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THE ONLY VW MAGAZINE YOU’LL EVER NEED! 12/8/11
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WWW.ULTRAVW.COM
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January 2012
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Words : Keith Seume Photos: Isaac Mion
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BOULEVA After growing up in a family which had owned Bugs for as long as he could remember, it was inevitable that Jay Paul Santangelo would end up with one of his own. His search began on the Internet and ended behind the wheel of this cool rag-top Ovalwindow semi-custom. The journey to completion was relatively quick, but you’d never know it from looking at the photos!
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he road was quiet, deserted, free of evening traffic but then, in the distance, we could hear the distinctive bark of a VW engine running an exhaust header. As our eyes strained to pick out the source of the noise, a cute and stylish red and white Bug hove into view. Behind the wheel was a man with a big grin on his face – the grin of a man at peace with the world. At peace with his Volkswagen. Jay Paul Santangelo stepped out from the driver’s seat, all smiles as he looked back over his shoulder at the little Oval-window, before recalling where all this started. ‘When I was growing up,’ he begins, ‘my parents owned 1961 and ’67 Bugs, and a 1967 Bus. Then, in high school, my identical twin brother and I shared a ’71 Bug. I knew all through my adult life that one day I would go back to VWs – and here I am!’ Jay Paul began his search for a car by in the spring of 2010, scouring the Internet: ‘I spent months looking at eBay, going to car shows, following up
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ON THE ROADAGAIN When Danny Allen of Dubz-by-Dan called to say he had an interesting car at the workshop, he wasn’t wrong! Owned by John Spong since 1965, this fabulous and very original Oval window Bug is a true survivor Words: Paul Knight & John Spong Photos: Paul Knight
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hen we arrived at Danny Allen’s workshop and first saw this cool and quite dusty 1956 Oval, we immediately fell for it. Original, unrestored Ovals are few and far between these days, and this fell into the most desirable of all categories, the rust-free ‘barn-find’! Danny went on to explain that it had last been on the road in 1981, and that he’d been commissioned to put it back on the road by the car’s 74-year-old owner, John Spong. We decided to snap some shots of the car as it had arrived, i.e. covered in 30+ years of dust, and as we were doing so, John arrived to explain the story behind this amazing little Bug. We were blown away by the amazing history behind both John and the car itself, hence we’re going to pass over to John to tell the brief history of how he came to own this 1956 VW... The way my Beetle came into my ownership was influenced by circumstances starting before the First World War. My father and his older brother were employed by their uncle who ran a tyre shop in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue. Shortly after his 18th birthday in August of 1916, my uncle was detained by National Service registration officers and obliged to comply with conscription legislation. He was almost immediately enlisted and only weeks into his army life was taken prisoner in Northern France – he and one fellow infantryman sole survivors of a wave hundreds strong, isolated deep into contested territory. My uncle’s fate was decided by the young German officer leading the patrol that first reached ‘their’ dug-out. He was able to explain in very good English that the two of them would be escorted back through German lines to be ‘transported’ (marched, as it turned out!) well over a hundred miles to a PoW camp. Although not the occasion for back-slapping or mulling over old times, the fact that my uncle was taken prisoner rather than shot on sight, was entirely attributable to mutual facial recognition... the German officer and my uncle having met prior to war starting in 1914 in the tyre shop – simply an amazing coincidence! Following eighteen months in captivity, my uncle eventually returned to his family, who had been informed that he was ‘missing in action’. The family business resumed and my father and uncle worked together until in 1939 when they were called once again to assist with the war effort (the Second World War, of course). By this point, both were above the military age requirement, but were obliged to work as directed. They found employment in Oxford, my Dad an inspector on Lancaster bomber cockpit assemblies and my uncle across the road recycling salvaged metals and components from crashed aircraft at Morris Motors. As 1945 progressed and the end of the European war drew closer, it was a common sight to see prisoners of war working in the fields around the suburbs and concessions were made enabling these PoWs evenings out of camp to attend dances in town. It was at one such dance that my uncle’s daughter (my cousin) met the then PoW who was later to become her husband. His family were based in a region of French-occupied Germany subject to ill-feelings extreme enough to prevent his return to see his family for several years. My uncle worked on at Morris Motors, his length of service entitling him to a very good discount had he wished to buy a Morris. How fortunate that his son-in-law
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MARMITEMACHINE Love it or hate it, this slammed and narrowed 911 is a real crowd pleaser! Everywhere it goes jaws hit the ground as folk witness the madness that is the world’s lowest, narrowest and rattiest early 911! Words: Alan Cooper Photos: Gwynn Clark
