JULY 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 18
MAY YOUR NEWS BE GROOVY NEWS!
WAGENSVILLE
NEWS
HERZLICH WILLKOMMEN DID YOU GRABBEN ZIE GÜT BARGAIN AT ZE SWAPPEN ZE MEETEN YA?
SOUTH AFRICAN TRIP • 59 BEETLE • HISTORIAN'S CORNER • 56 KOMBI FED SQUARE • CORAL RED 57 • TYPE 3 • PRESIDENT AND VP REPORTS SUNDAY 28 AUGUST IS DER BIG GERMAN AUTO SHOW FOR PRE-1990 CLASSIC CARS
Wagensville
News
VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF VICTORIA VWCV COMMITTEE 2016
VWCV MEMBERSHIP FEES
n President n Vice President n Secretary n Treasurer n Editor n Associate Editor n Web Master n Club Historian n Technical Officer n Membership Secretary n Club Plate Scheme Officer n Cruise and Events Co-ordinator n Constitution & Association matters
Richard Graham president@vwclub.com.au Andrew Ermel vicepresident@vwclub.com.au Chris Scane secretary@vwclub.com.au Matt Reynolds treasurer@vwclub.com.au Andy RyanÂŽ editor@vwclub.com.au Josh Handicott associateeditor@vwclub.com.au Julian Langlet webmaster@vwclub.com.au Chris Scane historian@vwclub.com.au John Goodison technical@vwclub.com.au Andrew Mengyl memberships@vwclub.com.au Andrew Ermel chplates@vwclub.com.au Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au John Stevens constitution@vwclub.com.au
n Day of the Volkswagen
Lloyd Davies
Single Annual Full membership Single 3 year Full Membership Family Membership additional Membership Joining Fee
$60 $155 $20 per mem/per year $10 first year only
VWCLUB.COM.AU The VWCV Constitution is available for download on the website.
dovw@vwclub.com.au
Wagensville is the monthly newsletter of the Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc. Correspondence, articles and items of news or items for sale are invited and should be sent to: VWCV Editor: GPO Box 1215 Melbourne, Vic 3001 or editor@vwclub.com.au Disclaimer: All material in this newsletter represents the opinions of the author(s) and does not carry any endorsement by the Editor or Committee unless otherwise stated. Any material advertised for sale does not carry any endorsement by the Club and the onus is on the purchaser to ensure the purchased goods meet their requirements. Each VWCV Member is a volunteer carrying out club duties in their own leisure time. The Club has no paid officials, only enthusiasts dedicated in furthering the interests of the Club and its members. Therefore, please bear this in mind when contacting Club Committee Members.
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Wagensville News
JULY 2016
3
PRESIDENT
Letter to
the editorS
RICHARD GRAHAM XMAS IN JULY
THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING AND THE FUN KEEPS HAPPENING As I write these reports I get to reflect on all the different events and entertainment we run. And this month is no exception. Last month we had our “bring a wheel” at our general meeting. This was a fun idea from our historian Chris Scane. A few members brought steering wheels, Hub caps and a few rims and discussed the history of each item. Once again the purpose of this idea is to share stories and talk about our VW experiences so we can all get to learn a bit about each other.
My apologies for not having this advertised in the magazine but due to short notice we had to set a date before everyone headed off to Valla at the end of July. This is another reason why Facebook and club emails are important to have as we can reach out to members in between printing of the magazine. I'll have a report on this event next month.
VALLA Speaking of Valla, the VW spectacular is on again in late July/ first week of August. If you haven't been to this great event I highly suggest you go. It's now a weeklong event but the last few days are where the main events are at. The street parade is a great sight to see with hundreds of Volkswagens filling every bit of the Main Street in town. Then there's the usual car show and racing. It's a great place to see what Australia has to offer in VWs as they come from all over Oz to attend this.
SWAP MEET We just had our ever successful swap meet at Seaworks in Williamstown. The weather was sunny and the swappers were plentiful. We had 40 plus sites and pretty much filled the undercover shed. Many people coming from as far as Newcastle, Sydney and Adelaide emptied their trailers on the cashed up Victorian Vdubbers community. It's great to see that eBay or online selling hasn't killed off the old ways of buying VW parts. We’ve been running this event for 14 years now and there's no reason to stop now. A big thank you to our many volunteers who helped on the day whether it was at the gate, parking or cooking a snag, your contribution is greatly appreciated. Also to Andrew Ermel and Michael Cronin who once again organised this terrific club event. Andrew puts a lot of time in behind the scenes well before the event to ensure everything runs smoothly. Michael came through with the documentation we had to provide to the venue owners. Thanks guys.
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Wagensville News
Wayne Lewis Our new office opening in Collins Street later this year. Or possibly the following year.
We hope many of you will attend to make this event a great success. It will also be great to see our club showcasing along side other German car clubs. A big thanks to Julien on an excellent job it putting this together. See the flyer in this months magazine for all the details, or visit our website.
FACEBOOK Our club Facebook page clicked over 3000 “likes” this month. Now whilst this will make Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg very happy that we are using his product, it makes us happy knowing that 3,000 plus people out there are interested in what we are doing and what we post. Yes, many of these people are overseas and many just like us for our VWs but this gets our name spread around the globe by their friends and so on. This allows for overseas visitors to know about us when they visit especially around Day of the Volkswagen. It also promotes our club to the other VW clubs of the world. If you haven't yet looked at our page, I highly recommend it. All of our events are posted on there with up to date information.
