Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i VolksWorld

Nowadays, when Volkswagen brings out a new model, it’s usually a complete range from day one. You wouldn’t go to the dealer asking to order a Double Cab Pick-up, for example, only be told they don’t make one. But in the 1950s, when VW introduced the Transporter, it was uncharted territory. The manufacturer didn’t know what exact applications its new model we would be put to, and were open to suggestions. Being a direct descendent of the ‘Plattenwagen’ trucks that used to ferry parts around the Wolfsburg factory, the new Transporter was an open book kind of design. It was the Plattenwagen that inspired Dutch VW importer, Ben Pon, to draw his simplistic sketch for a van, and then badger Herr General Direktor at the time, Heinz Nordhoff, to put…

Many people inspire us here at VolksWorld. Almost every tale we hear is one of adversity, passion and overcoming difficulty. That’s just the way it is when you have a passion for old cars, but for Barry Grunnell, 49, from Felixstowe, his journey has been an exceptional one of hard graft, guts and determination, together with a can-do attitude that’s as heart warming as it is inspirational. We don’t want to harp on too much about the past, so let’s just say that when Baz was a younger man, he found himself living on the streets of Luton after getting a little bit too heavily involved in the illegal rave scene of the time, and losing everything as a consequence. Pedal power The break he needed came when he was…

“104 significant air-cooled VWs were gathered together under one roof” Thankfully, the days of signs stating, ‘No VWs, no Minitrucks’ at local cruise nights are now behind us. Even prestigious events such as the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida hosted a class for coachbuilt VWs in 2019, and this year the legendary Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) followed suit. Not familiar with the GNRS? Well, it’s the longest continuously running hot rod show in the world. Al Slonaker and his wife, Mary, launched the indoor event in 1950 and it took place in the San Francisco region for decades. But when businessman and car enthusiast, John Buck, took over the GNRS in 2004, he moved the three-day spectacle to the Fairplex in Pomona, Southern California. Since then, it has…

The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) operates a large fleet of mobile mechanics in yellow-painted cars that assist motorists in trouble along the autobahns and side roads. Very much like the British AA, only in Germany. And in a similar way, the original objective of ADAC was the representation, promotion and advocacy of motoring, motorsport and tourism interests, through subsidiaries that produce city maps, road maps and atlases and operate a number of driver safety centres. Its original and most well-known customer service, however, remains roadside assistance. The toy industry caught onto the popularity of the yellow-painted cars with recognisable liveries early on, and produced scale versions of the many different makes and models over the years, including, naturally, representations of the various Volkswagen vehicles employed. The toys usually feature the…

We’re thrilled to announce The VolksWorld Show will be happening in 2022, and the much-anticipated event is shaping up to be the best for years. While we don’t want to spoil all the surprises just yet, here’s a little taster of what’s in store. The world’s leading car care specialist, Meguiar’s, has announced its continued sponsorship, and will again be giving all of the Top 20 trophy winners a gift pack of cleaning products to keep their cars in tip-top condition throughout this year’s show season. Similarly, our very good friends at Heritage Parts Centre are also continuing their support by sponsoring the California Look display, and will be there in strength at Sandown, so be sure to drop by their trade stand, too. We’re also excited to confirm we…

survived intact for the best part of a quarter of a century Star date 2000, July (probably May or June actually) and I’m on way to Burnley in Lancashire in a Link House pool car to meet up with Steve Gilbert and Der Fridolin. Little did I know at the time the hilarity that would ensue that weekend, but I did know I was very excited. You see, Steve and team VolksWorld had been having a little bit of a competition over the previous year or so. We’d both bought Fridolins in the late ’90s, thinking they were the coolest things since sliced bread, despite looking a bit like a loaf of unsliced bread. Ours was a Swiss Post version pulled out of a field in Speyer, Germany for us…

When Paul Renney heard about a totally original and unmolested 1957 Volkswagen Beetle for sale locally, he thought it all sounded a bit too good to be true. Yet when he went to see it, the time warp survivor that stood in front of him turned out to be even better than he imagined, and caused him to re-think his ideas for what he wanted to do with it. His original idea of a hot motor, a colour change and a few tasty modifications was soon ditched in favour of a sympathetic restoration. 48-year-old Paul first became involved in the air-cooled VW scene at 16, a passion many of his school friends conveniently shared, too. “I was already attending VW shows with my father, and I managed to buy my…

handmade parts and paint to die for. That said, so did Gary Stell jnr’s Split, Tur-moil, built by Buddy Hale and the crew at Type One Restorations in Arizona. This car is a study in detail and craftsmanship and was commended on many levels, taking home Outstanding Detail, Outstanding Display, Outstanding Engineering, Outstanding Undercarriage and a Slonaker Achievement Award. That’s a huge accolade in the company it was keeping and a credit to all involved. We mentioned in the main story that two VWs were in contention for the Al Slonaker Memorial Award this year, which sits alongside the AMBR (America’s Most Beautiful Roadster) award, but for non-roadster cars. The category is open to any type of car and, as you can imagine, competition is intense and judging a rigorous…

“you really need to see it in the sunlight to fully appreciate it” utside of a Porsche engine drops right in the hole cliché, that the Karmann Ghia was underpowered is right up there in pub chat circles when it comes to Volkswagen ‘knowledge’. However, the reason it is said so often is because it is painfully, woefully true. Undeniably, one of the most beautiful sports coupé designs of all time, and VW could only muster a maximum of 50bhp from a 1584cc engine before production ceased in 1974. It’s almost criminal. Of course, there are mitigating circumstances. For cost reasons, the Ghia was developed around the existing Beetle platform, and used many of the same parts, including the engine. So ultimately what you have is the performance of a…

Sadly, I couldn’t find a picture of our Fridolin when we bought it, but maybe someone who remembers it can? It was piebald red and grey, had two bumpers welded together on the front, plastic garden ‘safety’ chains across the doors and pornography stashed in the side panels. You remember it, surely? We had it welded up and Luke at Terry’s Beetle Services kindly painted in Porsche Blood Orange for us, then it was rebuilt on the cheap out the back of my old flat in South Croydon (Sanderstead actually, darling) and nobody paid it the blindest bit of attention as Steve’s was so much better. Still, we had a giggle with it and everyone that saw us driving it pointed, laughed and shouted Postman Pat. Good times.…

Where once they were an unknown part of VW’s lineage outside Germany and Switzerland, most Volkswagen people now know what a Fridolin is. Even some people outside the ‘inner circle’ have cottoned on. Few, however, will rave on about the Type 147’s design qualities. Functional it is. Pretty, handsome even, it is not. Then again, why should it be? When conceived by Volkswagen and Westfalia coachworks in the spring of 1962, they didn’t have to convince retail customers to buy the new vehicle from local dealerships. It simply had to carry 400kg, have sliding doors so it could navigate narrow streets and offer easy access for a single driver to the payload. In other words, it had to be a small, functional, cost-effective delivery vehicle. It did not have to…

It’s funny how easy it is to go from liking and admiring someone to actively avoiding them. Take, for argument’s sake, Jamie Oliver, and you might see what I mean. What started as a fun and fresh cookery series soon threatened to dominate our TV screens, high streets and bookshop shelves. And then, when it began to get a bit boorish and preachy, we suspect lots of people switched off. I know I did. If you’re in the VW scene and noted Jamie’s ‘struggles’ with the purple and white 23-window Split on his series Exploring Italy, you probably switched the TV off at that point, too. The bottom line is, when you ask too much of what amounts to a 50-year-old vehicle and then throw your teddy out of the…