Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i VWT Lifestyle

OFF-ROADERS AT WOLFSBURG If you’re fascinated by 4x4 Buses and have always promised yourself a visit to Volkswagen’s iconic Stiftung AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, then 2021 has got to be the year to finally do it. You see there’s a special exhibition being organised to celebrate the firm’s expertise in off-roaders and you’ll get to see a variety of mud-plugging Vans, spanning all the generations from Type 2 to the latest T6. Visit www.automuseum-volkswagen.de for more information. FAB C&B OFFERS Save money and get your favourite mag delivered direct to your letterbox Grab a great post-lock down deal and stay safe by having VW Camper&Bus delivered direct to your door. You can buy a single issue at the usual cover price, with free UK delivery (£1 extra for international postage), when…

Ben and Anwen Freeman, 1968 Bay Window “She’s our holiday wagon and we take our children away as often as we can” We bought our ’68 Bay in 2009 as a restoration project from a friend who lived locally to us in West Wales. It was a bit ropey before we took a grinder to the bodywork and in total we spent just over two years getting it up to a level that we were happy with. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of bodywork repairs to be done. Once we’d got looking a bit straighter we set about fitting air ride suspension, with the controls mounted just below the dashboard. You see, when the suspension was originally lowered the ride was too harsh, so we fitted the air ride for comfort…

When it comes to building a T5 project, it’s fair to say that there’s more than one way to skin a cat when deciding which direction to take when faced with a stock Van (or ‘blank canvas’, if you prefer). We love the fact that the Transporter scene has so many facets and styles ranging from mild to pretty damn wild. Some people are into tuning, others air ride and slamming and then there are the guys with custom paint and accessories, too. However, Tom Crocombe’s taste is very much on the subtle end of the scale. Tom prefers neat touches that you might miss at first over blindingly obvious mods such as huge alloy wheels or bright paint. Walking around Busfest last year we joked that it would be…

“We’ve always liked the Fiamma racks which are available to fit T2-T6.1 models” Each weekend, families across the land load up their Campers with bikes eager to explore previously uncharted lanes, paths and tracks. But which racks are best suited to Volkswagen’s Transporters? We’ve taken a look at some of the most popular options, but the first thing to remember is that secure at 0mph doesn’t necessarily equate to secure at 70mph – your bike flying off its rack on the motorway will make a horrible mess. That’s why, whatever you buy, be sure to fit and load it correctly. Before buying a rack, consider how many bikes you want to carry, whether you want to retain access to the tailgate, and the total weight of your bikes – don’t…

On VW Motoring we loved reporting on successes achieved by ‘giant killers’ – small firms determined to become bigger and better in their field. One such start-up was Richard Holdsworth Conversions, launched by the eponymous Richard who, with his wife Heather, returned from a motorhome tour of Australia keen to embark on more travels. In 1968 they produced their first motor caravan – based, of course, on a VW Transporter – working in their lock-up garage in Clapham, London. It was the perfect partnership, with Richard constructing the furniture and Heather selecting the soft furnishings. Requests from other VW owners produced more conversion work, with production expanding to the commercial market, and an eventual move to larger premises in Woodley, Berkshire. While other makes of base vehicle were catered for,…

I remember seeing the Jaehn Panel Van a number of years ago on the amazing VW resource that is theSamba.com. Being a fan of original paint and patina, I love pretty much every colour that Volkswagen painted their cars and Buses back in the day, though L53 Sealing Wax red is perhaps one of my favourites. It’s best known for being the lower half colour on deluxe Buses and had one of the longest run of any paint colour in VW’s arsenal. So when I was asked to find out more about this Bus, still in its original L53 hue, I couldn’t wait to get the story. A lot of really cool Bus finds have the name Gibbs Connors involved somewhere; the Philadelphia-based VW nut is renowned for having owned…

According to research by insurance company Uswitch, over 32,690 Google searches on UK road trips and driving holidays were made by Brits in June and July alone, suggesting we’re all looking for some staycation inspiration. It seems most of us were keen to pop on our swimsuits and head to the beach this year with Woolacombe, the iconic seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, proving to be the most Googled road trip destination in the last two months with over 1,500 average monthly searches and a 154% increase when compared to the same time last year. Close by, Cornwall and Newquay have also seen a staggering increase in search volume. Interestingly, the term ‘Cornwall road trip’ is receiving a notable amount of attention right now, with over 6,100…