Dear Editors, I don't think that there should be a 'Letters to the Editors' section as I don't think anyone reads it, including me. Roger Kransenting, Greensborough, Victoria
Dear Roger, Thanks for your letter. We are closing this section now due to popular demand. Wayne Lewis Wagensville
Safe travels to anyone heading up north for the VW spectacular. I'm sure a few of us will have some stories to tell once we get back so stay tuned. Once we are back from Valla we will be having our first Volkswagen Club of Victoria German Autoshow. This is a first time event being organised by our webmaster Julien Langlet. This event is open to all pre 1990 German vehicles. We have had some excellent feedback from the Mercedes, Porsche, BMW clubs as well as some others who will all be bringing cars along. We have lined up an excellent venue at the Deaf children's grounds in St Kilda. It will be a people's choice show with all the proceeds being donated to the Deaf Children’s centre.
BEEP BEEP! RICHARD GRAHAM EL-PRESIDENTE
JULY 2016
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VWCV CALENDAR
VWCV ANNUAL
Don’t forget your
Membership Card! DATE
TIME
EVENT
LOCATION
DETAILS
CONTACT
JULY 17 16 21
AUSTRALIAS BIGGEST VW ONLY SWAP MEET! Andrew Ermel
12.00pm
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Element Restaurant 410 Main Rd, Lower Plenty
See website
Richard Graham: president@vwclub.com.au
10:00am
MONTHLY COFFEE MEET
Rocco & Coe, 1 Fennel St Port Melbourne
Monthly coffee meet with plenty of parking.
Chris Jeffes: events@vwclub.com.au
6.30pm
Austrian Club, 90 MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING Sheehan Rd Heidelburg
This months theme is 'Andrews Mystery Sack" Bring your memb/card.
Richard Graham: president@vwclub.com.au
Lloyd Davies will be conducting a VW Tech Day.
AUGUST 8
TBA
TECH DAY
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6.30pm
Special members draw MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING bring your memb/card
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9:00am
MONTHLY COFFEE
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GERMAN AUTO SHOW 9:00am
Volkwerke, 171 Para Rd Greensborough
Open to all pre 1990 German Classic Cars. Top 5 Trophies. Food & drinks avaiable. Vehicle entry $10, public Gold Coin donation. Proceeds aid Deaf Children Australia.
Deaf Children Australia Grounds, 597 St Kilda Rd Melbourne. See page 34 of this magazine.
Your club needs you!
Isn’t it about time you got involved? Your club magazine is always looking for more contributions from club members. And each month, one story is picked at random to receive a $50 JB HIFI gift voucher. This month’s winner is Yauming Chiam. Congratulations!
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Wagensville News
Julian Langlet: webmaster@vwclub. com.au
WARNING: DON'T GO THIS WEEK AS IT WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO!
BARGAIN!
I
t was another great day for the Volkswagen enthusiasts down at Seaworks a couple of weeks ago. The weather was quite nice, a little brisk with a slight westerly or possibly easterly coming off the bay that was not more than a gentle breeze really. Many travelled from long distances including one seller who drove down from Newcastle in
NSW. Hopefully he sold enough to make his trip worthwhile –– at least it was a nice day for a 20 to 24 hour drive. A great day out and topped off with a couple of refreshments at the Pirates Tavern. Arrr.
JULY 2016
7
SOUTH AFRICA Nelson Mandela, a recent South African President.
HUGE VW PARTS AND ACCESSORIES CLEARANCE SALE
A day trip to Volkswagen Pavilion and Factory, Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa. This car recently completed a 20,000km trek from the Netherlands to Uitenhage.
SATURDAY 30TH OF JULY Workshop owner says it's time to make some space after 20 years of dismantling hundreds of air and water cooled V-Dubs. Parts available for all models including glass, interiors, mechanical, electrical, panels etc. Complete car parts also available. Bring a trailer and cash $$$. No ETPOS or credit card facilities available on site. Workshop doors open from 8:00am – 3:00pm
I am spending the winter of 2016 riding around South Africa on a Vespa GT200, seeing the sights and spending time volunteering at various places where I can spend a little more time meeting the locals who provide a greater insight to the surrounding areas and enable me to see how diverse South African culture truly can be, most notably that there are three types of “Braai’s”(BBQ’s) ones you have in the morning, ones you have midday and ones you have in the evening. Strategically placed in Addo for a month and surrounded by the internationally renowned Addo Elephant National Park, which is a 40 minute ride to Uitenhage and ultimately headquarters for Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA). I took the opportunity on an overcast and at times sunny day to
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Wagensville News
ride the 50 odd (potholed) Kilometers to 103 Algoa Road, Uitenhage. Approaching from the north via R335, West along R334, South down M20, West along R367 I was able to frame a wonderful scene as I crossed the railway tracks on Marconi St and the Volkswagen “Pavilion” (Museum) and Factory came into complete view. Parking in a very bare visitors section (it is winter after all) I first noticed a wonderfully pieced together 50’s diner/gas station with a cute as button red and white two tone pre ‘67 convertible Beetle, after consulting the menu, I opted the “Chuck Berry Special” as the “Elvis Burger” seemed a little bit more than I could handle. Continued next page
The Volkswagen Pavillion
VEELAND VW WORKSHOP No 8 Webb Drive, Wonthaggi, Victoria veeland.com.au
1956 VW BEETLE Contact Chris Scane on 0417 593 573 or secretary@vwclub.com.au
A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING THEMED VOLKSWAGEN.
It would have looked good on the front cover of Abbey Road, but may have been difficult to spot if it was parked on or near the zebra crossing.
