MARCH 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 14
MARCH-ERRIFIC!
Wagensville
News
T H E O FF I C I A L M A Z A G IN E OF TH E V OL K SW A GE N C LUB O F V I C T O R I A
AGES!
EE SAUS M THE FR
ART FRO
N E D MAI
EZ: STAR
HOW AP OF THE S
! E G VOYA IDAY NIG
DRIE FR ARTS NID
A1 AUTOP
THE MAGAZINE THAT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING!
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ZA THING
AVAGAN HT EXTR
Wagensville
News
VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF VICTORIA
VWCV Committee 2016 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 Ryan® 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
dovw@vwclub.com.au
VWCV MEMBERSHIP FEES 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
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
DER TYP SAGTE: “ ICH DENKE, DASS WIR ES ETWA 150 MM FALLEN SOLLTE “ THAT GUY SAID: “I THINK WE SHOULD DROP IT ABOUT 6 INCHES”
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PRESIDENT | REPORT Richard Graham
Are you getting good use of your VW at the moment? If not you mustn’t be part of our club. If this is the case, turn to the back and start filling out the membership form. For everyone else’s Vdub has been getting plenty of use in the last month whether it be short or long runs, or even on the back of a tray truck (Ruby). Last month we had several events that brought out the VWs in the numbers. Torquay motor show was first up. The club has been very successful over the last couple of attendances. We are probably the largest display of a single make three years running. A few trophies were taken home including a rat beetle and a very clean green and white bay window Kombi. Well done to all the winners. (And Ben) Our general meeting had another out and about location, this time at Albert Park Lake. A great little spot on one of the straights of the GP track was a perfect location to park and have a burger supplied by “Kombi Burger”. Matt Reynolds and Chris Jeffes did a great job organising this and whilst traffic was an issue getting there, the result was truly worth it. A1 Autoparts in Niddrie recently contacted us asking if we would like to attend a VW only car show at their store. Well of course we were down with that! A big showing turned up to display the vehicles with pride. A1 also provided some trophies and prizes plus offering in store discount of 25% on everything. We can only hope they ask us to do that again in the near future.
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Wagensville News
The club would like to thank the crew at A1 for offering and running this for the VWCV. Lastly we had our annual Kennett River Camping weekend. I believe many new faces came down for the first time this year. The weather was fantastic and the company even better. Whilst I was unable to attend this year myself, I’m happy to see all the photos that pop up on Facebook showing the good times people had. Our next event is our General meeting. We will be holding an outdoor BBQ provided by the Austrian club at the Austrian club in Heidelberg. This will be our last outside meeting for a few months so bring your VW and have a snag or two with us. Wagensville magazine articles submissions. Once again we will be offering a $50 JB Hifi voucher to one member each month who submits an article to our Wagensville magazine. I was quite pleased to see many articles sent to us last year on all sorts of topics including recent VWCV events, family VW memories, or even just about picking up a car that Ryan Meredith sent to us last month. Ryan will be getting a nice little yellow gift card in the mail shortly. So if you want to be the one that gets the next one, get typing and send us something that we will all enjoy reading. Doesn’t matter if you’re not good at writing, we just want to hear from you! Until next time our roads cross!
Richard Graham PRESIDENT
MARCH 2016
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FOR SALE
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Photo by HUMANS IN MELBOURNE
MARCH 2016
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RUSS FORT | POP YOUR TOP! Russ Fort’s 74 Orange VW T2 Camper As the first cab off the rank in our Canadian series, I would like to introduce Russ Fort and hope you will get to know him like I do and appreciate his passion for Volkswagens, like all of us. Russ and his family live in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, which is another wonderful place about 113 kms north of the City of Victoria towards Alaska. Russ has worked as an automotive mechanic for over 20 years (sounds like a Canadian Lloyd Davies – CS). The company that I currently work for, specialises in repairs to VWs, Audi, and other import vehicles. Newer Jettas and Golfs are the bread and butter nowadays, but we still see some air-cooled vehicles, mostly in the summer months.
Back then there were still many examples of daily driven buses in this area. She had seized the engine up solidly due to the oil being diluted with gasoline from a faulty carburettor. She elected not to fix it, and thus sold it to the shop. I had never owned a bus before and decided to take a chance with this one given the body was quite solid. I also bought another very rough but complete bus for parts for $100, and figured I could make one out of two. It seemed like a good idea at the time...
