Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i VWT Lifestyle

WATERBOXER REAR BOX Rusty exhausts not only look bad, but sooner or later they’ll fall apart and let you down. Take a positive step towards future reliability and address the aesthetics at the rear of your Type 25 with this sexy stainless-steel silencer. Manufactured by SSP, it is suitable for both 1.9 and 2.1 litre versions and will even fit the highly sought after Syncro models too. Search for WC251604 on the website below. A matching stainless-steel tailpipe is available should you require it for a further £55.50. Price: £303.95 From: www.heritagepartscentre.com IT'S OFFICIAL! We love Lee at Vantastic; he's at virutally every show and his VWthemed range of T-shirts, hoodies and hats is brilliant. That's why we were thrilled to hear that he's been granted permission by Volkswagen to…

RIDGEMONKEY MAVERICK SUNGLASSES Making the most of the outdoor life can take a strain on your eyes, especially if that glowing orange ball of fire in the sky makes an appearance, making a decent set of sunglasses an essential personal accessory on your campervan trips away. These stylish and functional sunglasses carry a UV400 rating so offer unrivalled protection from the sun, while their industry-leading, 7-layer composite lenses reduce glare and keep eye strain to a minimum. Meanwhile, the lightweight frame design and iconic teardrop-shaped convex lenses makes them comfortable and very cool looking. The adjustable lanyard also means you won’t lose them! Price:£31.99 (quote code OTCB10 to obtain a 10% discount) From: www.oceantrail.co.uk RIDGEMONKEY SANDWICH TOASTER Tired of the usual ‘spag bog’ dinners while away? If that’s the case,…

I get a pile of correspondence land in my mailbox with the subject title, ‘this will make a good feature’. Nine times out of ten the heart-warming story accompanying it makes me smile and provides great content for a ‘reader’s ride’ or a snippet in news. But when an email arrived from Guy Deacon CBE with a link to a short, professionally-made film by Rob Haywood it made me down my tea mug and hurriedly want to find out more. The footage showed a determined looking Guy stare directly into the camera lens and tell viewers he’d got Parkinson’s and was driving his T5.1 California solo overland from the UK to South Africa. To say watching it was moving is an understatement. I learnt from the clip that his motivation…

Is the LT the Volkswagen you find when you’re not actually looking for a Volkswagen? When someone mentions a VW camper, most minds will turn to something beginning with a T, whether that’s a T1 vintage Split or a brand spanking new T6.1. It would be rare for one’s thoughts to instantly picture a T with an L in front of it. They’re bigger, bulkier and – some might say – uglier than a traditional VW camper but as always, beauty is in the eye of the key holder. Retro looks will never go out of fashion and you can hardly get more retro than the brutal front end of this ’80s motorhome. “EVERYONE COMMENTS ON JUST HOW SMOOTH IT SOUNDS” Registered bang on the dawning of the age of…

The cargo doors on a Split Bus rot just as badly as the rest of the bodywork. Indeed, it’s usually worse on a camper, as condensation builds up from sleeping in the Bus on cold nights. Often, people misguidedly use wool type insulation too, which retains moisture and holds it against the panel, causing the doors to rust from the inside out. The fact that it is a tricky area to repair means it comes in for a lot of bodging with filler, newspaper, seam sealer and even expanding foam, along with the old patch welded over a rusty door bottom trick. Your Bus deserves better. Here we will show you how to remove all the grot and replace the whole lot with a new Autocraft panel. Of course, you…

After a two-year hiatus, the carpark and yard at Heritage Parts Centre in Shoreham, West Sussex will once more be jammed packed with customers’ Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles as their ever-popular Heretics meets make a return. A regular in enthusiasts diaries since they started in 2009, big crowds are being anticipated for the come back season. In fact, the first event was ticketed to try and manage the number of vehicles turning up and avoid complete gridlock on the narrow industrial estate entrance road. The good news is, for now at least, they are back as a free for all entrance, but keep an eye on their social media channels in case anything should change. The event will run every third Thursday each month through until September. Food and drink…

Bay dream believer Hello C&Bteam.I've always wanted a Bay Window Bus and had set my heart on an early one ’cos they look so much more classic. However, I seem to only be able to afford a Late Bay with the bigger rear lights, etc. What do you think? Should I bust my budget and hold out for what I want or go for something within budget that's newer? Joshua Mexham, via email We can't really tell you what to do so just go and see as many Buses for sale as you can and no doubt you'll fall in love with one of them, regardless of its age. We think Late Bays are great, though don't buy one and plough money into it if you're always going to be…

My first foray into the world of coolboxes involved a product from a well known nationwide car accessory chain and was an utter disaster. The compartment inside was tiny and it burned battery like a Duracell bunny on steroids. We were camping near Mont Blanc when it sucked the last bit of life out of our Passat car battery. Luckily we’d parked on a slope and hardly anyone noticed when I subtly performed a bump start but it rocked my confidence and I was too scared to plug it in again that holiday. The Totalfreeze compressor fridge-freezer is an entirely different animal. It can go down to -20 degrees, regardless of the ambient temperature outside, and being ‘dual zone’ you can keep stuff in the basket frozen and use the…

