to mess around undoing all those pesky floorpan bolts, simply cut the body from the floorpan, leaving part place. Cutting remarks What Jamie didn’t expect to find was a pair of razor sharp, rusty metal shears lodged in the base of the offside a-pillar! Still, inspiration for the car’s name had to come from somewhere, right? Inter-section Cutting the body was the easy bit, making it all fit back together was somewhat harder. The doors had to have new bottom sections formed, and the lower hinges had to…

VEHICLE 1965 Sundial refinished Camper, in green and ivory; accessory roof rack; side step CHASSIS Red 9 Design double wishbone IFS with coilovers, disc brakes and rack and pinion steering; Red 9 Design double wishbone IRS with coilovers and disc brakes; 1303 Beetle IRS gearbox WHEELS AND TYRES Porsche 356-style 5.5 x 15-inch steels; stock hubcaps; 185/55-15 tyres all round ENGINE 2332cc turnkey Type 1 built by JCS Volks Machine in Irwindale, California; 84mm crank; 94mm barrels and pistons; JCS cam; dual EMPI 44HPMX carbs Approximate power: 125bhp INTERIOR Full leather re-trim in green / ivory; rock ’n’ roll bed; pull-out buddy seat; yacht deck flooring; Alcantara roof lining; three-zone LED lighting system; bespoke oak cupboards with integrated sink / hob and fridge; auxiliary battery, plug socket and electrical hook…

BODY 1960 Karmann Convertible, re-painted in original L41 black,shaved front indicators; towel rail bumpers; bumper bars; fog lights; Albert swan-neck mirrors; chrome safety star;Robri foot scraper;dual-mount aerial CHASSIS Powder coated black;4-inch narrowed and adjustable front beam; CB dropped spindles; Monroe air shocks; adjustable spring plates; Koni rear shocks BRAKES CSP front disc conversion; stock rear drums WHEELS 4.5 and 5 x 15-inch RDW Randars; 135/70-15 Hankook front tyres;185/65-15 Dunlop rears ENGINE 2110cc Type 1; CB Performance Builder’s Choice stroker kit – AS41 case; 82mm crank; Super Race rods; 90.5mm pistons and cylinders; Mini Wedge Port heads (42 x 37.5); stock rockers; Eagle Racing cam; straight cut 1 cam .5-litre gears; full flow sump oiling ; ; external oil cooler; dual 44IDF Weber carbs; 1-2-3 Ignition; CSP Super Competition exhaust GEARBOX…

Don’t miss it! My friend’s electric The ultimate way to future proof your classic? We investigating the feasibility of fitting an electric motor in your VW Just Kampers We drop in on the Hampshire-based parts specialist to learn about their quest to supply only the best, original parts – and find out more about the panels they make in-house Fuel tank replacement If you smell petrol fumes in your Bus, this could be why. Here’s our step-by-step guide to fitting a spanking new tank Grey Dream believer Restored, crashed and then repaired again. Why life’s too short to drive boring cars……

“even when Volkswagen’s MD tried to restore some sense, he stonewalled” If the name Safer Motoring means anything to you then, like me, you’ve been around VWs for a good few years. The magazine with that not particularly exciting title was launched in 1961 by a former Fleet Street journalist named Bob Wyse, and one day I became only the second editor in its history. But that had been preceded by a spell working for Bob, after he turned up on our doorstep one day to offer me a job as assistant editor. To walk through the door of the terraced house in Cirencester which served as an office was, I quickly discovered, to enter a parallel world. In the centre of a large grease stain on the main office…