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t the tail end of last year, many Internet forums were alive with discussions about a ratty, slammed and narrowed earlymodel Porsche 911T. The wild ratride could definitely be described as a 'Marmite Car', as it soon became clear that folk either absolutely loved it or utterly despised it... there really is no middle ground when dealing with a ride as radical as this! In the red corner were the 'haters', people who thought it was a totally ‘faked-up’ car; a monstrosity based upon an early example of Porsche’s finest work, which has been butchered purely to draw attention and upset the purists. One forum comment even described it as ‘unadulterated attention whoring’, (which pretty much hit the nail on the head, as far as we’re concerned!) Of course, in the blue corner there were also a good number of 'lovers' – those who considered it to be an innovative and inspirational project, which had rescued this scruffy, ’68 Porsche from the crusher... Many felt it was pushing the boundaries of the 'rat look scene', which is still so misunderstood and misinterpreted, despite its popularity. We first heard about this car via a thread on the VZi forums, then, during a chance conversation over a beer at a show we later learned it was destined for these shores! With this in mind, we decided to make sure
that Ultra VW secured the UK exclusive to feature this incredible car, and whether you are a lover or a hater, we guarantee you'll see and hear a lot more about this 911 at shows throughout 2012. When it was found, there was virtually nothing left of the floorpans, the front inner wings and even much of the under bonnet area had also been destroyed by the dreaded tinworm. This is reassuring to know, and makes the work that followed seem a little less destructive in our eyes, at least! Listed on US eBay the description started 'Up for auction is our 1968 Porsche 911T. Far from stock and close to the ground... just the way we like them. Into 911s? Not into the price of a restored early 911? This might be the Porsche for you...' This caught the attention of Clive Allen, the man at the helm of 'The Old Dub Shop' near Bristol. Having spent an evening shooting tales and discussing the finer points of German metalwork, and sharing a few of Budweiser’s finest with some mates, he placed a bid on it with a shrug thinking there was no way he'd get it. The evening wore on and his thoughts turned back to the auction; when he checked again it turned out he was still the highest bidder with literally minutes to go! Unbelievably the bid stayed exactly where it was and it suddenly dawned on him that he now owned a Porsche! Not his
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SUBARU STING IN THE TAIL Paul Bussey checks out Scott and Jo Forbes’ 1966 2.2 litre Subaru powered Type 2 Camper Words & Photos: Paul Bussey
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hile Scott Forbes’ father has owned a good many classic cars over the years, and together they’ve always spent time tinkering with them at home, it had long been Scott’s dream to own a classic of his own, and as the years rolled by, a Split-screen Camper nudged its way to the top of the wanted list.
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The story of just how Scott and his lovely wife Jo acquired ‘May Green’ (an abbreviation of Volkswagen colour Mayan Green) may be considered a tad unorthodox. Most enthusiasts new to the Volkswagen scene may spend some time attending shows, viewing a good many vehicles and checking out interior layouts, before making up their minds exactly what to
purchase, but not Scott and Jo. They are both huge believers in karma and carpe diem... One day in late March 2011, Jo was in their office at home and just happened to be surfing the ’Net when she came across the Pistonheads website, the first time she’d even heard of its existence. Scrolling down the ‘For Sale’ vehicle section she came across ‘May Green’, the Subaru-
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As you can see, the quality of workmanship is second to none and the engine conversion is as tidy as they get
powered Splittie, and immediately shouted to Scott who was downstairs in the lounge, to come up here and take a look at this stunning Splittie! ‘By the sound of Jo’s voice, I could tell she was pretty excited, so I raced upstairs and there on the computer screen was a picture of simply the loveliest looking Split-screen campervan ever,’ recalls Scott. ‘We both had a couple of days off from work and decided to telephone the vendor and see where he was located, he could have been in Edinburgh for all we knew, a very long way from our Berkshire home. Unbelievably he was located only five miles down the road from us, so we decided to go and view the Splittie the very next day, not with any great intentions of actually purchasing it, but nothing ventured, nothing gained?’ The vendor was professional classic car restorer Robert Blasi, an enthusiast who had restored aeroplanes, boats and, of course many classic cars, not to mention being involved with other interesting projects over
the years. Scott and Jo spent three hours with Robert, chatting and poring over the Splittie and generally getting very excited! The sale of the Splittie was most reluctant, but necessary in order to raise some capital for another project. Robert really wanted ‘May Green’ to go to a very good home and became keen for Scott and Jo to become the new owners. They then telephoned their bank and asked if some money from their mortgage could be transferred... There was a pause at the other end of the telephone followed by, ‘what was the money required for?’, to which Scott replied, ‘to purchase a 40-year-old Volkswagen campervan’. ‘Are you sure you want to proceed with this transaction?’, came the reply, to which Scott said ‘Yes please, very much so’! ‘The funds were electronically transferred from our account to Robert’s account while we were standing in his kitchen, and the whole process was completed in about 10 minutes,’ enthused Jo! ‘Robert was in tears as he’d reluctantly sold his pride and joy,
Sourced from a Subaru Legacy, the modern 4cylinder motor makes this Camper a pleasure to drive, and will now comfortably cruise at the speed limit (and beyond!)