Having owned a ’67 patina Titian Red Split Bus, I can tell you, more than most, just how little paint is often left on these Buses when they are imported from hot climates. Often, in fact, you’ll find Buses where the original white paint on the roof is still 100% intact, but the Titian red has faded off almost entirely; this makes things interesting when trying to match the paint. “IT WAS AN ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA SURVIVOR BUS – COMPLETE WITH UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REAR WINDOW STICKER” While on a Split Bus, the Titian Red only covers the lower half, the factory colour combination on ’68-70 Bay Windows carries the lower colour all the way up to the rain gutters and it’s something I’ve always liked about earlier Bay Buses. What…

Not so much back with a bang, but back with an umbrella and some slightly damp footwear, 2022 saw the welcome, albeit wet return of The Stanford Hall VW Show. Yes, we know it’s terribly, terribly English to harp on about the rain, but that was the overriding theme of all conversations had, heard or later typed about the weekend. Yes, it rained. Yes, it undoubtedly deterred a few less hardy folks from attending / showing their cars, but hey, wasn’t it just great to be back at Stanford Hall once again? Drinking in the historic concours d’elegance action on the lawn in front of the house, tramping around the swapmeet and generally doing something normal/familiar with our VWs. "YOU COULD EASILY SPEND HALF THE DAY JUST MEANDERING AROUND THE…

Don't forget you can buy a single issue or back issue of Camper&Bus online at the normal cover price with free delivery within the UK (+£1 charge for international postage). Simply visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/issue/VWC. UK customers can also save money by ordering six issues for just £21.99, including delivery, via the continuous credit offer available here: shop.kelsey.co.uk/suboffer/VWC2022. Alternatively, find your local stockist of Camper&Bus by typing in your postcode here: tinyurl.com/y26a38ul. Simply select Camper&Bus from the pulldown menu, choose your desired search radius and go buy it!…

JUNE Alive & V-Dubbin' Date: 9-12 June Location: Haughley Park, Suffolk IP14 3JY Contact: aliveandvdubbing.co.uk Bristol Volksfest Date: 10-12 June Location: Birches Farm, Long Ashton, Bristol BS48 3RN Contact: bristolvolksfest.co.uk Deva Dubs and Rods Date: 10-12 June Location: Shrewsbury Showground, Berwick Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 2PF Contact: devadubshow.co.uk Just Kampers Weekender Date: 10-12 June Location: Just Kampers, Unit 1, Stapeley Manor, Long Lane, Odiham, Hants RG29 1JE Contact: justkampers.com Hessisch Oldendorf (vintage) Date: 24-26 June Location: 31840 Hessisch Oldendorf, Germany Contact: www.uraltkaefer.de Stonor Park Date: 26 June Location: Stonor Park, Henley on Thames, Oxon RG9 6HF Contact: ABVWC JULY European Bug-in #9 Date: 1-3 July Location: Rue du Grand Priz des Frontieres, B6460 Chimay, Belgium Contact: europeanbugin.com Volksweald Date: 8-10 July Location: Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Kent TN11 8DH Contact: www.volksweald.co.uk…

As peculiar is it may sound, the relationship between air-cooled Volkswagens and bananas is well established. There’s the movie Herbie Goes Bananas for a start – a rollicking Disney knockabout with a perky Beetle that’s guaranteed to plaster a broad grin across your face. This is very much the remit of the humble ’nana, of course – these little yellow treasures contain tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid; it’s a biochemical precursor for serotonin, and serotonin is a thing that squats in your central nervous system spreading feelings of wellbeing and happiness throughout your brain and body. And even when you’re not eating them, they’re sitting there emitting ethylene gas to help ripen up any nearby fruits, just to make sure everybody’s having a good time. It all ties…

Back in 2001 Mark Thurston visited his sister in Johannesburg, South Africa. This trip would prove to be quite significant as along with time spent soaking up the sun, he also happened to purchase this 1960 VW sunroof Microbus advertised for a bargain £2,700. The rare Bus has changed quite a bit since then and with not one, but two rebuilds under its belt, it now boasts a 209bhp 3.0 H6 Subaru engine along with an impressive array of custom mods. Since the age of 16 Mark has been an air-cooled VW fan, “I bought my first Beetle project back then and it took longer to complete than I thought,” Mark recalls, “but so did passing my driving test!” A succession of other desirable air-cooled classics including a silver ’56…

It's a beautifully day in Dorset. Perfect campervan weather in fact, so it's fitting that we've decided to spend a morning with JC Vans in Weymouth. Lee Porter heads up the four-person crew which includes Tim Collins, Scott McIvor-Main, Olly Pounds and Georgia Rowe. Oh, and not forgetting possibly the most influential members of the team, Django, Lee's five-year old Siberian Husky who was the first to greet us (and check our credentials) and Lexi, a six-year old Springer Spaniel who was equally pleased to see us. MD Lee admits getting into converting vans by accident when he started the business roughly eight years ago. "I was a fire fighter on a goldmine in the middle of the Sahara but wanted to spend less time away from home so decided…