Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i VolksWorld

I am going to propose we make 2019 the year of the continental roadtrip. Why? Because the romantic notion of taking your classic Volkswagen across the channel, exploring historic cities and generally ‘doing Europe’ could all become a thing of the past if the bureaucrats get their way. And no, for once, this isn’t all down to Brexit, although who knows what repercussions that might have one day. It’s more about rapidly changing regulations about what vehicles will be allowed to access city centres. According to stuff I’ve read elsewhere, continental countries that have introduced low emission zones may charge or ban older vehicles altogether from bigger conurbations. In other words, places usually dotted on a Michelin map when you’re planning your journey. Yep, there are in excess of 200…

“the chassis and suspension is all detailed in black” The thought of welding the wings to an Oval-era car today is all but unthinkable. But it wasn’t that long ago that Oval and Split Window Bugs were deemed common enough to be given the full custom treatment. And, strange as it may seem, we’re glad that people had the ‘balls’ to chop up and modify early Beetles in the late ’80s and early ’90s. After all, they were one of the most innovative eras in terms of custom VWs and we’re sure the scene wouldn’t be as vibrant or forward-thinking as it is today without those cars. Harking from the town of Kermt in Belgium, 39-year-old Steve Vanoppen explained that his love for VWs was sparked when a friend picked…

Having owned a ‘73 Beetle and a string of water-cooled Volkswagens, 38-year-old James Thorburn from Northampton and his partner, Andrea, have always wanted a VW camper. But, as James puts it, “I was always checking out the classifieds, but it never amounted to anything.” However, having sold a property in France, they came a step closer to realising their dream in 2016, their initial thoughts erring towards something a lot newer than the vehicle you see here. “We considered a T5 at first, but nothing really ticked all the boxes,” said James. “As we live 10 minutes away from Santa Pod, we decided to go to Bug Jam, leaving our three children (then 1, 3 and 10) with in-laws for the day. It was Andrea’s first experience of a VW…

It was once known as the Beetles Reunion but as the show grew in its quarter of a century existence, it has become a show for all classic cars. However, it’s still the VWs that get pride of place it has to be said with the air-cooled fraternity mixing it with the water-cooled owning young ‘uns for the show and shine. The Limerick Show is the largest classic car show outside of Dublin and continues to grow from both the VW side and also the generic classics – but we’re not here to talk those boys up, oh no, we’re here for air-cooled VWs! This year, Kevin Reade decided to organise a cruise for air-cooled VWs at the show. His clever idea meant that when arriving at the meeting point…

A hard pedal when braking or pulling to one side is a sure sign that something is amiss up front. Whichever model of air-cooled VW you own, if it has front disc brakes fitted, this can be an indication that one or more pistons in the brake calipers have seized. This can also be a problem at MoT time, causing brake binding or imbalance, both of which are MoT failure points and dangerous to boot. If your car is now MoT exempt, then there’s even more reason to keep on top of the mechanical condition of your car. If you know there’s a problem, especially with the braking system, why wait? Whilst there are many different types of air-cooled VW brake calipers available brand new off the shelf, there’s a…

2019 January VolksWorldSpares Day Date: 27 Jan 2019 Location: South of England Event Centre, Ardingly RH17 6TL Contact: www.volksworldshows.com February Dubfreeze Date:16-17 Feb 2019 Location:Bingley Hall, Staffs County Showground ST18 0BD Contact: www.dubfreeze.co.uk March UK Cruise to Ninove Date: 16 March 2019 Location: Meet at Eurotunnel Contact: @ukcruisetoninove Freddy Files Date: 17 March 2019 Location: Ninove, Belgium Contact: @thesexysemaphoresunday The VolksWorldShow Date:23-24 March 2019 Location:Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey Contact: www.volksworldshows.com April CamperFest Date:18-22 April 2019 Location:Chester Racecourse Contact: www.camperfest.co.uk Dubs Collective Dubs in Wonderland Date: 19-22 April 2019 Location: Himley Hall, Dudley DY3 4DF Contact: www.dubscollective.com Run a show? Why not tell us about it? email VolksWorld.ed@kelsey.co.uk…

Guess what? It’s the 70th anniversary of the first Karmann built Beetle Cabriolet this year. To mark the occasion, we are not only planning a special celebration in our July 2019 issue but we intend to put on a bit of a shindig at The VolksWorldShow in March, too. Now, we’ve got a few stunning cars already to make up a suitable topless display, but if you own a nice, original ‘50s, 60s or 70s Cabbie and think it would make a good showcar, then drop us a line with some details. Send them to volksworld.ed@kelsey.co.uk.…

