Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i dune buggies and hotVWs

The Perfect Spark Hi Jon, I’m building my first engine, with AA 80mm pistons and cylinders, a Wolfs-burg West Okrasa kit, performance cam and stroker 69.5mm crank. Based on this setup, which spark plugs should I use? I don’t mind using non-Bosch plugs. Thank you. Jose Rodriguez Portland, OR Jose, assuming that the heads use a normal 14mm “short” plug, I would use either an NGK B5HS or B6HS. These plugs will work great on any engine operating under normal conditions. Of course Bosch still makes plugs for this, but they are made in Russia. No, I’m not kidding! I’ll let you ponder that decision. It Just Wants to Stall I have a good one for you. I have a bone stock 1960 36-horse engine with about 90k miles on…

We headed back to Florida this past winter, joining the millions of snowbirds who escape snow and shovels for sand and sunscreen. As I mentioned last month, we brought Herbie with us this year, so naturally, we took in a bit of VW fun besides just the event in Daytona (featured in my column last month). Being in Florida during the winter is like extending our car show season by four months! Not only are there car shows, there are also cruise nights almost every night of the week. The only limit is how far you want to drive! Of course, since we’re already on the Gulf Coast, we like to hang out with the Local Volks Club. Their favorite activities are the Salt Water Hippie Cruise in Madeira Beach,…

DAY / NIGHT MIRROR Before Day/Night mirrors were included as standard items, they were an earlier accessory item. There are a few versions of the Empi Type 3 day/ night mirror depending on the year. They were originally advertised as all chrome, but there are also white plastic versions. Originally, I thought this might be an Empi mirror, but this one is actually homemade from a 911/912 day-night mirror fitted to an original Type 3 stem. SWEDISH REAR GRAVEL GUARDS These rear gravel guards from Sweden are the larger of the two styles that were available (the smaller style is a little cleaner in my opinion). There were similar guards available from VW and EMPI. Recently, AAC came out with a new reproduction that will add some bling to your…

PEOPLE SAID IT COULDN’T, OR SHOULDN’T BE DONE Let’s paint a picture of how Chris Davis got into VWs. At the age of 9, he started sweeping shop floors at The Buggy House, a prominent Bay Area VW parts store, machine shop, and service facility, founded in 1967. That’s a pretty young age to begin working, but when your dad, uncle, and grandfather own the shop, it’s a foregone conclusion they’ll find something for you to do. In time, Chris moved up to sales and then engine building. Being around Volkswagens daily inspired him to want a VW as his first car, but the question remained: Which one? Window shopping right there at work, Chris fell in love with a 1966 Sunroof Squareback his dad and uncle started building for…

On March 1, 1954, Nelson Umana’s sunroof VW Deluxe was built in Germany and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Riviera Motors Ltd. in San Francisco. This ’54 had an incredible life, including crossing America several times with various owners. In 2008, while serving the U.S. in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a mere 7,888 miles from his home in Ontario, CA, Ray Valentine was browsing the internet when he discovered this rare original sunroof Bug. From half around the world, Ray quickly negotiated the purchase and had it shipped home while he was protecting the citizens in war-torn Afghanistan. Ray sourced numerous parts and fellow VW enthusiasts reached out to help him with the project. While most Americans were sleeping, Ray was busy on the internet buying parts from Afghanistan and having…

If there were two things we learned restoring Darrell Vittone’s 1967 sunroof sedan, it was building a car for a show, and building a car to race are two completely different tasks. Heading to our first deadline was to deliver this car to the Pomona Fairplex on January 26, 2022. This was our move-in date for the Grand National Roadster show, and our official debut for the Vittone racer. Besides having the car look 100% for this famous show, it did not have to run and drive. That would come later on when we had more time. But for this event, we just had to push it in, and out and enjoy the show, but not without a lot of help from Marc Buehler, Kevin Collingwood and Martin Greaves. The…

July 9-12, 2022 Buses By The Lake Campout Location: Lyman Lake State Park 11 US. Highway 180, St. Johns, AZ 85936 Description: Do you own a VW Bus? Are you intrigued by the VW bus culture? If so… Join us at the VW bus campout in June 2022! This groovy event is in cooperation with the Springerville-Eager Regional Chamber of Commerce. There will be food and craft vendors on hand, plus live music and DJ’s! Bring the whole family...Your kids will LOVE the scavenger hunt and Kids Zone! Website: azstateparks.com/lyman-lake/events/lyman-lake-busses Contact: Chamber of Commerce 928-333-2123 July 9-10, 2022 K-Town VW Explosion Location: Chilhowee Park & Exposition Center, Knoxville, TN Description: Top75, cash prizes, games, live music, food truck & more! A portion of the proceeds from this event will be…

If you’ve been to the Kelley Park show in San Jose, CA in recent years, odds are you’ve seen Jacin Ferreira’s early 1962 VW Notchback. It’s a show regular and usually a fan favorite in the Type 3 row. What you may not know is that it’s one of the oldest running and driving VW 1500s in North America and maybe the world. When it comes to Type 3s, the word “early” usually refers to anything ’63 or earlier. This Notch however is what some would call “early-early.” For some backstory, Volkswagen started production of the VW 1500 in April of 1961, and announced the secretive project later that year at the Frankfurt International Auto Show. In August of 1963, Volkswagen replaced the 1500 for the 1964 model year with…

