Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i dune buggies and hotVWs

By the time you get your hand on this issue of Dune Buggies and hotVWs Magazine, we will likely be around Thanksgiving or early December. We hope you will enjoy a wonderful holiday season, and find time to drive or wrench on your Volkswagen. As I mentioned last month, this issue marks Dune Buggies and hotVWs Magazine’s 55th Anniversary, after publishing 623 magazines in 54 years. Again, thank you for all your strong support and encouragement. We are truly blessed by our loyal subscribers, readers, and our fantastic advertisers. We would not be able to produce Dune Buggies and hotVWs magazine for over five decades without your support. We are proud to be part of the beautiful Volkswagen community, and one of the few magazines to be published for over…

In this article, I would like to talk about engine stands: the type you build your engine on. I know a lot of you already have one or two or three of them laying around. This is a handy tool to have if you plan to work on or build an engine. Is it required to have one to build an engine? No, it’s not. But trust me, for what they cost, it’s worth getting one. I am thankful that VW kept the same bolt pattern on their engines so that you can do all the flat-four engines with a stand. First, let’s get into what type of stands are out there. There are the cheap ones, heavy duty ones and then factory or factory-style stands. Cheaper ones are generally…

License Plate Frame New Color! New color Ruby Red (L456) is now available. These official hotVWs Magazine hot stamped license frames come in four styles: Chrome frame with Black details (L41), Lotus White (L282), hotVWs Blue (L633) and Ruby Red (L456). These frames are made in metal. Two holes design with tabs to hold the license plate on the bottom edge. For more information, visit www.hotvws.com. New RHD Type 3 Wiring Harness Fits all right-hand drive Type 3 models from 1961 to 1969. Works with 6-Volt and 12-Volt electrical systems. This harness includes all the major components; some miscellaneous wires will be required. For more information visit www.vwispwest.com Forged Ball Joint Trailing Arm Set with Ball Joint The EMPI Ball Joint Trailing Arms are new, not rebuilt, and are forged…

As I write this month’s column I am looking outside at grey sky and the warm sweater that wraps my ever expanding middle-aged mid-section is keeping the shivers at bay. Now granted, this is Southern California and tomorrow it will probably be in the ’80s again and I can put my shorts back on, but we are indeed in the season where things wind down for the year. Those in colder climates huddle in tight, and the joys of settling into your “winter projects” are ahead. The dreams of spring and summer of 2022 are already forming in my own mind and I’m looking forward to some great events next year. While the weather outside may be getting colder, the vintage VW market sure seems to be hotter than ever.…

We have previously covered the various Bus models, but now it is time to get a little more in depth. Let’s start with the panel, because it was the first of the three models that Volkswagen introduced in 1950. It was also known as a panel van, a delivery, and generally as a transporter and even a truck – although those last two have been used to refer to more models than just the panel. The panel started out as model 21a, in the early Barndoor years, then became model 211 when the standard 3-digit model numbers were introduced. You might notice that most Bus part numbers start with 211. Part numbers start with the first model that the part was used on at the factory. With panels being the…

As I mentioned last month, we did the trip of a lifetime this past September/October, touring Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles in our motorhome. We were told there were upwards of 900-plus attractions on the route from end to end – and that’s not an exaggeration. We plotted our course, with all the favorites we didn’t want to miss, and hit the open road. The itinerary changed from day to day, as we found new things to see, and stopped at nearly every vintage Volkswagen we saw – but we did it in 14 days! Once we arrived in Los Angeles, we spent a couple of days visiting our son and his family, then took the northern route back home to Michigan. The entire journey took 23 days,…

You might say the GNRS is to hot rodders what the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is to the vintage car crowd – both are considered the most prestigious automobile events of their kind. Think about it as the Oscar of the automobile culture. In previous issues of hotVWs Magazine, we’ve been telling you how the happening is a huge step for the Volkswagen community. For the 72nd edition of one of the greatest automobile shows on the planet, promoters and hotVWs Magazine have teamed up, filling a whole building with very special air-cooled VWs – this special exhibit will be called “A Gathering of Hot VWs.” The indoor area will feature 100-plus handpicked and specially invited VWs of all types: race cars, full customs, show cars, Baja Bugs, restored vehicles,…