He has many tales to share with us and I hope you enjoy his great stories like I have. - CS
Over the years the original Riviera camping interior had deteriorated and many parts were missing. My parts bus was a passenger model so had little to offer to fix up the interior. Fortunately at the time we had several parts vehicles at the shop including a badly rotted 1977 Westfalia. The interior was near mint condition and I paid $300 for everything. And I mean everything as there was not one part remaining inside that bus by the time I was done.
It was my first bus, and a learning experience for me in many ways. It was my first serious introduction to the type 4 engine, as all Canadian/US spec buses used this design starting in 1972. I have owned this bus for almost 15 years now, and it has seen a few changes along the way. Originally sold in the state of Idaho, this 1974 bus was built as a US spec kombi, but was converted when new into a Riviera Camper. Eventually the bus made its way to Canada at some time; by the time I bought it, the camping interior was mostly missing, and the engine had seized. Anyway my orange bus was bought from a customer of the shop. I never met her directly, as she had already sold the bus to the shop cheaply for parts or repair.
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Wagensville News
I even carefully measured the original welded in securing brackets before cutting them out and transferring them to my bus. The original Riviera interior ceiling panels ended up mating perfectly with the Westfalia interior parts, so much so, that it looked like it had been built that way. The one exception to this was the “headbanger” cabinet that attaches to the back of the ceiling above the bed. Westfalia rooflines were flat to accommodate the upper bunk, while the Riviera used conventional
“domed” top rooflines. The cabinet had to be modified to fit the curved roofline, and a friend talented in wood work did this for me. The aforementioned mounting brackets for different cabinets were welded in place just like a real Westfalia. Really everything fit in well without drama. The remains of the Riviera camping interior were thrown away with the exception of the pop top roof and upper bed. A complete Westfalia interior from a 1977 model was installed, with a few modifications. This is why my bus is called a “Restfalia” now. Because this bus is not really “original”, I have been OK with a few other upgrades as well. Because it was originally from the US, the body had very little rust. My dad is a car hobbyist, and he repainted the bus its original Brilliant Orange. With regards to bodywork, it was quite limited. The battery tray area was rotten as usual, and this was cut out and replaced with a new panel. There were some small pin-holes in the quarter panels ahead of the rear wheels, and this area was cut out and patched with a butt-welded repair. After a few years use, some bubbles showed up below the taillights on each side, so this was also cut and welded. Everywhere else was and has remained rust free. I wish I had some before and during restoration pictures, but in those pre digital camera days, photos were not taken as much. I built up another dual carbed 1800cc type 4 motor for it, as this was the original type this bus came with. However a few years later, I built a more powerful 2 litre for it, converted it to later style factory fuel injection, and added a 6 rib transmission as well.
Mechanically the bus needed a new engine, as the old one was too far gone to save. Paperwork that came with the bus showed it was not the original anyways. ‘ At this stage in the project, cash was tight for a full on engine rebuild. I used the best parts from two other bus engines I had acquired, and did buy some new heads. I tried my hand at rebuilding the transmission too. The original was in poor condition, and I ended up making one useable trans out of four. The best candidate turned out to have originated in a ‘68 bus, but I converted it to fit the ‘74. Not surprising the gearing was not ideal, but I stuck with it for a couple of years. Later I managed to acquire another ‘77 Westfalia with a serious engine knock for only $400. A buddy of mine and myself bought it together with the idea to fix it up and sell it on. This never happened and I decided to take the 2 litre engine and transmission from it to transfer into mine. All the fuel injection system was transferred over as well. This engine was substantially rebuilt including replacing the destroyed crankshaft. The transmission required a pinion bearing, but was otherwise fine. This same combination has been powering the bus for 13 trouble free years and drives the way I wanted it to in the first place. I sold the ‘77 rolling shell for $200 and the next owner restored it and it is still on the road too.
Please go to page 13 to continue reading >
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VCVW | CHRIS SCANE
RUSS FORT
Continued
s ’ n a ori
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In Part 1 of the ‘Corner’ we have some more interesting tales from our club newsletter, ‘Wagensville News’ and Volkswagen history. This year the club historian celebrates 70 years since the Wolfsburg factory achieved a full year of production in 1946. How this achievement affects the potential for Volkswagens in Australia is worth exploring. I hope you enjoy these stories and please feel to contact me if you can help in developing the documentation of our history.
