dune buggies and hotVWs October 2019

What an incredible VW event season so far! We went to a variety of fun shows this year and I imagine many readers did the same, joining the festivities with many V-Dub friends and family members. During the first and second weekends of June, Southern California became once again what many consider the “greatest Volkswagen wonderland ever” – some call it the Mecca of the air-cooled scene. For 10 days, we enjoyed six major VW events along with many open houses and parties hosted by local businesses and local clubs. We feel fortunate to be part of such a wonderful VW week, sharing our passion with many friends. On May 31st, it was truly exciting to see the DKP Cruise Night return as the kickoff event of the So Cal…

14mm press-in wheel studs I am installing 14mm press-in wheel studs, to use with lug nuts for brake drums in place of the stock wheel bolts… I would like to know what size drill bit to use to drill out the existing threaded holes. Clint Parrish Tacoma, WA 98407 Clint, the short answer is 9/16 inch, but there is a whole lot more to it than that! It’s quite technical actually. Failure to check dimensions and specs can result in cracked or crumbled cast iron around the stud holes. First, I would like to say that all press-in studs are not created equal. Many of the “imported” studs have knurling dimensions that are all over the chart (as in “everyone different”). I prefer to use either USA-produced or German OEM-made…

Here in Michigan, St. Ignace is known as the small town that welcomes travelers to the Upper Peninsula via the Mackinac Bridge. However, for one weekend in June, this sleepy little Yooper town is transformed into one of the largest all-makes, all-models car shows in the country. Now in its 43rd year, the St. Ignace Car Show welcomed over 800 vehicles, including stocks, customs, hot rods, trucks, cycles…. and Herbie the Love Bug! Yup, my Herbie was there, courtesy of organizer Murray Pfaff, to be the guest-of-honor for the weekend’s activities! Herbie was transported via Pilot Transport from our home in Metro Detroit to St. Ignace, nearly 300 miles away. He was so excited, he “marked his spot” on the AMX underneath him (thankfully covered in plastic)! Upon arrival, Herbie’s…

If you read my column a few months back about the 356 Speedster that I helped a friend with, you hopefully tucked the info deep in your mind about hauling an air-cooled VW with the nose high in the air and the problems that it can cause. For a quick recap, if the fuel tank is higher than the carburetor, there is a chance of the fuel filling up the float bowl and working its way into the cylinders, and perhaps even into the crankcase itself. It doesn’t happen all the time, but if everything is lined up just the right way, it can occur… and the reason I am bringing it up again in this month’s column, is that it just happened this morning on a Beetle that is…

Buses were first manufactured in Wolfsburg in 1950, and they were built to be rebuilt. If one of them was in a collision or had been gnawed away by the rust demons, it was possible to buy the individual body panels to be replaced by welding them to the shell. If it was really bad, VW could supply a bare primered shell for rebodying a Bus. There was a Beetle reconditioning line in the Wolfsburg factory in the late 1940s. Porsche also rebodied wrecked cars. It's been rumored that in the early '50s, a badly damaged Bus could be sent to the factory for rebodying. I have no direct evidence of the factory doing this for Type 2s, but I am sure that it could be done at least on…

Reproductions are a heatedly discussed topic. If somebody is reproducing a much needed steering box for early Bay Window Buses, nobody is complaining, because the new steering box helps retaining the value of the van. But if somebody is remaking EMPI Sprint Star wheels for example, the owners of genuine wheels will moan, as suddenly these rims don’t seem that exclusive anymore. In the old days, you had to do a lot of searching to get a set of vintage wheels. Today, “repops” are just a mouse click away. In simple words, let’s put it this way: Reproductions of rare accessories translate into “bad”; remakes of sheet metal and wear parts translate into “good”… correct? Well, not really. The past 20 years saw some improvements in sheet metal quality, which…