Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i VWT Lifestyle

August 7 – 13 Dub Vacation Stonham Barns, Suffolk www.dubvacation.com August 11 – 13 VW Festival Harewood House, Leeds www.vwfestival.co.uk August 11 -14 V-Dub Island South Fairlee Farm, Isle of Wight www.v-dubisland.com August 18 - 20 Viva Skeg Vegas Skegness, Lincolnshire www.vivaskegvegasvw.co.uk August 18 – 20 Volksfest Wales Watton Show Fields, Brecon www.volksfest.wales August 19 - 20 Deutsche Fest Brandshatch, Kent www.deutschefest.co.uk August 25 – 27 VW FAB Festival Strumpshaw Steam Museum, Norfolk www.vwfabfestival.co.uk August 25 GOTH VW Show Astle Park, Chelford www.gothvw.co.uk August 25 – 27 Camper Calling Ragley Hall, Warwickshire www.campercalling.com August 25 – 28 Cornwall VW Jamboree www.cornwalljamboree.co.uk September 08 October issue of C&B on sale!…

Becky Webb’s ’69 Bay Window, started life as a Microbus. It was believed to have been imported to the UK from Oregon, USA, in around 2007. It was then restored and its owner, who fostered children, then used it to complete several European camping trips (that were featured in C&B), as the various stickers on the inside of the engine bay attest. The Bay runs a 1600cc engine and Becky has recently had the rear Safari window fitted. Must have accessories include a jerrycan drinks optic cabinet and ICE suitcase speakers. “There’s a rock ‘n’ roll bed fitted in the interior, plus a couple of easily removable buddy seats, complete with coffee sack covers, that have been specially made up,” says Becky. “I’ve waited 20 years to buy a Bay…

When it comes to restoring old VWs there are a couple of routes you can take. Firstly, you can hand it over to a specialist and get it back when they say its ready. Which some customers find hard to believe, can take any number of years if they’re a quality restorer worth waiting for. The second option is much more satisfying if you have the time, the skills and the inclination, and it’s where you do all, or as much of the work yourself. Again, there are two ways to do this. The first being you can simply take the vehicle off the road to carry out all the work in one big hit, whilst the second is to keep it on the road and do a bit here…

We first came to know about Irv’s VW Restorations at the Volksworld Show a couple of years ago. Walking through the SSVC area, we spied his sign-written Single Cab (which we finally managed to feature last month) and promptly fell in love. It’s rare, even for us to see such high-quality restoration work and it was right then, that we knew we’d one day be able to bring you a feature on the main man, Paul Irving and the company he started from scratch. Hi Paul, how did you get started? I’ve been in the body and paint business since leaving school. I got into old VWs about 12 years ago. I built a Bus and painted it in a lean-to. It kept winning awards and lots of people just…

They say it’s the simple things in life that make us happiest, and there are few pleasures in life as simple as driving your VW to a pub on a sunny evening for a pint and the chance to talk air-cooled VWs. The DTA is a Midland’s based VW club who think the same. They used to hold monthly club meets, but you know how it goes, the weather becomes a little colder and darker and the cars get mothballed for the winter. Added to which, girlfriends, boyfriends, kids, work and so on take up more of your time and fewer and fewer people come along, until eventually the regular meet ups just fizzle out. That’s how it went for the DTA, and the last time we reported on them…

“I’m a sucker for OG paint and the Bus had been sympathetically restored” In the 17 years since production of the VW Transporter officially started in March 1950, through to production ceasing in July 1967 with the introduction of the Bay Window, close to two million units were produced. Of these, just 117,901 were first generation Barndoor Buses built at the Wolfsburg factory during the first five years of production, with their easily identifiable non-peaked front roof and larger engine lid. Production figures started low and continually ramped up through the years, with just 8,112 units built in 1950, and a further 12,000 in 1951, making early Barndoors pretty rare. Most of these old workhorses met their fate long ago and so these two survivors, both dating from 1951, are…

