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Issue 03 | Autumn 2010 | AirMighty.com
Shows Volks ‘n’ Roll, Karmann en Montagne, VW Classic, Le Bug Show and more > Drag racing part #1: Gary’s Picnic and SCC, to much Hp to handle! €14,50 | £12.95 | $21.95 | ¥2400
913 VW / Porsche?
Belgian Kustom K70
Double ’58 trouble
We have a look at Redhot’s custom Fastback from Japan!
Another sweet build; Radikal aircooled powered K70
Read all about two DBK restowagens form California
ISSN 1879-6508
9 771879 650009
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Up-To-Date Kustom aircooled engined K70
There’s a lot going on in the scene, be sure to catch the latest news, stories, events, forum and photos on our website: www.AirMighty.com.
Featured cars 140
2x DBK
Low patina ’59
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KC’s slammed 181
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12 | Army 181 on Air Bags The Kustom Charged crew did some extreme lowering on an ex army Thing!
30 | German Look 1303RS Built up with loads of light weight carbon fibre & big Porsche brakes.
56 | 1954 Type25A Barndoor A very rare Sunroof 11 window restored in a record time and driven from Canada to Southern California.
70 | Japanese Porsche/VW 913 Based on a 1968 Porsche 912 RedHot’s brainchild became reality.
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85 | Radikal Kustom K70 Gianni’s latest insane project.
1303RS Muscle Bug
110 | Australian Outback Outlaw Mad 356 with big Type1 power.
127| Jer*Fab’s Slammed ‘59
913 from Japan
Downunder Outlaw 356
Patina and pinstriping on Jerry’s super slammed ragtop beetle.
140| Double DBK 1958 Bugs Two stunning Resto Cal beetles from the Long Beach Der Blitzkrieg Käfers members Neto and Lalo.
110 56
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A VW Thing simply can’t go any lower than this 181 from Juriaan Buijs, member of the Dutch Kustom Charged crew. This Air Ride equipped ex-army Kübel is rollin’ on 13” wheels and when the bags are deflated it’s literally sitting on the floor!
Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Niels Timmerman
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Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Monica Aguirre | Kobus Cantraine
Karmann Montagne
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Show | Karmann En Montagne
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Who can say he owns a perfectly restored German Style 1303 by the age of 13? No one but Janis Heckmann. He build that car together with his father Uli. What a daddy! Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Andreas Reinhold
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Gary’sPicnicUnitedKingdom Words: Yves Maertens Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Georg Otto
Pictures: Julian Hunt
Gary’s Picnic is a RWYB style drag racing event that takes place at Shakespeare County Raceway. The week-end of 29, 30 & 31 May welcomed the 2010 Yank Weekend, where a few UK- and Europeanbased VWs showed up to spank some US ass! > he ‘Run What Yer Brung’ track is known as Shakespeare County Raceway (after the Tudor playwright), and is located at Long Marston’s former air base site near Stratfordupon-Avon, Warwickshire, in the heart of the English Midlands. Every year they hold a drag racing event that’s 100% dedicated to American cars. However, for the last few years a bunch of hardcore VW racers has been turning up and making it quite clear to the owners of “Yank Tanks” that there’s no need for 8 cylinders to make you go fast...
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The event stretches over 3 days, taking place on the British spring bank holiday weekend so that racing carries on over the Monday. This year, close to 30 VWs were present, including UK locals, but also some Germans and Belgians. Fighting on their home ground, the Outlaw Flat Four club was there with 15 of its members. The DAS Club had
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also made the trek over to the event from the mainland, ferrying over 10 cars across the Channel. In the pits we spotted Udo Becker and Christoph Van Trappen, who’s just shoehorned Stian “Tekken” Abell’s old engine into his streetcar. The CSP team was there with their star driver, Ron Lumus, who’d flown in from California to pilot and help set up the T34. Saturday morning didn’t start too well, coz when we woke up it was raining, and in fact it kept pouring all day long. This gave us time to have a chat with the locals, check out the amazing work on some very impressive Nostalgia drags, which were finished and presented to the highest level. In the evening people buddied up around a blazing log fire, or they enjoyed the rock band playing in the trackside bar.
