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WIN – ONE OF 6 FUNKY RAPP WATCHES! COMPETITION CLOSES 20 SEPTEMBER 2011
THE ONLY VW MAGAZINE YOU’LL EVER NEED! WWW.ULTRAVW.COM
FULLY RESTORED
‘67 CAMPER
STRIP POKER 12-SECOND AIR-COOLED ELIMINATOR!
FEATURES: RAT-BLACK STREET RACER SLAMMED T5 DAY VAN
TECH: LOWERING THE T5 TRANSPORTER
SHOP TOUR: TYPE 2 DETECTIVES, THE LOW DOWN...
EVENTS: BUG JAM 25 REPORT; EUROPEAN BUG-IN PT2; VW WHITENOISE; LONDON VOLKSFEST; ALL PORSCHE WEEKEND £3.99
CAN$11.95 US$9.25
September 2011 www.ultravw.com
DER KLEINER PANZER FABIEN BÉCASSE’S SUPERB ’67 CALIFORNIA LOOK BEETLE
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Page 63 ULTRA V W – EVER YTHING A IR-COOLE D AND M UCH, MU CH MORE ! SLAMM ED SPLIT
This is how the car looked last year when it graced the cover of the March 2010 issue of Ultra VW!
From high-riding Baja show car to low-slung street rat racer! And all without spending a penny, simply amazing!
CAMPER
TOY ST ORY EXCLUSIVE !
lights are from... clearly Mike never throws anything away! Incidentally, the decklid is INTROD UCING T quite funky, thanks to a Porsche 356 engine SAND S HE C lid grille grafted in place for a race-ready REPLICA ORCHER ! look. Mike told us, ‘I bought that grille from my good mate Paul Smith (of PR Services) about 15 or 20 years ago, so it’s good to see it’s finally getting some use!’ And it was Paul Smith that supplied the funky fibreglass bonnet for this project, complete with dummy air-grille bonded in place. Mike commented, ‘I just love the scoop on the Events: Su bonnet and the grille in the lid because Plus: Keit mmer Jam; SCC road trip Tech: Man h Seume’s Cal Lo xter Bu they’re so different, I guess’. ggy – pa ok archives rt 6 Wat er coolin g! All that was needed was a front valance and a pair of front wings, which Mike picked up via eBay. He told us, ‘I RESTO C didn’t have any VW headlights, but really AL TYPE 3 GERMAN liked the Mini-units on the Scorcher kit, LOOK 13 03 so I hacked out the headlight bowls and fitted complete Mini headlights, which I think suit the project perfectly’. And so, with all the panels to hand, Mike set about making up bracketry to support them (remember, as an ex-Baja, there wasn’t much in the way of front and rear bodywork left!). The upshot of this is that the car is now far lighter than stock and would make an excellent basis for a street racer (but more on that later!). Next on the list was the paintwork. Mike laughed, ‘I wanted to go ‘anti-paint’ this time round so opted for chalkboard paint from B&Q, which I applied with a brush one afternoon’. He continued, ‘I love that the fact that you can see every brush stroke, and my little girl loves that she can write on it with chalk when I’m not looking!’. And if you’re wondering how he removes the chalk, apparently baby wipes are the hot ticket! This was around the time that Mike spotted a black and yellow hot rod and fell in love with the theme. He immediately thought ‘Mooneyes’, so purchased a giant pair of Mooneyes decals (via eBay, of course!) and set about painting his steel rims with an aerosol can he’d matched to the stickers. And with Smart car 145/65 front tyres and stretched 195/60s on the rear, this car really does look as hard as nails. Of course, the 4-spline drop (remember, it was a Baja!) at the rear and that crazy 8-inch narrowed beam really help... there’s no doubt about it – this incarnation couldn’t be further from the previous high-riding show car look! In closing Mike commented, ‘I was going to flat-black the interior, but when I stepped back and checked out the contrast of the stark white, I just knew it had to stay... well, for now at least’. That’s right, Mike’s already feeling the urge to make a few more changes! Let’s just say that there was mention of a turbocharged mouse-motor, so watch this space! UVW Mike would like to thank Paul at PR Services, the team at Universal Tyres, Billericay and his wife Joanne and daughter Jessica