SOUTH AFRICA Secondly I was drawn to a Khaki Green 1982 Beetle that a recently completed a 20,000km trek from the Netherlands to Uitenhage, with a very appropriately attached custom roof rack directly welded to the roof to carry all the extra accessories for such a gargantuan expedition undertaken by one Jos Oosterbroek. Who most generously donated written Beetle to VWSA. VWSA in return showed their gratitude by loaning Jos and his girlfriend Jorien a fortnight’s joy ride in their latest and most definitely greatest T5. Entering the “Pavilion” proper for the very reasonable price of 10 Rand (that’s a single Australian Dollar) I proceeded to see a very well laid out museum with all the delights for youngsters including a marvel of a “Green Screen” that takes you and a
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Wagensville News
lucky passenger in a white Beetle who’s bonnet is adorned with a pop art mural all over the world. A “New” (or because 1998 was a while ago now is it safe to write “newish”?) Beetle that splits into 2/3rds and shows you what a healthy picnic basket should contain, the last vehicles off the production line of the Golf “Citi” (after 25 years of South African production) and the last South African Beetle after 28 years of production ending in 1979 (it had a 12v cigarette lighter fitted), an awesome “Kombi” built custom for Baron Klaus von Oertzen as a hunting and camping Vehicle for his relaxation time away from being the “Father of South African Volkswagen”. Last but not least a “Zebra Striped” Beetle that was fixed to wall at 90˚!! Next up was the complimentary “Factory Tour”, kitted out with High Visibility Vests, Goggles, a one way radio with an ear piece and most importantly a Fluro Orange “Visitor” sticker. Myself and the other Volkswagen enthusiast’s boarded a modified “6 seater” of what I believe would have once been a Passat and were “tugged” along by the official VWSA golf cart.
V
ery detailed information was relayed along our route by our guide “Timos” via the one way radio and crystal clear ear piece and the encompassing cruise took us to almost all the semi-automated sections of the plant, the most special and romantic being when the body and chassis were “Married”. The most interesting piece of trivia I obtained from the tour of the factory floor is that in every new Volkswagen pushed out of Uitenhage comes provided with 6 litres of fuel in the tank. All good days come to a close much sooner than most of us would like and this was one such day, I could not resist taking one last stroll through the “Pavilion”, gaining a few more snap shots and browsing what was for sale in the gift shop before I reluctantly signed my name in the guest book at the exit doors and was back on my Vespa for a potholed ride back to Addo.
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VICE EL-PRESIDENTE | REPORT
ANDREW ERMEL We are heading now through the coldest part of the year, with rain setting in and cold frosty mornings. I’m thinking about projects for the warmer months having just done some work on the two drag cars and getting ready for the VW drags at Wawrick, Queensland in October. Sadly the nights have been much too cold for restoration work on my cars, so we have been keeping our work to the more important jobs that don’t require our hands freezing! Getting back to the club activities, we just had our annual swap meet at Seaworks in Williamstown this past weekend. I hope that all those that attended managed to snap up a bargain and find that elusive part to finish off a VW project. It wasn’t as cold on Sunday as in the past years and the indoor venue made for a very comfortable and sheltered event. Thanks to the Seaworks Event Manager, Sally Hicks, who worked with us to make the event as successful as it was. This year we had 42 Swappers and about 300 buyers who eagerly ate the 400 snags that the guys cooked. It’s very pleasing still to see that the swap meet can still pull a good crowd and that more importantly, good VW people are still out there and are turning up at the swap each year. This year was about the 13th swap meet in a row that the club had organised and we are in the process of securing the same venue for the next few years.
Our helpers at the swap meet: On the gates in charge and of the swapper entry was Michael Cronin (life member) ably assisted by Matt Reynolds, Tony Albers and Josh Handicott. On the outdoor parking Carl Evans and Greg Harmer. Indoor parking Richard Graham, Cheryl Ermel, Steven Ermel and Michael Clark (life member).
Wagensville News
ANDREW MYSTERY SACK
SEE IT AT THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING
Membership officer and merchandiser Charmain Green. And the catering lead by “manager of catering” and life member John Stevens, Executive Chef Brian Palmer, the short order cooks Andrew Carrick-Curry, the “Good Doctor” Andrew Mengyel and club hysterical officer Chris Scane. Equipment and set up, Steven Craven, Stuart Ermel, and Milad Sayssauk. If you missed out on this swap meet then the next one will be at the Day Of The Volkswagen in November. Some people stayed around after the event and enjoyed a cooling ale and later a warming red in the Pirates Tavern, which opened after midday on the site for our patronage.
Keep those old Volkswagens on the road and keep those club permits coming in too!
Final thanks to all the club members from the VW Club Victoria, VW Club Ballarat and Bendigo VW Club who supported the event again this year, keep coming and catch you all at the next one! See you all at the next General Meeting.
Andrew Ermel VICE President
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EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF THE
Andy Ryan®
JULY 2016
13
59 BEETLE D I HAVE ALWAYS HELD A LOVE OF ANYTHING VOLKSWAGEN
MATT GARDNER But my greatest passion has been the aircooled Beetle. It all started when my parents bought a copy of The Love Bug, the old VHS tape was worn out over the years. As I grew older my love of Herbie grew into my passion for aircooled Volkswagens. The beetle before I started.
Sitting in the neighbours shed waiting for body work.