March/April 1972 Kevin Hurford was the Club President, David Evans was Vice President, Glen Fyfe was Secretary and Paul Higgins was Treasurer. The highlights of the month were the preparation for attending, the Motorkhana Championship on the 13th & 26th of March followed by the 9th of April. The twilight Trial run by VWCV and the Country Roads Board (now VicRoads) Car Club was run on 15th of April and finally a Calder Rallycross (Club Event) was held on 23rd of April. Once again Motorsport was strong and the competition with other clubs was fierce!
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Wagensville News
The ‘News’ carried articles about the Club Championship and Club Motorkhana Championship results with John Mayo 1st in Class G, Ed Smith 1st in Class C and Brian Reed 3rd in Class G, for the first round that year of the Victorian Motorkhana Championship. VWCV even formed a Rally sub Committee with its own report in the ‘News’ organized by Paul Higgins. Featured are many stories on club and local VW activities included ; a detailed report from Brian Reed on the trip to Young, NSW, a Volkswagen history Quiz from Dave Evans and the usual ‘Rave on Ronnie’ report on the social side of VWCV activities. Interestingly the cover of Wagensville News that month had a picture of a member timing a probable Rallycross run (by the mud on the Bug sitting on a hard top surface). Anybody out there who can fill us in as to who and where this was?
March 1991 Bill Malkoutzis was the Club President, Andrew Novak was Vice President, Kim Whittles was Secretary, David Simpsom was Treasurer, Rob Busselmann was Group 5 Rep was vacant, Editor was Cameron Stewart and Point Score Officer was Tim Hosie. The committee had a good club program planned up to the end
of June; including 6 motorsports events and General Meetings at Light Car Club of Australia rooms, in Queen St. Ten Pin Bowling and Motorsport were again big on the agenda with boling on 23rd of March and a Group 5 Motorkhana on the last weekend of March that year. Featured are great stories on club and local VW activities included; an interesting report on a 5-speed transmission for air-cooled cars, the first report of the VWCV Bowling Championship with Tim Hosie leading from Dave Evans and finally the ‘For sale’ section threw up an interesting list of items for Kim Whittles – Bench Stand to suit Beetle Engine $20, TS Passat Inlet Manifold $30, 12v Regulator for Beetle $45, Oil Cooler Adaptor for beetle $20 and Electric Antenna suit 1500/1600 Beetle $20 – did you get them all sold, Kim? Look forward to seeing you all at the next VWCV event!
Chris Scane historian@vwclub.com.au
Like all the VWs I own, this one was bought cheaply as a non-running project. Unlike the others, this one is used a lot! When the weather is good in the summer, this is our weekend cruiser. Somehow in 15 years, I have managed to drive it over 32,000km on the weekends, and in nice weather only. It is always the out of town choice for long trips. We took it to the big vintage VW show in Seattle this year, and it was a lot of fun. This was also the bus we took camping trips in, when our son was younger. Now very much part of the family, I can’t see this bus ever leaving. So what plans for the future with this bus? It still is my most well used VW, and is kind of my “signature” vehicle. It is set up the way I want it to be and has required just basic maintenance for a long time. The front seat covers have been slowly deteriorating, so that is one of the next jobs. And the electric pump for the sink has packed it in, so that needs to be done too. Just minor things really in the grand scheme of things, but if you take good care of your VW, it will take care of you. Driving it has always given me pleasure, and I am sure will continue in the future as well... I also have two other buses, a very rare one that is fully restored also, but has seen very little use and also recently I acquired another bus, this came via a friend, and is a solid future project. As you can see, I have a bit of a problem saying no to neglected VWs... All these were bought very cheaply, as until recently, bus prices in this area were quite low. Things have changed a lot in the last few years. More Volkswagen stories to come in the future, a great tale of a rescued Fastback next month.
Russ Fort MARCH 2016
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KENNETT RIVER | REPORT
Andy Elbe
Don’t mess with these two.
Andy Elbe
Or with this one:
Andy Elbe
Stuart Ermel’s shot of the killer drop-bear Andy Elbe
Andy Elbe’s great snap of Ruby and Michael. And the tow truck guy.
KENNETT RIVER | CAPERS The coast line was spectacular, providing a vista of changing landscapes. Rocky outcrops, sandy beaches, sheer rock faces, wild blackberry bushes, coastal views worthy of a post card, not to be outdone by two Kombis and a beetle adding to the gorgeous landscape. We followed the curving road to Kennett River, a picturesque hamlet sadly scarred by recent bushfires. I had intended to camp in Basil, but who can resist an invitation to share a cabin (thanks Naomi). So I took the opportunity to stretch out in a real bed. It was good fortune in the end as Basil was able to fulfil his ambitions of being a bus, taking passengers both to Apollo Bay and on tour for a night expedition to see the glow worms.
