Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i VWT Lifestyle

Where from: www.autofinesse.com How much: see text Auto Finesse has launched a range of new detailing products designed to keep your Bus gleaming whatever the weather. The Bucket Buddy (£14.95) is an ideal detailing tool caddy and has integral brush storage to prevent cross contamination. Their ObliTARate gel tar and glue remover is a brand new viscous formula, developed so it lingers on the surface long enough to dissolve sticky contaminates. It’s safe on all painted and powder coated surfaces and quickly melts away tar spots, overspray, glue residues and a load of other nasties. A 500ml bottle is £13.95. If you buy detailing products in bulk, the firm’s Pressure Sprayer (£24.95) is a must. Equipped with a 2-litre bottle, it’s ideal for decanting products from 5-litre containers, or for…

Thou now ravished bride of sputteringThou foster-child of escape and slow time,Memory historian, who now canst expressA flowery tale more sweetly than the road…. In A Bird on a Wire, Leonard Cohen tells us“You must not ask for too much” And then “Why not ask for more?” Depending on your view We should feel blessed or fortunateTo have an escape from the malaiseEven if only for a little while. To have the road and a song With an attempt to leave it all behind,To wish for more Knowing it is already enough. The easy plateauThat lies straight up the hillHeaving and straining and striving ever towardsOnly to flame out along the wayMatching the burnt orange paintWith flames And, little Texas, thy streets for evermoreWill silent be; and not a soul…

Danbury is BACK! Well, not like it ever went away but the values of what the brand has stood for since 1964 have definitely made a welcome return. Since 2017 the company spent time under the stewardship of the French motorhome manufacturer Pilote, when the type of vehicles wearing the Danbury name became somewhat varied – but no more! From here on out it’s a purely Volkswagen focused operation again since the acquisition of the company by Dorset-based Vanworx late in 2020. As part of the ongoing changes the long-standing Bristol based operation has moved down the M5 to a brand new factory in Bridgwater, Somerset. Sales Manager, Simon Haynes who previously worked for Danbury in Bristol runs the new place. We sat down with him recently to learn more…

The OE+ steel look is all the rage these days, which is why adding a few extra inches to the width of a steel wheel is still a popular custom modification. Widening a wheel involves cutting off the rim (the face of the wheel that is seen when it’s fitted onto the vehicle) and extending it with a strip of steel before welding the wheel back together again. This sort of work requires a high degree of accuracy to ensure the wheel rotates true and the band that is inserted remains airtight, so don’t expect to be able to do this at home with a MIG welder and a tape measure. However, we were impressed by the ingenuity of father and son Dom and Jim at Alonze Custom Fabrication in…

What Buses have you owned, do you have one at the moment? I’ve had four Bay Windows, a T4 and now a black VW Crafter called Beastie Boy, named after my wife Erika’s favourite band. So what was your favourite? Old skool Bus was cool for the younger years, T4 next step, now VW Crafter. It’s been a natural progression. Where’s the weirdest places you’ve camped in your Van? On the pavement by a busy road. Every time a car passed the Van shook. New Forest in the pitch black, Erika wouldn’t let me stop though, she thought we were going to get killed. Have you got any oddball camping rituals, like always having to have a pair of slippers on inside, or pitching up facing the toilet block? Erika…

Tickets have now gone on sale for the 2022 VolksWorld Show. After a gap of three years, we’re dying to get back to the usual Sandown Park venue for what promises to be one of the most highly-anticipated events on next year’s VW show calendar. We’ve got some awesome cars signed up already and a whole host of exciting new themes, details of which we’ll be revealing in the next few months so hold on tight and watch this space. Just to remind you, the important dates for your diary are the 19th and 20th March, 2022. For more information and ticket purchases, visit www.volksworldshow.com. If you’ve got tickets for the postponed 2020 and 2021 events, these will be simply transferred to 2022. Oh, and if you would like to…

Where from: www.heritagepartscentre.com How much: £134.95 If you drive a third generation VW Transporter you won’t need reminding about their ability to rust, and the lower front panel is prime real estate for a tin worm seeking residence. Repeatedly sprayed by road salt all year round and arguably first to arrive at an accident, it’s little surprise that this sheet metal collects scabs and scrapes in all the places which should be solid. You can’t unwind the hands of time and completely rid it of rust, so why not fit fresh metal instead courtesy of the Sussex-based parts specialist who now stock the lower front panel for WBX and Diesel models. Oh, and they can also supply the air-cooled version on a special-order basis if required (£154.95).…

T4/T5 BOTTLE OPENER You need to be prepared to party at any time. So, arm yourself with one of these fully licensed VW key ring bottle openers from Heritage available in either a T4 or T5 design. Essential for popping that bottle of beer or cider around the campfire or Xmas tree. Price £14 www.heritagepartscentre.com GTI STYLE RED PLAID SEAT COVERS These Classic GTD, GTI or GTE style grey plaid seat covers from Just Kampers have been designed to give the interior of your T5, T5.1, T6 and T6.1 a stylish look whilst providing great protection for your original seats. Simple to install and made from high-quality leatherette. Priced from £150 www.justkampers.com TRANSPORTER HQ TRUCKER CAPS Get your naked head covered up with one of six THQ panel trucker caps.…

