yn7qekvgplp magzus.org

SILVERENGINE

BIGBORESUPERSTREET

volksworld.ed@kelsey.co.uk

Ho ho show!

It’s beginning to look a lot like VolksWorld…

While I am a fan of Christmas, I’m an even bigger fan of air-cooled VWs, hence the association

I have attached to Christmas trees and decorations makes this an exciting time of year. What I mean is that when I see Xmas trees, my first thought is actually ‘VolksWorld Show’ as this is the time of year when team VolksWorld really knuckle down to pull the event together. Oh, and we exchange gifts in between show chats, but that’s beside the point.

I’m particularly excited this year as we’ve already secured a good number of overseas show cars, including some truly world-class debuts, which is great news for everyone.

Following that whole Brexit thing, and then travel restrictions in the post-Covid period, we noticed not only a decline in European show car entries, but also that a number of friendly faces we’re used to catching up with at Sandown Park each year were missing.

So, I’m really chuffed to hear from so many overseas VW friends that they’ve made plans to head for the UK in March. It’s gonna be great, and it’s gonna be great to see you all!

e VolksWorld Show has long been the place to debut show cars, and 2023 is already panning out to be a show to remember. I won’t spoil all the surprises, but I can tell you that we have cars coming from Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany and even the USA.

When I consider that, at the time of writing this column in mid-November, we’ve only been accepting show car entries for a couple of weeks, who knows what other debuts and delights will have joined the already strong line up by the time you read this piece.

With that in mind, if you’ve yet to make contact regarding a show car position for 2023, be sure to email us right away at volksworld.show@kelsey.co.uk. Entries close on 31 Jan, so don’t put it off, do it right away. Title your email VolksWorld show entry, and be sure to include a couple of photos (work in progress shots are okay, but not just a close-up of a wheel please), a very brief description of your car, your full name and a contact telephone number.

Indoor display cars aside, VW clubs have always been an important part of the VolksWorld experience so, if you run a VW club and would like to be involved, we’d love to hear from you as well. Please don’t all email separately, just allocate one person as club admin’ and they can email volksworld.show@kelsey.co.uk to gain a registration code and ticket booking link, which can then be passed on to a predetermined number of club members.

For show details and online ticket purchases, head for www. volksworldshow.com. We look forward to hearing from you. ■

“we have cars coming from Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany and even the USA”

As ever, there will be a dedicated cars for sale area at The VolksWorld Show, but gone are the days of snapping up show-stopping builds such as Billabug by Thump! Thump! for five grand, or Plum Skussy by The Paintbox for £4,500. You never know though…

www.volksworld.com

EDITORIAL Editor: Paul Knight Email: volksworld.ed@kelsey.co.uk

Michelle Mitchell

Editor: Mike Pye Contributors: Mark Walker, Gordie Woollacott, Dokke Sahertian, Jesus Zetina Acosta, Robert Gilmore, Eric Arnold, Kiki du Bois, Ian Cushway, Kenneth Anno, Si Gray, Andy Saunders, Stephan Szantai

Talk Media Sales 01732 445325 info@talkmediasales.co.uk Ads Sales Manager: Lucy Dennis 01732 445678 lucy.dennis@talkmediasales.co.uk

Buy back issues at: shop.kelsey.co.uk/issue/list/ publication/VWW

Already a subscriber? Manage your subscription online at shop.kelsey.co.uk/site/loginForm

CLASSIFIEDS

Tel: 0906 802 0279 (premium rate line, operated by Talk Media Sales on behalf of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Calls cost 65p per minute from a BT landline; other networks and mobiles may vary. Lines open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm)

Email address: cars@kelseyclassifieds.co.uk

For all transport titles, you can also view and upload ads via www.motorfreeads.co.uk

Kelsey Classifieds Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution in Great Britain Marketforce (UK) Ltd. 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6JR Tel: 0330 390 6555

Distribution in Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland Newspread Tel: +353 23 886 3850

PRINTING

Acorn Web Offset LTD, Normanton, West Yorkshire, WF6 1TW

Kelsey Media 2023 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd.

Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers.

Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received.

The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher.

Kelsey Publishing Ltd. accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties.

VolksWorld magazine, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL www.kelsey.co.uk

Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information on our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/ If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy, you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk

High rpm fans

It’s a well-known fact that stock VW cooling fans can self-destruct at high rpm so, if you’re building a performance air-cooled engine, a little bit extra spent on a CB Performance Pro-Series cooling fan is money well spent.

Starting with a late model, 37mm wide, Type 1 fan, the engineers at CB Performance fusion weld each tab for extra strength and durability, ensuring you have one less thing to worry about when you drop the hammer off the line.

Fits all 1971 and later VW doghouse fan shrouds and many aftermarket non-doghouse shrouds. How much? $72.95 (p/no. 2171) From: www.cbperformance.com

Show stoppers

EMPI has recently released this new high performance rear disc brake kit with Wilwood calipers. Said to be a bolton fit to any ’58-’67 swing axle Type 1 application (though IRS kits also available) it includes all the hardware, pipes and cables required.

Discs are drilled and grooved one-piece units and come with both Porsche 5 x 130 PCD (with 14 x 1.5mm thread) and Chevy 5 x 4.75 PCD (with 12mm thread) bolt patterns. Choose either red (p/no. 22-6154-R) or black (p/no. 22-6154-B) calipers.

From: www.empius.com

Come join the party!

18-19 March ’23 – Sandown Park, Esher

Show cars

We’re pleased to announce tickets for the 2023 VolksWorldShow are now on sale. The date for your diary is the weekend of 18-19 March. We’re delighted to report the world’s leading car care specialist, Meguiar’s, continues to sponsor The VolksWorldShow and will be presenting all Top 20 trophy winners with a gift pack of their cleaning products to keep their cars looking spectacular throughout next year’s show season.

The show car exhibits we have lined up so far, including a number of overseas entries, have been of an extremely high standard, and we already know our international panel of judges are really going to have their work cut out making the final selection.

Best in Show last year was awarded to Donald Harvey’s superb retro-custom Beetle (pictured below), but who will take top honours in 2023?

Car Park Show ’n’ Shine

Meguiar’s will once again be awarding prizes to winners of the Car Park Show ’n’ Shine. The competition is open to anybody that does not have a car inside the main halls, so that includes the mouthwatering selection of rides on the Red Brick area, Summer Lawn and Grandstand Apron, as well as the car parks out front. There is no need to enter, or park in a special place, our judges will find you, and a prize will be awarded at 4pm each day.

Camping at Sandown

As the longer nights and warmer days approach in the spring, Sandown Park will prove the perfect venue to start making the most of it with a camping weekend. With hot showers and the golf club house providing food and drink from Friday through to Sunday, we recommend you book early as plots are limited and sell out fast.

Remember to buy your Camping Add-On when you book your tickets at www.volksworldshow.com

Club displays

Clubs have always been at the heart of The VolksWorldShow and help create the event’s unique atmosphere. So, if your VW club (either air or water-cooled) would like to be a part of the 2023 event, and in with a chance of winning the Best Club trophy that will be presented at 4pm on the Sunday, make contact via volksworld.show@kelsey.co.uk.

If your club is already registered, please contact your club administrator for the booking link and access code.

Retail Village

The VolksWorldShow’s Retail Village is a haven for VW lovers. Guaranteed to be jam packed with everything you could need for your VW, from second hand parts to rare accessories, new performance and restoration items, clothing, gifts and more.

The biggest names in the VW scene will be there to showcase their latest products and services and many will be offering exclusive show deals, discounts and special offers, as well as being happy to give expert advice on your VW project.

If you are a trader and want to promote your service or platform, then contact our sales team either via email to lucy@talk-media.uk or by telephone on 01732 445678 for more information.

International swapmeet

VolksWorld’sfamous international swapmeet is one of the show’s most popular features, with over 100 tables of rare accessories and parts on offer. So, if you’re searching for that elusive item, or just like to browse, head there straight away and take a look.

To find out more, or book a table, emaillucy@talk-media.uk, or call the team on 01732 445678.

Dedicated for sale area

Back for 2023 is the VWs for sale area, where you’ll find nothing but air-cooled VW cars and Buses and water-cooled Transporters on offer. There is limited space, and you must pre-book using the public ticket link at www.volksworldshow.com

about the 2023 VolksWorldShow, head for www.volksworldshow.com

For more

Readers’ rides

One last dance

Dear VolksWorld, here are some images of my Karmann Ghia, which has a place in my heart like no car I’ve ever owned before as I built it together with my father. Let me explain.

I’ve been building cars together with my father my whole life, from ’55, ’56 and ’57 Chevys to Mopars and everything in between. Of all the cars we restored, the ones I’ve enjoyed working on most have been the old VWs as I love the simplicity and style.

But in late 2019, he announced he was going to sell the last two cars we’d completed as he was done with car restorations. He said he was “getting too old for it all.” I was gutted. To think we wouldn’t do another project together after all these years, and at least 25 cars, was a tough pill to swallow.

I let the idea marinate for a weekend and then called my father and told him I understood, but I wanted to do one more car together, and I wanted to keep it. I also wanted it to be something we would both be proud of.

He was silent for about 10 seconds before he said, “Okay, let’s do a VW.”

The search was on.

We looked at Beetles initially, but then ended up going away from them and looking for a Karmann Ghia instead. We found one about six

hours from home and so loaded up the trailer and headed out, returning home with a 1974 Ghia. That was a good start… But that was it. We stripped the car down to piles of nuts and bolts and started working. I was a professional drag racing chassis fabricator for seven years, and at the time was working as an engineer and fabricator in the sheet metal industry, so couldn’t wait to put my own spin on a VW chassis and drivetrain.

With that in mind, we fabricated a custom single-bag front beam and rear control arms to accommodate the air ride and get the car as low as possible to the ground.

I

We started out with a 2180cc motor with Panchito 044 heads from CB performance, and I built custom headers and exhaust to drive the 58 / 55 ballbearing turbo. We decided to go with FuelTech FT450 and coil-on-plug ignition for fuel and spark management.

The body modifications and sheet metalwork were all done by me and, when I was finished, we had the car sprayed with a three-stage Ferrari colour by a close friend.

The project took us two years to complete and just over 1,300 hours of labour, but that time spent is nothing in comparison to the lifetime of memories I made building one last car with my dad.

We are both super proud of this build and would be honoured to see some pictures of it appear in your magazine.

Gary Falco via email

had powder coating equipment available to me at the time so every component was blasted and powder coated as it went back together.

New parts from Paruzzi

CLAS IC CAR

04664 / 04665

Wiper switch knobs

New in our assortment are the wiper switch knobs which look identical to the other dashboard knobs but have M4 threads instead of M5. Available in black and ivory.

41940

Self-locking pulley bolt

This bolt has an enlarged compression section that has locking teeth. This pulley bolt is not a reproduction but original Volkswagen.

17130

04876 / 04877

A-quality front apron for the VW Beetle

These new front panels replace the original in detail, carefully drill out the spot welds, grind clean and your new front panel can be welded in. With these new A-quality panels we offer equal front aprons to the original, i.e. as your classic car was in the showroom back in the day.

Polished stainless steel Ghia and Type 3 bumpers 10014 / 10015

All models applied to the Karmann Ghia have enhanced our range whether they are bumpers with bumper guards, without bumper guards or the export bumpers fitted with protective tubes, we have them all in polished stainless steel. The models after 8.1971 are similar to the VW Type 3, so we have polished stainless steel for this model as well. All bumpers come in sets for both front and rear.

The lock hook is identical to the original, chrome plated and supplied without the threaded plate, bolts and rubbers.

Rear window assembly seal kit

This sealing set not only contains the rubbers for the above mentioned lock hook, but also those of the hinges.

Ghia rear window lock hook 17131 20454

Interior light switch buffer

This stop rubber causes the interior lighting to turn on or off when opening and closing the sliding door.

Words Tony Nixey Pics Si Gray

When Tony Nixey bought a former VolksWorld feature car in 1994 to go racing, he had no idea how far that journey would take him over the curves of the body”

Istarted attending VW events with friends in the late ’80s and bought my first VW – a ’72 1200 – in 1991. I built a 1641cc motor, welded adjusters into the front beam and fitted Center Line replicas, but it wasn’t long before I felt the need for more speed, so moved up to a hot 2180cc motor. ese days everyone seems to run a 2.0-litre plus motor, but in the early ’90s a stroker motor in a street-driven Beetle in the UK was quite something.

I spent many weekends at Santa Pod and even won a few RWYB events, including the Fast Car Challenge two years in a row. For me, it was all about driving the car to the track, beating a few dedicated drag cars, and then driving home at the end of the day.

Take two

en, in 1994, I spotted a stunning yellow ’67 on polished Porsche cookie cutters for sale. It had recently been featured in VolksWorld and had a full Scat Pro-Car interior. More important to me, though, it had recently been kitted out with a John Maher Racing-built close ratio gearbox and four-wheel disc brakes, which suited my plans for a more serious street ’n’ strip car to a tee.