ANDREA GREEN I would like to share my Kombi journal entry for the weekend in Kennett River. I keep this journal for myself, so please keep in mind, this has not been written with any other audience in mind. I guess now you’ll all know that some of you feature (or at least rate a mention) in my “The Adventures of Basil the Kombi” journal. I’d been looking forward to Kennett River for a long time, totally bummed out that this event clashes with the Bendigo Club’s ice-cream run to Echuca, but a three day event is so appealing. I was to meet Naomi just out of Buninyong, I had time to do a good meditation while I waited for her. I ended up being about 200 metres too far up the road from the meeting point, resulting in Naomi to stopping to call me, only to find her battery flat when it was time to get going. While we waiting for her knight in shining armour (her father) to jump start Bernie the beetle, I joked with Naomi saying “Do you remember that time we almost went to Kennett River?”. We eventually set off, only for me to take a wrong turn (no surprise) missing our meeting point with Andrew who was waiting for us. Plan B: We met in Torquay and cruised the Great Ocean Road together. Naturally I was grinning like a Cheshire cat as I was following Andrew’s Kombi the whole way. Such a thrill.
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Wagensville News
Walking around the camp site was so interesting, not only to see a few Kombis that I haven’t snapped a picture of, but to see some newer VW vehicles and amazing camping set ups. My version of camping is to sleep on Basil’s seat, a few kitchen items in a plastic tub, an esky and a picnic set. I have an extension cord for occasions where I have a powered site. I think of Cheryl and her overloaded back pack. I keep it simple. The VW folk have EVERYTHING. I took note with particular interest, looking at lighting options, awnings, ground covers, cooktops, barbeques, fire pits, chairs, ice buckets (yes, even ice buckets!). One impressive site even appeared to have its own shower! I’m clearly quite “basic” to quote Hayley’s frequent descriptions of various facets of my life. The advantage in being basic is the very quick set up and pack up times.
er (more like a rivulet really) was quite a bit warmer than that of the ocean. Naomi and I came across a fisherman who had caught a small shark. Pleasingly, he let it go back into the ocean, but not before I snapped a few pictures (no pictures – tall story). I also enjoyed watching the day start each morning, sitting on the beach staring out to sea. Saturday was too overcast to see the sun rising, but I enjoyed Andy’s company as we watched night turn into day. Sunday morning brought less cloud to our sunrise experience, we were both able to snap some lovely pictures of a spectacular sunrise, Andy especially as she has a “real” camera and plenty of photographic talent to match it. Andy was able to capture a photo of a seal frolicking with a fish not too far from us near a rocky outcrop. We also enjoyed the rock formations, shells and plant life in the rock pools along the beach. I took a time each day away from the company of VW club members to meditate, sitting on the beach with the rhythm of the ocean, sitting in quiet contemplation and emptying thoughts all together. The campsite provides the perfect venue for kicking back with friends, sharing stories, having a few drinks, nibbling on delicious foods, all the while bringing the love of the Volkswagen into one space.
I keep my food simple, never more so than this trip. Being a foodie, I took note of what others were eating. There was a spit roast (cook up was the night before I arrived). I saw breakfasts that included mushrooms, hash browns, bacon, eggs, toast, vegetables, cereals and hot porridge. The aromas from barbies all over the camping ground were so very tempting. A highlight for me, aside from the Volkswagens and people, was the close proximity to the beach. A very short stroll across the road puts us at a lovely beach. I enjoyed paddling knee deep on Friday night, walking along the shore line until coming to the point where the Kennett River meets the sea. The water in the rivMARCH 2016
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KENNETT RIVER | CAPERS Then two things happened. Firstly the night sky shone ever so brightly making me aware of what a tiny speck we all were in this vast universe. Secondly, the bush gradually began to sparkle. It was as though someone had hidden fairy lights throughout the bush. So pretty and unexpected. Aside from the sheer beauty of the night, complete with the smells and sounds of the bush, it was a fun time. We traipsed along a dirt road in the dark, using only the star light to find out way. Pete was in good form the whole time. He entertained us as a “paid participant” of the tour. Telling us he had booked and paid on line. Pete asked “Ron” the tour guide plenty of questions. He wanted a fridge magnet and t-shirt at the end of the tour. A fabulous event put on by the club was the wine and cheese tasting. What a great idea that was. I heard some people talking about how great it is that one club can help another. Surf lifesaving clubs need income, and simply by opening up their club rooms for the event, we were able to raise about $700 in two hours! Brilliant. Even though I resisted the food and wine, I still had a great time. The view was gorgeous and a kookaburra kept us company on a wire, watching us enjoy ourselves. Saturday was super relaxing. Some read books and napped, some went for walks, some plunged themselves into the ocean, others sat around having a few drinks, just kickin’ back. I was excited as I had passengers in Basil for a trip to Apollo Bay.