Sunday started much better, and though there were still dark clouds overhead we were in for a dry day. Even though many of the DAS guys partied hard all night long they didn’t hesitate to get their cars out onto the track! (They couldn’t afford to waste time many of them had to start driving home later that afternoon.) The staging lanes filled up gradually as the day went on, but there were hardly any oil-downs so the waiting time was never very long. On the track you saw Gassers and Pro Streets battle it out, and the OFF guys were pulling wheelie after wheelie. The CSP Ghia made a few passes too, and they got it down to a low 9. The mix of cars at Garry’s Picnic makes for some very interesting racing, like when we witnessed Pat’s beetle (Supercharged 1776cc) against a 7L Supercharged Camaro with over 1,000Hp, David vs Goliath in drag
Show | Drag Racing 2010 part #1 racing... Francois Delvaux got his oval down to a very respectable 11.6, while Pete Shattock and his small JPM-built mouse engine was running similar times. And since we’re talking about OFF cars, Mat Keene ended one of his runs in a cloud of smoke, prompting the fire brigade to rush into action, and we all feared the worst. Happily there wasn’t too much damage; just a busted lifter causing a slurp of oil to go onto the engine. However, Bernie Newbury was probably more worried when he landed badly after a wheelie. He’d lost control of his car and ended up going backwards into the guardrail! Luckily his vehicle only suffered minimal damage. The rest of the weekend passed off without serious drama. Those still going were well motivated to bring their times down, and some even stripped parts off their cars to lighten them in the hope of clocking an even faster time. Others would simply kick back in the grandstands and enjoy the show. If you appreciate the V8 soundtrack, relish the smell of burning rubber, and you feel like fighting it out on the quarter mile
against US cars, then why not show up at Garry’s Picnic next year? The crew is very welcoming, the atmosphere’s relaxed and the track is a fast one! uf dem Shakespeare County Raceway, westlich von London, England, gelegen, findet jährlich ein Drag Race Event statt, das einzig amerikanischen Marken gewidmet ist. Doch seit ein paar Jahren tauchen einige verrückte Hardcore-VW-Rennfahrer auf, die den Ami-Jungs klar machen, daß es keinen V8 braucht, um schnell zu sein... Im Gegensatz zu normalen Veranstaltungen dauert Garry's Picnic immer drei Tage, weil man es stets auf ein langes Wochenende legt mit anschließendem freien Montag. 2010 kamen rund 30 Volkswagen, hauptsächlich aus Großbritanien, aber auch aus Deutschland und Belgien. Der Outlaw Flat Four (OFF) Drag Racing Club brachte 15 Autos mit, der belgische DAS VW Club zehn. In der Boxengasse sahen wir außerdem noch Udo Becker und Christoph Van Trappen, die gerade Stian “Tekken” Abells alten Rennmotor in Christophs Straßen-Käfer quetschten. Und natürlich ließ sich das CSP-Team mit Star-Rennfahrer Ron Lumus blicken, der
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aus Kalifornien kam und den 34er Karmann pilotierte sowie beim Setup half. Gar nicht gut startete der erste Renn-Tag. Es regnete und regnete und hörte leider auch den ganzen Samstag nicht mehr auf. Das ließ uns Zeit mit anderen Enthusiasten Kontakt aufzunehmen und die teilweise wunderschön aufgebauten, nostalgischen Rennwagen zu begutachten. Abends brachte ein Lagerfeuer die Leute zusammen, andere hatten Spaß an der Rockband in der Bar. Deutlich besser zeigte sich das Wetter am Sonntag. Es gab zwar noch dunkle Wolken am Himmel, aber es blieb trocken. Im Lauf des Tages füllten sich nach und nach die Staging Lanes. Lange Wartezeiten gab es dennoch nicht, da kaum Oil Downs zu beklagen waren. Auf der Strecke sah man stattdessen Gasser gegen Pro Streets fahren, die OFF-Jungs rissen einen Wheelie nach dem anderen und der CSP-Karmann schaffte es in die niedrigen 9er. Die Mischung der Fahrzeuge ist das, was Garry's Picnic ausmacht und für interessante Rennen sorgt. Beispielsweise der Run zwischen Pat Depernes kompressorbetriebenen 1776er Käfer gegen einen sieben Liter
The superb ‘67 Stich Up, after a hard launch...
it went up onto the guardrail, suffering only...
...minor damages, and Bernie survived too!
The pits were busy all of the long weekend
Francois ‘Shrek’ Delveaux getting some air time in his magnificent oval
The ex Jeff Denham VW powered Fiat600
Jason Rew trying to beat his PB of 11.42
Majority of the cars at the PicNic have V8s
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Words: Johnny Jimenez | Brendan Finn Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
Barndoors are in a league of their own but a Kombi with a factory optioned sunroof, now that is rare! Ken King’s dedication and hard work got his 1954 Bus to this beautiful state, which is by no means an easy task. 56
BD 25A
A KING’S BARNDOOR
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Euch seine Cartoons im Heft aufgefallen sein. Meistens gestaltet er sogar das komplette Cover des Heftes. Ansonsten entwirft er alles mögliche andere, angefangen bei Kleidern bis hin zu Schallplatten-Hüllen. Bevor er jedoch mit seinem Auto-Projekt begann, beschäftigte er sich hauptsächlich mit der Frage, ob er ein 911-Dach auf einen Typ 3 setzen, oder einen Porsche in einen VW mit extrem sanfter Dachline verwandeln sollte. Schließlich fand er einen günstigen 1968er 912, womit sich die Probleme von selbst zu lösen schienen - oder begannen sie gerade? Als nächstes brachte der Japaner zu Papier, was in seinem Kopf schon
Gorgeous rear end, half Porsche, half VW Type3