Keen to get thing moving, my next stop was Stateside Tuning where James Calvert agreed to build me a 2276cc motor with Street Eliminator heads and Engle FK87 cam. I went on to race and show the car at practically every event on the calendar over the next couple of years, picking up several trophies along the way.

But in 1996 an opportunity came my way to work overseas for a few years, so I cleared a space in my late father’s barn, raised the car on axle stands, covered it up and waved goodbye.

Dad always joked that I would never come home and ‘get that old banger back on the road’ and, 20 years later, it was looking like he might have been right. So, in 2016, I pulled the cover off, changed the fuel and brake lines and fitted a 2332cc IDA motor I’d bought from Keith Seume.

Rolling into VW Action that year in a car I had bought 22 years earlier, having been out of the UK for 20 years, was a surreal experience, and one I will never forget.

e car looked great and pulled like a train, but two decades in storage had resulted in some rust issues in the heater channels and inner wings so, in May 2018, the car was dropped off to Andy Finch at Spikes Vintage Restorations for a revamp. Andy and I talked things over and put together a plan to take the car to the next level… and then some.

e first step was to have the body acid dipped and, when Andy rang to let me know it was time to discuss the metalwork options, I was expecting the worst. Some might have walked away at that point, but I had an emotional attachment to the old car and so instructed Andy to go ahead with the necessary repairs. As I was still stationed overseas at the time, I agreed to have Andy project manage every aspect of the overhaul.

e first thing he did was to hand the car to John Brewster of JB’s Elite Fabrications, where both heater channels were replaced, along with the rear quarter panels, lower a-pillars, firewall and boot floor. NOS ’67 front and rear valances were located, and John expertly modified the rear to make it removable.

Mind the gap

Finding a good pair of ’67-only doors proved a bigger challenge than expected, so Andy suggested using a pair of NOS 1974 doors and having John graft in the door handle recesses and fittings from the original ’67 panels. He also modified the door inners to work with the ’67 winder mechanisms and blanked off the mirror mount holes. John’s attention to detail is evident everywhere, but no more so than in the perfect door gaps and body shuts on the car now.

Putting the hot in the Kandy is an ACE-built 2332cc Type 1 motor on an Autolinea ali case with CB WedgePort heads, Engle TSC20 turbo cam, Pauter 1.3 roller rockers, Garret GT3076R turbo, Turbosmart watsegate, blowoff valve and oil feed regulator and Porsche cooling fan. Power output was 320bhp on the dyno

Classy black and polish is the theme for the engine detailing

stroker

motor in a streetwas quite something”

Andy, meanwhile, kept quizzing me on my choice of colour, and I was adamant to begin with that it should stay in its original theme of a shade of yellow or gold. I was shown a gold that looked absolutely amazing… for a full-on show car… but I wanted something I could live with on a day-to-day basis.

I’ve always loved hot rods and candy paints and remembered seeing a candy apple red car on gold EMPI five spokes in the ’90s. As that was a car I’d never forgotten, we decided to go with a red and gold theme.

Spike and his team smoothed and flatted the body to perfection before laying on the epoxy sealer, custom basecoat and then genuine House of Kolor Kandy Apple Red, with lashings of clear over the top, colour sanded to bring out that famous mile deep shine.

When Spike called me to say it was ready for me to see, I wasn’t expecting the body to be fully assembled with all the glass and trim. I was blown away.

Going Dutch

After that, the car’s floorpan left the country. Marco De Waal in Holland knows exactly what it takes to set up a well-sorted chassis, so stripped the ’pan before blasting and spraying it – still with its original floorpans – in deep gloss black. Marco also installed a Dogback single bag front air beam, along with dropped spindles, front disc brakes and Wilwood calipers.

e rear suspension consists of Ron Lummus adjustable spring plates, bronze-bushed spring plate retainers, limiting straps and a CSP disc brake conversion. e Koni red shocks that were on the car were retained at the rear and a new matching pair purchased for the front, all given a coat of gold paint by Marco.

Marco also installed the new Autocraft-cased gearbox with Weddle gears, Quaife limited slip diff’ and Kuplapaja racing axles using solid mounts, a custom solid centre mount and a CSP torque bar.

I had always planned to rebuild the 2332cc motor myself during a return visit to the UK, but work commitments resulted in the cancellation of that trip, and a new plan, this time involving Stefan Rossi at ACE Racing Engines.

is was right around the time Stef relocated his business from the Midlands to Torrance, California, meaning all the shiny new parts I’d ordered from the USA ended up being shipped back across the pond to be assembled!

STRIPPER

e Gene Berg wedgemated 84mm crank / flywheel and Carrillo 5.7-inch rods from the old 2332cc IDA motor were re-used in a fresh 2332 build, this time with fuel injection and a turbocharger, which Stef assured me would be good for 300+bhp.

Fuel and ignition are controlled by a FuelTech FT500 ECU, which also serves as the dash display showing rpm, oil pressure, fuel pressure, oil temperature, air / fuel ratio, boost pressure, timing and can even light up at a pre-set shift light position. It can also hold a number of different engine tunes, which can be switched on the fly if I feel like a step up – never down! – in power.

Shifting the all-Weddle gear set is the Scat Dragfast shifter that was in the car before, now with a two-step activation button cleverly hidden inside the T-handle.

Caramel biscuits

Stephen irkettle at 13 Stitches was responsible for the car’s interior. I wanted to re-use the Scat Pro-Car seats as they are super comfortable, so Stephen took these and re-trimmed them in a caramel vinyl with a biscuit design, doing the original rear seat and door cards to match. A new grey carpet was also made and expertly installed over a layer of Dynamat sound deadening.

I wanted as much of the Kandy paint to show on the interior as possible, so the headliner grip channel was removed from the b-pillars and a simple 1200-style headlining made up in grey Alcantara.

I added three-point harnesses and a new OMP steering wheel to complete the inside overhaul.

Again, as I wanted to retain some of the car’s previous flavour, I insisted on keeping the Porsche cookie cutter wheels. However, instead of just detailing them, they were sent to Matthias Krenzer in Germany who machined the centres out of the original 15-inch rims and mated them to some 17-inch aluminium bands, all held together using BBS split rim bolts. To get the perfect fitment, I chose to alter the width, as well as the diameter, so they’re now 7 x 17s out back and 5.5 x 17s up front, with 205/50-17 and 185/40-17 tyres respectively. I’m a huge fan of a deep dish rear wheel on a Bug, and I just love the way the rears look now.

With the finish line in sight, a decision was made in December 2019 to enter the car for the 2020 VolksWorld Show, but there was still so much to do. I hadn’t received the engine from Stef in California at that point and was beginning to stress that we weren’t going to get the car finished in time.

Porsche H4 headlamp lenses with the old indicators in the sidelight trick sit comfortably alongside the Porschesourced wheels

trophy and then drove it home”

Discreet A1 turbo exhaust system gives no indication of the monster lurking under that stock ’67 decklid, though Tony plans to modify it to make the car a bit quieter on long runs

Gauges comprise a small VDO speedo, Porsche 914 tach centre stage and a Dehne-style digital fuel level, just out of sight to the right

e completed body was transported over to Marco’s in Holland and I eagerly followed the next weekend, delighted to find the engine had just been delivered, too. It was all coming together, so I spent the weekend with Marco installing the engine and fuel lines and plumbing in the twin Cagero oil coolers that are mounted to the rear torsion bar tubes.

Marco and Raimond Verlaan then spent the following week installing the FuelTech dash display and the dedicated engine wiring harness, alongside the previously installed body wiring harness, which had been supplied and installed by Iain Burns at AirCooled Auto Elec.

Wedding bells

Two weeks later, I was back in Holland for the wedding… of the body and ’pan. is was the first time I saw my dream becoming reality, with the gold wheels and Kandy paint shining under Marco’s workshop lights. It looked just how I had imagined it, I was truly in heaven.

A few weeks later, I returned to Holland yet again to help with some of the final details and to be there for the first fire up of the new motor. When I told Raimond to ‘Hit it’, the engine fired straight up, the open header from the turbo barking in Marco’s workshop. at was a pretty emotional moment for all of us present and I thought back to my dad’s words about never getting the car back on the road, hoping he was proud of what we had achieved.

FuelTech FT500 dash covers off all the other gauge requirements and also allows Tony to change engine tune on the fly

Another nod to the ’90s, the car’s old Scat Drag-Fast shifter, now with two-step control

e car was rushed back to the UK as we were now only a few weeks away from VOWO. Spike’s team installed the fresh interior and Stephen finished up with the carpets. With a final tweak on the ride height to get just a shade of negative camber on the rear, we were show ready… Well, until Covid ruined the plan.

I was truly gutted, as the hard graft carried out by everyone involved, pushing their limits to get the car done, suddenly became insignificant. It was a massive let down at what should have been the best point in the project. Dejected, I spoke with Spike and arranged to have the car transported back to my workshop.

Adrenalin rush

In truth, while the car was indeed ‘show ready’, it wasn’t 100% finished, so 2020 became the year I got the car road ready and running great. To say I was nervous when the big day for the first drive arrived in April would be an understatement, but that soon turned to elation as I increased the engine rpm and the boost of that big Garrett turbo started to come in. Wow! What a rush.

So, how does she drive? Well, first of all let me stress this is a streetdriven show car, it doesn’t get trailered

“Rolling into VW Action VW Action that year in a had boug years ear years earlier, having be of the UK years, w surrea surreal experienc experience”

Adding a bit of pleasing texture to the caramel vinyl trim is an OMP Superquadro flat-bottom steering wheel and Alcantara headliner, done in 1200 style so more of that luscious Kandy Apple Red can be seen inside

Custom-made split rim cookie cutters now measure 17 x 5.5 and 17 x 7, with 185/40-17 and 205/50-17 rubbers

Scat Pro-Car seats were first fitted in the 1990s, and are so comfortable that Tony wanted to keep them. Sparco harnesses hold him tightly into them

Thanks

Andy ‘Spike’ Finch for managing the restoration and working with me to fulfil my dream; all at Spikes Vintage Restorations for the truly awesome paint and body assembly; John Brewster for his expert metalwork, attention to detail and advice; Marco de Waal for the first class work on the ’pan, fitting the body and being by my side when we started the

motor; Raimond Verlaan for installing the engine harness and ancillaries; Stefan Rossi for such an awesome engine and support in developing it further; Matthias Krenzer for his amazing work on the rims; Michael Moos for the superb Dogback beam; Stephen Thirkettle at 13 Stitches for his stunning work on the interior; Iain Burns for the supply and

fitment of the wiring harness; Mark Way for his support and for getting the engine over to Holland; my lovely wife, Nong, who supported me throughout this project; and finally, my late father who gave me so much inspiration, and for setting me the challenge to ‘get that old banger back on the road.’ Miss you dad.

anywhere. I also use it at weekends for the occasional adrenaline rush and can honestly say she is fantastic, and drives lovely. anks to Marco’s chassis set up, I can let go of the wheel at speed and she tracks straight as an arrow.

I’ve owned and driven big capacity, IDA-powered VWs in the past, but this feels entirely different with the turbo. It’s seriously quick, and pulls through the stock gear ratios like it’s a close ratio ’box.

On top of that, the paint glistens, falling from highs to lows as the sun passes over the curves of the body, and the combination with the gold is just perfect in my eyes.

How fast is it mister?

As many people seemed to want to know what it would do on the quarter mile, at Bug Jam ’22 I put it to the test. e lights go green and I’m in no rush to get off the line as I knew it would just spin the tyres. But once rolling, I’m on it, foot buried to the floor and pumping with adrenalin. It was all over pretty quick, but I’m suddenly taken back to 1996 when I last blasted the car up the track at Santa Pod.

So, her time for all to see. 12.8 second at 102mph. Best of all though, I drove it there, raced it, showed it, won a trophy and then drove it home. In my opinion, that is the true spirit of owning a fast road VW. is car will be with me forever and will continue to evolve over the years ahead. is winter I’ll change the old Scat shifter and I’ve got water / methanol injection to go on to help push the inlet charge temperature down in search of some ‘free’ power. It needs stickier tyres, and I might modify the exhaust a bit too, just to make it a little quieter. Other than that, I just intend to drive it. n

The build

We remember the feature, but were blown away to discover it’s the same car

After 20-odd years living and working abroad, Tony looked okay, too

After a session at JB Elite Fabrications, the old ’67 is back to its fighting weight

Fuelling is now taken care of by CB Performance EFI throttle bodies, Fuel Injector Clinic injectors, CB plenums and a FuelTech FT500 ECU

Stephen Thirkettle at 13 Stitches did the delicious biscuit trim, which re-uses the old Scat Pro-Car seats that were in the car from the ’90s

Underside detailing is an intense as everywhere else, yet this is no trailer queen

After 20-odd years in storage under a sheet, it didn’t look too bad…

But under the skin, things weren’t quite so clever. Tony’s definitely in better shape!