When I was 12 years old a family friend gave me a ‘58 model beetle, a big window semaphore Beetle. They had the car on their farm in Jindera NSW about 3/4hr drive from Wodonga, where we lived at the time. The car I had been given was a parts car for their family beetle that they had owned since the early 70’s When my father and I picked up the parts car we were shown the family Beetle. Even at 12 years old I knew that it was a good car, and promptly said that if it was to be sold please let me know. This was greeted with a giggle and “It’s not for sale, but we will let you know if that changes.” Years past, I moved back to Melbourne and had to part ways with the beetle that I had been given. But I never forgot about that second car that “wasn’t for sale” and always asked what was happening with it. I was told that it had been given to the owner’s son-in-law and grandson to be restored as the grandson’s first car. Once told this I thought that I would never own it and moved on.Out of the blue, I received a phone call from the son-in-law. Telling me that his son had lost interest and he wanted to sell and was I interested. At the time the price was too high for me and again I thought I had lost this car. Months passed and then I received a call from the Grandfather. He was cleaning the farm shed and wanted the beetle gone. He had told his son
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Wagensville News
in law to drop the price and he wanted me to own the car. After an inspection I found the car was not how I remembered it, 20 years in an open shed had taken its toll. Thankfully the car had been under cover but there wasn’t much paint left, every rubber was worn, the interior was shot, the original 36hp motor had been replaced with a 1600 and worst of all, it had 1500 beetle taillights fitted!! At the time I owned a ‘65 beetle and my ‘76 microbus. I was not in a position to take on a project of this magnitude. So at Nicole’s (my then girlfriend, now wife) advice I spoke a good friend in Andrew Ermel. Andrew asked about the details of the car and after hearing them, told me that I would be mad not to buy it.
S
o I agreed on a price, and the car was mine. I had to sell my current ‘65 beetle but that was a small price to pay for a car I had always wanted since I was 12! A few weeks later Nicole and I jumped into her brothers ute and flew up the Hume to collect the Beetle. After getting the beetle home, the task of getting the car driveable again began. I refitted the correct taillights, which I unbelievably found on the back seat in a box. The only other things it needed for a roadworthy were a new fuel tap and tyres. I ordered a new fuel tap from the USA and to save money fitted a set of second hand 14 x 6inch rims and tyres to the front and a set of 14x7inch to the back. Once this was done the car was on club plates and back on the road. As time went by I continued to look for other parts that were missing, the car had the semaphores removed at some point. But I was lucking in that a fellow Train driver, had a set in his shed that he was willing to part with, so on they went. I now had the original indicators and taillights but the 1600 still bothered me.I can’t always make club events due to my work, so one VWCV swapmeet, I asked a mate to keep an eye out for a 36hp motor. Continued next page
59 BEETLE D
dard bearing sizes. However I could not get bearings in Melbourne so I decided to source them from the US. They had sent me all standard bearings bar one. It was the first oversize and so would not fit. So yet again I was staring down the barrel of defeat, until Michael found a bearing in a box of spares in his shed. And by January, the Beetle was back on the road with a reco motor. Thankfully there were very few issues running in.
On Fraser Island
to my amazement she agreed, but only if I could make it so it could get there and back. So now my deadline of the 2015 DoTVW was really important, the wedding was in February 2016. The Beetle would need to be run-in, and all the bugs that come with a major resto removed by then. It would also mean that my $50, 36hp motor was no longer going to cut it. That was ok though because I had a spare, or so I thought.
To my amazement he found me one for $50 and It even ran! It was missing all its exhaust, but that was ok because a few weeks later I given a heap of VW parts by a fellow Puffing Billy volunteer. Which included a 36hp motor missing a lot of parts but the exhaust was there. I knew I wanted to restore the car but it was long term. There was the temptation to leave it as a rat, but I’m not a fan of the rat look so I waited for funds. Then came another twist of fate, I happened to acquire an auto bay window Kombi as parts for my bus. This kombi however was just too good to wreck, so I started to convert it to a manual with the idea of selling it to fund the beetle’s resto. I shifted house and started to talk to a new neighbour, he had a love of Kombis and was restoring a camper doing all his own body work. I asked him what he would charge me to paint the beetle, he told me a figure that I just happened to want for
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Wagensville News
the kombi. After telling Nicole what he had quoted, she suggested a swap. So I spoke to my neighbour, a deal was done and so started the resto. That was January 2014, the car was stripped, the body pulled of the pan and the body sent to my neighbour. Whilst he set about the bodywork, totally in his shed, I started on the pan. It was painted in POR15, all brakes and suspension were checked, cleaned and reassembled with anything replaced that needed to be. By about May that year the body was back on the pan, and I was slowly putting the car back together as funds allowed. When I found out my wife was due to have our second child, I knew that with 2 kids it was going to be hard to finish. So my deadline became the 2015 Day of the Volkswagen, I was going ok, then I checked the mail. A good friend of my wife’s, had invited us to her wedding on Fraser Island in Queensland. Nicole told me that she would like to drive, and make it a driving holiday. As well as taking her Mum and Dad along. When Nicole told me this I started to smile, she saw the glint in my eye and knew what I was thinking and replied “you want to take the beetle don’t you?” I nodded and
My original plan was to reco the spare motor while driving the car to DoTVW with the $50 special motor. Good plan until I pulled down the spare motor, and found that one of the big end bearings was missing and the crank journal was shot. I thought that the car would not make DoTVW, as the wedding was more important, and I needed the motor in the car to be reconditioned. However Boris at Volkscare, said that he could get the parts I needed if he had the sizes the Monday after DoTVW.
