Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i VWT Lifestyle

Most car enthusiasts can recall a tale of “the one that got away,” and Leigh Hicks is no different. Except his story also has a sequel called, “and then I bought it back again six years later,” which got us rather intrigued. The narrative, explains Leigh, started in 2009 with a random search result on AutoTrader. “I was actually looking for a T4 at the time, but when I put ‘1.9TD Caravelle’ in the search engine, this ’83 T25 with an AAZ diesel engine came up and I knew straight away that I had to have it. It was in Portsmouth and was red and white at the time, and I lived in Bexhill (about 80 miles away) and my only method of transport was a Honda C90 moped!” Oil’s…

When you’ve owned a vehicle for 25 years, it’s inevitable that you’ll have amassed a string of memories and stories about your time together. Some great, some perhaps not so great. However, we’re fairly sure Chris Lambourne and his ’61 Devon Deluxe have been through more than most, as the crazy tales are practically endless. The relationship between man and Van in this case is tight and includes countless messy party weekends, a record for the fastest street driven Camper at Santa Pod, numerous trophies, weekends surfing and cruising around Cornwall… Oh, and flipping it over onto its roof and bursting into flames. In other words, this is no show pony, it’s the real deal – a world class contender for the title of ultimate show ’n’ go VW. “I…

C&B: Thanks for the mug of tea, and for giving us guys such a warm welcome. Okay, why don’t you kick things off by telling us a bit about who you are, what you do, and your setup down in Devon. CoastVW: We’re a team of VW enthusiasts first and foremost. We aim to produce high quality workmanship and innovation for the ever popular T3, with specific skills and knowledge of the Syncro. The company’s now 11 years old and we have grown bigger and bigger in recent years and now have a highly-skilled team of ten. They’re all awesome in their own fields. Sean is our Workshop Manager and oversees the day-to-day stuff along with Jay and George, and we are currently seeking another skilled mechanic to join us…

Ewan’s a cool character. So it’s no wonder he’s into cool VWs. And, like a lot of us, his interest in Volkswagens goes back to his childhood when his parents owned a succession of Beetles, the oldest being mid-’60s era model. Born in 1971, he fondly remembers the family’s later orange Bug (he was about 4 or 5), and the times they used it for holidays. “Mum and dad would load the roof rack with camping gear and make the area behind the front seats flat, so me and my brother (dressed in pyjamas) could sleep during the trip,” he revealed in his exclusive chat with us. They favoured travelling at night, with Brittany being a popular destination. “Except for my younger daughter who enjoyed travelling with me, the kids…

North Berwick-based Jerba Campervans has joined some of the country’s most responsible organisations in being awarded the Good Business Charter (GBC). The entirely employee-owned camper conversion company, whose bespoke conversions for the T6.1 are officially recognised by VW, had to demonstrate how its ethos applied throughout its business, from living wage and a commitment to work-life balance, to its tax arrangements, supplier relationships and customer care. Said Jerba co-founder Simon Poole: “Our goal is to provide an ethical and sustainable business for our staff which they can be proud of, and increasingly we’re seeing customers acknowledge things like our employee-ownership. They are becoming more and more value-driven and that can only be a good thing.” Since handing ownership to its team, Jerba has seen an increase in productivity year-on-year. Like…

WHERE FROM: www.heritagepartscentre.com HOW MUCH: £125.95 In the days before digital display, an analogue clock was a useful addition to a vehicle’s dashboard. That said, being an option, not every Type 2 came with a timepiece. To some this might symbolise a hippy-esque freedom from the strains of modern life. To others, knowing when lunchtime is will always be welcome when travelling around in a classic campervan. Current custodians of the Bay Window Camper or Commercial will be delighted to learn, therefore, that Heritage Parts Centre have an original look clock which will simply slot next to your speedo and compliment your instrument binnacle perfectly. This version is true to 1975-’79 specification with its black face and grey hands, but will fit in the earlier vehicles if required.…

