Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i VWT Lifestyle

Hey C&B, thanks for producing such an awesome mag. I need your help regarding paint. Or colour, to be more precise. I bought a ’74 Devon Bay Window camper a couple of years back. Bodily it’s excellent, having undergone a pretty extensive restoration a few years previously. The thing is, it’s Pastel white and just looks so boring! I’ve even fitted some BRM replicas to try and make it a bit more interesting, but – well – I still look at it and yawn. I’ve been looking through the other official VW colours and, to be honest, none of them really appeal. I saw the Bus in the attached photo (below) at a show a few years back and thought it looked fabulous. So, I am thinking maybe I ought…

Simon Harney, ’83 T25 Auto-Sleeper With all that’s being going on, my partner Jo and I had talked about getting a camper, and with me being keen to have something that I could play with mechanically, we decided a T25 would be the ideal candidate. We quickly saw one for sale local to where I work so I nipped to see it during a lunch break. On inspection it turned out to be very clean inside and usable, even if it was likely to need a bit of work at some point in the near future. Therefore, I didn’t take too much convincing to part with my money and bring her home to Dorset, a 130-mile trip which she took in her stride. The only mechanical fault I’ve found so…

So, you’ve decided it’s time to buy a Bay Window Camper. Welcome to the fold, there are many thousands of happy Bay owners out there, but almost all will have a cautionary tale pertaining to the purchase of any new project, especially for the first time buyer. In this case, we’ve filled the following pages with images of perhaps one of the best Bay Window restorations we’ve seen in the shape of the latest 1977 Westfalia rebuild from the Dutch Type 2 specialists Kieft’en’Klok. This particular Van was a rust-free import, which has been fully overhauled (both mechanically and cosmetically) to the highest possible standard. We’re talking about an all-new 2.0-litre motor, a brand new interior and, of course, a full body restoration and repaint in VW Tiger Green. With…

Who needs enemies when you’re friends with VW people, right? It’s one of those quirks of fate, but the people you meet invariably end up influencing you / inflicting their way of life on you, and so it was when Al Wyatt chummed up with long-term VW fans and serial builders, Toby and his brother Simon Hall. Al reveals: “I live on the south coast and became good friends with Simon and Toby. And, having watched Simon build a few rides, decided to buy one for myself. I bought my first Bug from him and it kind of went from there, really.” From there, translates to another three Split Screen Buses, a ’66 Type 3 Fastback and a ’65 Squareback, but as Al says: “I realised that if you want…

C&B: Hi Dan, how’s it going? So when did you start converting VW Buses? Dan: All good here thanks, great to see you guys. Well, DUB Buses (Dan’s Unique Buses) really started whilst I was still managing a bodyshop in Lincoln. Having the premises to carry out any modifications and painting with very little costs and an occasional hand from work colleagues helped get me going. I also had an embarrassingly large workshop in my garden which I had it built with doors large enough to fit a T5 with pop-top in. I started honing my building skills in 2006, having returned from the wettest ever Glastonbury. As soon as I got home I purchased a T25 Camper which I painted orange and white and fitted a solid pine interior.…

OPENING SOON! There’s a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel... Following Boris Johnson’s exit strategy from lockdown announcement on 22 February, there’s finally a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel for Bus owners wanting to book a few nights away this year. The date for your diary is 17 May which is when the third step in the PM’s ‘roadmap to reopening’ comes into play. This is the earliest date UK campsites are expected to open, though sites where indoor facilities are not shared with other households may open as part of the second step which comes into operation from 12 April. Suffice to say these dates aren’t set in stone so it’s wise to check with campsites for opening times and refer to…

This cool Bus is the work of 28-year old Eakarong Sweetp Dhanasiri from Bangkok, Thailand. Eakarong is currently studying at University, but in his spare time he has worked with the team at Dub Bug Thailand to create one of the nicest ’67 13-Window Buses in the country. Inspired by his father’s passion for air-cooled VWs, Eakarong has been a fan since he was a small child and always dreamed of one day building his own VW project. He told us, “My father lived in the USA for a while and always told me stories about the cool VWs he’d seen over there.” But there’s more... Eakarong’s uncle, Bang Ju, is also a car guy, and has influenced Eakarong’s upbringing, too. Oh, and Bang Ju also runs a successful paint…

Mechanically, it helps if the Van is a driver. Out on the road you can really get a feel for a Type 2, and most mechanical maladies should be easy enough to pick up on. If, however, it’s a non-runner, or it is not possible to drive it, ideally take along a friend with good mechanical knowledge. On the suspension side of things, always check for excessive wear to suspension balljoints, dampers etc, as whilst an imported Van may be rust free, it may also have covered half a million miles (or more!). 01. Check for excessive play in the steering. This could be due to worn track rod ends, but it could also spell problems for the steering box or idler pin in the centre of the front beam.…

In my last update I mentioned the intermittent running issue that I had been experiencing with my T5. It will cruise along happily without a hitch, then unexpectedly idle roughly at standstill. It would usually happen after exiting a motorway and waiting to enter a roundabout. The ‘chugging’ is accompanied by an pungent whiff in the cabin which smells a lot like unburnt diesel. There’s no warning lights showing, and plugging in the latest diagnostic kit doesn’t reveal any error codes. Now, I am aware that this era 2.5 Van is prone to manifold leaks, as well as sticky variable turbo vanes, so I had it in my head that the problem would likely be down to one or the other. As the manifold’s not easy to inspect, my attention…