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existierte. Mit Skizzen und Auto bewaffnet machte er sich auf den Weg zu einem Karosseriebauer, der Willens war, sich dieser Aufgabe zu stellen und den Porsche 912 in einen “913” umzubauen. Wenn er nur schon gewusst hätte, daß die Jungs dort fünf Jahre für den Umbau brauchen würden... Ok, es war aber auch ein gewaltiges Unterfangen - schaut Euch nur die Bilder des Endergebnisses an. An diesem Auto gibt es unzählige Modifikationen. Zu viele, um sie hier alle detailliert zu beschreiben. Versucht Euch einen originalen 911 oder 912 vorzustellen und schaut dann RedHots Schöpfung an - Ihr werdet immer wieder neue Veränderungen entdecken. Prinzipiell
blieben vom 912 nur noch das Dach, die Scheiben, das Interieur und das Chassis unangetastet. Im Gegenzug ist fast die komplette Außenhaut neu angefertigt. Doch damit war es nicht getan. Anders als beim Porsche zieht der Typ 3 TL seine Kühlluft nicht durch ein Gitter in der Motorklappe, sondern durch Schlitze in den hinteren Kotflügeln. Folglich baute man dahinter spezielle Führungen, die die Maschine mit kühlender Luft versorgen. Vor vier Jahren war es dann endlich soweit: RedHot brachte den 913 auf die Straßen seiner Heimatstadt Mitaka, Tokyo. Und er zögert nicht, sein einmaliges Gefährt zu
The original 1968 Porsche 912 engine received Weber 40mm IDF carbs and a 009 distributor
Treffen zu fahren oder an Cruise Nights teilzunehmen. Außerdem präsentierte er den wagen auf der prestigeträchtigen Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod & Custom Show, bei der er die Hot Rod Willie’s Choice und die European Bug In Choice gewann. Und das werden nicht die letzten Trophäen gewesen sein! Der 913 war es also wert Geduld bewiesen und gewartet zu haben, bis aus der Vision in RedHots Kopf ein fahrbares Auto wurde. edhot est un personnage à l’imagination débordante. Il y a dix ans de cela, il commence à rêver d’un projet custom un peu fou, qui consisterait en un accouplement
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entre une Porsche et un Type 3 Fastback. Il couche ses idées sur papier, ce qui est plutôt facile pour lui car il est designer graphique de métier, et réalise entre autres les dessins qui paraissent dans le magazine japonais StreetVWs. Vous avez déjà sûrement dû voir une de ces fabuleuses couvertures aux détails incroyables. A ces heures perdues, il dessine aussi des vêtements ou des pochettes de vinyles. Mais revenons-en à ce qui nous intéresse. Au début du projet, Redhot se demande s’il doit adapter le toit d’une 911 à un Type 3, ou s’il doit transformer une Porsche en VW avec ligne de toit très fuyante. Puis un beau
The interior of RedHot’s 913 has not been restored. The rare 1968 one year only parts are all still there
jour, il déniche une 912 de 1968 pour pas trop cher et son dilemme est réglé. Armé de ses dessins, il emmène la voiture chez le carrossier qui aura la lourde tâche de créer sa « 913 ». En tout, il lui faudra cinq longues années pour finir les travaux de tôlerie. Pas étonnant quand on voit le nombre incroyable de modifications qui ont été apportées à la voiture. De la 912 d’origine, seuls le toit, le vitrage, l’intérieur et le châssis ont été conservés. Tout le reste est entièrement réalisé à la main. Mais ce n’est pas tout. Le moteur d’une Porsche reçoit normalement de l’air frais via des aérations sur le capot
The back seats are perfect size for Japanese ladies
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Mooneyes 2010 It never rains in California... But, at Mooneyes’ X-Mas Show it was poaring down. So, the Mooneyes crew decided to throw a “make up event”. Ed Fox and his bare naked crewcab checked it out for us > Words: Steve Sare Pictures: Ed Fox Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto
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Show | Mooneyes Show 2010
ooneyes Summer 2010 was held in July at Irwindale in the peak of summer and during yet another record breaking southern California heatwave. But the event still brought in thousands of spectators, pin-up girls, drag racers and hot rodders. To understand why they turned up - despite the blazing sun – let’s go back a few months to the Mooneyes X-Mas Party Show & Drag 2009 – it was pouring with rain and the drag races were cancelled, but that didn’t stop everyone from showing up to join the party. To show their appreciation, Mooneyes
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immediately began making plans to change their open-house date into a Make Up Dry Event, and the rest, as they say, is history. Temperatures were beyond extreme and many couldn’t stand the heat, but all in all Mooneyes put together an incredible show from start to finish. Of course, Mooneyes are the first to say that none of this would have been possible without the support of people who turned up for the day. But I have to say that it just wouldn’t be the same without a company like Mooneyes. As soon as the
event was finished, the buzz was already humming with anticipation around year end, when the Mooneyes X-mas Party Show & Drag 2010 takes place on Saturday December 11, 2010 in the same location, Toyota Speedway at Irwindale! See you there! er Toyota Speedway im kalifornischen Irwindale beherbergte dieses Jahr das Mooneyes Summer 2010 Event, mitten im Juli, während einer weiteren rekordbrechenden Hitzewelle. Trotzdem kamen die Menschen zu Tausenden, egal ob
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What did you expect? That Gianni was going to leave it stock?! Ankunft packte die Crew um Gianni schon die Maßbänder aus und entfernte die kompletten Fahrwerks- und Antriebskomponenten. Man entschied sich gegen die Verwendung eines Käfer-Fahrgestells und konstruierte den Unterbau eigenhändig neu. Vorne nahm man einen Käfer-Rahmenkopf zu Hilfe, der mit einer um 7,5 cm verschmälerten Typ 1-Bundbolzenachse versehen wurde. Der ehemalige Kofferraum beinhaltet nun handgefertigte Radhäuser, einen Tank sowie die Batterie. Dabei verpassten die Jungs dem neuen Blech so gekonnt Farbe, daß man es kaum von Stellen mit Originallack unterscheiden kann.
