dune buggies and hotVWs January 2018

Dear Readers, Advertisers, and Fans of Hot VWs Magazine from all over the world... We just couldn’t believe it – it’s already Halloween. Actually, we might have already reached Thanksgiving, by the time you have this issue in hand… There is only one month left before the end of 2017 and the end of a fun VW show season; the Holiday Season and New Year are just around the corner. Since OCI Media took over Hot VWs Magazine’s operation starting with the May issue, it has been a nonstop rollercoaster ride for us. We even moved our office a few weeks ago. It was fun to go through all kinds of 50-year-old archives, finding amazing stuff; but it was a mess! Still, I’m not sure how we managed to complete…

IRS Axle On the IRS axle, there is a concave washer behind the C.V. in the boot. What is it used for? Dave Lane Lowell, IN That’s a great question, and I’m afraid it’s a matter of opinion. I think the original idea was to limit or cushion the location of the C.V. joint on the shaft so that it winds up in just the right position on the shaft splines. Having said that, I’ve seen plenty of Type 1 axles that didn’t have these washers installed, and they had no apparent issues. The Official Bentley manual says to reinstall the washer when you change C.V. joints. Having said that, if you read your Bentley manual for the Type 2 (Bus), it tells us that the washer was discontinued on…

Ah, the holidays. Conjures up pleasant memories of childhoods filled with toys. And if you’re like many of us, the years have passed but the toys remain, to help us feel nurtured and loved into our adulthood. We have several display cases of toys from our youth, including favorite dolls and puppets, as well as those we’ve collected as adults, primarily our Volkswagens. Like most enthusiasts, it isn’t enough to just have the cars to drive, we must also have the smaller versions in diecast models, ornaments, and collectibles. For the true definition of a vintage VW enthusiast is one who decorates their home in Mid-Century Modern Volkswagen! One of our favorite toy collectors here in the Midwest is the Bugman himself, Jerry O’Hara, from Gahanna, Ohio. We met Jerry…

I have been getting asked a lot what is a good engine combo for a daily driver. This is such a loaded question and everybody has their opinion on this subject. So, I am going to explain how I pick out a motor combo and why. I suggest you listen to my opinion and the opinion of others and form your own. This will have to be broken up into a few different articles to adequately explain. In this first part we need to explore what your plans are for the car. To me, a daily driver is a car we can hop in and drive and drive out of town and go anywhere anytime. This motor is one that you build and have only the normal maintenance, like adjusting…

Driving an old VW can be an adventure. Anyone who has spent any serious time behind the wheel of an air-cooled VW has experienced some mechanical issues, it truly is a part of the territory I think. They are great cars - that, we can all agree - but a part of the real “brotherhood” of VW owners comes with the initiation of greasy fingers and bloody knuckles on the side of the road somewhere. One of the best parts about these side-of-the-road adventures is that they often give us some good “war stories” to share with our fellow VW nuts at the events. After so many years of playing with these rides I have a whole bunch of these stories and I figured the column might be a good…

Do you remember the term German Look, sometimes also called German Style? Beetles and Ghias built this way are scarce today. But let’s get back to the roots first, before we discuss why they are so rare nowadays. It all started in 1989, when the German Käfer Cup was born, a race series for Beetles, Ghias and Type 3s. Every season involved nine circuit, slalom and hill climb races and was at first divided into three classes: Stock Type 1 engines, modified Type 1 engines and modified Type 4 engines. From 1996 onwards, all cars raced in the same class with 2-liter engines, both Type 1s and Type 4s, until the class’ demise in 1999. And then there was the Division Z with three or four cars running onboard jacks,…