Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i dune buggies and hotVWs

Oh boy, I used to think it was just a few years ago, but ever since I turned 18 and got my driver’s license, I’ve been surrounded by VWs almost every day for nearly 35 years now. I just can’t believe that I’m still doing the same thing I love. I am sure that there are many enthusiasts reading this column who have followed a longer path than mine and have owned numerous Volkswagens. In my “VW life”, I’ve owned seven air-cooled cars in total: five Beetles (‘75 1200L, ‘70 1200 Standard, ‘63 Convertible, ‘65 Sedan, ‘58 Sedan), a ‘71 Bay Window Bus, and an Intermeccanica Roadster – a replica of the 1959-only Porsche 356 Convertible D. Currently, I enjoy two air-cooled vehicles: the ‘58 Bug and the Intermeccanica Roadster.…

The other day, I was in the workshop, disassembling my 2276cc Type 3 engine, when my son Janik swung by. While I was removing a head he asked me: “Dad, where did you learn all that? How do you know what to do? You are a journalist, not a mechanic.” True. I took a pause. Usually, you don’t think about when you learn something and who taught you. You just know things, when you are older. When I started with air-cooled Volkswagens, I really had no clue about what I was doing. I have been a car guy my whole life, but in the beginning (as a kid) I was more fascinated by car design than mechanics. I always wanted to be a car designer, that was my dream job.…

I’m sitting here, wondering what I’m going to write an article on, knowing that I am leaving for the Texas vs The World VW Shootout on Friday. By the time you read this, the race will be over, but my head is right where it normally is – race mode. So, I have determined that I will write this article on what we call, “wedgemating”. No, this is not a dating site. This is something racers have done for years on cranks and flywheels. So, what is wedgemating? Do I need it? I’ll start by answering the second question. If this is a drag car with slicks, yes, you should think about it. If this is anything else, it isn’t necessary. That begs the first question, “What the heck does…

VWs have always used some kind of rubber mounting between the gearbox and chassis. The mounts are of course used to minimize the noise and vibration of the engine from entering the interior of the car. The front mount is important because the shift linkage attaches to the nose cone of the gearbox at the front. Anyone who has had a broken front mount can tell you that it’s not only noisy, but can cause the front of the trans to jump up and hit the pan, possibly causing damage to the transmission itself. There have even been poorly manufactured front mounts that were made from too weak of a rubber compound. These mounts, although not broken, would actually let the trans nosecone hit the pan every time the clutch…

It’s been a few years since we checked out Barnum’s Annual Bug & Buggy Show and Swap Meet, so we decided to hit the road and head into the thumb (of Michigan, that is). Herman and Stephanie Barnum, of Barnum’s Auto Salvage Yard and Bug Barn fame, always host a wonderful charity car show. Barnum’s was started in 1969 with all makes of vehicles, but they eventually developed a large concentration of Volkswagens. Herman took over the business from his father in 1982, and they now have over 100 Volkswagens (both air and water) amongst all the other cars sitting on their large lot. Herman then took it one step further and opened Barnum’s Bug Barn next door to the salvage yard, in the barn behind his house. While the…

I have been driving and fixing Buses for over three decades now. A lot has changed in that time period, with Type 2s going from almost worthless to being one of the most desirable and valuable cars on the vintage car market. The whole Bus scene is hugely different. In the old days, we could find plenty of original parts in junkyards. Now you can buy reproductions for most of the parts you need to build a Bus. There is still a thriving market for original components, and not everything is available from the big vendors. This month, we will discuss some parts availability, and some game changing items and the man who brought them to us. Restoring, resurrecting, or just fixing a Bus is expensive. It is even more…

How can you describe in a mere 8-page article a vehicle such as Gary Stell Jr.’s Split Window Bug? Featuring 2,500 one-off parts, it was built by a team of extremely talented craftsmen over a period of 15,000 to 20,000 hours. You read that right. Very few air-cooled VWs have been modified to such extent through the decades, with arguably the closest being Chris Addington’s red ’69 Ghia known as Rodbuster. Unveiled in our May 1988 issue, this over-the-top coupe featured a billet aluminum chassis and suspension, dual superchargers, along with an elaborate paint job with graphics. Yet Gary’s’52 sedan takes a very different approach, with few visible and obvious alterations. The car is all about subtlety, with details being often overlooked by folks not familiar with VWs, who might…

