Ultra VW issue 104

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WWW.ULTRAVW.COM

DOUBLE-SIDED PULL-OUT POSTER WITH MONTHLY EVENT GUIDE

MK1 GOLF CLASSIC LOOKS WITH MODERN, TDi POWER!

SUNSET BOULEVARD A HOME-BREWED CAMPERVAN CONVERSION WITH STYLE...

PLANET ULTRA: THE NETHERLANDS: KÜBEL & TREKKER GERMANY: WORLD-CLASS GERMAN LOOKER CANADA: THE GREAT CANADIAN SHOW

PLUS: GUTE FAHRT VINTAGE ADVERTISEMENTS STEERING BOX SCRAPERS ‘CAMPOUT’ CLASSIC VWs IN CLASSIC TRIALS! DKP CHARITY CRUISE £3.99 CAN$11.95 US$9.25 April 2012 www.ultravw.com

OLD-SCHOOL CALIFORNIA LOOK SEDAN WITH SHOW’N’GO!

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Words: Jon Dickson Photos: Paul Knight

ALL OR

NOTHING Jon Dickson talks us through his tempestuous history of love, hate, then some serious lovin’ with his fabulous ’63 Old School ’Looker...

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’ve always loved VW Beetles – it’s something to do with the funky curves and the Herbie films from my childhood, hence I always knew my first car was going to be a Bug. Back in ’86, I bought a 1973 Bug and, within weeks of purchase, I’d already given it the Cal Look treatment. As much as I loved it, it loved my bank account more, and the more money I threw at it just to keep it on the road, the more it demanded! It lived up to the nickname given by my mates – ‘PG Tips’ – due to the thousands of perforations in it!

Eventually I lost heart and sold the car, replacing it with my other passion, a scooter.

Then, due to work commitments, I moved from Middlesbrough to Colchester for a two year contract in ’92. For the first time in my life I was driving new cars, but over the years I’d really started to hanker for another Bug. By 1994, my job had become permanent, which allowed me to get a VW again. But this time I really wanted an early ’60s Bug. In the days before the Internet, I used the phone book to check out the local VW garages. First on the list was LR SuperBeetles, who had a nice pale blue Oval Cal Looker, but it was sat on a later four-stud chassis, which put me off the car (although it did introduce me to Les!). The second phone call was to a place called The Paintbox. I had never heard of them, but when the guy on the other end of the phone told me to come down and he would see if he could weave some magic, I was intrigued.

Soon, I was sat with Simon, having decided on a ’60s California survivor, which he had at his place. All was looking good, but fate threw its hand in, and a combination of circumstances for both Simon and me meant there was no way the car would be ready in time to replace my lease car, the contract for which was about to expire.

I was gutted and scoured the small ads searching for a suitable car but just couldn’t find anything nice. Then, just when I thought my quest for a Bug was over, I got another call from Simon. He had been doing some digging and found just what I was after. The car was not for sale, but the owner may be persuaded to part with it.

A few phone calls later and Simon and I headed down to Esher to meet Darren Campbell at Andy Marriot and Ian Clarke’s Wolfsburg Performance shop. Darren arrived at speed in the ’63 which looked like it had just jumped out of the pages of an early ’70s Hot VWs mag. Darren took me for a spin, again at speed, and I knew I had to have it. A deal was done and we headed back to Essex.

The Bug was firmly in what is known now as old school Cal Look style, but back then, UK Cal Lookers were low, dechromed and pastel coloured. The Resto-Cals were also low, but full of chrome and loaded with accessories. Without the Internet, the origins of Cal Look were simply unknown for many people. My Bug often sat on its own parked

up at shows, neither in one camp or the other. Most people just didn’t ‘get it’ and I often heard comments such as ‘why is the back end so high?’.

It was almost Ruby Red, had a standard white interior, Berg Avis adjusters and a twincarbed 1600cc motor with a genuine EMPI dual muffler. Darren had fitted a Type 3 switch set to the dash, an early Berg shifter and ’58 US-spec front wings with the bullet indicators. Some of the few who were on the same wavelength were the Belgian crowd, who loved the stance. I once overheard Ritchie King agreeing with Simon that it sat just right – something that made my day!

The Bug stayed in this guise for some years as my daily driver. It lived on the road and covered many miles across the country.

Then, in ’96 the car was vandalised, so it was booked in at The Paintbox for repairs and a full repaint. My trusty 1600cc motor was also needing a bit of love, so I called to see Paul Miller at Harry Harpics with the intention of him building me a 1776. Paul, knowing how I used my Bug, suggested a more torquey motor, a 2110 with a mild Eurorace C grind cam yet still retaining my 40DRLA Dell’Ortos.

This was all matched to my 4.125:1 ring and pinion transmission, which I strengthened with a Berg mid mount.

With a fresh coat of paint and new motor, I was once again cruising to shows across the country and this time I rented a lock up to keep it safe from the vandals.

However, by 2000 the years of daily use had taken their toll and a house move and new baby put the Bug into semi-retirement.

Its final outing was Bug Jam 2003 and, by then, the rust bubbles were starting to show.

Knowing I was going to have to make a start, I had electricity put into my single garage and brought the Bug over from the lock up. A quick prod with a screwdriver and a wire brush showed that after years of living and driving in all weathers, some substantial body work would be needed.

