Innholdsfortegnelse for April - May 2023 i VWT Lifestyle

BUS NEWS You’re probably familiar with Facebook groups that attempt to re-unite VW enthusiasts with their long lost pride and joys? Usually, someone checks the registration which confirms that it’s still registered with the DVLA but that’s where the search often ends. Well, Mike Read’s quest to get back the ’71 Bay he owned as a teenager proved a bit more successful. Mike wrote in to VWt Lifestyle with the story... “There was a local guy that sold old VWs by my house and in 1989 I saw this one with the camper roof popped up and I stopped to check it out. It was a 1971, the same year I was born, and I just had to have it. I was 17 at the time and I was working…

Choosing a campervan over a motorhome is a smart move. They are generally smaller, easier to handle and park and will often return far better MPG, particularly around towns and cities that you will inevitably want to explore. If you’ve decided that a campervan is something you can’t live without, there are a few things you should consider carefully. Of course, being smaller than a conventional motorhome the space inside needs to be utilised to the max. Volkswagens have been converted into campers since the ’60s so there is plenty of back catalogue to work from to gain inspiration. Layout is crucial, but so too is the number of people it can sleep and carry safely. If you’re a family of five, a VW camper may not be suited to…

Having owned countless air-cooled VWs over the years, I genuinely couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve changed the oil, points, and condensers and set the tappets on my ‘cool’ cars. And yet I’ve always shied away from servicing my ‘modern’ water-cooled daily drivers until fairly recently. However, having to watch the pennies and having been stung by a few garages I’ve trusted to work on my modern stuff, I’ve decided to do more of my work where possible. Prior to owning the Caravelle, my daily was a (ahem) BMW 1-Series Coupe. I was more than pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to work on when I carried out an oil and filter service on that. Not having to grapple with 40-plus years of rust, use and abuse was…

A love of Buses came early to 47-year-old Dean Bunclark, owner of a renewable energy company, from Rotherham. “I had a ’66 Bus when I was 18, but then life, marriage and buying houses happened and it was sold, along with the ’67 Beetle I owned at the time, too. But when I had kids, I thought it would be a great way to create memories, so on a family holiday to Cornwall with my then wife and young sons, Jay (now 19) and Charlie (16), we hired one to see if it would work with all of us onboard.” Needless to say, it did, and so the quest began to buy one of their own. And their search didn’t take them very far from home. “A friend, Simon, had…

www.volksworldshow.com 2023 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!For more information visit www.volksworldshow.com We’ve got some exciting news regarding the 2023 VolksWorld Show! Our very good friends at Heritage Parts Centre are continuing their support by sponsoring the vintage VW display in the Brasserie, and will be at Sandown in strength so be sure to visit their trade stand, too. Leading car care specialists, Meguiar’s, has also announced its continued sponsorship and will again be giving all of the Top 20 trophy winners a gift pack of cleaning products to keep their vehicles shiny throughout the show season. Similarly, Ocean Trail, which specialises in luxury VW campervan and motorhome hire, as well as selling a comprehensive range of camping products from top brands such as Dometic, Campingaz, Coleman, Vango, Cadac, Cobb and…

MARCH Ultimate Dubs Date: 12 MarchLocation: Telford InternationalCentre, Telford TF3 4JHContact: www.ultimate-dubs.co.uk Freddy Files Date: 12 MarchLocation: Ninove, BelgiumContact: freddyfiles2023.com The VolksWorld Show Date: 18-19 March Location: Sandown Park, Esher APRIL Camper Fest Date: 6-10 AprilLocation: Roodee Racecourse, ChesterContact: camperfest.co.uk Elsecar at the Races Date: 16 AprilLocation: Doncaster RacecourseContact: elsecarattheraces.com Alive & Kickin Date: 21-23 AprilLocation: Haughley Park, Suffolk Stanford Hall VW Show Date: 30 AprilLocation: Stanford Hall, LeicestershireContact: stanfordhallvw.com MAY Vanwest Date: 5-7 MayLocation: Taunton RacecourseContact: www.vanwest.co.uk European Barndoor Gathering & Vintage VW Show Date: 20-21 MayLocation: Enschelde, NederlandsContact: www.benpon.nl JUNE Alive & V-Dubbin Festival Date: 8-11 JuneLocation: Haughley Park, SuffolkContact: www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk Bristol Volksfest Date: 9-11 JuneLocation: Birches Farm, Bristol BS48 3RNContact: www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk Lavenham International Vintage VW Meeting Date: 17-18 JuneLocation: Lavenham, SuffolkContact: www.vintage-volkswagenslavenham.co.uk The VW Bus Festival Date:…

There are plenty of people in the Bus scene with fixed opinions on what kind of Camper they want; many are diehard devotees of the classic Bus and lots also want the extra practicality and modern creature comforts of a T5 or 6. I appreciate that, in many cases, a new Van over a classic one is like comparing chalk to cheese, but every year we see plenty of first-time Bus owners who have never owned a classic before. Some stay the course and adapt to a new life of living with a older vehicle and others… don’t. In fact, I’d say that the number of first-time Bus owners who buy a Bay or Split and end up selling it to buy a modern Van is considerable. So, if you…

BUS FOOD Need to know: ■ Prep Time: 10 mins ■ Cook Time: 15 mins ■ Total Time: 25 mins ■ Servings: 2 Ingredients ■ level tsp cornflour ■ tbsp soy sauce ■ tbsp toasted sesame oil (plus more for cooking) ■ 200g sirloin steak trimmed of any fat and gristle ■ 150g Tenderstem broccoli ■ 100g pak choi ■ 1/2 red chilli thinly sliced Being a hardcore foodie, when I designed Myrtle the T4’s interior, it was all about the kitchen. Lots of counter space for food prep, a hidden but easy to access bin and lots of kitchen storage were top of my list. Happily it all paid off and I now get to create easy one-pot cooking videos in that teeny little kitchen for YouTube. This easy…

It takes some dedication to travel long distances in a vehicle that came out of the factory over half a century ago. Dave James, who lives near Los Angeles, California, happens to be one of these committed enthusiasts. When we called him to setup an appointment for VWt Lifestyle’s photoshoot, he picked up the phone and cheerfully told us: “I’m on my way to a campout in the Westy. There are two other Buses driving with me.” You can certainly say that he uses his Bay Window extensively. Yet being a stickler for details, he also keeps it immaculate at all times. VISITING 32 US STATES Dave’s Volkswagen journey began back in Southern California during the 1960s, with a ’56 Beetle chassis that had been shortened for a dune buggy…

If you want to beat the crowds and be there to see the first snowdrop, then Spring can be a great time to get away for the weekend in your Bus. That said, you need to do some donkeywork beforehand to avoid it being chilly and miserable. To begin with, there’s nothing more depressing than feeling cold before you’ve even got anywhere so ensure your Camper’s heating is putting out some warmth. On air-cooled Buses this might mean replacing holed heat exchangers, heater channels or missing pipework. It’s a case of getting underneath, making sure everything’s connected and doing up jubilee clips or buying new bits as necessary. On later, water-cooled Buses check for blocked heater matrixes, duff fan heater resistors, faulty fans and low coolant levels. SEALING THE DEAL…