> This was a car sold in France, so originally delivered with yellow headlights < Noch mehr Arbeit wartete am Heck des K70. Wo einst das Ehepaar sein Gepäck verstaute, sollten nun ein Typ 1 mit Eigenbau-TurboSystem, ein Käfer-Getriebe und Federbeine Platz finden. Kein Problem für die Radikalbugz! Sie entfernten alles unnötige Blech und fertigten einen Hilfsrahmen aus Stahlrohr, der an einen soliden Überrollkäfig angeschlossen ist, um dem Auto die nötige Steifheit zu geben. Wie man es von Gianni erwartet, schleift der K70 schier auf dem Boden, mit tief in den Kotflügeln versenken Erco-Felgen. Ein paar Änderungen
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finden sich auch im Fahrgastraum, der mit einem Lecarra-Lenkrad, Bugpack-Schalthebel, Simpson-Gurten sowie Autometer-Drehzahlmesser ausgerüstet ist. Vorne blieb das Seriengestühl, hinten wich die Bank einer Lachgas-Flasche und verschiedenen Alu-Paneelen, die den Zugang zu Motor und Getriebe erleichtern. Womit Gianni und die Radikalbugz es mal wieder geschafft hätten, uns schwer zu beeindrucken. Wir sind gespannt, was sie für 2011 in petto haben. ancée à la fin des années 60, la K70 n’est pas le plus grand succès commercial de VW. Remplacée par la Passat en 1975, sa production n’atteint que 210.085 unités au total. C’est pourtant le premier modèle de la marque à disposer des roues avant motrices et d’un moteur refroidi par eau. L’exemplaire que nous vous présentons ici est un peu le chaînon manquant entre la 411 et la K70. Il est l’œuvre de Gianni Sanchez, et sort de ses ateliers situés près de Mons en Belgique.
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Gianni trouve cette voiture à Paris, chez une vieille dame l’ayant achetée neuve en 1975. A la mort de son mari, elle avait précieusement remisé la berline allemande dans un box de garage. Mais après quinze ans de stockage, elle décide qu’il est temps de la mettre en vente et passe une petite annonce dans un journal
Dub Specs BODY 1975 Volkswagen K70, original paint Mayan Gold L98A and blended in with new paint only where the body had been modified by the Radikalbugz, engine bay and trunk area removed and the body was channeled and fitted with all hand made new sheet metal. INTERIOR Original door panels, stock seats. Autometer Monster tach with oil pressure warning light and Shiftlight. Original K70 dashboard has been re-wired and is fully functional. Radikalbugz custom made roll cage, Simpson 4 point belts. Bugpack beetle shifter fitted with Hurst Line-Lock. NOS tank instead of the back seat. TECH Engine: Type 1, 2332cc, AS41 VW case, 94mm bore, 82mm counterweight DPR wedge mated crank, CB Performance 5.5inch rods, Mahle 94mm pistons and cylinders with total seal piston rings. Secret grind Radikalbugz cam, T04-E Garret Hybrid Turbocharger, Holley 650cfm Carb modified for turbo with Holley air filter and Holley Red fuel pump. 40mm AJ Simms waste gate, Petronix Ignition. Big Diff 48IDA manifolds mated to a stainless intake manifold made by Gianni. Heads 44mm X 38mm CB Performance Magnum heads. Scat 1.25 ratio rockers. Berg oil pump with full flow, JIC connections with Goodrich stainless/Teflon hoses. JAZ carbon fibre breather box. Custom made to fit upright fanshroud. Horsepower estimate 250 to 450Hp depending on boost and NOS setup. Transaxle: Rancho Pro Street 1st and 2nd gears welded and long ratio 4th gear, hd side plates, Super Diff, Solid mounted onto the roll cage. Suspension: Radikalbugz front beam, narrowed 6cm, Strange coil over shocks with supports for fueltank and battery added. Modified stock K70 rack and pinion steering. Stock VW spindles. Rear H&R Golf Mk1 coil over shocks, 20mm Radikalbugz uniball triangulated suspension kit. Brakes: Stock 1962 beetle, soon fitted with Jamar 4 wheel disc brakes. Wheels: Erco 3.5” and 6” X15” with 135R15 Toyos and 165/65/15 Michelins, as soon as he finds narrow high slicks they will be fitted. THANKS TO Gianni would like to express his thanks to the whole the Radikalbugz Crew and especially Michael, Denis, Ryan Dunn, Shelby and all the others, you know who you are... Merci! Build pics and more info can be found on: www.radikalbugz.com
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VW Bug Show ‘10 Words: Yves Maertens Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Georg Otto Pictures: Kevin Maquoi | Niels Timmerman
Spa. For most people, these 3 letters evoke images of Formula 1 cars pelting round the race circuit at over 160 miles an hour, battling for first place in the pouring rain. For us, however, they mean one of the best VW events of the year, packed with thousands of cars from all over Europe. > n the 24th and 25th of July 2010 the world famous Spa-Francorchamps racetrack was the venue for the 19th Le VW Bug Show. Spa really is in the heart of central Europe – located in the magnificent Belgian Ardennes, it’s midway between Germany, Holland, France and the UK, ideally placed to host a gigantic pan-continental show.