The inaugural Bug-In was held on Sunday, October 20, 1968. Vic Wilson, the first Mexican 1000 off-road race winner, started the event. The venue was a new racing facility, Orange County International Raceway, which started operation in August 1967. OCIR became a premier track on the West Coast and home of major NHRA national events such as the World Finals (1981-83). On the first edition Bug-In poster, the event was billed as “Buggy Blast… Boss Bus Bust… Battle of the Beetles”. In the early days, it was mostly a dune buggy show, but it still attracted a lot of souped-up street cars (later called Cal Look VWs), in addition to drag cars. Arguably, the most famous Bug-In racers were Dean Lowry (Dyno-Soar), Darrel Vittone (Inch Pincher), and the Schley Brothers…

The first official Things West event of the SoCal VW Week was the PCH cruise. Owners arrived at the hotVWs office for a meet and greet, and then made their way toward the coast. Passing through the neighborhoods, the onlookers were in awe to see these off-the-wall VWs together on a Saturday morning. Seeing one is a treat, seeing 30 together is simply amazing! Passing through the beach cities, the cruisers were met with waves, peace signs, giant smiles, and more cell phone photos than we could count. The first stop was Lookout Point on Ocean Blvd in Newport Beach. There were so many Things we had to direct traffic and take over the center turn lane to fit everyone. The cruise continued through Laguna Beach heading to the next…

While my first car was a Beetle, it was not my introduction to drag racing. That happened with the ownership of a number of V8 “gringo” rides. Needless to say, I was hooked on straight-line racing. As I came back to my first car love, VWs, I was bound and determined to make mine go fast! Now a number of things happened to create the path I would follow. The first was to gain employment as a VW mechanic. So, I let the local Volkswagen dealer send me to the VW school in Culver City, CA, where I learned a lot including engine and transmission repair. I then found employment at an independent Volkswagen repair shop, Westphalia Motors, where I learned even more, working for (and with) some very skilled…

We had to wait a long time, just over a year and a half. And no one could have guessed how it would feel. First show after the pandemic: Waiting in line at the entrance in the morning, air-cooled engine sounds from every corner, seeing old friends again, looking at new cars… I can tell you now: It was great! At first, I was rather skeptical when my DFL club brothers decided to go to the AirMighty Show in Enschede (Netherlands) near the German border in October. We wanted to display our Cal Look cars with a nice club booth at the new event. Olaf Albers with his Oval even had a spot in the exhibition hall, a discarded aircraft hangar used for General Dynamics F-16s back in the day.…

Some readers might have already heard about it, but I am still regularly asked about the subject from friends. So, time to share the information again. Did you know that you can obtain an official Birth Certificate of your VW from the Volkswagen group in Germany? Yes, a certified document, which Volkswagen simply calls “Volkswagen Certificate”. It is an official record of your VW’s production information, printed on security paper and signed by Volkswagen Classic Parts. If you don’t have it, you must do it… This information will be a great resource, if you are looking for a perfect restoration of your VW, or just to get to know more about your car’s origins. The Volkswagen Certificate is an official certificate from the Volkswagen group that provides the information about…

Tony Trevino saw many of his coworkers buy TRD Tacomas and FX4 F-150s to get themselves and their gear out to the action. Being a VW guy at heart, he wanted to take the path least traveled, so he set out to turn his 1961 Double Cab into an adventure-seeking machine. When he acquired his 1961 Double Cab over 10 years ago, it was about to face an Amazon buried under a pile of Prime boxes. The previous owner had stored it in his garage for about a dozen years. Slowly, other items were piled in and around it as storage space became needed. Tony flew in to strike a deal by offering to fund a lightweight aircraft engine for the owner’s home-built ultralight plane project. Hands were shaken and…

While only marginally successful during the early- to mid-’50s, Volkswagen finally gained momentum in the United States when it established VW of America in 1955. Few young lads could afford the quirky Beetles at first since they were, well, new… But by the mid-’60s, used car lots were chockfull of them, and they quickly became the “kids’ car” of choice, especially in California. Los Angeles and nearby counties saw an explosion of car clubs during the following years. They included Volks Chancellors (see our September 2018 issue), Der Renwagen Fuhrers, Der Volksbrückenaufbau, and many others, often characterized by their funny German sounding names. Our article revolves around another respected group: Der Guteeneine VW Association of Orange County, California. We have already mentioned DGVA in recent years through Bill Mortimer, one…