S
o the Beetle made it to the 2015 DoTVW, it still had no carpet and the original unrestored seats but it was there running and back on club plates. Not bad considering in was under 2 years since I frist pulled the car apart. That afternoon I drove the beetle home and pulled the motor down, I was shocked to find the $50 motor had spun the Main Bearing and in the process destroyed the case. Thankfully, the spare case would work with the crank from the $50 motor. I was cooking with gas, until all 4 of my heads were cracked beyond repair. I was devastated, I looked like I had come so close but would not get the Beetle to Fraser Island. But thankfully Stuart and Andrew Ermel saved the day, they sold me a set that could be reconditioned. So Boxing Day my mentor and VW Jedi master Michael Clark and I went to work, assembling the motor. We didn’t get far, thankfully both the case and the crank didn’t need any machining and were both stan-
The Big day arrived, and my eldest son Harrison and I jumped in the beetle at 4am and headed north. The beetle drove like a dream, even though it was stinking hot it continued to plod along. On the way up it sat on 60mph without an issue, hills were a pain in the arse but that’s what I get for running a stock 36hp motor. Five days later we were on Fraser Island, everywhere we stopped people wanted to talk about the car. They were amazed that it had been driven so far. I have to admit that I was quite happy to arrive home with only a noisy thrust bearing in the clutch. But then that’s how good these cars are when almost everything is new or reconditioned. I have continued to enjoy driving the beetle, when I saw that VITS was coming up I decided it was time to show the previous owner the progress that had been made. Again Harrison and I left before sparrows fart, headed up the Hume to Albury for this year VITS show. It was fantastic to see Noel and the grin he had on his face as the car was again looking how it did when he first bought it for his wife in the 1970s. The car still needs a few finishing touches to the exterior, seats and carpet. But as money and time permits I will get there. At the time of writing carpet is on order from the USA. As with all car projects there are many people to thank, but I must thank Graham for the fantastic paint work, Andrew & Stuart Ermel together with Boris from Volkscare for their help sourcing parts, Michael Clark for all his guidance and knowledge and most of all my fantastic wife Nicole. Without her I could not have achieved anything and the car would still look like a rat that someone forgot to slam.
MATT GARDNER
JULY 2016
17
s ’ n ria
o t s Hi
Ferdinand Porsche’s
VW PICKUP TRUCK
r e rn
Posted on 22 May 2016 by Zach Doell of online car site Bold Ride
Co
Hang around enough automotive circles and at some point you’ll pick up the term “unicorn.” To the layperson, it’s a mythical one-horned horse. To the car enthusiast, it’s an automobile so rare it probably shouldn’t even exist. And, well… this is one such unicorn.
In this month's ‘Corner’ we have some more interesting tales from our club newsletter, ‘Wagensville News’ and other Volkswagen publications of that time. This year the club celebrates 70 years since the Wolfsburg factory achieved a full year of production in 1946. How this achievement affect the potential for Volkswagens in Australia is worth exploring. I hope you enjoy these and please feel to contact me if you can help in developing the documentation our history. Pat Whitaker was the VWCV JULY President, Dave Evans was Vice President, David Mitchell was Secretary, Frances Evans was Treasurer, Competition Secretary was Dave Evans (previous VWCV Historian) with the Editor’s position again filled by Pat Whitaker.
1968
The July program was fairly light with a busy August to follow; the Bowling night at Chadstone Bowl, Monash University Car Club Treasure Hunt & Motorkhana organized by David Mitchell, AGM at VW Australasia HQ and finishing a VWCV Motorkhana at Keon Park to round off the month. The following month contained five events for VWCV members including a Social Run to the Tara Valley. Featured are many stories on club and local VW activities; a report about the Treasure Hunt on a cold Winter’s Sunday late in July that year, various interesting
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Wagensville News
Paul Kinsey was the Club President, Richard Graham was Vice President, Andrew Ermel was Secretary, Andrew Donnelly was Treasurer, Ross Woolley was Membership Secretary, Group 5 and Motorsport Secretary was Jon Edsell, Editor was Matt Kinsey and Club Historian was Dave Evans. The committee was winding up the 2004-5 committee year and the magazine was full of good bits of a program finalizing with an exciting DOTVW. Major events included a VWCV Dyno Day –held at Volkswagen performance Centre in Croydon, on the last Saturday of that month. Other events included a Bowling Night, a Group 5 Speed Event at Morwell, a VWCV Cruise to Mt Macedon and rounding of the month with another Group 5 Speed Event.
JULY
2005
but so politically incorrect short pieces and the update on the Club Championship lead by David Mitchell, followed by Roger Backway and Dave Evans. Raoull Allemend was the Club President, Geoff Mentiplay was Vice President and Treasurer, John Pinkerton was Secretary/New Members Officer and Peter Clark was Editor/Printer. The highlights of the month were the Cereberus Autocross and PIARC Pathfinder Trial run by the 4th round of the Group 5 Trials Series, both on the same day! There were 4 other events on each week of the following month – VWCV members were really spoilt for choice in those days.
JULY
1976
The ‘News’ carried articles about the Valkyrian Trial and the Crazykhana results with Moran/Higgins (VWCV) winning from Dean/Justus (VWCV) in the former and Brian Reed winning the later from Stuart Stevenson and Geoff Mentiplay. Also of note was the interesting short article on the 1954 Beetle from the Club President, Raoull Allemend, a very knowledgeable expert on Volkswagens and a keen Motorkhana competitor!
That’s because this already rare 1989 Volkswagen Transporter is a “DoKa” (or “double cab”) pickup truck, and on top of that it was originally owned by none other than Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche, the designer of the Porsche 911. Yup, it’s a unicorn. After 25 years of ownership within the Porsche family, Butzi’s rare VW pickup was purchased by a Porsche racing driver in 2014, who restored it to original condition. It’s now up for sale again, going to auction in Denmark on May 28th, and it’s estimated to gavel for upwards of $90,000). Porschephiles, commence freakout! (Also time machine enthusiasts set time for a couple of months ago and get your cheque book ready! Andy®)
Notably the ‘News’ ran another interesting President’s Report (Paul’s Ramblings) where he went through all the developments in the club including the report about the ‘Herbie – Fully Loaded’ Drive In Event. The other major articles were a feature on a modified Split Window Kombi that was once owned by a member, a venue location for general meetings at the RACV, an interesting story on the Demise of the Air Cooled engine by Bill Malkoutzis and the Weekend at Wagga event that year. Look forward to seeing you all at the next VWCV event!