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Though it’s a 2 day event, many participants are already on site by Friday afternoon to bag a top spot on the gigantic campsite. Those looking for night time peace and quiet choose to camp by the woods, while those who are there to boogie try to get as close to the big party marquee as they can
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so they have a better chance of locating their tent in the wee small hours. On Saturday morning the various car parks really start filling up. Clubs rope off their designated areas and set up their displays very early, so if you wake up late at Spa, chances are you’ll miss the best opportunity to display your car. On the top car park there’s the swapmeet, traders’ stalls and a very big Apal exhibit. We were right next to it in our own AirMighty F1 pit box where we created a photo studio, and that’s where we shot the K70 over the weekend (see page 85).
Drag Racing fans got their kicks on the straight but those with German Lookers and beetles set up for track racing were absolutely the ones who had the most fun. That’s Spa for you.
> Saturday evening the huge sound system kicked off the party, for many that's what Spa is all about < Actually, the track was open to everyone; you just had to make sure that your car passed the safety check. Another way to hit the famous blacktop was during the mega-popular daily parade, allowing everyone to get wheel to
Show | VW Bug Show Spa 2010
Fifty-fifty restored 11 window bus from Swiss
Don Willaert’s ‘65 “PRTYBS” cruising all day long
wheel on the hallowed blacktop, which is normally off limits to the public.
> It's a unique opportunity to discover the mythical Spa F1 track < On Saturday evening the huge sound system kicked off the party. For those who have never been to Le Bug Show, it’s probably best that we describe it to you as a mixture between a frat party, a strip-club and a Techno rave with several hectolitres of beer on top. Everything finally wound down at around
The Brits where taking over the course...!
This “barn find” dubble cab had a weird load...
...these little chicks where having their own party!
Built by the Radikalbugz for a Dutch customer
Harold Esseboom’s Thing from the Netherlands
Very solid, bare metal splitwindow from France!
This French oval was fitted with funky wheels
2.30 am, the atmosphere was great and the Cops were on hand to keep a watchful eye on it all... Sunday morning arrived a bit too soon, though there was no excuse to stay in bed. Still way too many cars to see, and new stuff to discover before the awards were handed out and everyone would start heading home. Several cars were real eye-catchers – such as the impressive Off Road Brasilia built by Xavier Adam, who didn’t hesitate to drive up all the steps he came across on the show-
ground; or Gianni Sanchez’s insane Turbocharged K70 that’s so low it risks getting stuck if there’s the tiniest bit gravel between it and the road. Some people went to great lengths to turn heads, one even ‘liberating’ a barn door from the woods and reconfiguring it as an instant chicken coop! Mid-day Sunday and the Bug Show crew handed out the Top 20 awards and the Best of Show trophy, won by Frank “2S Koncept” Desespringalle and his ‘64 turbocharged beetle – he’d only finished his car the evening before the event. The European
The DAS VW Club had their annual display in the ‘show & shine’ area
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Outlaw 356 from Downunder Words: Marc Banks | Kobus Cantraine Pictures: Luke Ray Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto
Trying to stay true to the original Ferdinand Porsche designed shape whilst endeavoring to give a 356 that something special is a balancing act. Too much and it destroys the cars lines. Not enough and you wonder why you bothered in the first place. With that in mind, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s have a look at this Australian â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;57 Porsche 356. 110
he relationship between Marc Banks and his Porsche 356 coupe began when he spotted the rusty, abused, but nevertheless complete car, and bought it on a whim without any real plans for its eventual restoration. Cheap and complete, that was good enough for Marc.