JOE MCRAE’S 1956 PORSCHE 356 SPEEDSTER REPLICA “I bought the car 10 years ago from a guy in Layton, Utah. It was a good driver car, but it was in pretty rough shape, really,” Joe explains. “I have always loved the ‘bathtub’ Porsche, and when the opportunity to buy this one came up, I jumped on it.” The car would stay part of the McRae family’s pack of air-cooled rides, while others would come and go. “It had always bothered me that it was ‘ just ok,’” Joe says. The Speedster had been part of the family for a decade, and a lot of fun for his family. His kids all learned to drive a manual transmission in this car. Of course, they would take it for cruises in the…

It’s kind of a hard lyric, but it’s true especially in the air-cooled VW world, because most of the people in vintage, Cal Look and the Bus world are baby boomers! And this means a lot of us are leaving this world and heading to who knows what. Now, I’m not discounting what the afterlife holds based on your faith. I’m just thinking, when it comes to your VWs, you can’t take them with you! Speaking of baby boomers, a lot of my friends are exactly that and someone wise said nobody gets out of here alive. I’m not trying to be macabre or fatalistic, nor am I questioning anyone’s faith. It’s just that over the last years or so, I’ve lost a lot of good, cool, and dear friends,…

I will admit that often in my column I look back at what I’ve done in the VW scene in the past and wax nostalgic about it. While my eyes are always focused on what is ahead and the projects currently in the shop, I have the walls plastered with memories out there. Parts and trinkets from different cars, framed magazine articles and photos of the many machines that have passed through my hands, and where I have been, always around me. Visitors to “The Lab”, what I affectionately call my garage, see and enjoy the history that lines the space and it can be a great conversation starter. It’s rare that I keep a car for long as I enjoy the process of resurrecting these old vehicles a bit…

On September 21, 2023, Lawrence “Larry” William Wagner, age 82, passed away peacefully in Ludington, Michigan surrounded by his loving family. The founder of Appletree Automotive located in Silver Lake, Michigan, Larry was a true pioneer in the VW industry for his many contributions. They elevated and progressed the sport of high-performance Volkswagens and custom-built off-road vehicles in the Great Lakes Region, dating back several decades to the mid-1960s. A humble, brilliant and soft-spoken gentleman who was well known by many individuals and also shared long-lasting friendships with countless people he met over the years, Larry left behind a legacy that’s challenging to articulate in the limited amount of space provided inside this issue of hotVWs. Larry was born in Royal Oak, Michigan on August 29, 1941, to parents Wilbert…

L227 STRATO SILVER GERMAN TOYZ 1953 ZWITTER 11G Takayoshi “Taka” Yamagata, who hails from Nagoya, Japan, embarked on his VW journey in 1985 after turning 18 and obtaining his driver’s license. During the 1980s in Japan, the Californian car culture held significant sway over many enthusiasts. Air-cooled VWs inspired by America’s West Coast scene were among the most coveted cars for that generation. Taka’s dream was to drive a top-notch show Beetle like the ones often seen in So-Cal or Hawaii. However, during that era, pre-67 model Bugs were increasingly scarce and expensive, especially if imported from California. In contrast, officially imported midto late-’70s VWs were readily available and relatively affordable. Thus, Taka opted for a 1975 Beetle, which he subsequently modified to resemble the coveted pre-1967 model. He didn’t…

A visionary designer and creator until he passed away in 2021, Bruce Meyer produced a number of buggies for decades. Volkswagen hobbyists obviously know him for his Meyers Manx, but he also penned other interesting models, with the Tow’d being arguably the most unique of the bunch. To expand the B.F. Meyers & Co. brand, he imagined this very basic buggy for off-road use only – some even argue it might be the predecessor of the modern sandrail. He aptly called it Tow’d because, well, it could be easily towed. Lighter and smaller than the Manx, the vehicle relied on a custom tubular chassis conceived to welcome VW front and rear suspension components. It also featured dual roll bars, along with a smart retractable built-in towbar. The one-piece molded fiberglass…