Chris Scane
historian@vwclub.com.au JULY 2016
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Wayne Lewis
56 KOMBI 6 WHERE TO START AND WHERE TO FINISH When I was 16 my dad said to me, he would buy my first car if I didn’t get a motorbike ... And along came my first Kombi, a Deluxe hand painted ’72 Danbury from two lovely old ladies that had it from new. So as we fast forward to two years ago, I was looking at a few classic car projects, and my wife said what about a Kombi? I researched and realised that restoring an older Kombi may hold its money better. So I looked around and found a ’56 in nearby Altona. I found a company that could restore my new Kombi, Australian VW Performance, a family run company that I feel very comfortable that would do a good job This is the start of the story…. How far do you go on a project like this… Doing a project like this is a collection of decisions… my Kombi was never going to be original as the engine wasn’t original… So you have to think what you want the finished to be like… lowered? Rat? Perfect original? I went with… I want it to look original as possible, but I want to drive it everyday, and down the highway at 100kph without a problem. This made some of the decisions easier. The complete shell I brought was in primer. Do you trust the guys that did the work or strip to check? I went for strip and check and pleased I did, as we found a multitude of sins, a years worth of panel beating, extra panels, cutting rust out etc and we finally had a straight rust free shell to work from. Do we keep the same suspension? I went for Red9Design suspension and full disc brakes. So the ’56 gear got removed and replaced, this was for reliability. Engine, my Kombi came with a crated 1600cc formula V motor, and going with the same ethos reliability and ability to go 100kph every day, a mild upgrade was
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done, 1835cc, cam, twin Webers, CSP Python exhaust and done, with approx. 100hp+. Colour, well this came to me in a flash when I saw VW magazine’s article with the ’54 Barn door in Blue Grey. I loved the colour, as my brother had an early Fiat 500 in a similar colour, so the Blue Grey and cream it was. I considered pin-striping it but when it was complete I loved the classic fuss free lines Interior, not fussy just classic, and it came up very well Overall I love the final product…. And I am trying to drive it everyday… apart from when it rains, those safari windows leak like sieves.
LANCE VINNELL
whatsoever. John Farlow, at the helm of his Grey Passat, triumphantly turned up about 10 minutes after our display was set up and positioned his car in the front of two Type 3 Square backs. Our display was now complete.
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he chance to run this particular Fed Square VW Showcase came up a while ago due to another car club’s cancelled booking being available.
We have, historically, made our past Federation Square appearances in September, immediately after the AFL Grand Final, when the weather is getting warmer so this was likely to be a bit different and probably a bit cooler. The event was booked out with 14 keen VW owners and a terrific representation of the VW marque in attendance. We had a T34, a Kombi Camper, a Kombi Bus, a Split Kombi, a T3 Surf Bus, two Type 3 Square Backs, a rat Type 3, a Manx Buggy, a Karmann Beetle, an Oval Beetle, two slightly later Beetles and last, but by no means least, a Passat. We gathered in the Russell Street Extension from around 9.30am. It was cold, bloody cold (we found out later the coldest day so far this year), but even the low temperatures could not dampen our enthusiasm. It was at 10am, and I had just undertaken a quick tally of VWs and found that we had one more participant to arrive, when I received a call from that passionate Passat devotee, John Farlow. John reported that he had a battery problem, probably due to the cold, but in true enthusiast style, however, he said that he would still get there, somehow. The Federation Square security men made an appearance shortly after and we commenced the orderly process of moving the cars around into Flinders Street and into the Atrium where we hoped it would be a bit warmer. We set the cars up under the glass cantilever at the entrance to the Atrium in Flinders Street so that we had lots of room for the public to inspect, move between the cars and also regale the VW owners with their own VW stories. As there was a demonstration scheduled in another part of the city during the day, with the possibility of some violence, one of the security men had been instructed to remain on site during the showcase. As it turned out we had no problems
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The next 3 hours were filled with hundreds of people moving through the area, heaps and heaps of photos being taken, lots of questions being asked, many VW related stories being told and re-told, a few membership inquiries being made and several VW and several general car restoration queries being answered. As we have always experienced whenever we have put on these shows in previous years the display of our VWs really generates a heap of interest from passers-by who seem to be magnetically drawn into the area. It was also terrific to see that we had many club members, including Andrea Green from Ballarat and Richard Graham from Geelong, who came in specifically to look at the show, and to demonstrate support for those who had their cars in the display. Thanks very much folks!
W
ithin the Atrium there are quite a few coffee and food vendors and most club members sought sustenance (mainly warm drinks) to try to keep the cold at bay. Quite a few of the crew decided to decamp to the nearby Young and Jacksons for lunch and a couple of warming cold beers. Time went very quickly and it was soon 2.20pm and we had to commence the departure preparations. Spotlessly clean drip trays (as you would have expected) were recovered from under the cars, soft tops re-positioned, camper lids lowered, surfboards stowed and buggy roofs secured. We were ready to leave at the 2.30pm scheduled departure time. With a roar that alerted the nearby members of the public that things were about to happen Andrew Ermel’s Manx Buggy sprang into life and under the careful watch and guidance of the ever friendly security blokes we managed to move all 14 VWs out into Flinders Street without, fortunately, injuring any passers-by. This had, once again, been a very successful show that from all reports every member of the club who was there, both as a spectator and as an owner whose car was on display, thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks very much to all who participated.