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His car sat for several years in the front yard of his previous residence in Camberwell, South Australia, while house renovation took precedence. However, he needed a diversion from building work so in quiet moments he started stripping it back in the garage. Until, that is, he got caught out by his missus! The plan was simple, as Marc says; “well, to take what I thought was the best shaped sports car I had ever seen and do as little as possible to make it look different.” Creating a simple, clean outlaw sounds so easy, and yet can go so horribly wrong, but ultimately Marc got it pretty well perfect, despite changing his mind about the engine, the wheels, the ride height and colour several times along the way. The end product is exactly how he envisaged it from the outset. First up the 356 was clad in Vitamin C orange. Then it was stripped back to the shell and a coat of black paint was applied. But this seemed to obscure some of the subtle body mods which lost their definition when painted black. Marc’s partner Lahlee suggested taking a walk though some parking lots and it was there that he found the standard GM Holden colour that now adorns the most talked about outlaw in Australia. It is Martini Mica Grey. The theme was set. They decided there and then to use two colours, black to accompany the new Martini grey, subtly achieved by blacking
the wheels. “We wanted to build a ‘50s 356 hot rod - not a amalgamation of a 911 and 356 - with black window frames, modern radio aerials and creature comforts.” The interior of the car required several modifications, but the dash was kept completely standard. For best effect the steering wheel had to be a Moto Lita riveted rim wooden wheel. The headlining was a little difficult to figure out, so it was left in the hands of Marc’s trusted trimmer Brent and his team at Car Trims in Camberwell, Melbourne, where it was hand-made to accommodate the air ducts that track air into the engine bay. The air is ducted via a custom-built 4-into-2 alloy breather box mounted on the inside firewall, feeding the vertically mounted oil cooler in the engine bay.
>The simple lines of this ’57 coupe have been pampered into shape from a beaten and battered original shell found in Adelaide 10 years ago. < Marc got Brent to upholster a set of Speedster seats and then changed his mind - in favour of the genuine Porsche 968 Clubsport seats that are now fitted; their shells have been painted to match the exterior. The removal of the pop-out rear side glass actually appeared to slim down what are in fact bulkier seats. Marc says: “I wanted some comfort whilst driving the car. I tell you, if you take this little grey missile out onto the road, you are thankful for that because there isn’t much else to calm the senses, it’s full on in there!” Bernie Bergmann built the 2.4-litre Type1 VW engine. It was exported from the USA as a crate motor and fitted into the 356 with
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TheVWClassic 2010 Massive! That’s probably the best word to discribe the VW Classic. It’s Sunday June 13th, we get up early in the morning for a full day with to many of the best and recently finished dub’s in Irvine, California > Words: Niels Timmerman Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
he early bird catches the worm - or a parking spot at SoCal Imports’ VW Classic. Even before the sun has started rising, the traffic jam in front of the entrance begins to build up. Usually it’s all the way back to the highway a mile off by the time the gates open.
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This is Southern California’s biggest and oldest Aircooled VW show, besides the Bug In. Held on the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre parking lot since 1985, VW Classic filled the void in the SoCal VW scene when Orange County Raceway closed in 1983 and the Bug In disappeared. Rich Kimball, the man behind the Bug Ins, started the event and ran the VW Classics until 2005, when he sold the name to the promoters of the Sacramento Bug O Ramas. Over the last 20 years the show has become bigger and bigger so that these days the parking lot is seriously stacked with aircooled VWs from
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all over America. The top show cars flock to Irvine with but one goal in mind, to go home bearing a trophy. It’s become the prime spot for people to debut their freshly-built pride and joy. We shot Carloz Guzman’s amazing 1957 Samba bus which we featured in the previous issue of AirMighty right there on the VW Classic parking lot. Among the exhibitors were the GFK club who displayed a whole row of super-clean resto cal lookers. They had beetles, buses, ghias, even a Porsche 356, and as an added bonus they served the most delicious tacos. Another club well worth mentioning was the DBK, and we feature two of their cars on page 140 of this magazine. The DBK line up very diverse in style, from narrowed and super-slammed to vintage and even ratlook/bare metal cars. Plus the usual gigantic DKP line up of classy old school
sleepers with hot Weber fuelled engines in the back. On the other side of the show we particularly enjoyed Oldbug.com’s Freak Show! Just as he does every year Randy Carlson pulled out some fantastic “Freaks” and the Tatra was definitely worthy of a second and even third look. Another oddity worth mentioning was “Walter”, the world’s biggest VW bus. It’s built on top of a 1963 4x4 Walter fire truck chassis and it’s absolutely humungous.