If you want to get into niche vehicles you could do a lot worse than focus on the VW scene. Classic car snobs have long looked down, and continue to do so, on anything with a VW roundel. Cheap, utilitarian transport that’s weird to work on, underpowered and with an engine that’s in the wrong end they say. Utter piffle, as we all know. So, if you’re into old Volkswagens, you’ve already immersed yourself in a niche car scene to begin with. And once you’ve dipped that first toe in the water you’ll find yourself in a niche within a niche, because there are all manner of little automotive cul-de-sacs you can drive down if you get into Splits, Bays, T3s and the like. And then (!) you can lose…

“both guys own beach huts and we were afforded exclusive access to this part of the beach via a private track” The pair first met after Gez responded to an advert for a stash of old VolksWorld magazines Ollie was selling around seven years ago. It wasn’t just air-cooled VWs they had in common, though: Gez arrived in his Audi A6 estate, parking behind Ollie’s… which was in front of his T4 Westfalia; Gez also owned one that was practically identical. The coincidences continue: both have beach huts on St Leonards seafront and daughters born within a few weeks of each other! And yep, this chance encounter has led to the two being best mates ever since. property firm by day, picked up his ex-Sacramento Split Bus from FBI VW…

“I spent way more than I should just to get it a few inches lower and narrower” It’s funny how things work out. The first project piece I wrote for Ian when he took over from me as editor of VolksWorld was about buying this ’69 Bay, so here we are with my first one for him as editor of Camper&Bus talking about selling it. I’ve written about this Bus countless times over the last five years, but the reality is that it just doesn’t get used enough. What’s more, the money it would free up would come in handy for other things, so it’s time to move it on. What makes it so hard to sell is the feeling that I won’t get another Bus that ticks anywhere near…

Ted Scheumann hails from Los Angeles and has been into old VWs most of his life; he’s part of the Bus Bros club (@bus_bros on Instagram), who are active in the SoCal area. His personal Instagram is @shooman_t. Ted is a carpenter and cabinet maker by trade, which set him up well to build such an awesome interior inside his Panel. The Panel is his perfect camping vehicle, which makes him relax as soon as he gets behind the wheel; his family love camping in the Bus too and, living in the sunny climes of Southern California, they get to enjoy it most of the year.…

The story of this Bus really starts with Dave Bridge’s last VW, another Late Bay which he’d owned for 13 years. “It was a tin top, looked presentable and did everything I needed it to,” explains Dave. “But after our sons, Jamie and Thomas, were born, while they would be snuggled up in the Van, my wife Karen and I were in the awning. It suddenly seemed a bit pointless having a Van but sleeping in a tent.” Which obviously got Dave thinking. The first line of thought for the 44 year-old lawyer from St Albans was to stick with his existing Bus and fit a reproduction Westfalia style roof. But he soon came to the conclusion that he wanted the real thing, so began his search for a late…

Many of us have suffered engine trouble caused by the distributor’s points gap closing up, or the condenser failing. A distributor’s points and condenser are fine when they are working, but for peace of mind, an electronic ignition conversion is undoubtedly more reliable, with the added bonus that it doesn’t need servicing or renewing, and helps provide a more consistent supply of voltage to the spark plugs. There are lots of electronic ignition conversion kits available. Some include a completely new distributor, whereas others consist of parts to replace the points and condenser, which are fitted inside a standard distributor. The following steps show how to fit an electronic ignition kit from H&H Ignition Solutions to a Bosch distributor that’s similar to the popular DC009 model. It consists of an…

Nobody could ever describe Volkswagens of the air-cooled era as particularly luxurious. Business-like and utilitarian perhaps, even if possessed of a certain style and flair all of their own. However, when it comes to being really rudimentary, no VW out-Spartans the EA 489 Basistransporter. If you’re unfamiliar with the EA 489, you’re probably not alone – it’s one of the least well-known of Volkswagens. And if you’re further bewildered by the shape – well, what there is of it, for it looks like something you’d buy flatpacked from IKEA – then its story is worth telling. Need a truck The Basistransporter was Volkswagen dipping a toe into the world of ultra-basic vehicles – only its 1940s Plattenwagen was more elementary. But this came along 30 years after that Wolfsburg factory…