Out went the 2332cc IDA motor, and in its place a 2332cc fuel injected turbo lump

Floorpan was restored and built at Marco de Waal’s MarCo Supplies in The Netherlands

Koni Classic dampers are used all round, but painted gold to match the theme

Matthias Krenzer turned 15-inch Porsche cookie cutters turned into 17-inch split rims

Surfari

Having grown up through the 1960’s California VW boom, Gary Consalvi wants to re-live his youth in his retirement. This is how he’s doing it

Words: Gordie Woollacott Pics: Eric Arnold Eric

Living in Britain and loving air-cooled Volkswagens brings with it an almost inevitable side effect – California dreaming. Not the song, but actual neurons firing across our human brains creating scenes of golden sands, perfectly curling waves, blue skies and VWs.

Gary Consalvi had similar visions when embarking upon a retirement project with the ’shell of a 1965 VW Bus at its heart. Except his picture is based on a lived reality. Born on the opposite coast in New York, Gary moved to California when he was five years old and lived there all his life until retiring to Phoenix, Arizona last year.

“I had a dream to build a beautiful VW Split Window beach cruiser,” he tells us. “I wanted it to be a tribute build to the explosion of the surf scene in Southern California in the mid1960s, which I was very much a part of living in Huntington Beach.”

As former vice president of sales and marketing at Carroll Shelby Wheel Co. [now, like just about every other aftermarket US performance parts brand, a sub division of the massive Holley empire - MP], Gary had the enviable experience of working directly

with American tuning legend, Carroll Shelby, and made sure he picked up some tips along the way. Many of those have manifested in the creation of this showstopping cruiser.

But first, he needed a canvas on which to create his own masterpiece.

Table for two

“I bought the Bus from a guy out in Lake Elsinore, California,” he recalls. “It was stripped down to an empty rolling ’shell. ere was no motor, no glass, no gauges, no handles, not even a gear shifter, but it did have two seats.”

Gary knew amassing all the missing parts was going to be a challenge, but a friend set him on the right path from the beginning: “He told me to buy as many parts as I could from Wolfsburg West,” Gary reveals, “as they’re the best in quality for fit and finish.

“I took his advice, and the company was able to provide me almost everything I needed for this build that was missing. Other factory parts I needed I was able to find on thesamba.com, which is a great source for parts and ideas not available from the new part suppliers.”

As the Bus had spent most of its life in the south west of America, very little rust

damage had occurred to the body, making it a perfect candidate for a retirement project.

“I didn’t want to take on something that needed loads of rust repair,” says Gary. “ ere’s nothing enjoyable about doing that, and I wanted to enjoy this project.”

When someone tells you the hardest part of the build was choosing the colour, you know they’re made some wise decisions.

“I picked four different pearl finishes for the lower half of my Bus,” Gary explains.

“Light blue, Tangelo, Sunburst Yellow and Fresh Green Lime metallic. I could visualise the Bus in any one of those colours, so choosing between them wasn’t easy at all.”

So much so, it wasn’t until the ’shell was ready to deliver to Eric Klettlinger at MPT Custom Body and Paint for paint that the decision was finally made to go with the green. e Snow White pearl on top, on the other hand, was Gary’s choice from the start.

Roving eyes

“I learned from Caroll Shelby that details should always keep the eyes moving,” says Gary, “and I thought about that a lot when I designed each part of the interior layout, from the seats and door panels to the choice of the grey tweed fabric with contrasting vinyl fabric accents.

Super detailed 5.5 and deep six Fuchs with hand-painted centre caps came from Hans Detailed Fuchs in Chino Hills

Behind them are Wilwood disc brakes up front on dropped spindles and a four-inch squeezed beam with Wagenswest Beefcake adjusters

SURF ARI vanity plate and custom made Beach Cruiser badging let anyone following know exactly what this Bus is all about

2110cc motor was put together by Donson Performance using an AS41 case, Kuhltek 82mm crank, AA 90.5mm pistons, Outlaw 42 x 37.5mm heads, 1.25:1 rockers, Engle 110 cam and dual EMPI 44HPMX carbs

“I learned from Carroll Shelby that details should always keep the eyes moving”

Check it out! A UK No Worries badge appears on the hydrodipped, carbon-effect overhead console

Interior design is all by Gary and the canary green piping brings some of the outside colour inside

“I brought in a canary green vinyl for the piping to match the exterior paint, and chose a green upholstery thread, which was then used throughout the entire job.”

A stylish interior is one thing but, if you can also inject some personality into it, you’re onto a real winner. Consequently, the embroidery work on the upper backs of all the seats is taken directly from Gary and wife, Lisa’s, wedding invitation, so is a very personal statement indeed.

“I traced the sun and palm tree image we used, scanned it and had it digitised into a nine-colour embroidery program,” Gary explains. “ e location of the image was marked out by Chip Alford – the ‘upholstery master’, as Gary puts it, responsible for the interior – and then sent out to be embroidered.”

Other interior highlights are the hydro-dipped accents, courtesy of Brenden and Mary Ryan at Outlaw Hydrographics. ey used Gary’s choice of a walnut-style finish on a number of parts, including the speaker housings, handbrake handle, dash knobs and the under-dash tray.

Gary clearly likes his tunes as, when it came to the sound system, he contacted Cerwin Vega Mobile and had their chief design engineer, Larry Frederick, put together an optimised speaker and amplifier package for the Bus that can blow the wig off a passer-by at 100 yards

“Seriously, what a sound system!”

Other parts, such as the indicator housing and overhead console, were dipped in a grey carbon fibre-effect finish to tie in with the upholstery.

Serious audio

No beach cruiser would be complete without a decent sound system for banging out those Pet Sounds, and Gary has gone for a Retro Sound Long Beach model, which has the look of a 1960’s radio but with all of today’s expected features, including Bluetooth, USB connectivity and limitless colour choices in the display.

As any audiophile will know, it’s the quality of your speaker set up that determines the pureness of sound, and so Gary went straight to the top in that respect, employing the services of none other than Cerwin Vega Mobile’s senior chief design engineer, Larry Frederick.

“After explaining my Bus project to Larry, he took a special interest in the sound system product selection,” remembers Gary. “He did the layout for me to achieve the best possible sound in that environment. e fronts are 400-watt, 6.5-inch two ways with

Fronting the booming system is a Retro Sound Long Beach head unit, that has modern connectivity but doesn’t look out of place in the ’65’s dash

Longboard nose table was custom made for Gary by Dana Surfboard Co. in Oxnard, CA. It’s made out of the same hardwoods as the drinks bench (left)

Elsewhere, hydrodipping has been used to continue the wood (effect) theme

VW

separate one-inch dome tweeters, the rears are 400-watt, 6 x 9 three ways and an eight-inch subwoofer provides the bass. e system is driven by model B55, five-channel digital amp rated at 1,900 watts. Seriously, what a sound system!”

Stroke and go

e only thing to compete with those sweet, sweet sounds is the hellfire hanging from the back of this ’65. How does a 2.1-litre stroker throwing out close to 150bhp grab you? Built by Fred at Donson Performance in Peoria, Arizona, the motor was built with a carefully considered combination of all-new parts and then detailed to a level that matches

Gary says his wife, Lisa, was with him “every inch of the way” on this project, and what it means for their future together, so deserves a lot of the credit for the end result

the rest of the Bus. To that end, the fan shroud has been hydro-dipped in grey carbon-effect, while other parts have been powder coated with a red anodised-style finish.

Power is transmitted via a Kennedy Stage 1 clutch to a modified Beetle swing axle ’box rebuilt with welded gears, steel shift forks and a 4.12 ring and pinion by Mike Gagnier at Precision Engineered Performance.

“Mike is both a Volkswagen race car driver and a master transmission specialist with an extraordinary reputation across the VW racing and restoration worlds for the quality and durability of his work. He was an absolute pleasure to work with,” says Gary enthusiastically.

To clinch the deal down at the beach, this cruiser rolls on 15 x 5.5s and deep sixes from Hans Detailed Fuchs (that’s John Hans’, Instagram handle if you want to see more).

John beautifully detailed each wheel, and hand painted the centre caps.

Coupled with dropped spindles, riding on a four-inch narrowed beam from Wagenswest, and adjustable spring plates in the back, the beach cruiser look is sealed.

“ e VW Bus is a symbol of the 1960’s counterculture I experienced first hand as a teenager,” says Gary. “It’s a real genuine piece of Americana, and I am so happy I get to continue keeping that incredible era alive with this tribute.” n

The motifs in the interior were scanned from the couple’s wedding invitations, digitised and then transferred to the pale grey vinyl using a computerised embroidery program

The vintage vibe is counterbalanced by dashes of modern tech’ throughout

“The

Bus is a symbol of the 1960’s counterculture I experienced first hand as a teenager”

Words Gordie Woollacott Pics Kenneth Anno

f you’re British and you think of Belgium, it no doubt brings thoughts of chocolate, waffles and Stella Artois. A strange combination in some people’s book, a breakfast of kings in others. But if you’re British and love air-cooled Volkswagens, the first two things that come to mind will more likely be Le Bug Show and European Bug-In.

For a country one eighth the size of the UK, and with 54 million fewer inhabitants, it’s fair to say that, when it comes to classic Volkswagens, Belgium definitely punches above its weight.

e ease of passage from Germany to Belgium during the peak years of air-cooled manufacturing was clearly a bonus. e head honchos at Wolfsburg saw opportunity in a country with no discernible automotive manufacturing of its own, and set up camp, almost immediately becoming the number one supplier of cars to the Belgian people.

We here in the UK, meanwhile, marooned as we are on our little island, insisting we must continue to drive on the ‘wrong side’ of the road, placed additional barriers between us and the products of said German factory.

International reputation

Mitigating circumstances aside, the Belgians consistently pull it out of the bag when it comes to building top cars. is 1956 Oval ragtop is yet another perfect example of what we’re saying. Its owner, Alexandre Procureur, is amongst those responsible for the international reputation of Belgian VWs. He also owns a very tasty red 1965 Beetle with a 2.2-litre, 140bhp powerhouse he built in 2004. at was around the time the club he belongs to, Dub’s Kruisers Gang, was formed and it’s been going strong ever since, heavily influenced by the Cal Look and Resto Cal genres.

When the ’65 was completed, Alexandre was looking for something any classic car fan covets – an older model. “Oval ragtops were always my favourite,” he says. “I’ve been looking for one for a long time, but even in Belgium they are hard to find now.”

Digital Dehnestyle fuel gauges are a very popular addition

’56 is a good year for interior buffer facts. Seats got wider, shifter was cranked and a new steering wheel made it easier to read the speedo

“when it comes to classic Volkswagens, Belgium definitely punches above its weight”

Jaeger electronique rev counter is a lovely piece of kit, and looks right at home in place of a clock in the aftermarket speaker grille

With his contact book exhausted in his homeland, Alexandre turned his attention to Germany.

“ at’s where I found this ’56,” he continues. “Luckily, it was complete, and I knew it left the factory as a genuine sunroof model as it had all its original papers going right back to March 1956, detailing the previous owners.”

Sadly, the process of registering the imported car in Belgium required the original documentation be handed over, though, wisely, Alexandre has kept copies to prove the provenance and history of the car.

Cut short

His plans to simply enjoy it in the beginning were cut short by the realisation that the previous restoration work had not been done to a particularly high standard.

“I knew it needed paint,” he says, “but, on closer inspection, it required more work. ere were many dents and the doors needed some replacement metal.”

For this, Alexandre called on his friend, Orhan Dalipi, at Dalicars. Orhan agreed to take care of the work on the car while Alexandre was busy building a new house [a surprisingly common pastime in Belgium - MP]. As you can imagine, that took up a lot of his time and finances for a while, so it wasn’t until 2019 that the body, now finished in high gloss black, was ready to be built back up again.

For the most part, the process has followed a fairly stock approach. Of course, the influences from the Dub’s Kruisers Gang is evident in the stance and choice of wheels. e look has been achieved with CB dropped spindles attached to an aftermarket disc brake set up, together with 15-inch repro Fuchs in 4.5 and 5.5-inch sizes. e choice of 145 tyres on the front and 205/70s on the rear seals the deal.

For power, the original plan had been to give the 30-horse engine some wings using original Okrasa heads and twin carbs. However, if you’ve ever tried to find some of these yourself, you will know the challenge Alexandre faced.

Go on, admit it, at first glance you thought it was a 30 horse, right?

The bolt-on generator stand is the most obvious giveaway, but Alexandre has done a fine job of disguising the late model 1600 single port

…but the use of a tasty waffle pattern material (said to be Harris Tweed) for the headliner is inspired

Red leatherette is always a solid choice in a gloss black car…

’56 Export models had a new design of door card too, but Alexandre has subtly deviated from the updated stock style

“It was pretty much impossible,” he laments. “So, in the end, I decided to install a later 1600 engine and dress it up to look like a 30-horse unit.”