> Southern California is packed with VWs, so is the VW Classic < The VW Classic is renowned for its meticulously parked and categorised show and shine, and this year didn’t disappoint on the aircooled front. The trader area had all of the main players from the So Cal region and far beyond. The swap meet is pretty large as
Show | VW Classic 2010
The Californian VW scene is massive, not all cars are slammed or “Cal Looked” there is a very big part of the VW enthousiasts who keep them as they left the factory
This DBK ‘51 ragtop splitwindow on 17” Fuchs had a great stance
Extremely clean restored Notchback by Buddy Hale
well and packed with good stuff; for many foreign visitors it’s actually the main reason to trek to SoCal - well, that and the whole VW Classic week with all of its accompanying events. We displayed our magazine on artist Ron Petro’s trade stand and he was busy all day autographing VW Classic posters and other examples of his neat Aircooled art (Thanks for keeping us hydrated on that hot day, Ron). VW Classic was an unbeatable way to end the crazy week filled with Volkswagen related events. Such as Ed Economy’s Toy and Literature meet, the gigantic OCTO bus meet, the open houses all over Orange County, the Pre Classic DKP Cruise Night and so much more. It all contributes to why going to the VW Classic is such a magical experience under the Southern Californian sunshine. Well and truly bushed we headed home with a camera full of Southern
There are loads of high quality vintage VWs, coachbuilds and Porsches to admire
Top of the line, this ‘67 is Cal-Look perfection
California’s finest VWs. If you want to see more photos from the VW classic then you can always check out the gallery on the www.airmighty.com website - we’ve got over 450 great pictures online for you to enjoy. er frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm - oder bekommt einen Parkplatz auf dem SoCal Import VW Classic. Bereits vor Sonnenaufgang reiht sich ein VW an den anderen vor dem Eingang zum Treffengelände. Oft reicht der Stau bis zur Abfahrt vom Highway, die fast 1,5 Kilometer entfernt liegt, bevor die Tore öffnen. Neben dem Bug-In ist es Süd-Kaliforniens größte und älteste luftgekühlte VW-Show. Seit 1985 findet es auf dem Parkplatz des Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre statt und füllte die Lücke, die das Bug-In hinterließ. Als der Orange County International Raceway 1983 eingeebnet wurde, verschwand mit ihm auch das Bug-In, das dort von Rich Kimball
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This ‘53 Pre-A Porsche 356 received split windows
veranstaltet wurde. Er organisierte auch das VW Classic bis 2005, verkaufte dann aber die Namensrechte an Bugorama Promotions. Doch zurück zum VW Classic. In den letzten 25 Jahren wuchs das Treffen von Jahr zu Jahr und heute ist der Parkplatz dermaßen voll mit VWs aus ganz Amerika, daß manchmal nicht alle auf das Gelände können. Doch wer sein neues Auto fertig hat, der möchte es dort präsentieren und am Liebsten mit einem Pokal nach Hause gehen. Carloz Guzman ist einer von ihnen. Seinen 57er Samba zeigten wir bereits in AirMighty 2/10. Fotografiert hatten wir ihn eben dort, auf dem VW Classic. Womit wir bei seinem Club wären, den German Folks. An ihrem Stand fand sich eine Reihe supersauberer Resto Cal Looker, darunter nicht nur Käfer, sondern auch Busse, Karmänner und sogar ein Porsche 356. Und bei ihnen gab es die besten Tacos... Ein anderer erwähnenswerter Club war DBK. Zwei ihrer
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Photographer: Ed Fox Model: Casey Parker Website: www.edfox.com | www.footfactory.com 126
So what do we have here? A Beetle with patina for sure, but is it polished? Or self made? Or is it Mother Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best ever original paint job plus a clear coat finish? It is definitely one of a kind! Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Erwin Stok
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et l’intérieur ne vaut pas mieux. Elle a besoin d’une resto complète, qui s’étalera sur 3 ans. La voiture est complètement démontée par Lalo avec l’aide de son ami Ernie Serna. Très vite, ils découvrent quelques zones attaquées par la rouille, et un demi-plancher inexistant. Pour éviter toute mauvaise surprise, ils portent la coque au sablage avant de ressouder les deux renforts de longerons et les divers trous qui parsèment la carrosserie. Finalement, Juan Carlos et Miguel Alvadrez, de la carrosserie « Amigos Body Shop », se chargent de l’application de la peinture, une magnifique teinte marron foncée réalisée sur mesure. Le châssis est envoyé chez Oldspeed, à Paramount en Californie, pour le remplacement des planchers. Pendant que Russ s’occupe du montage du 2007cc et de la boite longue, Pip installe les disques sur le train avant rétréci de 6 pouces. Dans la foulée, les barres de torsion arrière perdent 2 crans et les jantes Fuchs en 4.5’’ et 6’’ sont chaussés de pneus Nankang. Une fois le tout monté, la caisse peut retrouver son châssis. Le toit, en piteux état, est restauré grâce à des bois en provenance de Mme Lee, de Signal Hill. L’intérieur est revêtu de skaï beige par Alex Hernandez. « J’adore la façon dont les couleurs de la sellerie et de la capote se marient. » L’intérieur est laissé volontairement simple, et est juste orné d’un cerclage de klaxon et d’un levier de vitesse Berg à clé. Côté son, c’est Neto (le propriétaire de la 58 découvrable) qui est mis à contribution. Il modifie la radio Sapphire d’époque pour la connecter à un iPod, l’équipe d’un ampli, et la branche à un haut parleur installé dans l’emplacement d’origine derrière le tableau de bord. Les grilles de phares NOS de Porsche Speedster et l’écusson Hambourg se chargent d’apporter une touche de classe finale à l’extérieur. Aujourd’hui, les efforts de Lalo sont récompensés. Il peut enfin cruiser avec ses potes du DBK, capote baissée et musique dans les oreilles, au volant d’une des caisses les plus cool de la côte ouest. l
NETO’S RHD RAGTOP ‘58! t’s time to have a closer look at the second 1958 Resto-Cal Beetle in this double feature. It’s owned by Ernesto Ryes, aka “Neto”. Aged 34, he’s also a DBK member, and works as a pharmacy tech. Living in Long Beach as well, he’s owned many VWs in the past, and it’s very likely the one you see here won’t be the last, either! This 1958 ragtop was originally delivered to Australia, and that makes it a very rare car on Californian soil, ‘cos there just aren’t that many righthand drive cars with semaphores and a ragtop cruising around that part of the world.