SHOW CARS REQUIRED We always pride ourselves on having the very best show cars from around the globe atVolksWorldand this year we have already had some great vehicles apply! Let us know now if you are planning to have a car or Bus ready to be unveiled at VolksWorld2019. It could even be a potential Top 20 Winner, but either way we want to hear from you. If you are interested in displaying your car or Bus, please email some brief details and a couple of pictures toian.cushway@kelseymedia.co. ukor paul.knight@kelseymedia.co.uk KIDS ZONE At TheVolksWorldShow we strive ensure there’s something for everyone, which is exactly why we always have a Kids’ Zone for the little ones to enjoy. The Kids’ Zone is a safe place for…

As classic VWs and Patina have become more fashionable, a wave of energetic and often well-heeled newcomers have washed up onto the VW scene. Some may decry this for pushing car prices up, but there’s no denying it has done wonders for the quality and availability of reproduction parts and panels. When I first saw Drew Pritchard on TV’s Salvage Hunters checking out a prospective Beetle purchase, I assumed at first that he was just jumping on the VW bandwagon, but I was later to find out that I was sorely mistaken. You see, Drew has had a thing for VWs virtually as long as he’s been into antiques; unlike some of us, he knew exactly what he wanted to do from a very young age. Having enrolled on his…

“the ride quality is excellent, even when rolling super low” There’s no point in beating about the bush here. If we’re brutally honest, the Type 3 scene has traditionally been pretty much all about the early model cars. Those ’62-’69 models just encapsulate the era perfectly and, despite looking quite unlike anything VW had built before that point, they captured the imagination of a whole new customer base and went on to further the air-cooled brand. However, with ever-tightening safety concerns (especially in the US) and market pressure to update the body style for the 1970s, VW went on to redesign the Type 3 range in August of 1969 with a longer and more squared-off front end (some 12cm longer than the previous model), which was necessary to achieve the…

Anyone who has been to a VW show in Ireland will surely have seen the Ostküste boys arriving and lining up together. The Ostküste club was formed by likeminded VW enthusiasts in the Garden of Ireland, Wicklow. They all share a passion for VWs but have a penchant for lowered, loud and awesome VWs; there’s nothing humdrum here. As a club, Ostküste is not limited to just air-cooled VWs but it’s the Beetles that usually steal the show. The annual Ostküste Show in June welcomes all VAG models built up to and including 1996. It is held in Avoca, County Wicklow and given that the weather for the 2018 show was probably the hottest all summer, it simply made a brilliant show even better. I travelled over the Wicklow Mountains…

On Saturday September 15 the historic cobbles of Hilden Brewery, Lisburn once again echoed to the sound of the air-cooled flat four as the Northern Beetle and Bus Owners Club (NBOC) descended for their annual Bugs at the Brewery. In its fourth year, 2018 saw the largest turn out of vehicles and day visitors with all tickets selling out for this unique show. The quaint setting of Hilden Brewery makes this a special and chilled-out family day. Once cars are parked up outside the Georgian Manor House and around the Stables Courtyard, the NBOC have exclusive use of the Hilden site. This includes an enclosed garden with teepees, courtyard with picnic tables and the award winning Tap Rooms restaurant and bar. The enclosed nature of the site means the young’uns…

I’m an expat living in Australia. I’ve been a fan of the mag since the very first issue as I worked for the company in Wiltshire that printed it. In fact, I used to get told off for reading it at work as an apprentice! Well, I’ve spent the last five years here in the sunshine replacing every nut and bolt on a 1960 Beetle – and here’s my story of how I did it. Best intentions I bought my first Beetle in England in 1989 when I was 17 during the height of the UK Cal Look scene. I owned a selection of brightly painted Bugs throughout the nineties, moving on to a Mk1 GTI and ultimately a beautiful 911 Porsche. Then – you know where this is going…

Kids have it tough these days. Certain sections of the gutter press would have us all believe each and every one of the little blighters is an entitled snowflake. Living with a moody teenager myself, I know that’s not far off the mark. The one who skulks around my biscuit tin doesn’t even know how to make a cup of tea FFS, but they’re not all like that… In fact, there’s a young whippersnapper who makes me a mean brew (in a clean cup!) each and every time I visit Wymeswold’s finest VW specialists – Johnson Autoworks. Twenty-year-old Josh Brooker is the cheery Chai wallah, with the can do, rather than can’t be arsed attitude. His boss, Steve Johnson, and co-workers Simon Sparrow and Step certainly wouldn’t put up with…

In 1983 the unthinkable happened, when the third generation of Volkswagen’s Transporter switched from air-cooled to water-cooled engines. Granted, the writing had been on the wall since the end of the 1970s, when Beetle production was shuffled off to VW’s Mexican and Brazilian outposts, leaving the Type 2 as the last bastion of the air-cooled engine in Europe. So when the T3 appeared in 1979, it was quite a surprise that it didn’t make the jump to water cooling; VW claiming that the existing engines were successful, reliable and durable. The reality was that it probably intended to use Golf-derived engines, but that model was selling so well that VW’s engine foundry simply couldn’t supply enough. “it was so secret that even the higher management levels of Volkswagen were initially…