As soon as taking off in a camper became more fashionable in the early Seventies a raft of different conversions became available – but to sell alongside Westfalia, VW decided to give their approval to only one UK firm – Devon. However, in the early 1980s Volkswagen took the decision to tap into the market and work alongside a variety of other companies – namely Auto-Sleepers, Autohomes, Holdsworth, Danbury and Motorhomes International. All were pretty well established in the motor caravan business, with Holdsworth and Danbury probably being the most successful and best known having already made their mark converting earlier air-cooled VW Buses. Autohome from home Autohomes launched its T25 camper in 1980, featuring air-cooled power intially before the water-cooled 1915cc model became available in 1981. The Kamper was…

FUEL FILTER, CHROME AND GLASS/PERSPEX (5-6MM) From: www.heritagepartscentre.com Part reference: AC133000 Price: £7.83 What at first appeared to be a standard but essential replacement fuel filter for the standard opaque and plastic version, turned out to have a tangible benefit. Principally a metal and glass version of considerably greater quality than the original, one could clearly see the fuel inside. For reasons not yet clear to me the filter was full, unlike the original which always showed half full, which could be due to its capacity. Being able to see the contents means that should water or other impurities get into the tank then it would clearly be seen and attended to. Engines, particularly for classics, should look the part and anything that enhances their appearance is always a good…

We all appreciate how important it is to pass on our passion for all things VW Camper related to the next generation, right? Well, what better way to initiate that love affair than to buy something your kids can make and play with forever after. And that’s precisely where this fab officially licensed by Volkswagen Playmobil Camper comes in... As you can imagine my eight year old twins, Florence and Lily-Rose, already get excited when they see a Bus, and love camping, so when given the opportunity to build and play with their very own camper – complete with paraphernalia like cups, cases and toothbrushes even – they couldn’t wait to pull open the box and get building. They’ve already got plenty of Playmobil – horses, stables, you name it…

What you’re looking at here is destiny in the form of a 2020 T6.1 Highline converted by Doncaster Van Conversions. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? Owners, Tony and Vicky Marks both had Beetles as their first cars before they met in 1991 and married five years later. “We used to go to Bug Jam at Santa Pod,” says Tony, who was nicknamed ‘flower power’ by the pupils at the school where he taught due to the daisies he’d lovingly painted on each door of his ’74 Bug. “Our weekends and holidays changed a bit when we had kids, though,” he smiled. The eldest two have since done that thing that kids tend to do and have grown up. Freya (20) and Harvey (18) have both flown the nest in the…

As you approach any potential purchase, avert your eyes from any twee curtains or headlight eyebrows and concentrate on the slab sides of the Van! You’re looking for nice straight sides, with no ripples or unusual areas. Check the body seams, are they all visible? Stand at the front and rear and peer along those side panels. What do you see? Don’t be afraid to ask questions – has it had any metal/bodywork and, if so, whereabouts and when? Walk around the Van and check the rear corners and around light apertures etc for bubbling paint. Look down at the sills – do they look nice and straight? Around the front of the Van, how does the lower section of the front panel look, hopefully rust free? Now check around…

The vehicle unveiled in these pages belongs to Chris Murray of Regina, Saskatchewan, a Canadian city roughly 1700km from Vancouver – that’s basically the distance from London to Budapest. Few enthusiasts would embark on a circa 3500km round trip adventure behind the wheel of an old Volkswagen truck, just to participate in a car show; yet that’s precisely what Chris did and why we were able to get chatting at the Great Canadian VW Show. Then again, his ’68 Double Cab has received some welcome, subtle improvements to make the journey more enjoyable, including upgraded suspension, gearbox and engine. The 25-year journey The construction proved quite challenging; so much so that it spread over 25 years. Yes, a quarter of a century! Bear in mind that most VW Single Cabs…

So, I couldn’t live the old turret roof any more so I took a drive to Devon to meet the owner of Space Roofs (Pete) so he could give us a guide to fitting one of his renowned Westy-style roofs. Pete explained that they manufacture, supply and fit elevating roofs to Split Screen, Bay Window, T25, T4 and T5 Transporters, hence I’d clearly found the right man for the job. It seems the typical customer at Space Roofs is looking to replace a leaking or damaged pop-top, but some are also looking to fit a roof to a tin-top model. Pete also fits these roofs for people who, like me, have run out of space due to a family upgrade. This would also provided me with the opportunity to avoid…

In my last report I mentioned how I’d decided to sell my fabulous Delta Green Deluxe. The not entirely unexpected change in my employment status was the main driving force behind the decision and being freelance is never easy. Selling the Bus, however, wasn’t an option until the chance came to buy back another of my old flames. The white ’61 Beetle I used to own and our Bay are the only two classics my partner Sophie has ever expressed any interest in. Talking it through, Soph said that as much as she loved Jerry Can (her name for the Bay), we just didn’t use him enough, but she would drive the Beetle and it would free up some cash. Decision made, I advertised the Bus and then the Beetle…