You see, the Belgians haven’t built the kind of reputation they have in the VW scene by admitting defeat. It’s all about the solutions and, as far as this one goes, it’s pretty ingenious. So much so, I have to admit it had me fooled at first glance.

Back date

With the help of club president, Gregory van Hullebusch, the fan shroud was replaced with an early stale air version, which houses a 90mm, 12V dynamo from a Porsche 356. e late model carb was binned and replaced with a Solex 32 PCI-1 carb lifted from an industrial motor, which looks a lot more like the 28 PCI version normally found on a late ’50’s engine.

e ruse is furthered by the use of a Bosch 010 distributor and a Mann ‘mushroom’ air filter that you’d more normally find on a late ’40’s Beetle.

e only modern concessions are the black anodised CSP crank pulley and fuel pump block off, but the result is an engine to delight both ruiners and purists alike.

Naturally, the interior hasn’t been overlooked either, re-done in simple red leatherette in stark contrast to the gleaming black paintwork. A Harris Tweed headliner makes a nice change from the more traditional wool cloth, and special mention must be made of El Casimir Sellerie and Doe’s Sellerie for the craftsmanship on display inside the car.

e timeless Oval dash has been enhanced by a Jaeger tachometer in the aftermarket speaker grille, while a Dehne fuel gauge takes away some of the inherent worry that VW built in with its reserve tap idea.

All the hard work was rewarded when the car scooped one of the prestigious awards at European Bug-In earlier this year. But for Alexandre, this car is about more than just ornaments for the mantlepiece: “I was so happy to receive that award, and I must give thanks to everyone who made this car possible,” he says, “but for me, the best time is time spent in the car with my family. My wife, Jennifer, loves it and so do my kids, Alice (18) and Antoine (16). In fact, Alice is currently learning to drive in the Oval.”

Isn’t that just the perfect end to the story? ■

“for me, the best time is time spent

Bay

Although Phil and Sherry Cohan had been long-time VW enthusiasts, owning everything from a ’59 Split Screen Pick-up to a 2009 Jetta, they weren’t initially in the market for a new project. Until, that is, Sherry received an ovarian cancer diagnosis and the couple decided to buy something to direct their focus into. It must have worked, as Sherry has now been in remission for a number of years.

e couple reside in Henderson, Nevada these days, but are natives of Riverside, California, part of an area referred to as Inland Empire. ought that conjures up some rather fancy images, it’s basically the desert, around an hour’s drive from the beach. It’s also, incidentally, the former and spiritual home of America’s VW aftermarket industry. Joe Vittone owned the Economotors VW dealership and started EMPI there in 1956.

It was during searching for an Early Bay Window – or ‘lowlight’ as they somewhat confusingly called it, being as that term is more commonly used in the UK to describe an early Karmann Ghia – around a decade ago now that their search brought up this ’70 Deluxe in their former home town. ey took it as a sign, especially as it

was in typical Californian condition, sun baked, with very little rust and still wearing its original paint. Coincidentally, I bought a very similar Bus in 2005. An original paint Savannah Beige ’70 Deluxe with a pair of Orange Renfree VW dealer plate surrounds. e price? $1,100 and not a spot of rust anywhere. Ah, those were the days.

’Screen test

e Bus Phil and Sherry found seven years after I stumbled across my old one had a bit of rust under the front windscreen and on the battery tray, but that was pretty much it. eir son, Chris, was brought in to help Phil carry out the minimal body repairs, and taught his dad the finer art of welding thin VW body panels as he went along. By all accounts he had to re-do some of the work Phil had done when he got a little carried away, but it can’t have been much as they told us all the welding work on the Bus took a grand total of 40 hours. at’s a drop in the proverbial ocean compared to most Bay Window restoration projects.

Once that part of the restoration was all sewn up, the Bus was handed over to family friend, Jose, an independent body and paint specialist. He then spent considerably more than 40 hours ridding the body of its accumulated dings and dents, and straightening the large side panels.

A er moving to Nevada, Phil and Sherry Cohen returned to their old stomping ground for an Early Bay to spend some quality time together in

Words: Mark Walker Pics: Eric Arnold

Tasteful tan vinyl and cream tweed interior is a kit available from Sewfine Interior Products in Denver.

Colorado

With all the prep’ done, he put a further 120 hours into painting the Bus in L620 Savannah Beige (a.k.a. hearing aid beige in some circles) with an L581 Cloud White roof panel, both base coats, with lashings of clear lacquer over the top. e end result is just how the Bus was when it left the Hanover factory, albeit shinier.

So solid crew

consideration in Phil and Sherry’s minds for anything other than the factory colour scheme.

Tiki gear knob sits on a near right angled extension for easier shifting

Fun fact: ’68-’70 model Buses were mainly produced in a solid colour, with only the Deluxe Microbus coming off the production line with a white roof panel. ey were never painted two tone from the beltline like ’71-’79 Buses, that was a change that started with the ’71 model year, accompanied by a new range of colours. e equivalent to this combination on a ’71 Bay Window, therefore, would be Kansas Beige with a Pastel White upper half. Consequently, there was never any

With the paint cured, the Bus came home to be fitted up, and this is where the whole family rallied round to tackle the interior. e original colour scheme here on a Savannah Beige Bus would have been brown and cream vinyl, so Phil and Sherry wanted to keep it similar, but upgrade it a little for the 21st century. With this in mind, they ordered a full replacement interior kit from Sewfine products in tan vinyl with cream tweed inserts.

Smooth rubbers

Before that could go in, though, the inner metal panels were lavished in Dynamat products. Next, Phil and Chris tackled the headliner and fitted new window rubbers, made easier as they elected to fit smooth rubbers without the aluminium trim insert,

buying them several days of their life back in the process! If you’ve ever fitted a set of Deluxe rubbers, you’ll know what I mean when I say that.

Although they don’t exactly live at the beach, being brought up with the California lifestyle, surrounded by VWs and surfing, they wanted to give their Bus a bit of a surf theme. So, a tiki horn push and shift knob, bamboo parcel trays, vintage Bing and Dewey Weber stickers and tiki curtain fabric all give this big nod, as does the wood slat roof rack and surfboard – even if it’s just for show in the desert of Nevada!

e Bus would have been cool as a stocker, but this wasn’t on the cards. e Cohans wanted a cool cruiser that handles and drives better than stock, so put in an order with Nate Curtis at Wagenswest for a narrowed and adjustable front beam and some two-inch dropped spindles. e narrowing came in handy as Nate also

You’d look surprised too if you’d just had an aerial shoved up your bum

Another carved tiki face looks out from the factory horn push location

“The Cohans wanted a cool cruiser that betterthan stock”

1776cc motor with dual single throat Solex carbs came as a turnkey unit from Chico Performance and offers a useful inscrease in power over standard

Everybody seems to want a Camper these days, but we love a Deluxe Microbus interior, it’s the most sociable way to travel

The sun hat is more contemporary, and needed pretty much every day in their new home of Henderson, Nevada

supplied a set of his ‘Babystang’ widefive front disc brakes in the deal.

e rear suspension is lowered with a pair of four-inch drop plates from Airkewld. e complete package isn’t super slammed, instead benefits from a nicely lowered ride height that means the Bus is still a comfortable cruiser, especially when combined with the upgraded drivetrain.

Level ground

Early Bays left the factory with a pretty lowly 5.43 ring and pinion in the gearbox. is is fine if you’re running an original 1600 single port and live on the side of a mountain in Switzerland, but it’s not so great if you want to keep up with freeway traffic on largely level ground.

With this in mind, the Cohan’s ordered a rebuilt freeway flier transmission from Wright Gearbox in

Riverside, fitted with a 4.57 ring and pinion. is modification alone will drop over 1000rpm when cruising at highway speed.

To make sure they could still propel the longer-legged Bus up hills when required, they then ordered a 1776cc turnkey engine with fullflow oil system and dual Solex carbs with electric chokes from Chico Performance. It’s not an all-out powerhouse, but offers a 40-50bhp increase over stock, meaning Phil and Sherry don’t have to pedal so hard.

Since completing the restoration, the Bus has won no fewer than 22 show trophies, and counting. Included amongst them are Best of Show, Best Paint, Best Interior and Best Engine awards, and it’s easy to see why. Not least the fact that for years so-called [though we’re not sure by who – Ed] ‘fat chick’ Bay Windows

have been overlooked on the show circuit in favour of Split Screen Buses, meaning good ones really stand out.

Level headed

As I’ve said numerous times before, to my mind, Early Bays are the best of both worlds. ey still retain some of the cuter, more rounded looks of the earlier Buses, and indeed even share some parts with later Splits, but drive and handle so much better right out of the box.

Add a few choice modifications to a decent example that hasn’t had to be salvaged from a rusty or hacked heap and you’ve got a great Bus that you’ll enjoy driving on a daily basis, as well as at weekends.

But enough from the Bay Window Public Relations Department, feast your eyes on this Riverside Bay, and then tell me I’m wrong! n

Ford Model A tail light with stop lens sits on the bumper as an additional brake light

Classic surfboard stickers and Oceanside VW dealer surround all hark back to the Cohans early life spent in Riverside, California

“a 50bhp increase over stock [means] Phil and Sherry don’t have to pedal so hard”

Ab’ fab’

That title may mean Absolutely Fabulousto some, but in this case refers to absolutely fabricated, due to the mad skills of this Baja’s owner, Yann Tixier

Words Mark Walker Pics Kiki duBois

Yann started his Classic Cars Body Repair business in SaintForgeot, France in 2011, largely thanks to the encouragement of all-round nice guy, Pascal Amodru, owner of Serial Kombi. At the point he did so, he had already painted Pascal’s famous Wind Split hi-top drag race Bus, and several other cars, clearly demonstrating his skills for restoration and bodywork.

However, as anyone who has ever built a business in the car sector will attest, it’s no walk in the park. And, while it might seem like the perfect way to get your own projects done in double quick time, it actually becomes harder than ever.

How so? I hear you ask. Well, if you have the time to build your own projects, you rarely have the money to do so. And if you have enough money coming in to keep the business afloat, you rarely have the time to work on your own stuff as customer cars and work have to take priority.

Consequently, you’ll invariably find business owners having to make time late in the evenings and at weekends for their own projects, which becomes harder still if you’re balancing family life, too.

Freedom

However, when Covid lockdowns came along, this all changed for many people. I’ve lost count of the amount of feature car owners I’ve spoken to in the last two years whose first words have been “During the first lockdown…” While it was undoubtedly a very difficult time for many people, it did give a lot of others what we all want more than anything else in life – more time.

I know for a fact that most people think they want more money, but what we all really want is enough money to buy more freedom, and free time, and this is where the Covid cloud dealt a great many people a massive silver lining. For some, it was just the opportunity to find a new perspective, and to focus more on what makes them feel fulfilled.

For others, it was finally starting that project they’d always wanted, but had been finding excuses not to start. Rules for working during lockdown were different in other countries, some much stricter than here in the UK. In some, free movement was a total no-no, enforced by the boys in blue. So, when Yann in France was forced to close the doors to his business, he decided to make the best possible use of his time and build his dream Baja Bug from a ratty ’59 ragtop he had laying around.

Hot to chop

As I typed that, I could literally feel how hot under the collar this would make a few people, especially as Yann started with a desirable model of Beetle that, at the time, was in full possession of all its bodywork. Okay, the bolt-on panels had all been replaced at some point, but it was still very much a stock-bodied ’59 European ragtop with semaphores, not what most people would see as the ideal candidate to be chopped about into a Baja.

To hike the front end, Yann used a combination of Sway-A-Way-style adjusters, rotated upwards not downwards, and Type 181 spindles and trailing arms

“decided instead to use his superior fab’ skills to modify the sheet metal into a Baja”

Check out the angle of those driveshafts! That’s why Yann chose to swap to an IRS ’pan

Side nerf bars replace the traditional running boards

Yann sectioned the spare wheel well, cut the wings to match and used a later model bonnet

No chrome dressup pack here, just EMPI GT valve covers and super clean detailing throughout

2110cc motor breathes through a pair of Weber 44IDFs and CB Panchito 044 cylinder heads

That’s a Vintage Speed Type 1 bell crank linkage opening and closing those big ole’ suckers

is didn’t deter Yann at all. He reasoned that building a showquality car, in whatever form that took, out of an old Beetle that clearly needed restoration was a worthy thing to do. And in my mind, that’s more admirable than just hoarding a desirable early model and doing nothing with it.

e way I see it, people don’t think twice about hacking tubs and notches into early Bugs and Buses to slam them, so it’s a double standard to be critical over the type of body mods.

Steel is real

Having searched for a suitable kit to build his Baja out of, he’d not found anything he was happy to fit, so decided instead to use his superior fab’ skills to modify the sheet metal into a Baja, in much the same way that Gary and Neil Emory did with what’s considered the original Baja Bug in 1967.

e first step, then, was to section the front clip by removing a couple of inches out of the depth of the spare wheel well, before bobbing the front wings to suit.