We’ve all been there; you own one car (or Bus in this case) when your dream vehicle comes up for sale. Sometimes when this happens, you may have a sleepless night or two weighing up whether it’s worth selling your current whip to fund a new purchase, whereas other times you know instantly that you have to make it happen. For Tony Crump from Chingford, London, the decision was immediately clear; there was no sleeping on it or hours of deliberation: “I was away in the Lake District when a pal sent me a link for this Syncro, which came with a Golf TDI engine as well. After a few messages, we’d agreed a price and a deposit was sent,” adds Tony. The Bay Window (that they were away camping…

When we think of vehicles from the ’70s still on our roads, the VW Type 2 VW Transporter must surely be the one we still see around the most. It’s certainly reassuring to see them being driven on a regular basis when most of their contemporaries have long since disappeared. That said, tracking down an original and unmolested RHD example for sale would prove an altogether more challenging experience for John and Julie Lilley. “We’d been going to classic car rallies for around 15 years when we first discussed the idea of buying a campervan,” John tells us, “we used to take a Triumph Stag and a Herald convertible to shows most weekends.” These shows often took place over a few days and although the Triumphs were undoubtedly pure British…

Having missed out on VW Action last year (another show-victim of the Covid lockdown), we were all buzzing to get back into the swing of things by heading to Santa Pod for a weekend of fun and games with like-minded VW folk. If you’ve never been to VW Action you should perhaps add this one to your VW events bucket list as there truly is something for everyone. Not only are we talking about a weekend of camping but there’s also drag racing, show and shine, club Olympics, a fun fair, trade area, a drive-in movie and some truly superb evening entertainment, too. The week leading up to the show was unseasonably warm and, as the forecast was excellent for the weekend, families and VW fans from around the country…

After a year off for obvious reasons, a date has been set for the 11th annual Heritage Parts Centre Santa Cruise, in aid of The Children’s Trust. Scheduled for Sunday 12 December this fantastic festive fundraiser is ideal for enthusiasts who like to have a bit of fun, and not take things too seriously. In exchange for £20, you’ll be handed a pair of Santa suits, a sticker and a map. Whilst the convoy won’t be able to drive to Tadworth this year as the children are staying in isolation, B Road Hunting Club, based just outside Lewes will act as a suitable substitute destination for the drive out. No tickets are required, but you are encouraged to express your interest via the Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/1JHZqRhCu Drivers of Volkswagen and…

Michael Schleu, 1972 Bay Window Hi, Camper&Bus. First I want to thank you for a good and inspiring magazine. I am writing to you because I have been building a ’72 Bay for a few years and now it’s starting to take shape and close to being ready to hit the roads I thought you might like to print some pics in your magazine. When I bought it the Bus had been in storage for a few years. The previous owner used it to transport flowers to a market in Stockholm, Sweden. I drove it as it was for a few years until I decided to realise my dream of creating a low, mild custom street Bus. The plan was to keep everything original, retain the patina and add a…

Regular readers will likely remember Billy Davila’s ‘World’s Best Deluxe’ from our September issue. However, truth be told, when I put our ace snapper Andrew Thompson in touch with Billy on one of his trips to California it was the amazing original paint ’62 you see here that was the reason. And if it looks somehow familiar, that’s because it’s the Bus from the cover of my second Patina book – How to Build a Patina Volkswagen. That was down to part happy accident that I had Andy’s amazing pics on hand when I began putting the book together and, well, I couldn’t think of a more deserving Bus to use. To recap on what I said about Billy previously, he’s been into VWs since the ’80s, so has had…

Long-term readers will know how much I loved my old Bay Window. As the former editor of Camper&Bus, it was more than just great content for the mag, it was a vehicle I adored, both camping in and driving. Sadly, it had to go during lockdown. As much as I’d love to still have it in my garage, the simple truth of the matter is the money came in handy and it just wasn’t being used as much as it should have. The old Bay was simply too small, too slow and too low to fit the entire family in so it was sold on, and both myself and my partner Sophie instantly felt its loss. Needing a tow Whilst Soph’s boys are at the stage where they’re pretty much…

01 The writing’s on the wall You can tell a lot about a tyre from the markings on the sidewall. The most obvious bit of info is size, comprising of tyre section width in milimetres, the aspect ratio of section height to section width (as a percentage), tyre construction and wheel rim size in inches. So, in this example the width is 215, the aspect ratio 65, R is for ‘radial’ and the rim size is 16in. The C in this case means it’s rated suitable for fitment on Vans – and yes, ideally you need to fit specific ‘van’ tyres on a Bus as they tend to have stronger eight- or 16-ply sidewall construction. You’ll also be able to get the tyre’s speed and weight ratings too, the latter…

I am sad to report I’ve been having a few sleepless nights recently about the T25. And no, not about its rust, rubbish performance or reliability. It’s a small matter of the French authorities, although if you know how the French authorities operate and appreciate their love of paperwork, nothing is ever ‘small’. I won’t bore you with all the details but when I bought the Bus here in Brittany last May I was aware that there was an issue with the French registration document, known as the Carte Gris (grey card). While all the other details on it are correct, for some reason my Bus is down as a ‘nine-seater estate’ not a camper. I can only think that because it was first registered in Germany, the error somehow…