Diane Warburton, 2015 SWB T6 Over the past 24 years I have vacillated from campers to caravans to motorhomes back to caravans. In between the lock-downs this year though I’ve been enjoying getting out and about in a 2015 VW T6 SWB Camper converted by Mick Andrews at Advanced Auto Conversions. Incidentally, the aforementioned Campers that I have owned include my first foray into camping – a VW T25 Autosleeper high top, a T4 Autosleeper Gatcombe motorhome, a T5 campervan and my current pride and joy a.k.a. ‘Bunty’. Having thrown a lot of money previously at a T5 conversion with all the bells and whistles, I decided that I would keep my latest acquisition as simple as possible. I didn’t want the hassle of an annual habitation service so I…

Terry Cripps is a 50 year-old self-employed electrician from Garden Village, Hatfield and is also the proud owner of this stunning Subaru-powered ’65 Split Screen Camper, which he has built from the ground up. Terry explained, “I’ve been interested in VWs for about 15 years, after spotting a Split Screen Camper parked at the bottom of my parent’s road. I just fell in love with the shape and style of them.” He continued, “And while other VWs interest me, it’s the Split Screen that lights the flame and floats my boat, so to speak.” Amazingly, the Split you see here is actually Terry’s first VW project, which he picked up back in 2006 and has spent a decade building. “I have owned a couple of Golfs since purchasing the Bus,…

In case you missed the October issue, I introduced the Friesen Green (L6T) 2003 T5 I bought a few years back. It was an excellent workhorse, came with a stack of main agent receipts and ended up being pretty reliable in the two years that I owned it. I replaced the dual mass flywheel, as well as the Gates coupling to get the air conditioning blowing cool air again, but that was about it. However, with the family complaining about it still being too hot in the back, and me constantly worrying about the fact there was no front passenger airbag, I decided it was time to go upmarket with a newer Multivan, the UK equivalent of the Caravelle. If the price is right In case you didn’t know, I…

Seventy years ago, on 5 August 1950 to be precise, a Dove Blue Panel Van with chassis number 20-1880 rolled off the Wolfsburg production line. It was delivered to Hildesheim and started a long and useful life as a commercial vehicle. On retirement in 1973 it spent the next 20 years in various private collections before being snapped up in 1992 by a Danish enthusiast who saw it advertised for sale in a club magazine. He phoned the vendor who, believe or not, had experienced trouble finding a buyer, and having been told the chassis number, immediately recognised its historic significance. In 2000 it underwent a full restoration, making its debut at Bad Camberg in 2003. Sofie’s owner then drove it to various shows across Europe, covering 20,000km in the…

There’s no doubt about it, pressure washers make cleaning your Transporter a far more civilised and efficient business. The long lance puts enough distance between you and the wet stuff so you won’t get soaked and in cold weather, gripping a dry trigger is much more pleasant than grappling with a freezing grimy sponge. Moreover, pressure washers deliver much less water than a traditional hosepipe – they just make it work harder. So your water bill should be less and the benefit of having water at a higher pressure is that it will be far more effective at dislodging muck and grime. In other words, a pressure washer is brilliant at keeping your underside clean, freeing up mudtraps and thus preventing corrosion. Having said all that, buying the right pressure…

David Powell repeats an often heard mantra when he reveals, “I always wanted a Camper.” He’d seen a whole load advertised at around £7,000-£9,000, but they all needed a lot of work. Then he spotted this one on Preloved – a selling website that’s a bit like Gumtree – and bought it in August 2013. As you can see from the sorry looking shot of it here (left), what David got for his money was very much an unfinished project, a white over orange 1978 Type 2 with rust in all the usual places. The only saving grace, it seemed at the time, was that the previous owner had already put in new sills, wheelarch repair panels, both rear corners and a complete front panel. However, having done the deal…

The Jury is out on whether pop-tops are aesthetically pleasing, but you can’t argue with the extra space and usability they offer. The trouble is, whilst fibreglass doesn’t rust, it can still suffer with age. The pop-top on the project ’73 Westy we’ve got here is typical of many ‘dry climate’ import Buses; the heat has literally cooked it over the years, damaging the gelcoat and cracking around the wood frame. Our step-by-step guide here shows you how to bring it back to life before we move on to fitting a new canvas and seals next month. 01 PREPARE / REMOVE POP-TOP Preparation is key, especially if you plan to do the work outside. Our advice is to read through this feature, plan ahead for every eventuality and get together…