He then took the opposite route with the rear wings, widening them by a couple of inches, before cutting away sections of the rear bodywork

Seats are the original ’59 parts, re-trimmed by Raterseller & Co. in Yann’s choice of materials that perfectly complement the exterior colour

That’s the stock ’59 steering wheel in there too, and note how the carpets have been made to reflect a Standard style

and fabbing some long-travel shock absorber mounts high up in the inner wings. An additional rear brace inside the luggage area stops any unwanted flexing from occurring due to this change to the suspension geometry.

e reason for all this was so he could run adjustable gas shocks with 36 different settings, ranging from 260-380mm in length.

e rear body mounts were relocated to smooth the inner wings and all of the cut areas neatly finished so there are no raw edges left, just smooth, radiused body mods.

To finish off the abbreviated front and rear ends, Yann came up with his own design of engine lid, and modified a ’70 bonnet to fit the shortened front clip, before painting the whole lot in VW L13A Dakota Beige, which makes the car reminiscent of a wartime VW Kommandeurwagen.

While he had the paint gun out, Yann also colour coded the Mooneyes Speedmaster wheels.

Although my personal preference is for traditional Baja Bugs, made from pre-’65 cars and retaining link pin front suspension, I’m also aware that link pin, along with swing axle rear suspension, puts quite a few limitations on Bajas, especially if

you want to raise them more than an inch or two. With this in mind, Yann swapped the ’59’s original ’pan for a later balljoint ’pan with factory IRS. ese ’pans came underneath late ’60’s semi-automatic Beetles only in Europe (and all Beetles destined for the US market starting in August ’68) and have long been the hot ticket for German Look cars, but they also offer the ideal combination if you plan on raising the suspension, too.

It’s a Thing thing

Yann’s choice of a Bay Window Bus gearbox follows the thinking of decades of American off-road VW builders, due to their availability and extra strength. He fitted it using homemade spring plates and aftermarket boxed rear trailing arms with Type 181 drive flanges and CV joints as these have more degrees of travel compared to regular Bug or Bus driveshafts. Incidentally, Porsche 944 joints have the same travel but are much easier to find.

When it came to the front end, Yann welded a pair of adjusters into a balljoint beam in such a position as to give maximum raise. He also fitted a pair of Type 181 spindles for a factory 2.5-inch lift. Using these requires the use of matching trailing arms too, as

“people don’t think twice about hacking into early Bugs and Buses to slam them, so it’s a double standard to be critical over the typeof body mods” ype

Additional AAC clock and rev counter sit in a neat, Yann-fabbed holder beneath the dash

What better place to show off yoru colection of EB-I plaques than on the glovebox door?

Additional brace bar is there to support the relocated upper rear shock absorber mounts

Westy cloth looks right at home in the chocolate brown vinyl

both balljoints point downward on the 181 arms, compared to Beetle arms which have opposing balljoints. Again, though, all factory parts, which means much nicer ride quality.

e finishing touch to the ride height is a three-inch body lift kit nestled between the body and ’pan for even more highs.

Finally, when it came to the ’pan at least, a Kerscher steering rack and disc brakes from the same company make steering and stopping a more inspiring experience.

Motor head

Now Yan just needed something to push the whole lot down the road, or up the nearest sand dune. A 2110cc engine was assembled on an aluminium AS21 case, using an Engle 120 cam, and dual Weber 44IDFs on polished manifolds feeding into CB Panchito 044 heads. Yann then invested more of that ‘freedom’ time in making the engine look as great as it performs, with such niceties as Vintage Speed air filters, which are reminiscent of the Knecht filters found on early Porsches.

He doesn’t have a dyno graph to tell us the exact power output, but the vastly uprated motor will surely make short work of turning those 30inch diameter Black-Starr 4 x 4 rear tyres, which can be a bit of a problem with off-road VWs powered by stock engines. Front tyres are 215/75 BF Goodrich All-Terrains T/As.

Moving to the inside, the original seat frames were stripped and

powder coated in off white before Yann entrusted Raterseller & Co. with the job of upholstering them, together with a set of door cards, in chocolate brown vinyl and reproduction Late Bay Window Westfalia check fabric sourced from his old buddy Pascal at Serial Kombi.

Raterseller also made the supercool custom square weave carpets, which give a Standard model feel as they only cover the floors and small sections of the heater channels where the driver’s and passenger’s feet would catch on entering and exiting the car. Note also the scuff guards on the centre tunnel for the same reason.

Vintage Speed

e final job when it came to upholstery – also entrusted to Raterseller & Co – was to restore the original ragtop sunroof mechanism and cover the exterior in Alpaca wool, and the interior in matching brown vinyl. Yann could then fit the ’59’s restored original steering wheel, along with a few accessories like a Vintage Speed cruiser pedal and shifter and his own self-made accessory gauge cluster.

Even if you’re one of life’s Baja haters, there’s no denying Yann has knocked it out of the park when it comes to build quality and execution. is is certainly no weekend hack job, nor even a quick build with glass fibre panels. e sheer ingenuity displayed in modifying steel panels gets a huge round of applause from me. I bet it’s an absolute blast to drive, too. n

Dakota Beige

The use of Type 181 spindles gives 2.5-inches of factory lift. Note the extended upper shock mounts, too

Add a threeinch body lift kit and you can really go up in the world

It all looks normal in there, until Yann tries to fit a spare wheel...

“L13A

makes the car reminiscent of a wartime VW Kommandeurwagen”

“In the United States… sales of the Beetle began to plummet after 1973”

Typical of the 1970s, the dealer brochure for a ’77 features bright and cheery colours

By 1977, the Volkswagen Beetle was seen as an antiquated automobile by many. Hardly surprising really as it had been in production for almost 40 years by then. Even Volkswagen showed little interest in promoting the model that had launched the company, preferring to concentrate on another equally successful compact car, the Golf (itself now approaching an almost unbelievable 50 years in production).

e decision made to finally call a halt to European production, workers at the manufacturer’s plant in Emden, Germany screwed the last Beetle saloon together on an otherwise normal day in January 1978. at wasn’t the end of the story, though, as even German VW dealerships would soon be offering a replacement, but this time built in Mexico’s Puebla factory. at last hurrah did little to help Beetle sales, though, which remained marginal at best in Germany.

In the United States, the situation was different.

The federally mandated (in the US) smog equipment required in ’77 made for a much more complicated looking engine bay

But when properly maintained, the Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection system makes for smooth power delivery without icing or the annoying flat spot later twin ports are renowned for

Sales of the Beetle began to plummet dramatically after 1973, largely due to fierce competition in the compact sector from other car makers. ey included domestic brands such as Ford and Chevrolet, but it was the vehicles crossing the Pacific from Japan that took the lion’s share of the hugely lucrative import market. Consequently, Volkswagen of America did not see fit to import the lastof-the-line Beetles from Mexico after German production stopped. e 1977 model therefore became the last Beetle ever sold by US dealerships.

Rare breed

To further emphasise the lack of interest from buyers, looking at sales figures in the USA reveals that VW only sold 12,090 Beetle saloons in 1977, roughly 0.05 per cent of the 21 million produced around the world up to 2003. So seeing one of one of these last-of-the-last US ’77s on the road today is unusual, to say the least. Only a few made it into private collections too as, traditionally, the products of the 1970s have been considered of less interest to air-cooled VW enthusiasts. But could the perception of so-called late models be starting to change? Maybe. ere certainly seems to be an increasing number of collectors seeking out ‘big bumper’ saloons, especially Cabriolets, these days, but they still lag way behind the products of the 1950s and ’60s in terms of popularity.

Look closely and you’ll see the mileometer shows just 1,851 miles. What you might quite reasonably call low mileage for the year!

Gone is the polished aluminium and shiny paint of old, the ’77’s dash looks like it was designed by Darth Vader

e ones people are seeking out tend to be versions that mark the end of specific eras, including final year Mexican Beetles (2003) and Karmann Cabriolets (1980).

In the US at least, the ’77 saloon can be considered another historically significant model, deemed worthy by some collectors for the reason mentioned earlier, and this is the story of one of those cars.

e vehicle belongs to Ohio resident, Brenda Perrin, who has had several Volkswagens and Porsches through the years, starting with a 1968 Fastback followed by a ’68 912. With the latter, she joined the Porsche Club of America (PCA), “so I would know the best places to have the car maintained,” she says.

Shining star

During the first PCA dinner she attended, Brenda noticed one gentleman in particular.

“A lot of people seemed to want to talk to this one guy, and were almost standing in line to do so,” she recalls.

It turned out to be Jim Perrin, who had gained quite a reputation within the Volkswagen and Porsche scene. A romance ensued – presumably once Brenda made it to the front of the line! – and the couple ended up married, and have delighted in sharing their joint love for VWs and early Porsches ever since.

Jim, who received a PhD in metallurgical engineering from the prestigious Stanford University, has been passionate about both automotive brands for decades. ose combined interests led him to drive a 1959 Beetle equipped with a range of Porsche 356 components: engine, gearbox, aluminium brakes and wheels.

Along with two partners, for 30 years he also organised a Volkswagen and Porsche indoor swap meet in Los Angeles, which focussed on collectibles, toys, literature, tools and other small items. Better known as the LA Lit’ & Toy Show, this successful get together will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023.

Jim’s involvement with the air-cooled scenes additionally translated into various positions within the Porsche Club of America, including national president and historian for the 356 Registry, a job he has held for over 35 years.

An avid fan of coachbuilt cars, he is the co-author of a book on Denzel sports cars, as well as the co-editor of the Denzel Bulletin newsletter. Jim’s a busy guy.

Accessory a-post kick plates and door corner guards protect the paint. Until you take them off and find they’ve actually damaged it

Several late model Volkswagens have passed through the Perrin household through the years, including a dailydriven ’74 Beetle, a ’71 Westfalia and three Type 25 Campers, the latter used extensively during summer holidays. eir more cherished collector cars include a ’56 Oval, a terrific black ’57 survivor Oval that has won Best of Show awards with its original paint and interior, a ’65 Beetle saloon and a 1958 Porsche Speedster. And then there is Brenda’s 1977 Beetle.

One in, one out

is car was actually bought as a replacement for another ’77 model, one that came factory dressed in Lime Green metallic, which Brenda owned before the turn of the century. Sadly, that one hadn’t aged so well, which led Brenda to enquire at a local foreign car restoration shop about having it repainted.

“ at was in 2000,” she remembers, “I asked for an estimate and they quoted me $5,000. Jim suggested he would look around for another Beetle for me as he thought if I put $5,000 into the Lime Green one, I would have more money in the car than it was worth.”

e hunt was on for a similar age replacement then, but the pickings proved slim. Two years went by and then, in September of 2002, something unexpected happened.

VW called this interior colour Cameo White. It’s a brave choice but looks fantastic alongside the dark blue metallic exterior colour

In the US in ’77, front seats were also fitted with new, adjustable headrests to reduce the risk of whiplash injury

The increasing use of plastic in the automotive industry, and a trend away from glitzy chrome and polish, meant late ’70’s VW interiors were rather more sombre

Indicators increased in size throughout Beetle production. This is Hella’s 1977 ‘big boy’ version

Likewise, the rear lights. VW fans have long referred to these enormous units as elephant’s feet

As Jim was walking the aisles of the annual VW & Porsche Reunion in Cincinnati, Ohio, he noticed a ’77 Beetle painted Bahama Blue metallic with a sign in the window reading 966 original kilometres.

A conversation ensued with the owner, and a look at the odometer and around the car confirmed it had indeed covered just over 600 miles since new. Could it be for sale? Well, possibly, if the price was right.

Jim called Brenda, and they both agreed that buying it at the asking price would be a sensible decision. So, one ’77 went out the door, and another ’77 came in to replace it.

Clear title

You might be wondering how any Volkswagen could be showing only 600 miles, 25 years after it was built. Well, it all started when a VW dealership in Pennsylvania called Bob Montgomery Inc. bought the blue saloon with the idea of keeping it, figuring its historical importance as one of the last Beetles imported into the United States would make it valuable in years to come.

e car wasn’t put on display, but was stored under wraps in the dealership’s body shop for a couple of years, but after a change of heart it was sold. e car then changed hands several times, with each new owner clearly not using it either, or at least very sparsely. It therefore remained in perfect shape, just waiting for Brenda to come along and become its fifth caretaker.

We should comment here on the beautiful exterior. Bahama Blue is one of only three colour choices offered by Volkswagen for its saloons in 1977. British VW fans will be more familiar with the Diamond Silver, and there was also the aforementioned Lime Green metallic available, too. Interestingly enough, owners of Beetle Cabriolets of the same year had to make do with four non-metallic hues: Mars Red, Polar White, Chrome Yellow and the less common Barrier Blue.