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One of the stars of Kieft’en’Klok’s current stock list is this awesome double-cab. With double doors, Samba skylights and a sunroof, it’s the Samba-spec truck VW should have built!
DOUBLE DELUXE Words & Photos: Paul Knight
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Everywhere you look there are nice touches and subtle changes. Note the vintage trispoke steering wheel, Samba clock and skylight windows, too
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here’s always lots of new toys to check out at Kieft’en’Klok, but before I’d even had chance to have a quick scan around, my eyes were immediately drawn to this slammed double cab in the rear of the shop. As I walked closer, I started to notice a few details such as the Deluxe trim and Safari windows. Closer still I spotted the Samba skylight windows... and then the sliding sunroof! Wow, this thing really was quite special indeed. Walking around the truck with Maurice Klok I learned that it was actually built in Portugal by the expert Busmeisters at Vintage Vans. To cut a long story short, their brief was to assemble the ultimate double-cab – the kind of super-spec’d ride VW should have put into production but never did! This goes some way to explaining the double-door Samba-styling, which of course is far from factory specification. Starting with a very sorry looking stock-ish doublecab, the guys began by stripping off much of the rear end bodywork. We’re talking about the sides, rear corners and the entire bed, all of which were rusted out. They next took care of the chassis, replacing outriggers and making
repairs where necessary before fabricating and fitting all new braces and supports for the bed floor. Let’s be clear from the start, there were no corners cut, and this was about as comprehensive as restorations get. The team then worked their way around the lower section of the truck, rolling it on a rotisserie to access the inner sections of the chassis. The front panel was removed and the double door system trimmed and perfected before the bare chassis was treated to a coat of rust-seal primer (without the external panels to ensure total coverage). Next, the laborious task of refitting the bodywork began. All new sides were fabricated and sections such as the sills and door steps were replaced as a matter of course. As you may be aware, the rear corners of Type 2 pick-ups are far more square in profile than a regular Bus, hence fabricating and fixing these sections was a timeconsuming task. However, slowly but surely the bodywork began to take shape, and with a new front panel fitted, the work on the cab could begin in earnest. This included the fitment of a modified sunroof section and a pair of Samba
Engine is a zero-mile 1600cc unit assembled from all new parts. Twin 34mm carbs and Bosch ignition are the only modifications to this sweet running motor
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Words & Photos: Stephan Szantai
THE
WORSHIPPER By all accounts, the Type 34 cannot be considered a commercial success, as only about 42,500 units rolled out of the Karmann factory. And while the car’s bodylines did not please everybody back in the ’60s, today’s VW scene has come to embrace the unusual coupé. Some individuals even worship it. Among them, T34 guru Jurgen Magdelyns, the owner of this arresting ’68 example...
Sharp-edged body design and black outfit: this T34 looks rather menacing, doesn’t it?
Under the ‘second trunk’ lurks a mild 1776cc motor, which has proved reliable during the 2011 show season
Upholsterer Michel Wyns skilfully reproduced the trunk liners with vintage material, fore and aft
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hen unveiled during Frankfurt’s 1961 International Auto Show, the Karmann Ghia 1500 – aka ‘Razoredge’ within our circle – looked as if it almost didn’t belong to the Volkswagen family. The coupé featured sharp and aggressive lines, in stark contrast to the curvy and more feminine shapes of its Karmann Ghia 1200 sibling. Opinions certainly diverged within the crowd and, even to this day, people either love or hate the styling. Advocates praised its two trunks, large windows and low centre of gravity, making for an exciting vehicle to drive. Being ample in size compared to the Type 1 Ghia, it soon earned the nickname ‘der grosse Karmann’ – the large Karmann. Yet, sales remained sluggish during the production run, which spanned from 1962 until 1969. These results can be partly attributed to the disappointing petrol consumption,
as the coupé weighed 80kg (175lbs) more than the ‘small’, Type 1 Karmann Ghia. And, most importantly, its price tag proved a major deterrent, as it depleted the wallet almost as much as a Porsche 356 might... but without the same level of performance. The fact that VW did not officially sell the Razoredge into the large US market clearly affected the production/sales figures, too. While some Vee Dub enthusiasts still cringe when seeing a T34, most of us have come to appreciate its unique character. It arguably looks even better once lowered up front and fitted with a vintage set of wheels. And making these cars run faster (much faster!) than a factory 356 can be easily achieved thanks to the resourceful aftermarket tuning industry. A faction of our hobby even reveres the vehicle, as exemplified by Jurgen Magdelyns. The Belgian resident has
In stark contrast with the Bug’s basic instrumentation, the ‘large Karmann’ came equipped with three gauges
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