Innehållsförteckning för January 2016 från VolksWorld

Because it’s fun, fun, fun! Martin Hennessy, via email Dear VolksWorld, I’m writing (for the first time ever in response to a magazine article) in response to Mike Pye’s article on the Barndoor and why most owners of these wonderful old vehicles have to modify them? Because it’s fun to do so! Like so many of your readers, I own an old VW (Early Bay Westy), which the same money at the time of purchase would have got me a pristine Type 25 or a very nice T4, both in my opinion “better” vehicles, but no, I spent our hard-earned cash on a wandering (steering box), scary at times (drum brakes), slow (1.6 single port), draughty old bone shaker (lowered) because: A) We love him (he’s called Bernard) and B)…

So how does this car compare to your Ghia to drive? I asked. “You get more looks in the Ghia, no doubt about that, but the Beetle is by far the superior drive. The Ghia is a lot lower, it’s got no front shocks, no suspension travel, 17s and low profile tyres, so the odds are stacked against it. I used to say I’d never do air, but I’ve been converted with this car. You really can drive it with your little finger. It’s unbelievable how smooth it is, and because of that you get much more enjoyment out of the drive. “It’s only got air shocks on the front, and there’s no air tank, so it just works off the compressor. It takes about three or four seconds to…

TECH INFO BODY: 1972 Type 3 Fastback with pre-’70 wings, engine lid, rear lights, reflectors and bumpers ENGINE: 1584cc twin-port Type 3 ‘pancake’ with twin Solex 32PDSIT carbs INTERIOR: Original seats re-trimmed to give an earlier look; VDM steering wheel; additional oil temperature and pressure gauges; rev counter WHEELS AND TYRES: Original 5.5 x 15 steel Lemmerz / EMPI Sprint Stars; 155 x 15 and 165 x 15 Firestone F560s The north Somerset coastal town on the Severn estuary, eight miles west of Bristol, was put on the map in 1991 when a band chose to use the name and their music attained worldwide acclaim. Portishead is also home to the owner of this 1972 Type 3 Fastback, 48-year-old John Hollyman, and this is his story. John is hardly a…

“Sort of hillbilly, made on an island feel” TECH INFO BODY: ’71 Beetle converted into a pick-up then early looked; handmade pickup bed; ’glass rear wings of unknown origin INTERIOR: See for yourself! ENGINE: 2.1-litre Type 4; Turbo Thomas header; dual Supertrapp mufflers; twin Weber HPMXs WHEELS AND TYRES: 4.5 and 9J (banded) Soith African Sp[rint Stars; 145/65s and 255/60s SUSPENSION: custom narrowed beam with inboard shock toweres, Monroe MA785 air shocks on front, Viair 380 compressor, 5l air tank In my experience, VW people from Exeter march to the beat of a different drum. And Steven Smith, the owner of this one-of-a-kind Beetle pick-up admits that. “We’re all a bit quirky round here,” he says with a chuckle. There have always been trends in the VW scene that can…

OWNER INFO NAME: Steve Parsons OCCUPATION: Graphic designer and illustrator CAR: 1961 Split WORK THIS MONTH: Blend in paint, source some temporary chunky tyres, have a lot of fun! Way back in February, my Bus had just earned its first UK MoT certificate and I was about to apply to the DVLA for the registration mark. I’ve heard countless tales of folk having issues obtaining reg. numbers for their freshly imported vehicles – the DVLA not accepting various bits of paperwork, needing further clarification on age, that sort of thing – so I was slightly concerned this may be a drawn out procedure. I needn’t have worried though, as all went smoothly and, within a few weeks of posting my bumpf off, a reg was issued. Happy days! So, with…

In an acting career lasting over half a century, Dean Jones, who died at the beginning of September, made over 50 films. But he will forever be remembered for his appearances alongside a certain white VW Beetle. because Jones was Jim Douglas, the human foil to Disney’s Herbie. Jones was born in January 1931 in Huntsville, Alabama. A career in entertainment beckoned from the start – while at high school, he had his own local radio show. After a spell in the US Navy during the Korean War, he went to work at the Bird Cage Theatre near Los Angeles in California. This put him handily close to the centre of the American film industry and, in 1956, Jones started his movie career for MGM, with a small role in…

Don’t know what to buy your loved one for Christmas? If so, why not treat them to a weekend at The VolksWorld Show? Tickets are available now at a discounted price from www.volksworldshow.com and, as an added bonus, if you order before December 1 2015, we’ll send you a VW-themed Christmas card to put your tickets in, along with a limited edition show sticker. The VolksWorld Show has been 25 years in the making, come and help us celebrate. Help us to improve Camper&Bus If you already enjoy C&Bmagazine, we’d love five minutes of you time to help us make Camper&Busthe magazine you want to read by completing our online survey. For your efforts, you could win £250 off your next insurance policy, or one of 100 show t-shirts. You’ll…

Heralded as a refreshing newcomer to a show season that’s already fit to bursting with events, both here in the UK and in Europe, Volkslife’s pre-event sales pitch promised to put the cars first and the music second. Hosted by the good people at Shakespeare County Raceway, the outcome was a drag strip-focussed event with a charity cruise for the nearby Shakespeare Hospice and a lovely little smattering of show ‘n’ shine on the side. As ever with a newcomer, it’s tough to differentiate one’s self from the well established shows out there who can trade on their heritage and name alone, but this promising new venture looks certain to be hit with those more about the go than the show. From what we’ve been told, numbers through the gate…