A visit to the interior divulges black carpet and Cameo White leatherette upholstery, a nice (though difficult to keep clean) appointment specific to Bahama Blue cars.

e ’77 model saw some minor improvements compared to previous years, including adjustable front seat headrests. Among the accessories onboard, check out the

Any post-’74 car in America had to have ‘impact bumpers’, designed to absorb a 5mph bump without recourse to the insurance company. For some braces to go with its sturdy belt, this one also has optional bumper overriders, too

Through flow air vents behind the side windows became standard equipment on Beetles in 1971, and helped reduce interior misting

Factory (most likely dealer fited) fuel injection script and ribbed light topper keep company with the cool collector plate on Brenda’s car

Single tailpipe is a throwback to the earliest models, but in this case tells us the engine is a fuel injected, 48bhp flat four

e standard engine lid covers a 1584cc motor, rated at a range-topping 48 horsepower, but one that looks way more complicated than the flat four VW offered even 10 years earlier. It all boils down to the ‘smog’ equipment mandated by the US government in an early attempt to fight traffic pollution. at and the fuel injection system, which became de rigueur in 1975 on US-market Beetles.

Having owned the car for two decades now, Brenda remains enthusiastic about early Volkswagens and Porsches, and has taken on similar responsibilities to her husband, Jim: “I’ve been the secretary for the mid-Ohio region of PCA, secretary of the 356 Registry and also compiled the member ads for that group for 20 years. I was chair of the 356 Registry Holiday IV event held in Columbus, Ohio, and am currently the back-up secretary for the Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club, having previously held the position of co-secretary.”

Brenda’s a busy lady too, huh?

Grocery getter

Like its previous four owners, Brenda has been using her cherished ’77 only sparsely, though she is quick to point out that she has covered more miles in it than all of the previous owners put together. Outings include local car shows and occasional errands, mainly to keep the car in healthy running order, so the odometer at the bottom of the speedo now shows 1,851 miles.

“Initially, I tried not to use the car at all,” she admits, “trailering it to shows and only driving it up and down the drive to exercise it, but it is so much fun to drive and zip around in. People always look at it and smile, and children especially like it, pointing and asking their parents about it.”

What’s next for Brenda and Jim’s collection? “I like the idea of owning a Split Window Beetle,” says Brenda, “or another VW Camper, which is probably more practical!

“My father would say, ‘Your wants won’t hurt you’, and Jim says, ‘It’s never ending’. To both of them, I say, I’m just having a great time!” ■

Brenda’s Beetle retains all its original factory, and dealer-fitted, equipment. The various scuff guards and the polished aluminium window shades below – designed to enable you to drive along with the main door windows cracked but without rain coming in – were part of an extensive range of dress-up accessories offered by Volkswagen dealers throughout the 1970s

dealer-supplied AM / FM radio, polished aluminium door edge protectors, front and rear bumper guards, rear wing gravel guards and door window vent shades.

With one of the nicest unrestored Ovals we’ve ever seen sharing garage space with the low-mileage ’77, the Perrins have the best of both ends of the air-cooled VW world. Oh, and a Porsche 356 Speedster as well

Ian Cushway

Words Andy Saunders

One of the stand out vehicles at this year’s VolksWorldShow was this double door Bay. Boy, did it warrant a second look

t was cold on the rear apron at Sandown Park Racecourse on the third Friday in March. e sun had yet to rise high in the sky and there was a chilling wind. Donning a Dayglo tabard to avoid being run over, I’d unwittingly been drummed in to helping marshal new arrivals.

stretching his tall frame in slow motion as he stepped onto firm ground for the first time in what I expect had been many hours.

As I walked over for a closer look, I heard him exchange a few drowsy words with his female passenger in French, so clumsily introduced myself in his mother tongue and tried to find out more.

ere is something special about this time of year though. Seeing the show cars arrive is one of the best parts of the weekend; an opportunity to check debut cars out as their owners breathe a sigh of relief that they’ve made it safely to the venue. Many are so tired they can barely speak, but the excitement is palpable.

I watched a white T4 Transporter draw up, idly noting its French number plates (I live in France myself you see), trailering a matching white Bay Window, and watched its exhausted-looking driver slowly unfolded himself from behind the wheel,

Deep south

I visıon visıon

Turns out, the couple, Aurélien Bes and Gaëlle Bonnefon, had driven up from near Toulouse in the deep south of the country. at’s about 700 miles, maybe more. No wonder they both looked shattered.

I quickly realised the Bay on the trailer was something a bit special, but the best details only revealed themselves on closer inspection.

I asked if they would be interested in having the Bus shot for a feature and, in their tired state, they agreed, on one condition. ey grab a strong coffee first.

horrible… But it had to be saved”

It might look like a very clean fridge from the outside, but one peek through the (many) windows of this double door Bay and it’s immediately apparent this isn’t your average Kombi. The interior is an absolute work of art

What’s even more impressive is it’s all home done. What Aurelién hasn’t made, he has designed, and his mum cranked out the interior on her sewing machine.

There are so many neat details, we only noticed the Bay silhouette stitched into the glovebox lid cover when going through the pictures for this feature!

Hiding inside that glove box are a trio of VDO gauges, the stereo head unit and an Airlift 3P digital air ride controller

Dashboard is a clean re-work of the original design with anything ‘fiddly’ removed. Those clocks are from a Porsche 944

The bucket seats were made by Aurelién in steel, and sit on handmade raised wheel tubs

Half an hour, and a couple of double espressos later, the Bus was off its trailer and sparkling, having been given a quick wash to remove 700 miles’ worth of road grime. We’re used to seeing clean cars turn at e VolksWorld Show, but this one was almost unnaturally clean, so it came as little surprise when Aurélien admitted it was the first time the Bus had actually been driven.

Seizing the opportunity to further practise my French, I set about finding out a bit more about man and machine.

Turns out Aurélien is a bit of a whizz when it comes to satellites, which makes sense given Toulouse is the French hub for all things space-related.

2020 vision

He actually bought the Bus in 2014, and finished it 4,300 hours later, just in time for the 2020 VolksWorld Show. He wasn’t the only one that was disappointed when that year’s show was first postponed, then subsequently cancelled. So much so, he pulled a sheet over the Bus, and that’s where it’s been sat for the last two years.

Aurélien told us he’d owned VWs before, a Beetle and a Buggy, but this is the first Bus he’s tackled. And it was shot when he bought it, shot to pieces.

Undaunted, he began by stripping everything out of it and assessing the extent of the rot.

“I made my own spit so I could turn it on its side, and then spent the next year cutting out rust,” he reveals. Not only did he have to cut out rust, but also an aftermarket sunroof from an Opel that a previous owner had seen fit to cut into the roof.

While it was clear from the start that Aurélien had done the vast majority of the work on this Bus himself, he does mention having a brother who works in a bodyshop, which came in handy when he needed someone to paint the Bus.

“He bought the Bus in 2014 and finished it 4,300 hours later, in time for the 2020 VolksWorldShow”

With all the rust cut out, he then spent a further 18 months figuring out what modifications he was going to do, both to the body and chassis.

My French isn’t great so, when Aurélien began reeling off the more intricate details of the build, there were times when all I could do was nod in appreciation. I followed that by asking him to write it all down in an email and send it to me when he got home, hoping that would afford me the time and opportunity to go through it (with the help of a dictionary and Google translate) and make some sense of it all.

Sheer genius

Going through the five pages of notes he subsequently sent, the sheer genius of the work he’s carried out became even more apparent.

Starting at the front, the steering box has been raised 6cm, he’s made new, raised wheel tubs, notched the chassis, welded up all the holes for the front bumper fixings, removed the ventilation system behind the front panel and reduced the depth of the headlamp bowls to create a smoother profile under the dash.

e seats have been made from scratch, as has all the other furniture inside, and the rear bulkhead modified to show off the show-stopping detail work put in underneath.

At the rear, there are more custom-made wheel tubs, another chassis notch, raised engine mounts, fuel tank and engine support bar, smoothed and re-profiled rear bumper... the list goes on.

At the end of 2018, the ’shell was solid again and ready to be prepped for paint. Aurélien was quick to mention his friend, Denis, here, and his brother, Jeremy (Jéjé) who applied the Nissan brilliant white colour. In contrast, the wheels and other parts of the running gear have been given a coat of fiery brown metallic, this time a Renault colour (Clio 4 if you’re inspired).

Come March 2019, Aurélien was at the re-assembly stage, with a full year to do that in time for the Bus’ proposed show debut in 2020.

Given how the Bus sits in these photos, you’ll have guessed it’s on air, but not that parts of the modified VW front beam originated on a Peugeot 306. Or that the air tank started life as two fire extinguishers. Airlift 3P digital management controls the static and ride heights, while a Viair 440C pump housed under the front seat moves air around the system.

Made at home

Moving on to the Bay’s stunning interior, Aurélien had just as much to say, but prefaced it with two simple words, “fait maison.” Made at home.

And in some cases, made more than once, too: “I made five front seats in steel to my own designs, but only kept two in the end,” he reports.

He also re-imagined the dash, incorporating a set of dials from a Porsche 944, and came up with the designs for all the new interior panels. Check it out, even the accelerator pedal has been smoothed and polished!

Aurelién built the 2180cc Type 1 motor himself, “with advice from Nico and JR.” It uses CB Performance Panchito 044 cylinder heads, Web Cam 86a camshaft and Weber 48IDA carbs. That delicious detail colour is by Renault and features elsewhere on the Bus Helping suck air into the thirsty 48s are a pair of short polished Pro Velocity ram pipes, while the carbs sit on polished JayCee manifolds.

“I am into the details, the finishing. I work four days a week, so did all this in the evenings and weekends”

Safe to say that’s as low as you can go without a body drop, when the spring plate stops are resting on the ground. Chassis notches and a steering box raise, definitely required

Wheels are BBS RS GT twopiece split rims with titanium bolts, tyres are Yokohama 195/45-17s and 215/40-17s, and behind them are four-wheel disc brakes that Aurelién put together himself using Mercedes Eclass 300mm discs and calipers from a Porsche 996

Aurélien’s mother even got in on the action, replicating the stitch detail in her son’s drawings in the brown leather chosen for the soft panels.

Rather than hide mechanical parts like the compressor and the rear suspension and gearbox, Aurélien chose to make features of them, the former sitting in a painted and trimmed cavity under the driver’s seat, the latter exposed for all to see by an aluminium and Perspex cover beneath the rear bench seat.

When I first saw the Bus, I clocked its tasty BBS wheels, but Aurélien kindly explained their origin. “BBS RS GT,” he says, “a very light two-piece wheel from a Renault Clio RS.” Given the same treacly brown metallic finish as other parts of the running gear, they look good enough to eat.

Behind them are brake calipers from a Porsche 996, stripped and restored by Aurélien before fitting, and Mercedes E-class 300mm discs.

Car custom

From what I was able to gather, both from speaking with Aurélien at the show and from our email exchanges afterwards, he sees himself as a car customiser, first and foremost. He readily admits he’s not a VW purist and, though he wouldn’t say it himself, we’d say he’s better described as a skilled perfectionist who likes to inject his own imagination and craftsmanship into a project. at, and his nationality, perhaps explains some of the more unusual choices of parts and colours on the car, but the real beauty of this Bus is the way they’ve all been brought together into one car that quite effortlessly flows, all the way from the smoothed front bumper to the back.

“I am into the details, the finishing,” he continues. “I love the way things are constructed. I work four days a week, so did all this in the evenings and weekends. Not Sunday, though, as that’s for the family.”

Ha, we forgot to mention he’s also got two girls, aged eight and 12, which makes this an even more impressive achievement for the entirely self-taught customiser.

Sunroof terrible

“I started from a very rusty ’shell. e doors were held together with clamps, the windows had orbital sander marks, the sunroof was terrible and there were welded on plates and 11mm thick filler in places. But it had to be saved. After all, it’s a double door, and one with glazing is a rare Bus these days.”

As we were saying our goodbyes after e VolksWorld Show, wishing the couple a safe – if a bit lengthy – journey home, I asked how the weekend had gone for them. “Top!” Aurélien replied, clearly more awake than when I first met him. “Merveilleaux. Bringing a vehicle here has always been a dream, it’s an amazing show, and to take a [Top 20] trophy was encroyable. Incredible!”

We could just as well say the same about your Bus Aurélien, it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our weekend at Sandown. ■

Open up the lid of that buddy seat and there’s the air ride kit, although Aurelién made the tank himself out of two halves of an old fire extinguisher

Of all the many tricks on this Bus, the one most people seemed to be talking about at The VolksWorld Show was the Perspex panel under the rear set that allowed you to check out the rear suspension and gearbox detailing without soiling your knees. Thoughtful guy Aurelién

Turn your gaze the other way and you’ll find a trimmed buddy seat and the Viair 440C compressor neatly stowed beneath the driver’s seat

Aurélien chose to make features of them”

Come in Number 57

The fascinating story of the Porsche that got away

Words: Paul Knight Pics: Porsche Press Office

Porsche has an amazing collection of cars in its museum at Stuttgart but, until recently, there was a notable gap in the early timeline of the 911.