My good friend Matt McNulty took a

Jon has every right to look proud. Having owned his Bug for many years, he’s transformed it from a daily driver to an all-or-nothing, balls-out show and go ride! Good work, Jon!

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SUPER BEETLE

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Words: Paul Knight Photos: Mike Key

‘Proper’ German Look – that’s what we’re talking about here. Harald Lyndner (Harry to his friends) is the proud owner of what is perhaps one of the bestknown German Look cars anywhere in the world.

Paul Knight takes a closer look at this legendary VW...

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f, like me, you’re a serious fan of German engineering, you will probably know exactly who Harry Lyndner is and may even have been lucky enough to have seen his hardcore German Looker in action at the track, or even parked up on a show field. However, for the benefit of newcomers to this scene, we’ll start at the beginning.

Harry’s project hasn’t always looked this tough. In fact, it was just another rusty 1303 stocker when he started the car way back in the early ’90s. Right from the start, Harry had big plans for his little Bug, and the project began by stripping the body away from the chassis to tackle the underlying rust issues.

Whilst the bodyshell itself wasn’t too bad, the chassis had terminal rust issues, and was packed off to the scrapyard. The search began for a replacement ’73 IRS chassis but, in the meantime, there was enough metalwork on the body to keep Harry busy for a while.

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BROTHERS

IN ARMS

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Trekker, Type 181, Thing – whatever you call it, the modern interpretation of the wartime Kübelwagen is a pretty cool machine. And few come cooler than this Dutch ride…

Words: Keith Seume Photos: Paul Knight

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SUNSET BOULEVARD Words: & Photos Paul Knight

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It may have taken a few years of blood, sweat and tears (not to mention a good chunk of hard-earned cash, too!), but Alun Williams can now finally reap the rewards of all his hard work, and enjoy some weekends away in his Camper!

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ssex-based Alun Williams has long been a VW fan, but this particular project was a little different to most – it was actually a wedding present from his in-laws!

This was back in 2005, and of course, Alun and his wife Rachel were over the moon with their new project. However, this was a project, not a finished vehicle, so Alun had his work cut out to get the thing up to scratch and ready for some weekends away!

At first, Alun decided to give the van what he describes as ‘a quick spruce up’, to get it roadworthy. The theory being it might be possible to subject it to a rolling restoration, thereby spreading the cost and work load, whilst also keeping it on the road

and having some fun – a great plan.

But, like so many well laid plans, things did not quite work out as Alun had hoped. He told us, ‘After a few short test runs, I set off to enjoy a fishing trip to France’, he continued, ‘but sadly I only got as far as the Dartford crossing before the engine went bang and I was left with a smoking, oily mess. All was not lost though, as Alun still managed to go fishing, albeit in his daily... and a tent!

Back home, the engine was removed for inspection. While it was out, Alun decided to have a go at sorting out the rear wheelarches, which were in a bit of a state.

He laughed, ‘We were peeling away layers of steel only to find the old wheelarches and countless repairs still hidden beneath’.

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Words: Keith Seume Photos: www.gac-bespoke.com

AL FRESCO! There’s a whole lot more to this stylish Mk1 than a set of wheels and slam job – take a look at the roof, for example. When was the last time you saw an early Golf with a rag-top that size?

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s you have probably gathered, we like early Golfs here at Planet Ultra. Golfs in general are, of course, pretty cool cars – a definite cut above the average hatchback, that’s for sure – but show us a set of chrome bumpers and we go weak at the knees. Yes sir, there’s definitely something about a Mk1 that sets our hearts aflutter…

And we’re clearly not the only people who feel this way, for deep in the south of France, close to both the Spanish border and the Mediterranean coast, lies the ancient cathedral town of Perpignan. It’s a city steeped in history and a Mecca for lovers of fine food, sunshine and… Volkswagens!

Anthony, the owner of the car you see here, got together with a few friends and started a local car club. Between them, they dipped into their own pockets and purchased an old bar house, which was then converted into a garage. Each member has his own bay to work on his VW projects, and everyone helps each other out. The ‘VW collective’ tends to favour retro-style rides – and the odd beer. Sounds good to us!

The Golf is one of the stars of the

informal club. It’s a second-generation Mk1 (it came with the larger rear light clusters and straight, non-swallow-tail rear panel) that to the casual admirer looks like it’s simply been dropped on a set of Fuchs. But there’s far more to it than that…

Take a look at that sun-roof, for example.

The factory never offered a rag-top, although there were many aftermarket conversions, which proved popular back in the day. This, however, is a ‘plein-air’ set-up from a Renault Twingo that’s been grafted into the Golf roof panel. And very cool it looks, too, for it’s way larger than the average rag-top, covering virtually the whole length of the roof.

There’s a whole host of period details on this car, and when we say ‘period’ we mean little details that take the Golf right back to the 1970s – and that means chrome, baby!

There’s the bumpers, of course – so much nicer than the later plastic-covered items, don’t you think? – and then how about the chromed fuel filler cap, the door handles, the wiper arms, side trim, door mirrors, window surrounds… You get the idea. These days, we’re so used to seeing everything colourcoded or blacked out that it comes as quite a

Huge sun-roof was donated by a Renault Twingo – it’s the first time we’ve seen this conversion

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“And when we say ‘period’ we mean little details that take the Golf right back to the 1970s – and that means chrome, baby!”

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