Robert Latham, 1967 Beetle Prior to its restoration, Robert Latham’s ’67 Beetle was a complete wreck, originally finished in Java Green. The restoration work was completed by Robert and his father, Ken, and included new floorpans, heater channels, rear quarters and repairs to the rear valance, as new old stock ’67 ones are like hen’s teeth. The bonnet had been jumped on, so that too needed repairing, and a set of Day Mouldings glass fibre wings were introduced into the mix as well. Rather than stick with the original Java Green, Robert chose to have the car painted in Gulf Blue as he preferred it, and fitted US-specification towel rail bumpers and polished repro BRMs to add a bit of ‘bling’. The interior has also undergone a major makeover and…

Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August welcomed one of our seasonal favourites back to Santa Pod for the annual festival of family VW fun, 24-hour party people and some explosive drag strip action. The Saturday VWDRC rounds and invited pro racers put on a fantastic display of burnt rubber, fried clutches and mangled CV joints, with a host of specially invited German water-cooled chaps running in the mid-8s in their incredible street legal early Polos and Golfs. Show-wise, there was a great selection of both air and water-cooled metal to choose from, with my personal favourites being Dave Forder’s mind blowing German Looker (Best Engineering) and Shaun Howe’s House of Kolor’d masterpiece (see p20) scooping the Best Custom Air-Cooled gong. Action is a show that can’t be missed, so gather…

OWNER INFO NAME: Jon Robinson-Pratt OCCUPATION: Photographer CARS OWNED: ’64 Bug WORK THIS MONTH: Replace compressor, add signwriting bolt on goodies So I finally sold my Bus and bought a Beetle! In a world of upgrading, up-scaling and moving on up to bigger and better, I downsized. Buses and Vans are very ‘on trend’ at the moment and, consequently, my 1970 Early Bay was worth too much to be sitting out the back of my house unused. Besides, I’ve been hankering after a pre-’67 Beetle for some time now, figuring it would be more useable and accessible. I first saw this Anthracite ‘64 (featured in the November 2015 issue) about five years ago being driven across a show field by good friend and VW stalwart, Toby Hall. It was love…

Early Bay front arch From: www.customandcommercial.com  Price: £224.99 Got a ’68-’71 (Early) Bay with crusty front wheelarches? Who hasn’t, right? For years, the only replacements available were poor quality pattern parts, but the guys at Custom & Commercial are now offering what they describe as “a top quality complete front wheelarch made on a brand new pressing from OEM gauge steel.” Sounds good to us. At the time of going to press they were offering a 10% discount, so snap yours up while that still applies Remember those great Volkswagen ads? From: www.greatvwads.com  Price: £20 + p&p This book By Alfredo Marcantonio, David Abbott and John O’Driscoll Price is a sheer, unmitigated joy from cover to cover. With previous editions long out of print and very…

TECH INFO BODY: 1962 Beetle; snowflake tail lights; Split side trim; pop-outs; Kochs horn grilles INTERIOR: Re-trimmed in ginger biscuit vinyl; EMPI VDM steering wheel; Berg shifter; Aircooled Accessories turn signal cover ENGINE: 1835cc Type 1; 40 Dells; CSP manifolds; Vintage Speed exhaust GEARBOX: 1600 GT with short axles SUSPENSION: Dogback 4-inch narrowed beam; dropped spindles; Volksproject compressor; Monroe air shocks; Transporterhaus adjustable spring plates; VW discs and drums in Porsche PCD Last time we left Shaun Howe it was driving off into the sunset in his divine Diamond Green Ghia, its 17-inch AIR Evos glinting in the sun. That was in our Summer 2013 issue. Understandably, that car received plenty of attention, at shows, in magazines and on the street but, as with anything at the top of its…

“A restoration that has saved as much of the original VW metal as possible” TECH INFO BODY: 1961 Deluxe Beetle; L87 Pearl White ENGINE: Stock 1200cc engine INTERIOR: Wool headliner; TMI seat covers and door panels; oatmeal square weave carpets; VW Heritage seat belts; Wolfsburg West sun visors; Retro Sound radio; Dehne fuel gauge WHEELS AND TYRES: Stock steels; 155R15 radial tyres For Arran Simms, this 1961 Beetle is not his first VW, but it is his first air-cooled VW. Having grown up watching his father constantly changing his cars, Arran has dabbled with various different makes over the years. He’s restored two MGs, has had a number of Mk1 Golfs, including a desirable GTi, and has just started on a 1989 Land Rover Defender 90 project. So it’s fair…

“There were so many outstanding concepts” “To me, it was magical. Those ads cast a spell on me.” Like so many people, Alfredo Marcantonio found himself captivated and inspired by Volkswagen’s advertising during its golden air-cooled era. However, unlike most people, he was lucky enough to find himself right in the centre of the action, as Volkswagen UK’s advertising manager during the first half of the 1970s. His role was planning, organising and running VW’s ad campaigns, at a time when the marque was becoming firmly established in Britain and shortly after Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), the agency responsible for so much brilliant VW advertising in America, had taken over the British side of things, too. What a time to be working for the company. And in such a position.…

JOB INFO TOOLS NEEDED: Spark plug socket 13mm spanner Flat-blade screwdriver 21mm socket for fan belt 10mm socket Feeler gauges, Hammer 7mm spanner to bleed 10mm nuts MATERIALS USED: Oil (2.5 litres) Oil change gasket set Rocker gaskets x2 Spark plugs x4 Contact breaker points Condenser Hot air pipe Headlight switch TIME TAKEN: 2 hours for engine service COST DIY: £45-£50 PRO: £300 (full day, 32-point inspection) Ashiny VW is a lovely thing to behold, but if the mechanical components beneath it are not up to scratch, then life behind the wheel is never going to be great. And so it was with my ex-Discovery channel Beetle. Rescued from the production company’s compound, it looked tidy and presentable from 10 paces, but under the decklid, where it counts, all was…