As this is a VW magazine, not a Porsche one – though we all know the two are inextricably linked – we should perhaps begin with a brief history of the Porsche 901, the short-lived forerunner of the legendary 911.

On the outside, they are essentially the same vehicle, 901 being the internal code Porsche initially used at the launch of its new model at the Internationale AutomobilAusstellung (Frankfurt Motor Show) in September 1963.

However, by the time the 901 was first offered for sale to the public, at the 1964 Paris Auto Salon, a French car maker had objected to the German manufacturer using a three-digit model number with a zero in the middle.

Peugeot claimed it was an infringement of its ‘house style’, and so started legal proceedings. Surprisingly, Porsche acquiesced and re-named its new model 911 instead.

Consequently, the original 80 or so pre-production 901 vehicles were routed into Porsche’s test and development department, while the public were sold 'new' 911 models.

Where it becomes more interesting is that over the years, a handful of 901s ended up in the hands of private owners, and are considered highly collectible today due to their rarity and unusual chassis numbers.

So rare are they that, for more than 50 years, not even the Porsche factory owned one, but that all changed on 5 August 2014 when the manager of the Porsche Museum collection, Alexander Klein, received a ’phone call from a member of a German television crew.

e person on the other end of the line explained how they had uncovered a couple of early Porsches while filming a documentary about a long-abandoned collection. When the chassis number 300 057 was mentioned in the description of one of the cars, Klein immediately recognised it as one of the 901 models, dating to the autumn of 1964.

Rusty gold

11 days later, two experts from the Porsche Museum headed for a farm in Brandenburg to inspect the vehicles. Moving past a gold 1968 911L in very poor condition, they found at the back of a dusty barn the partially stripped ’64. Both front wings were missing and large sections of the vehicle had been eaten away by rust, but the chassis number was indeed correct, and one of the Museum team’s long-held dreams was finally within reach.

Those three numbers in the 'Typ' box on the body ID plate are what all the fuss is about.

The 300 057 chassis number dates this car to autumn '64.

Porsche officially sold its new model on 1 November 1964

e cars needed to be sold as soon as possible, and so a deal was worked out whereby the Museum paid €107,000 for the red 901, and €14,500 for the gold 911 (which, we’re told, will remain in as-found condition, and displayed as a piece of ‘living history’).

e more historically significant 901, henceforth known as Number 57 as it was the 57th car built, will be fully restored. Further inspection back at the Museum revealed that both the engine and transaxle had been replaced at some point, but the bigger problem was the majority of the car’s mechanical components were heavily corroded and deemed beyond repair.

Likewise, the body was in poor condition, especially the inner and outer sills on the right-hand side, the front bumper mounts and large sections of the two longitudinal beams underneath.

e restoration of Number 57 began with disassembly, every part labelled and catalogued before being sent to the network of specialists used by Porsche Classic.

Sadly, the car is no longer matching numbers as the original engine and transaxle had been replaced at some point in its past. As the parts that came with it were considered 'period correct', they were meticulously rebuilt, using all correct fasteners throughout.

Consumable service parts came off the shelf at Porsche Classic

“one of the Museum team’s long-held dreams was finally within reach”

The car was repainted in its original colour of Signal Red, but using a modern, waterbased paint system

Any

'new'

metal used in the resurrection of the body came from a 1965 911 donor car

Love the factory houndstooth inserts in the vinyl seats

Despite decades of neglect, the car was remarkably complete, but compare this shot with the as-found shot of the dash on the previous page

Porsches

e bodyshell was then chemically dipped to remove all existing paint and neutralise the rust.

“After that, you can see exactly where modifications have been made, as the process shows up any discolouration in the metal surface, indicating it has been welded or ground down,” explains Kuno Werner on the restoration team.

Factory grind

e good news was that, while Number 57 was rusty, it had not been previously restored or repaired after damage. e grinder marks that did show up in the roof panel were identified by Werner as having been made during original construction: “Our colleagues back then must have needed to do some re-working,” he added with a smile.

e body was repaired using parts removed from a donor ’65 911 to ensure the composition and quality of the sheet metal would be as close to that used in 1964 as possible.

It took around 12 months to complete the metalwork, which included dry building the car with all its ancillaries prior to the paint process.

But even for Number 57, restored by Porsche itself, authenticity has its limits. When it came to the paint, for example, the restoration team opted for modern coating processes for their superior protection against corrosion. e body was therefore dipped in the same cathodic bath as today’s 911s, while the 6407 Signal Red colour was applied using environmentallyfriendly, water-based paint.

“they had uncovered a couple of early

while filming a documentary about a longabandoned collection”

However, the luggage compartment and underbody were given a PVC coating, just like the original.

Porsche Classic took on the task of reviving the seized 2.0-litre engine that came with the car. e cylinder heads came off without any problem, but the pistons were stuck fast in the cylinders, requiring a careful combination of rust remover, heat, time and patience to free up.

Eventually, though, the factory-spec motor was fired up and tuned on the test stand prior to installation.

Extreme detail

Meanwhile, the chassis and drivetrain parts, refurbished seats and re-plated fittings gradually returned from restoration, and the level of detail the team went to here was extreme, right down to using exactly the same shape screws the factory had used originally to mount the indicators. Serious stuff.

With the last pieces of the jigsaw complete, Number 57 was fine tuned and road tested prior to its final journey into the Porsche Museum, where the oldest car in the 911 collection is now on display for visitors to enjoy. ■

For more information on the Porsche Museum, see here: www.porsche.com/international/aboutporsche/porschemuseum

There's that 300 057 number again, this time on the body plate in the passenger door shut Early 1991cc (2.0-litre) flat six Porsche motor produces 130bhp

By Mike Pye

Seems they were having a red day when we visited VW’s Puebla plant in Mexico. That’s the 20 millionth Beetle shown, and the 21 millionth was built just a few months after our visit

30 years ago

By Mike Pye

With the feature in this issue on Brenda Perrin’s fabulous US last edition ’77 Beetle, it seemed apt that there should be an article in this month’s retrospective on Mexican Beetles.

As noted by Stefan Szantai in the copy that accompanies the pictures of Brenda’s car, Mexican Bugs were never officially imported into the US, making them something of a rarity over there. But here in the UK, thanks largely to Beetles UK (the former name of Danbury), a large number were imported, though they’ve always sat slightly outside the mainstream.

Looked down upon by some, castigated by others for their supposedly poor quality metal, lack of rustproofing, more complicated engines, higher insurance costs and lower standards of build quality (we won’t get into the thorny subject of RHD conversions here other than to say there’s plenty of people with plenty to say on the matter, should you wish to do some research).

The smooth dash, still one of our favourite custom modifications

At the tail end of 1992 we paid a visit to the Puebla factory, witnessing first hand the 19,000 workers descending on the plant each morning and the 450 Beetles that rolled off the world’s last operational Beetle production line at the end of every day. Had we left our visit until 23 June 1993, we’d have been able to watch the 21 millionth Beetle produced driving off into the Mexican sunset.

“production went into steady decline after our visit”

Fighting their corner since October ’83, though, has been e Mexican and Brazilian Beetle Register, which is still going strong today, supporting the many very happy owners of ‘Mexi-Bugs’ out there.

“From the body press at the start of the line to the quality control check almost a mile away at the end, it takes six hours to assemble a Mexican Bug,” we reported. And that was on a “far more labour intensive [line] than at the automated plants you’ll find in Europe, the United States or Japan.” e reason? Politics. And despicably cheap labour rates. In short, the Mexican government wanted a cheap car for the masses – sound familiar? – and guaranteed employment for a large number of its people. Volkswagen beat various other international car manufacturers to the prize, offering

From Belgium came Stephane L’Honneux’s tasteful ’65 Square, and from France, Claude Roussel graphic’d ’65 custom Bug on a ’70 four-bolt ’pan

a bargain basement version of the Beetle, helped merrily along by tax breaks and waivers on import duty, that could be sold for the equivalent of £3,800. Still a king’s ransom for much of the Mexican population, but less than a decent, second hand, German-built Beetle would sell for in the UK at the time.

No frills

Even then, we remarked that “the quality of the materials in not quite up to the standard of the German product”, and quoted a VW Mexico spokesperson, Fernando Mendez, as saying “It only come with a steering wheel because it needs one!” in reference to the car’s no-frills ethos. Why then did they come with electronic ignition, fuel injection and a catalytic converter, when a cheap carb’ and pea-shooter pipe would suffice? One word. Pollution. Something Mexico City was a world leader in for years before India and China ramped up productivity and knocked everyone else off the world’s most polluted cities list.

We finished by saying “as long as the Mexican Beetle remains as cheap as it currently is and the pressure is kept up to replace smoky, older models with the newer unleaded / catalyser version, it looks like the future for the last stronghold of the world’s favourite small car is secure.”

And indeed it was, for another decade, until the plug was pulled on Mexican Beetle production on 30 July 2003, putting a final full stop after the 21,525,464 production figure.

A quick bit of maths tells us that, at a rate of 450 cars per day, the plant should have produced 164,250 Beetles a year. Over 10 years that’s 1,642,500 cars but, as the number built in that time was well under a third of that, it’s safe to say production went into steady decline after our visit. Sorry ’bout that.

What else did the January 1993 issue bring us? News of the collapse of sterling making importing parts from the USA and Europe up to 20 per cent more expensive. Unfortunately, that’s nothing compared with the painful experience importing anything from America is today.

More cheerful was uncle Keith’s report from the Phoenix Bug-O-Rama where Chris Bubezt became the first person to put a ‘conventional’ VW-powered Beetle into the eights. Conventional including tube frame, lightweight panels, turbocharger, intercooler, aftermarket heads and internals, no front brakes… Either way, he ran 8.98 at 155mph in temperatures that would melt asphalt.

Unlike Tatton Park, where it rained all over VW Northwest. Jay Townsend’s custom corner this month showed us how to smooth a dash the right way, using metal, not glass fibre or filler, while our how to explained how our project 1302S was prepped for paint (read: a quick blow over) in a somewhat less desirable manner.

Living up to the name VolksWorld, our selection of feature cars was truly international this month, coming from Belgium, France, Switzerland and Cambridgeshire, the latter being the ‘Scal Look’ ’67 of David Heading on the cover. “One of the most arresting paint designs we have seen for quite some time,” said then features editor, Ivan McCutcheon, of the Isuzu, Peugeot, Porsche and VW pastel-painted Brit ’Looker that is still turning heads today. Happy days. ■

Also from Belgium, Ronald van Reeth’s Type 4 powered ’72 Ghia, and from Switzerland, Bernard Moix’s accessorised ’67

To Phoenix, Arizona, Tatton Park in Cheshire and California we did go. It wouldn’t be a show season if we didn’t get sunburn and trench foot

he

pecial

The 99 Special

Bob scores a rare eBay bargain and builds a custom Cabriolet

Here's a near mint example of a Toy Nomura VW Cabriolet in original condition. Cool, huh?

Toy Nomura Co. was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1923 and, by the 1950s and ’60s, was one of the largest toy makers in Japan, before being bought out by Hasbro Inc. in 1993. Its products are generally (but not always, as you will soon see) identified by a stamped T.N inside a diamond.

Toy Nomura, like many other Japanese toy manufacturers, produced items for the American market and used toy importer, Cragstan Corporation, based in New York for distribution.

T.N produced a line of tin plate toy cars in the 1950s that included a very pleasing Volkswagen Cabriolet with the top down. e stamped tin body was painted either blue or maroon and had lots of nicely detailed metal trim pieces, including headlights, a VW bonnet badge, side trim, door handles and stone guards on the rear wings. Oddly, though, there are no tail lights, which feels like an accidental oversight. A tin windscreen, with plastic insert, and a metal folded down top attach to the body.

e interior has a lithograph design detailing the dashboard, which shows a speedometer, speaker grille, radio, ash tray and glove box. e door panels have representations of door handles and arm rests, while the red plastic seats have an old-style tuck ’n’ roll design. A bat wing steering wheel finishes things off well. Interestingly, there is no indication of the T.N manufacturer’s name on either the body or chassis.

e tin chassis with shiny tin bumpers is painted black and has a friction motor with real rubber tyres and metal hubcaps.

My favourite part, though, is the engine lid, which is a clear plastic insert enabling you to view the lithographed fan shroud and clear flat four toy motor underneath. Better still, four shiny pistons go back and forth as the car moves. A closer look at the motor shows a wire crankshaft, gear driven off the friction motor, to which the pistons are attached.

Seeing red

ere is a battery compartment for one C-cell battery, with a label inside showing which way to put the battery in. A switch turns on and illuminates a red light in the engine compartment to better see the moving pistons.

If you go looking for one of these toys, be aware that the clear plastic deck lid is held on with three small tabs that easily break, so it is quite often missing.