US$9.2 5 Issue 79
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TUCKED KARMAN N
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STRIP TEASER
From dreaming to doing it – Stuart Hodgson sat watching drag racing and fancied giving it a go. Now he’s behind the wheel of his own 11-second Beetle and having more fun than a barrel full of monkeys! Words: Keith Seume Photos: Paul Knight
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D
rag racing can be addictive – even if you’ve never actually taken a car down the track, just sitting in the stands and watching can make your right foot twitch in anticipation of having a go yourself. And so it was with Stuart Hodgson and his partner, Kim, from Foxholes, near Scarborough. ‘We’ve always been into the VW scene and love motorsport,’ says Stuart. ‘We’ve had various Beetles, Golfs, early Bay-window Campers and the like, and our most recent project is a 1983 T25. ‘We’d been visiting various drag racing
venues for a number of years, and watched some fantastic racing. It was clear to see that it didn’t matter if you had a 10-second turbo or a 22-second stock Beetle, the idea is to enjoy whatever you race in a relaxed but competitive atmosphere. Because of this, we decided that we really wanted to get involved somehow. ‘One night I started searching the Internet for a base for the project and luck was on my side. We found a race car – a 1972 Coral Red Beetle – that had been stored for a number of years. A lot of the hard work, such as the roll-cage, flip-front, upgraded
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LILAC ON
THE INSIDE
You’d never know from looking at the outside what lies within Jo Filer-Cooper’s ultra-clean Bus. Appearances can definitely be deceiving – it may look stock on the outside, but within it’s a very different story… Words: Keith Seume Photos: Mike Key
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SEPTEMBER 25th 2011
BUG BOOGIE AT CARS @ THE COURSE
A
return to Windsor Racecourse for Ultra VW's 8th Bug Boogie and, as well as 911&Porsche World, this year we're again teaming up with our other sister titles to bring you Cars @ the Course! The theme for Bug Boogie remains the same: a chilled-out day for VW owners. There's no concours and no model-by-model parking – Bug Boogie is a strictly informal affair. And should you get bored with checking out the great VWs – as if! – there'll be plenty of cars representing the other magazines in the CHP stable – 911&Porsche World, Classic Porsche, Auto Italia and Japanese Performance. Whatever your automotive taste, there will be something for everyone. For the second year running we’re staging a Porsche Autojumble – the perfect place to pick up those genuine Fuchs for your next project. Admission to Cars @ the Course is just £7 per person – under 16s free – and the gates open from 10am. For further details contact Wildside on 01189 475200 or wildside@adren-a-line.com UVW
TRADERS For trade stand enquiries contact Ian James on 020 8655 6410 or ian.james@chpltd.com
PORSCHE AUTOJUMBLE In association with 911&Porsche World and Porscheshop Contact Gerry Gibbins on 01462 712807 g.gibbins@btinternet.com
G TOP 10 AWARDS (INCLUDING G G G G G
MEGUIAR'S VALETING PACKS) FOOD STALLS COMMENTARY ENTRY JUST £7 PER PERSON (UNDER 16S FREE) PORSCHE AUTOJUMBLE OPEN FROM 10AM J6 M4
WINDSOR RACECOURSE, J8/9 M4 BERKSHIRE
J15 M25 A332
WINDSOR
WINDSOR RACECOURSE A332 SL4 5JJ
A30 8
J3 M3 J13 M25
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M A J BUG
TIVAL... S E F E H T F HE FUN O T : T U O B A L AL
