Innholdsfortegnelse for October-16 i VWT Lifestyle

’56 23-window Samba, Andy Morgan To say that Andy Morgan’s 23-window Samba was a complete wreck when he bought it in the South of France a few years ago would be an understatement. It was truly a barn find and in appalling condition, but the fact that it was a genuine Wolfsburg built Samba, swayed Andy’s decision to take on the ground-up nut and bolt restoration. “It had previously been used to store wood and timber, not to mention chicken shed duties,” explains Andy. “Virtually everything is new on it now, and it has a Red 9 suspension set-up, it’s been lowered by 40mm, has a new 1776cc engine on twin 40 Dellortos carburettors and a CSP long range Freeway Flyer.” The Samba has been finished in the original colours…

I have a revelatory tale to tell here. On a purely personal level, and this in no way reflects the outlook of my fellow C&B colleagues, I’ve always been a bit of a Type 25 naysayer if truth be told. I used to think it was the Mk3 Golf, the ginger stepchild, the Van that simply cannot be loved in the VW Transporter line up. But then I drove one. Oh. My. God. My words were rapidly eaten as my eyes were opened to an entirely new world of comfort, refinement, agility and in (purely) relative terms - speed. From that moment on, my blinkered view of the Type 25 has evaporated and I’ve had a new found respect for what they do and how they do it. So, when…

We’ve owned Rosie, our 1987 Paprika Red Westy for a year now and in that time have made a couple of changes, like sourcing some tartan material to create new 360 surround curtains, and have enjoyed a handful of short weekend overnight trips and visits to VW events; the first being Dubs in the Park near Wokingham Berkshire, and the last being the VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park. Inspired by the articles we read every month in Camper&Bus we decided it was time to plan our first proper roadtrip; and we decided it should be to Ireland and we would take an anti-clockwise route to the west coast and back in a week. We planned to set off in May 2016, but before we left Rosie needed an MoT. After…

VW Camper Curtains Unless you’re an exhibitionist you’re going to need some privacy come bed time and that’s where VW Camper Curtains can help. They’ve been trading for 14 years now, and have gone from having 20 to over 1000 fabrics in their range. In fact, they make curtains for all manner of Campers and send them all over the world. Turn around time for a set takes approximately two to three weeks, so be sure to check out the website for fabrics, inspiration and to order yours. www.vwcampercurtains.co.uk Propex Heatsource, £675 Keep warm while camping and automatically de-frost your windows before driving in the winter with a Propex blown air heater. It can be controlled with a timer and the system runs off mains electric or gas (30mb butane…

They say you should never meet your heroes, but what if one of your heroes is an inanimate object? Like a 1964 VW Panel Van that once used to haul dirty pants around the mean streets of Greenwood, Alabama for example. This Bus is my hero, and it should be yours too. It’s definitely Jason Brogan’s whom, after seeing it advertised on eBay of all places, booked a flight from Manchester to the south coast of England the very next day to go and check it out in the flesh in Bournemouth. Jason told us, “It was July 2014. I’d been to Bug Jam in my 1970 Notch and was keeping my eyes open for a Bus. I’d been after one for a while and I came across a Sundial…

There comes a time, when original interior panels, whilst an attractive feature on a car, can become just too scruffy to be serviceable any more. The problem is usually worse on Buses that have been imported from a dry (read: hot) climate. Whilst the hot climate is usually great for bodywork, such as on this rust free ‘73 Westfalia, the same cannot be said for any plastic or rubber trim, which can literally get baked to a crisp with the heat. All of the interior panels on this Westy were so shot when we bought it, that we literally just ripped them out and threw them away as a part of cleaning the Bus up before we could start putting all the new trim back on. Here we show you…

It’s a true fact, all air-cooled VWs stand out these days. As blasé as we may have become about our cars, driving an old Volkswagen marks you out as someone who’s a little different to the average (wo)man on the street. They turn heads whenever you drive down the road and people gawp at you and look on with envy as you pootle along the motorway, and it’s pretty much a given that someone will come over and say something to you when you’re filling up at the petrol station. So we can only imagine the kind of attention this crazy scalloped ’72 attracts when it’s owners Ant and Kath Adlam are cruising around in it. Suffice to say, it takes a brave man and woman to pilot a machine…

When looking at this Bus before writing the feature, something seemed incredibly familiar. The white ’68 Deluxe and its interior really rang a bell; but where had seen it before? It took a couple of days and a question to its current owner, Flemming before the puzzle fitted, I had imported it to the UK in 2009. It’s a small world and no mistake, isn’t it? The ’68 originated from a place called Maple Valley, in Washington State, USA. It was bought through an ad on thesamba.com at Christmas time and the owner would only accept a Western Union transfer for the funds and had to collect it from his next town. The only trouble was, he was in the middle of nowhere and there was some two foot of…

Being an enthusiast about something does not mean you have to wear an anorak and memorise part numbers, although you can if you wish, I am not one to judge such things. But it does mean that you should know your onions, as you Limeys are fond of saying, so as to appear knowledgeable amongst your peers. Pub trivia for the air-cooled lover, if you prefer. So, what better time than this interior heavy issue be there for myself to impart some of my accumulated VW wealth and share the knowledge with the new comers to our scene, who cannot yet, weed out their Westfalias from their Vikings, or Wikings as I might say if asked to read this aloud? Once you know what to look for on or in…