Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2018 i VWT Lifestyle

’91 Type 25 Syncro 2.1, Ian Forbes Ian Forbes’ Syncro was converted by Leisuredrive and being RHD, is reasonably rare as very few were built to this specification. “Prior to the T3, my wife and I had a T2 Westy Berlin LHD, which was our wedding present to each other and I had to persuade her that buying a Type 25 Syncro was a great idea and definitely the route to go down” says Ian. “We had to sell the T2 to fund the Syncro, which we’ve owned for just over a year now. We like to do a lot of wild camping, especially in Scotland with our two dogs. The Type 25 Syncro provides a little extra space, more comfort and of course has the off road capability. Luckily…

You hear an awful lot of bunk when it comes to originality. People within the Volkswagen scene are especially guilty of confusing original with just plain clapped out. The whole ‘Hoodride’ thing from a while back thing is to partly to blame, because it allowed a certain section of the VW community to blur the lines between what is old and good, with what is essentially clapped out old junk. Unfortunately, anything unrestored was just pigeon holed under the term patina and you had to decide for yourself whether that was a good or bad thing. There’s no prizes for guessing which camp this little beauty falls in. An unrestored right-hand drive Devon Split is definitely more good ride than hood ride, even if you would also describe it as…

Tony and Kerry Hacking have made their living so far as teachers, first in the UK and then for the last seven years, overseas in as far-flung places as China (for five years) and Singapore (for two). Like many, they had always wanted a Split Screen Bus and realised they could also use one as a wedding hire vehicle to help pay for it, so they decided to take the plunge and bought one. The 1964 Split Screen gracing these pages was built in VW’s Hanover factory before being shipped straight to Sweden, where it lived the first part of its life until 2001. Rich pickings Not many people know that Sweden was Volkswagen’s largest export market in the 1960’s outside the USA, so until recently, it was pretty easy…

The first examples of the second generation Type 2 emerged from the Hanover factory in August 1967. This is one of those from the very first year. Sadly, the poor old Bay Window has always played second fiddle to the Split. They’re usually seen as less pretty and less valuable, which as any Bay lover will tell you, is a fallacious sham! Sure, Splits look amazing, they’re cuter and have a more olde-worlde charm, which hypothetically speaking, makes them better than the Bay in many people’s book. But take looks aside and actually drive a ’67 Split and a ’68 Bay back-to-back, and you might change your mind about which one you’d prefer to live with. That was certainly the case when the Bay replaced the Split some 50 years…

Billed as the UK’s longest running VW festival, this show has become my favourite reason for heading to Santa Pod. Yes, there are many wild and wonderful shows held at the home of UK drag racing throughout the year, but I’m not big of going fast, which is why I got into Volkwagens in the first place. But, and it is a big but, the chilled out vibe and no worries atmosphere makes this my favourite reason to head to this former WW2 bomber airfield. Even though I don’t give two hoots about drag racing, sitting on the grass bank with a few beers and your chums is as good a way as any to while away the hours. When you tire of that, you can then wander down and…

Cold weather, rain and snow can really take its toll on a classic vehicle. It’s not just the salt on the roads that can caused seized components, batteries are also put under extra strain, both from needing to use lights and wipers a lot more, along with the fact that cold engine oil requires more battery power to start. Tyres need to have plenty of grip and be correctly inflated in order to cope with adverse weather conditions, too. If on the other hand, you are storing your Bus through the cold months, it’s not just a simple case of putting it away and locking the garage door. Read on for some handy tips on storing your Bus for the winter, so when Spring comes it is still in rude…

It was a cold, dark winter’s eve when Chris Beeny sat at the flickering screen of his whirring desktop computer. Hunched over the keys like a man possessed, his sweating palm curled anxiously over his faded beige mouse as the cable swung to the beat of his rhythmless nerves. The flashing digits on the flickering screen tumbled ever closer to a fraught final seconds, his eyes glazed in anticipation of the words he so longed to read: Congratulations, you are the highest bidder! The dreaded curse of eBay had claimed yet another hapless soul. The final few seconds felt like an eternity, but the sense of euphoria as the clock beat its final note can barely be described. A notification that he was the winner and that he should contact…

Organised by the very enthusiastic David Western, Allyson O’Connor and team, Beach Buggin’ enjoyed virtually wall-to-wall sunshine all day, which enticed the usual attendance of over 1,000 vehicles, that ensured Southsea Common really rocked! Volkswagens started to arrive from 08.30am, their owners keen to derive as much entertainment that the day would bring. Beach Buggin’ enjoys its own unique atmosphere, with acres of flat greensward to park on, literally just across the road from the beach, with a kind of holiday vibe. The Show ‘n’ Shine attracted the usual eclectic mixture of Beetles, Type 2s, Type 25s, Karmann Ghias, etc, while 22 pre-booked clubs mustered a large number of vehicles and a great many water-cooled VWs were also attending. There was more than enough variety to satisfy everybody, whatever their…