dune buggies and hotVWs May 2023

In this Semaphore column, I have mentioned my beloved 1958 VW Beetle countless times. But I don’t think we talked about our company’s air-cooled hauler. You have probably seen it at VW shows in Southern California, on social networks, or in this magazine. It’s a 1962 Type 2 Panel Van. This Panel Van is quite rare. It’s a special order model called SO-1: Westfalia Mobile Shop. What is so unique about it? The vehicle was built as a Type 213: left-hand drive with left-side cargo doors (usually on the right-hand side on regular models). Then, after the assembly was completed in the Hannover factory, it was transported to the Westfalia plant to install a large sales flap door - a top-hinged opening serving flap - on the right side. Our…

Now that we’re officially snowbirds, we’re able to enjoy a 12-month car show season, that is, eight months in Michigan and four months in Florida - it’s our idea of the perfect retirement! We keep our ‘71 Beetle (“Orange Crush”) here in Florida, and are able to take in all the car shows and cruises that are so popular during the winter months. Our first show of the year was the Quaker Steak Bugfest, now in its 16th year, held each January by a wonderful host, Joe Culver, aka Oval Joe, himself the proud owner of a ‘57 Ragtop and a ‘53 Zwitter. Don’t be misled by the name Quaker Steak is not an oil change facility, it’s an awesome motorsports-themed restaurant and bar in Clearwater, complete with race cars…

When I first started drag racing, and by that I mean the I/Gas class in a VW, things were much different than today. I’ll start with the race car we had. No wheelie bars, as we used the stinger; in fact, there were many things we raced without! We had no “two step”, no rev control and no slipper clutch. Making the car leave was a process of tire pressure and the RPM by the driver’s right foot. The launch RPM was determined by revving in sync with the tree and the three yellow lights as there was no pro tree. There were other things we would do prior to making a pass in the car setup. We did have adjustable rear shocks and torsion adjusters but no raised torsion…

When I was 23 years old, I moved from my little hometown to the city of Karlsruhe in the south-west of Germany, close to the French border. I didn’t know anybody there, so the first thing I did was to check classic car magazines and the one German VW mag we had at that time for addresses of VW clubs. I only found a Karmann Ghia club that had weekly meetings in restaurants. But at least something, enough to meet new people. But before I went there, I had some friends visiting my new place. They were car guys as well and so we checked out a car museum nearby. On our way back to my new apartment, rolling in a convoy of a grey Volvo Amazons, a red Type…

Rough, Pop and Backfire I have a 1915cc long-block and installed two Empi HDMX 40 carbs. I believe the valves are correctly adjusted, points properly gapped, and the timing is correct. But it idles roughly and the carbs pop and the engine backfires. Any ideas? Thanks Jon! Johnny Cano Brandon, MS Johnny, rough running and backfiring at low speeds is usually a sign of a too small idle jet. Without sophisticated testing equipment, there is a way you can test for this. Get the engine running and warmed up. Adjust the idle mixture screw for best running by turning them inward until the motor runs rough, then out a bit until it cleans up and runs smooth. Turn off the engine. Screw each idle mixture screw inward until it stops,…

Readers of my column might remember me mentioning the quest for a birthday Beetle before. At one point, I had found a VW that I was quite confident was a car that rolled off the assembly line the same day I did. It turned out that it wasn’t, but it helped me hone my searching skills for one that would be. I was bom November 29th, 1966, which would have been squarely within the 1967 model year production. I’ve always loved the ’67 Beetle, as many do. Hie unique one-yearonly attributes and the magic blend of the old style with the larger engine and 12-volt electrics make for one of the best-driving VWs of the era. Nineteen sixty seven was a strong year for Beetle production, with over 900,000 of…