In September 1961, Volkswagen introduced brand-new models, the VW 1500 series, at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), also known as the Frankfurt Auto Show. VW expected them to become a successor of the Type 1 – these larger and more modern cars were generally called “Type 3s”. Offered with a new 1500cc engine, the series initially came in five different body styles: Notchback (Type 31), Cabriolet (Type 35), Squareback (Type 36), and the Karmann Ghia coupe and convertible known as “Type 34” or “Type 3 Ghia”. Italian automotive designer and engineer Sergio Sartorelli drew the Type 34 – he belonged to Carrozzeria Ghia SpA in Turin, Italy, at the time. However, the new VW 1500 series wasn’t launched as planned. After Volkswagen produced a small number of pre-production cars right before…

OWNER/ Chris Davis CHASSIS / RLR custom pan/chassis/roll cage FRONT SUSPENSION / RLR 4” narrowed Ball joint beam 2.5” dropped spindles REAR SUSPENSION/ RLR custom tubular trailing arms, 930 cv’s, 300m axles SHOCKS/ F. strange double adjustable, R. strange coil over double adjustable WHEELS/ Empi sprint stars, F. 15x4 R. 15x10 TIRES/ Coopers 145R15 (F), Cooper Cobra Radial G/T 275/60/15 (R) BRAKES/ Wildwood F. 2 piston R. 4 piston, 1” bore dual master cylinder OTHER MODIFICATIONS/ T-1 pan head, rear tubular back halved, all suspension powder coated gloss black ENGINE BUILDER/ Chris Davis and Jerry Young CASE/ Pauter big block DISPLACEMENT/ 102mm x 96mm (3.144cc) CRANK/ Pauter RODS/ Pauter 4340 billet 6.2” length PUSHRODS/ Pauter custom CYLINDERS & PISTONS / Pauter thick wall, carrillo pistons CAM/ Roller Pauter custom grind…

OWNER/ Nelson Umana, Covina, California CHASSIS FRONT SUSPENSION / 2-inch narrowed beam, chrome suspension arms REAR SUSPENSION/ Adjustable Spring Plates for Swing Axle with 21-3/4” Torsion Bars SHOCKS/ KYB Gas-A-Just WHEELS/ Porsche Fuchs 15x4.5 (F), 15x6 (R) TIRES/ Continental ContiProContact 155/65R15 (F), 205/65R15 (R) BRAKES/ 11-inch discs with vented rotors and 4-piston Wilwood calipers OTHER MODIFICATIONS / Green Metal pan halves, 5/16” aluminum fuel lines, pan painted glossy black by Paul Smooth to match the exterior ENGINE BUILDER/ Renato Morales, Brothers Machine Shop, Ontario, CA CASE/ AS41 Dual Relief Super Case T-1 DISPLACEMENT/ 2276cc CRANK/ 82mm Stroke VW Journals RODS/ EMPI H-beam with ARP bolts CYLINDERS & PISTONS / 94mm CAM/ Engle W-120 HEADS/ VW 042, match-ported VALVE SIZES/ 42 x 37 mm ROCKER ARMS/ HD rocker shafts, elephant feet…

One fateful day, Paul Davis’ friend Eric Clark called him up and said his mechanic had a Squareback for sale which he recently acquired. He sent Paul a couple of photos and a price. That’s when Paul spotted the “picture windows”, the elongated rear side windows created by removing the side pillars. “I spotted the picture window and said: ‘When can I come and get it?” In less than two weeks, the car would be his. “I always wanted a true ’80s-style car. One of my favorite VWs of all time was Paige Proctor’s ‘Suicidal Tendencies’, as well as the turquoise Square built by John Call that had a picture window and a ragtop. Here was my chance to build the perfect ’80s tribute, out of an ’80s survivor.” While…

The term “rally” might be a bit hardcore, but it was important to emphasize that this was a driving event. It was open to all Type 3s, Type 34s, and various oddballs that might be somewhat related to the Type 3. The rules were both strict and loose. The central meeting spot for the weekend was the Borradori Garage, a famous local garage built in 1932 that overlooks Morro Bay with Morro Rock in the distance. The weekend went over so well that Tom and Scott decided to continue the event every three years with subsequent events happening in 2014 and 2017. In 2020, with Covid-19 raging, I got word that the Type 3 Rally might not ever happen again. ISP West was a previous sponsor of the event and…

If you are a Type 3 lover, you might already know Shin Mukai and his company, located in Japan’s central mainland. TOA International has been well known globally as a Type 3 specialist for over three decades. He is also known as a VW drag racer and, first and foremost, as a Type 3 collector... I might almost call him a “crazy collector”! Shin raced his Fastback drag car in the PRA series in both the USA and Japan in the 1990s, before entering the Triple Crown series in California with his Notchback for years. However, as he became the publisher of hotVWs Magazine in 2017, he stayed out of the racing scene, being super busy taking care of TOA and OCI Media. His love for Type 3s stems from…

Riverside, California used to be a hotbed of VW activity several decades ago. Located about 50 miles east of L.A., the city saw the advent of a major player in our industry, a company called Empi founded by Joe Vittone. Another much humbler shop resided a few miles away: McPeaks Painting which, among other vehicles, painted the Empi Inch Pincher II drag Bug over half a century ago. Mike Farnham, who grew up and still lives in Riverside, worked at McPeaks during the ’80s. “I was better known for my custom paints during the mini truck era,” he adds. Incidentally, that same industrial complex welcomed Techtonics Tuning run by Darrell Vittone, Joe’s son and the founder of The Race Shop. Mike continues using his brushes nowadays, being a talented sign…