Early this past July, the three of us – Michelle (my girlfriend), Marigold (our 1975 Westfalia), and I – left our downtown Vancouver home via what I like to call “the pretty way” – first through Stanley Park, then up and over the Lion’s Gate bridge, and onto the sea-to-sky highway to catch our ferry at Horseshoe Bay. It was our first proper trip after a long winter of work, rain and more rain and we needed a break. After an 18 month, body-off restoration, Marigold had never looked prettier or run better, and by July it was finally sunny and warm in British Colombia. Even the weather forecast looked good. The views from the sea-to-sky were spectacular: dozens of freighters anchored in English Bay on our left and the…

“A car is only as good as its service.” Those were Volkswagen’s own words in a Bay Window brochure sent to dealerships in the early ’70s. “Every VW Service outlet (and there are 9029 of them the world over) is now in a position to give your VW Commercial a check up of almost medical efficiency. This is how it works.” “Your VW Commercial is placed on a stand, which is fitted with the very latest in the way of technical gadgetry. There, over 50 different functions are checked by a test mechanic. A number of dials, gauges and diagrams show just what sort of shape your VW Commercial is in. “On the basis of this information, he produces a condition report. This shows just what repairs you’d better have…

BARNDOOR-STYLE STEERING WHEELS, £500 Upgrade the look and feel of your driving experience with a replacement steering wheel. These Barndoor-style steering wheels are based on the much admired (and very expensive) wheels originally fitted to the super early Split Screens (commonly referred to as a Barndoors), but Aircooled Accessories are now offering them to fit all models of VW, including Split Screens, Early and Late Bays, Beetles and even Type 3s. As ever, they’re super quality and come in the choice of either black or ivory. Supplied with the horn push, too. www.aircooledaccessories.com Perfectly sealed Preservation Parts is a range of products from Just Kampers. Each one is hand picked to be the best part available on the market at the moment. Many of them are made on site at…

DEVON SENT DESIGNER As a follow up to my letter on Devon Sunlanders that you kindly published in the last issue, a few weeks before that, I sent an open letter to the Sidmouth Herald, the local paper nearest the old Devon Conversions factory. To my absolute astonishment I received a letter from a Mr. Pat Mitchell who still lives in the Sidmouth area. In the same house he lived in when he was the original designer of all Devon conversions from 1957 to 1978. The company came about when, in 1956, Pat worked for the joinery business of a Mr. Jack White as a kitchen cabinet designer and fitter. Jack bought a Split Screen Van for travelling to see his wife's family in Germany and he asked Pat to…

Every now and then we come across a vehicle that has been owned by an ex-military man, or woman. It must be something in their character and training that makes them look after their possessions, because they are always well preserved examples. Duncan Farr’s Savannah Beige ’69 is just such a vehicle. It still proudly sports a bumper sticker for McChord Air Force Base, which is located in Pierce County, Washington. Putting two and two together means it’s highly likely this Bay belonged to someone who at some time or another was stationed there. It would be equally cool to think that self same service man (or woman) was stationed in Europe at the tail end of the ’60s, bought this Bay whilst they were over there and then shipped…

The team over at Just Kampers have just had their best ever Open Day & Camping Weekend, and raised well over £10,000 for Cancer Research UK in the process! The JK Open Day is a charity fund raising event, and 100% of the money from their camping pitches (and several other sources) goes straight to Cancer Research UK, so thank you to everyone who donated and helped them raise a total of £10,930.30. Since JK is predominantly a mail order business, it’s great to have the chance to chat face-to-face with the JK team, as well as see the sheer scale and size of Just Kampers. Every time we pay them a visit the place has always grown, and it wasn’t like it was even small to start with. The…

JOB INFO TOOLS USED Bucket Microfibre cloths Lots of elbow grease MATERIALS USED Water Car shampoo Various polishes SKILL LEVEL 1 2 3 4 5 TIME TAKEN 4 hours COST DIY: £50 on different waxes People who drive original paint, or patina Buses are often seen as lazy, uncaring beasts. “Why don’t you paint it?” is the usual cry from the naysayers. Because, it’s only original once is the answer. Each and every spot of thin, sun kissed paint is unique to that particular vehicle. It takes 50 years or so of basking in the hot, hot sun to create a finish like those seen on these pages, and when you paint over history like this, it’s gone forever. However, take it from someone who knows, it takes a good…