JOHN STEVENS
JULY 2016
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PICS BY CHRIS JEFFES AND CHRIS SCANE
The Gas and Fuel buildings that were knocked down the previous day to make way for the construction of Federation Square so that the VW club could have their annual car shows without the smell of gas and fuel in the air. However the site is still oil-stained for some reason.
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CORAL RED D
M Our next series of articles from our sister club (Victoria Volkswagen Club – VVWC) features their members cars and the details of their history, as much as can be extracted. Our first cab off the rank is Chris Zessler who is a local identity in the VW scene of Victoria, British Columbia and noted to be the local vintage parts guy at the Victoria Volkswagen dealership. I hope you enjoy this journey to another part of the Volkswagen world on the other side of the Pacific. – CS
y ’57 Beetle has many parts from its origins, Coral sports original paint, the original engine (documented), and the original interior, all of which are just nicely worn in. The suspension has been modified. The front beam has been narrowed 6” and severely lowered front and rear with chrome 5 spoke EMPI wheels. As indicated in the pictures, I have an affinity for accessories. Eyelids, roof rack, luggage rack, surfboard are all included in her day-to-day wear. She was shipped to Canada originally, but grew up in the Arizona desert from what I’ve been led to believe. She was brought back home to Canada maybe a dozen years ago, by a local young fella who had had plans of turning her into a “big motor” car, a street dominator kind of thing. But she’s just so original, he couldn’t bring himself to make the necessary alterations required to turn it into a beast. Eventually it was sold to another local young fella, who had big plans on doing a full restoration. Top to bottom, front to back, but the plans fell through for whatever reason, and she was up for sale again. This is the first time I’d really been introduced to her. By the time I got home and convinced my Ol’ Lady that this was the car I needed, it had been sold to another young fella, about 3 hours up-Island. He also had big plans for a full on restoration. So at least now I had the green light to buy a car, but my searching turned up nothing that was even close to the originality and appeal of Coral. Fast forward a couple of months, and the new guy has lost his job and is forced to move back east, so she goes up for sale again. So I jump on the opportunity, and got her. I’d like to think that I saved her from a couple of restorations. You’re only original once, after all. She’s a 3 season cruiser, only getting tucked away for the winter months.
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Although the car’s history is in the Arizona desert, there was still rust in it. The floor on the passenger side has been partially replaced, and the battery tray has been re-enforced as well. The left side quarter panel has a small hole about 10cm up from the running board and maybe 20cm back from the door. It hasn't gotten any bigger in the time I've had her, so I've left it alone. Chris reports as for repairs, not so much. Just regular maintenance is all that's been required. Just recently I had to replace the 6v brushes in the generator. It was Wagensville News
my 1st "thin slot" generator experience. All in all, it went pretty smooth. One of the most enjoyable moment or cruise in the car, after some serious reflection, and many trips down memory lane (thank you very much) I've can only come up with one good answer. The last ride I took is usually the most enjoyable. Every ride puts a smile on my face, with the odd exception of mechanical troubles which even then can be part of a great adventure. My favourite ride is the one I just took. Every photo of my car is great, simply because of the subject matter. But I'd bet that the best picture of Coral I haven't even seen yet. I see lots of passengers in other vehicles taking rolling shots as they drive by. I'll bet some of those look pretty cool. I've even had a guy from North Carolina contact me through Facebook through pictures of a local car show. What a small world. Plans for the future of the car are just gonna keep on keepin' on. Paint will only happen if absolutely necessary. Regular maintenance again is, as required and the addition of new accessories as they pop up. I actually just purchased from a guy on The Samba a couple pairs of taillight eyelids, just one more thing that other guys don't have. The EPMI wheels were on the car when I bought her. It was like icing on the cake. They are my favourite wheel, and being chromed was just the cherry on top. The brakes are just stock 4 wheel drum brakes. The fronts have been upgraded to the slightly wider 58-64 style though. I found this out after getting my new pre'57 brakes all laid out and ready to swap over one day. Bearings were greased, tools were laid out, new parts were laid out, I open up the drum, and boom. Later brakes. *sigh*. Oh well. Luckily I know the vintage VW parts guy in town pretty well. In fact, I am the local vintage VW parts guy. So things worked out. Plans for the engine or the suspension, again, just regular maintenance as required. Everything works just as designed, so I see no need to muck it up. I have another mish-mash of a Beetle to do all my modifications to. "Project '59". But's that's another story....
CHRIS ZESSLER
JULY 2016
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VCVW | COLLECTOR’S CORNER
I hope that 'Gute Fahrt' doesn't mean what I think it does.
I
This is another in the series, from our past President and previous Club historian
DAVE EVANS Although 30 years ago this article appeared in the ‘News’, for anyone embarking on making a Plastic model, the advise can be taken as pure gold, especially for anyone just starting off! – CS First organise your work area, with a few bins for small parts, a hobby knife/spare blades, pliers, glue(for polystyrene), tweezers, needle files, PVA glue and fine emery paper (600 grit is OK). When you first open the box, check for missing pieces. This is important as months could pass before your model shop proprietor is able to replace a part (or the whole kit – CS) in the case of a rare kit. Most reputable hobby shops will offer are placement kit, if you return one promptly. Read the Instruction sheet or Booklet thoroughly………..READ IT AGAIN! Take particular of items not to be glued or optional pieces for modified versions or ‘hot-rods’. Cut larger pieces from the sprue (the waste plastic surrounding the parts), using a sharp hobby knife or diagonal – cutting pliers – NEVER ‘bend & break’ the parts off the sprue.