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ug Jam 25 was, without a doubt, the most memorable yet. Unbelievably, the site was close to capacity by 3pm Friday afternoon, and it soon became clear that ‘the Woodstock effect’ was in full flow! Messages were sent out via text and the Internet to explain that those without pre-booked tickets should reconsider before setting off, as no more gate tickets would be available! The reality was that the team made a great job of accommodating as many as possible, with off-site camping hosting thousands more party-goers, and even a park-and-ride system ferrying them to and from the gates. Of course, there were inevitable complaints from some, but on the whole the situation was dealt with as efficiently as possible. And, the Santa Pod team deserve all credit for their actions, having already offered to compensate those few that didn’t make it in with their advance tickets by offering a full refund plus free tickets to Bug Jam 26. But, for the vast majority of party people on site, the weekend had no low-points, just lots of highs! Sure, the weather on Friday night was far from perfect, but by Saturday things had brightened up, and there really was nothing that would have dampened the spirits of the party folk, anyhow! Friday night entertainment was headlined by D:Ream, while ravers were kept entertained in the dance tent and funk and Ska fans in the Fuelers bar. In the retro-zone, rockers were kicking it to the sounds of Born To Be Jovi and Limehouse Lizzy – truly something for everyone! Comedy fans were entertained on Saturday afternoon in the Fuelers bar, whilst the annual ‘Bug Jam’s Got Talent’ show on the stage had non-race fans duly catered for. And even if drag racing isn’t your thing, there’s always trackside action to be enjoyed at Bug Jam. This year saw more entrants than ever in the human-powered race – we’ve never seen so many weird and wonderful bicycles and contraptions in one place! And let’s not forget Terry Grant and the stunt show in the Live Action Arena, where Podzilla and other monster trucks also destroyed cars and caravans and Ronnie Picardo’s Jet Beetle put on quite a show. It was happening over there, with flaming BMX displays and even a freak show – exactly what you’d expect at this festival! Saturday night entertainment was headlined by The Wonderstuff, who went down a storm. The retro zone saw b-boys and DJs doing their thing, while the dance tent was catered for by the Cream Anthems Addicted To Bass tour. However, it was the silent disco in the Fuelers bar that made us smile – hundreds of people dancing in matching headphones, yet without the headphones you could have heard a pin drop... a very odd sensation! UVW
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Words: Paul Knight Photos: Gwynn Clark
The ‘human-powered’ race, which took place during the lunchtime break, was an amazing spectacle!
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The Bug Jam Live Stage was pumping out tunes all weekend. Here D:Ream were rocking out!
Race-action MC, Paul Venners entertained the crowds with a T-shirt bazooka between races!
Below: The stands were packed to capacity as show goers checked out the racing and track entertainment
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Fabien BÊcasse fulfilled a dream by moving from France to Southern California three years ago. As a long-time Vee Dub enthusiast, he quickly gained acceptance within the local VW community and recently joined the ranks of Der Kleiner Panzers club. His vehicle of choice: This excellent Ruby Red ’67 assembled with a number of desirable vintage hi-po parts! Words & Photos: Stephan Szantai
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WIN – ONE OF 6 FUNKY RAPP WATCHES! COMPETITION CLOSES 20 SEPTEMBER 2011
THE ONLY VW MAGAZINE YOU’LL EVER NEED! WWW.ULTRAVW.COM
FULLY RESTORED
‘67 CAMPER
DER KLEINER
PANZER FABIEN BÉCASSE’S SUPERB ’67 CALIFORNIA LOOK BEETLE
FEATURES: RAT-BLACK STREET RACER SLAMMED T5 DAY VAN
TECH: LOWERING THE T5 TRANSPORTER
SHOP TOUR: TYPE 2 DETECTIVES, THE LOW DOWN...
EVENTS:
BUG JAM 25 REPORT; EUROPEAN BUG-IN PT2; VW WHITENOISE; LONDON VOLKSFEST; ALL PORSCHE WEEKEND
STRIP POKER US$9.25
Issue 97
CAN$11.95 www.ultravw.com
12-SECOND AIR-COOLED ELIMINATOR!