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How it ended up in So-Cal is a pretty crazy story too, so here goes: Neto originally started restoring his ‘55 vert, but after driving one of his friend’s RHD Vee-dub he knew that this was the style of car for him, and that someday he’d be cruising around with his steering wheel located on the ‘wrong’ side of the car. Meanwhile, he continued working on his vert. Then one weekend he saw an ad on theSamba.com for this car. Come Monday morning, he emailed the seller, who got back to him next day. Right there and then, Neto booked a flight and flew up to Sacramento on the Wednesday, took a look at the ‘58 RHD ragtop, liked what he saw, and left a deposit with the seller. Armed with the dosh, he then drove up to Sac on the Friday morning, arrived at 11pm, paid the balance, hitched it up and started the long tow back to Long Beach. Once home, he drove it about 50 miles with no problems at all. It ran like a champ - except when the big-rig semi-trucks zoomed past and almost blew him off the road a couple times. Next, Neto took the car to a classic car club meeting on Saturday evening. On Sunday he stripped the whole car - in about 6 hours - and then the restoration began. While the body was being painted he worked on the floor-pan. The
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The classic SCC award “Smoking” for the best burn-out went to Allan Opstrup from Denmark. He revved his green oval’s engine to the max and kept it on the limiter. Leaving loads of smokin’ rubber behind!
Show | Drag Racing 2010 part #1 les plus rapides de Scandinavie et d’Europe. C’est ici que l’ovale de Tor Øyvind Skinne vient de battre le record de la cox de route avec châssis la plus rapide au monde, pilotée par le courageux Jens Petter Brandstorp. Elle a parcouru le ¼ de mile en 8,606 secondes, à la vitesse incroyable de 268.66km/h ! Impressionné ? Il y a plus. L’évènement attire non seulement les meilleures voitures de course du continent, mais aussi une délégation de voitures parmi les plus vieilles au monde. Plus d’infos à ce sujet dans l’insert sur le Vintage Village. A chaque fois qu’un troupeau d’élans traverse la piste, nous en profitons pour détailler les voitures dans le Show & Shine. Mais c’est la piste qui reste le centre d’attraction. Il s’agit réellement d’une des meilleures en Europe ! Sa surface, généreusement enduite de Trackbite, est parfaitement
lisse et recouverte d’une épaisse couche de caoutchouc déposée par les années de drag racing. Le grip, c’est parfait pour battre des records, mais il vaut mieux que le matériel suive. La piste est connue pour être une ‘tueuse de boite’, ce que nous aurons l’occasion de constater avec quelques casses impressionnantes. Ron Lummus déchirera la boite du T34 CSP en deux morceaux, et Pat, venu de Belgique avec son drag, cassera ses deux arbres de roue en même temps. Si vous voulez affronter cette piste, soyez préparés, et amenez vos pièces de rechange ! Le soir, si vous n’êtes pas en train de mécaniquer, le mieux est d’aller se réchauffer autour d’un bon feu de bois et assister au concert live sous la tente des Screwdrivers. l
Best Rat Look: Morten Lund’s “Deep Water” Samba
www.sccevent.com
Schwimmwagens in action on the Hurdals lake
Vintage Village at SCC event SCC is not just about Drag Racing! It’s become a full-on VW display with a great show-and-shine and a “Vintage Village” filled with perfect bone-stock Volkswagens. Talking about smokin’ rubber; here’s Allan Opstrup performing the biggest burn-out of the weekend!
Team Angora Racing wrenching session
Everywhere you look there are serious race cars!
It ranges from your wartime KDF to mint 1303 S with hardly any miles on the clock. The SCC organisation opened the doors to non-racing VWs a few years ago, and it’s grown into the largest Aircooled gathering in Scandinavia. Where else can you see a whole row of Schwimmwagens and Kübels and then the next moment witness a ‘50s beetle run less than 9 seconds on the quarter mile? You see Kübelwagens drive through the forest and, as the name suggests, the Schwimmers do what they’re built for - schwim! That’s on the daily drive out to Hurdals Lake where they display their awesome design features. Those Scandinavians are as hardcore with their wartime VWs as they are with their race cars. They build ‘em tough and use ‘em hard: there’s no such thing as No Way in Norway!
SCC Speaker Øystein Asphjell s HPD-Special
Depot area was bustling with activity 24h a day!
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