Words and photos

Bob Gilmore

1958 advert for the T.N Volkswagon (sic), which sold for around $2 in America in the 1950s

Great box artwork borrowed heavily from the Bernd Reuters school of design

“I threw a 20-dollar bid on it and watched the auction proceed”

My rusty beater T.N Cabriolet, as bought on US eBay for the bargainous price of just 99 cents

Here's the chassis, body, interior and folded down top tin plate parts after sandblasting

Being 1/17 scale, the T.N VW Cabriolet is a good size tin toy you can wrap your hands around. It measures 245mm, or about 10 inches, in length.

e toy came in a very colourful box with cover artwork that reflects the delightful Bernd Reutersstyle drawings of a Karmann Cabriolet from the 1950’s era. e box is printed with the words WORLDWIDE VOLKSWAGEN CONVERTIBLE, along with a VW roundel, and was sold in America under the Cragstan Corporation name. Lited Piston Action Friction Operated it also proclaims, while the T.N logo is printed small in the bottom corner of the box. A good one today is worth a lot more than the $2 these sold for in the US in the late 1950s!

Throw a 20

I saw this rusty beater of a mid-’50’s Toy Nomura VW Cabriolet on US eBay in 2010. It was complete, except for the missing clear plastic deck lid (of course), and the opening bid was just 99 cents. If it was cheap enough, I thought it would make a good candidate for one of

Front axle assembly, fan shroud, battery holder and motor in the repair shop

Detail view of the toy motor crankshaft, rods and pistons, along with the red plastic cover and lovely lithographed fan shroud

“my own design of R-V Shop logos… styled after those found on Hebmüller and early Karmann Kabriolets”

Seats and interior tin parts were in need of a good clean. Decklid is a repro' sourced from a good friend

Testing the toy motor red light

I used a multi-stage process to refinish the hubcaps, but they look so much better than the single colour originals

Custom decal sheet created for the project

my Restor-Versions, so I threw a 20-dollar bid on it and watched the auction proceed. After 10 days, I was still the only bidder and scored my ‘diamond in the rough’ for a whopping 99 cents!

I am familiar with the idea of patina, and could have saved this one ‘as is’ but, after some deliberation, decided to send it through my Restor-Version shop, where it was given a twotone paint job and became the 99 cent Special. e photos of how it arrived show the condition it was in, so all I’ll say is I carefully disassembled it, sandblasted the chassis, body, interior and folded top parts, wire brushed all the smaller tin parts and cleaned up the friction motor, toy motor, battery holder, wheels and front axle assembly.

I was fortunate to be able to secure a reproduction clear plastic decklid from one of VW Cabriolet friends.

e paint colours were chosen to represent a traditional vintage VW from the 1950s, L351 Korallenrot (Coral Red), L60 Elfenbein (Ivory) and L41 Schwarz (Black). e chassis and folded top were painted black and the body in the Coral Red, before being masked off with tape and tin foil so the sides could be over painted in Ivory.

Better than new

e interior tin section received both Coral Red and black. Likewise, the hubcaps, though these were a bit more complicated, and involved a multi-step process of wire brush, clear coat, Ivory, Coral Red, a VW decal and then a final clear coat, while the four real rubber tyres were treated with a silicone spray for that ‘like new’ look. Lastly, I used my graphics program to create a unique decal set, which of course had to include 99 cent Special somewhere, so I chose to put it on the doors.

Tin exterior parts were carefully wire brushed for a clean, shiny look

The repainted body, hood, 'screen frame and interior, ready for re-assembly. Note the new tail lights I made out of painted thumb tacks

The restored chassis completed

vintage Flying Bomb battery. I love these Body and chassis ready for final assembly

Since nowhere on the toy was the manufacturer’s identification, I decided to add T.N logos on the rear quarter panels and my own design of R-V Shop logos on the front quarter panels, styled after those found on Hebmüller and early Karmann Kabriolets.

With those applied, all the refurbished parts were gathered for final assembly. e chassis received the friction motor and toy motor, battery holder with switch, front axle assembly and bumpers. A fresh battery was installed so the red light glows in the engine compartment.

“four shiny pistons going back and forth as the car moves”

With all the ancillary parts re-attached to the body (I took the liberty of adding the missing tail lights in the process) and the clear decklid in place, the interior section was inserted and its locating tabs bent over. e body was then re-attached to the chassis with four tabs underneath, and a further four in the spare wheel area. Job done.

I think the refreshed and custom painted T.N VW Cabriolet looks great, especially when those four little pistons are moving in the red glowing toy motor. What a great idea for a VW toy. ■

T.N Cabrio' 99 cent Special project complete, with added thumb tack tail lights. I hope you like it

What better to power the light than a

MOTORFREE ADS

WWW.MOTORFREEADS.CO.UK TO ADVERTISE VISIT

CURRENT LISTINGS

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

1995, 7000 miles, £1,200. Dank Blue, Cloth Interior, 1781 cc. Full service history. Mot. Good condition For year. Please call 07774 420364, South East. 116821

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF MKII

1973, 78968 miles, £19,000. 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1303 LS for sale. Excellent example of this iconic classic car and is so fun! She’s rarer too - a right hand drive Karmann Cabriolet. Fantastic condition, original hood, wheel, dash , clock and even majority original seat vinyl. A little bit of restoration work done recently. This car needs nothing doing and most importantly she drives a dream (MacPherson struts) 1600 engine. 78,968 miles . Please call 07624425657, East Midlands. 113673

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

1996, £5,995. 1996(P) Volkswagen Golf VR6 5-door automatic. Rare in Candy White with Black Recaro cloth interior. Power steering, rare factory electric glass sunroof, ABS, electric front and rear windows, factory BBS cross-spoke alloy wheels, air-conditioning, factory Sony stereo cassette with CD multi-changer, electric mirrors, remote central locking and 2 keys. Please call 01277365415, East of England. (T) 117297

VOLKSWAGEN POLO

£23,995. This fantastic, showroom condition VW Golf GTi G60 spent its first ten years in Munich before coming to the UK in 2000 with 64,000 miles. The VW spent two years owned by a Nottingham based Doctor and then twelve years with one owner in Warrington who spent some serious money on mechanical upgrades and maintenance. Please call 01944 758000, Yorkshire and the Humber. (T) 11528

1996, 67000 miles, £3,500. Golf Mk 3 Cabriolet auto in red / charcoal cloth interior. Comes with box full of history inc original service pack, rear window sticker and number plates. Recent MOT, no advisories. Bodywork and electric hood in excellent condition. Please call 01652 678417 , Yorkshire and the Humber. 115217

1992, 76000 miles, £2,000. 1992 VW Polo CL Saloon.1.1ltrwithjust76000miles.Notacommon car with a lot of mechanical areas addressed; Cylinder Head and Gearbox refurb, new Clutch, cam belt, alternator belt, new petrol tank, new engine and gearbox mounts. Was a project car but the owner has sadly passed away so not looking to continue.Please call 07774754741, West Midlands. 116159

VOLKSWAGEN 1600

VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG

VOLKSWAGEN BAY CAMPERVAN

1973, £4,750. VW Beach buggy,FibreFab MK3 LWB UNIQUE Spaceframed,1641cc Mot/Tax exempt.built by Kingfisher kustoms(people responsible for the Top Gear buggys)runs and drives,need some electrical gremlins sorting (too old arthritic to crawl under dashboard!). can deliver anywhere mainland UK. Please call 07855542195, North West. 114978

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

99000 miles, £5,000. Touareg 6cyl, 3.6 V6 auto trip. Bratislava built on same line as Cayenne and Audi A7. Had prop shaft replaced at 75k, usual centre bearing issue. 57 plate, cat c ten years ago. no sign of any repair whatsoever, Drives very well and is open to any inspection. Please call 07780704731, West Midlands. 116002

VOLKSWAGEN BAY CAMPERVAN

1978, 14900 miles, Hattie is in truly lovely condition.I have driven Hattie for a number of weddings last year and she attracted a lot of attention with very flattering comments. She is a beautiful van that will appreciate in value due to her fantastic condition and is priced sensibly at £26,500. Viewing is essential to fully appreciate Hattie, any inspection welcome. Please call 07780974617, Wales.

116565

VOLKSWAGEN CAMPERVAN

£24,999. 2016 2.0 TSI BlueMotion Tech GTI Clubsport 5dr. Please call +44 203 092 0425, Greater London. 112567

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

1972, 60000 miles, £12,000. 5 birth Westfalia. Excellent bus. Tax and MOT Exempt. Had lots of welding done. Runs really well. Comes with loads of equipment and some spares. Please call 07879453837, East Midlands. 115752

VOLKSWAGEN CARAVELLE

1973, 91000 miles, £10,000. Beetle 1300. Excellent condition. Regularly serviced. Converted to run on E10 petrol. Owned for the past 15 years. Always garaged. Spotlights. Alloy wheels. Various accessories.MOT till June 2023. Please call 07504393531, West Midlands. 116183

2003, 153000 miles, £7,000. VW caravelle campervan 12 months mot , serviced 14/7/22, erberspacer heating system (was told it works but never used it as it needs a new plastic pipe) comes with a driveaway awning with rail fitted and a blow up bed that goes over the front seats , small age related scratches and dents. Please call 07973832367, West Midlands.

115756

£40,000. LHD 15 window deluxe. Imported and rebuilt by Graham from California at FBI VW Swansea Complete build in 2006. I have a complete comprehensive portfolio on the bus, as well as receipts on parts bought since build. Please call 07855 356517, South East.

115991

The picture that originally sparked my interest in roof boxes. Such a great image of late 1950’s Germany The

’BOX OF TRICKS

Mark Walker yearns for a little bit more up top

When roof boxes started becoming commonplace on VWs, I developed a pathological hatred of them.

At that point in my life, I lived in Cornwall and I’d made a commitment to driving air-cooled VWs all year round. I was angry with the world and viewed the roof box as the epitome of being a sheep, and being ‘normal’, what I was most resisting in my life at that point. e dreaded roof box also signalled the yearly influx of holidaymakers and the consequent crowded beaches. [Er, aren’t you from Yorkshire, Mark? – Ed].

As the years have gone by, I try hard not to feel angry, or judgmental, any more, and I’ve realised that having a modern daily to cover some long distances isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a tool that gets a job done. I’ll even go so far as to admit I love the heated seats in my Golf, to the point I’ve bought a kit to make my Bay Westy front seats heated before I put the new TMI covers on!

I also now recognise that most regular cars aren’t big enough for families to take all their gear with them on holidays, But… I’ll still never own a modern roof box. [I’m with you on that one Mark – MP].

Weird world

However, when it comes to air-cooled VWs, I love roof racks – my current favourite being a Swedish one I have that I’ve only ever seen one other the same in 10 years. It’s the kind that has rubber feet that sit on the roof.

e bottom line is I love things that are quirky and different, which includes weird VW accessories. But much as I like to try and forge my own path, I’ll admit that sometimes I see an accessory on someone else’s car and think I have to have

one of those. Vintage roof boxes on classic Volkswagens are one of those things for me. Maybe it’s just because I’d never seen one until a few years ago, but they really can look super cool.

I can’t remember if I first saw a picture in a book, or if it was the December 1996 issue of VolksWorld, but the sight of a Beetle with a glass fibre roof box fitted to it that follows the contours of the roof blew my mind. So much so, I thought it’d be pretty cool to try and find a similar one – unlikely in pre-internet days – or make a replica. And that’s part of the problem with my crazy brain. I see things I like, and then have to try and figure out a way to make one.

Pete Murphy’s

late 1200A Beetle with GHE / Happich dachkoffer

As with many such ideas, though, I never got around to it and the memory eventually faded, until I saw the very picture that sparked my interest re-surface on the ’net. It shows a 1958 or ’59 Beetle (I suspect a Diamond Green car with Moss Green wheel rims) with Hamburg number plates, with a woman kneeling in one of these roof boxes and a rather well-dressed chap handing her some period perfect luggage. Or maybe it’s the lady handing the gentleman the luggage?

again

inking back, it’s likely I first saw this picture in a book when I was in my early teens, and used to sit cross legged on the carpet in my local branch of Waterstones and read all the VW books from cover to cover. Whenever it was, it had a big influence on me, so seeing it again was like being reminded of a childhood memory.

en just this summer, I was looking at some pictures online from Hessisch Oldendorf and realised Christian Grundmann has just one such roof box in his collection. But it was seeing a picture posted on Facebook by Pete Murphy in Ireland of one of these roof boxes fitted to one of his cars that sparked this column, as Pete kindly sent me more detailed pictures, including scans of an original dealer brochure that showed it was a GHE / Happich accessory, manufactured by Seiden-Haan in Germany. anks Pete.

I’d love to know how many of this style of roof box survive and, better still, I’d like to own one. So come on, who’s holding? ■

Thanks to Pete Murphy, here’s an original GHE brochure from 1955

“seeing it

was like being reminded of a childhood memory”