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t is vital to check that chassis parts are not warped as, being the basic ‘back-bone’ of the entire model, the fit of each subsequent part depends on chassis alignment, as on a real automobile. Minor warping may be corrected by gentle twisting, or by temporary struts cemented on. To be removed at a later stage of construction. It is advisable to ‘dry run’ part fitting, to check for any issues with major pieces like wheels. Special attention to clear and chrome plated parts is needed to protect the surfaces and ensure good adhesion of required gluing. Paint as many small parts as possible before they are cut off the sprue, rather than trying to hold ‘fiddly bits’ with tweezers or paint-bespattered fingers. A final touch up will be all that is needed after they’re dry and you have cut them away. Larger parts, engine blocks and the like are better painted and detailed before assembly into the model - D.E.
THREE X TYPE 3 MY FIRST MEMORY OF VWs WAS A MATE’S BEETLE SOMETIME IN THE LATE 1960s. THIS LITTLE BLUE MACHINE WAS MEMORABLE, AS THE OWNER WAS A BIG FAN OF THE RACEHORSE TOBIN BRONZE, AND NAMED THE CAR THE SAME.
can you come down to Frankston with me to look at a car? Well, of course I was interested.
WHAT SORT OF CAR? A TYPE THREE. A WHAT? A VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 3. HMM! NEVER HEARD OF IT. And off we set. Well it was a Type 3 fast-back, in Antarctic White. Good paint-job, even if in need of a wash and polish. Oh, and it needed some interior work, and it had no engine! The story was that the owner had just finished restoring, beautifully, a bright yellow square-back, and no longer needed the fast-back. But, what about the engine? It was at a mechanic’s place, and said to be a real “goer”. So, against my better judgement, cash is exchanged and we go off to fetch a trailer to carry the fast-back home. The engine we collected, and put that in the trailer too.
I remember cruising around parts of the Victorian Wimmera in Tobin Bronze, visiting Stawell (for the Gift), Horsham, Donald, and Warracknabeal to name a few adventure spots. After all, we were in our early twenties (21 to be precise), and boarding in country hotels and farm houses, no ties and probably not much sense either. However, years pass and it is the 1990s, when I answer a telephone call from my son: Hey dad,
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Now, this son is not mechanically talented at all, and his idea of restoring was to tackle sanding some rust off in the engine bay. That meant that someone else had to do something about the body and engine … guess who? To cut a long story short, I completely dis-assembled the engine, had the heads checked for cracks (no cracks), bought rings, bearings, valves, and a set of seals. All done fairly quickly. Meanwhile, the young owner had gone off to the University of Tasmania to study Law, drinking and
other sports. So, here I am in Melbourne with a restored engine and an un-restored body. Talking to a local café owner I discovered he was wanting to buy a Type 3 Fast-back! What luck, did he want ‘mine’? Well, yes and no: No, he had just promised to buy one from a ‘little old lady’, but it had no engine. A deal was struck: he would buy the body and the engine and use the engine in his body and strip mine for parts. A good deal.
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arless, I am walking down Bridge road in Richmond and spot a Type 3 Square-back parked and bearing a ‘For Sale $1000’ sign. Soon I was the proud owner of this somewhat dilapidated Antarctic White machine. Goes well, no visible rust, but it slips out of second gear regularly. Off to Dean at VolksPower for a gear-box job. Much improvement in the driving situation, and I am a happy owner.
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o I did. An amazing car, another Antarctic White Type 3 Square-back, 1971. But, this one is one owner! Looks like it has come straight from the showroom. Good gear-box, no visible defects. But I already have one. Dean says, Take it home for a week, and then tell me. Everyone looks at it and says “Buy it”, even the non-car fans. So I did. But I kept the other one for a few months, stripping bits off for future reference and storing the engine. Then sent the old body to SimsMetal, as my girlfriend had objected to being splashed with road water when it rained (floor rusted through under the carpet)! But I kept the old engine.
DEAN (VOLKSPOWER) TELEPHONES: I HAVE A CAR FOR YOU. ME: I HAVE A CAR ALREADY. DEAN: COME AND LOOK AT THIS ONE.
JULY 2016
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THREE X TYPE 3 T
Closer inspection shows roof pillars are slightly twisted, rear bumper is no longer straight, engine has moved forward bending the side mounting brackets. But the engine is untouched!
Driving along Huntingdale Road, stopped at traffic lights, waiting at the back of the queue, when ‘Bang!’ I am pushed forward towards the car in front of me. Traffic light still red.
Had the car towed to Brian Davies at Unique Autos in Braeside. A quote for repairs is greater than the insured value ($12 000), so cash from Shannons and the body to Brian. Now Brian has a stack of experience with VWs and especially Type 3 (he drives one) and Kombi … and spare bits.
Next thing, a woman is standing beside the driver’s door asking if I am alright. I go to get out of the car, but the door is jammed tight. I push, she tugs, and the door pops open. I inspect the damage to my Type 3: both rear panels are sprung out, the tailgate won’t open, but everything else looks okay and works. So I drive on to a friend’s house.
The back half of mine has been cut off and a ‘new’ back attached. We are now approaching painting, and decisions about how far to go with re-chroming, restored dashboards, and such. It has been 18 months now, and I hope that by this December I will be back on the road in a ‘new’ 1971 Type 3 Square-back.
wo years ago I had Australian Volkswagen Performance Centre pull apart the new, one-owner, engine as it had developed oil leaks through the seals. They reckoned that the engine had never been pulled apart in all its 40 years, but it did need rings and bearings (no head cracks, no bore wear). Expensive but worth it.
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JULY 2016
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MEMBERSHIPS
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MEMBERSHIP | APPLICATION
VOLKSWAGEN LIFE
JULY 2016
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JULY 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 18
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