We needed to do a 3 point turn (or maybe a 27 point turn) on the narrow road in order to head back to camp. Pete jumped in to help me navigate this feat and promptly encouraged me to drive off leaving everyone else behind. So we did. We took off up the hill only to find no great place to turn around. We managed an easy four point turn before proceeding down the hill to find out passengers. The passengers had hidden themselves behind a picnic table. Joke was then back on us. Back at camp for another night beside a mesmerising fire, a cosy night in bed before saying farewell to another fabulous VW club event.
Dear Richard, Committee & Members, On behalf of our President, Seath Craig, the Committee and the members of the Ballarat Volkswagen Club, I would like to sincerely thank you all for the most generous response to the Jones’ Bushfire Appeal. The auction was a fantastic idea to draw the clubs together and raise some much needed funds to help our members get back on their feet again after the Scotsburn bushfire devastated their property in early December. The effort to organise and implement the auction was timely and we know it was gratefully received. Extended thanks to yourself, Richard, to Andrew Ermel, for taking the time to attend our February meeting to present the $4,000 raised from the auction to Adrian Jones. Much appreciation! With many thanks, Mrs Marg Bruty Ballarat Volkswagen Club Inc, Secretary
I’ll be back next year for sure. Life is good.
Kellie, Naomi, Andrew and I took the scenic drive into town, where I parked my bay in a bay at the bay! We checked out the markets and the shops. I picked up another dream catcher for Basil. We had a delicious lunch with some others we found along the way. Then we headed back to camp after a great day out. Basil got to play bus again with a very entertaining trip to see the glow worms. Basil hasn’t had a lot of dirt road experience, until the glow worms. Wendy, Dylan, Peter, Marg, Naomi, Andrew and I all climbed into the bus and made a trek into the wilderness! We seemed to drive forever before our tour guide (dubbed “Ron” by Pete) told us we were at our destination. We pulled over into the pitch black night. We turned our phones and torches off and waited for our eyes to adjust to the emptiness of night.
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Wagensville News
LLOYD’S BACK IN!
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Rometsch 4 Tür Käfer Taxi
Andy Ryan®
Would you like to have your car on display in Fed Square without being arrested for illegal parking? Or loitering? Send us a pic of your best VW and you could be in the running to qualify. A great way to get free parking and start your Christmas shopping early! But hurry, spaces fill fast! Send your pics to: John Stevens: constitution@vwclub.com.au
A1 AUTOPARTS NIDDRIE CAR SHOW
TYPE 3
] A T S K FIE RALIA
C AUST N I A K C A B B [ FAS5T0 YEARS OF THE FAST SUNDAY 17TH APRIL
Calling all Type 3 Fastbacks, to celebrate. Meeting at Croydon Hotel at 8:30 for a 9:00am departure! More Details please email Chris Scane at secretary@vwclub.com.au or message him on 0417 593 573
FOR SALE
LOCATED IN BAYSWATER 1967 Beetle 1600cc motor, Total Reco/Rebuild 2000 – All documentation available. Porsche seats and velour interior, stereo/cd player. Vin SSE-AD-469341 $10,000 ONO. Contact Robyn 0418 376 792 or Maggie 0419 137 167
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Wagensville News
Unit 2, 1-3 Bignell Road Moorabbin, VIC 3189 | Phone: 03 9532 2749
MARCH 2016
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SECRETARY | REPORT
Chris Scane In the history of Wagensville News and our club, Secretary’s Reports are few and far between. Many would say that is a good thing! But it is important to report to some significant developments within the committee and the club generally. There is always pressure on a volunteer organisation of any description and car clubs are not exception. Many members may not realise how much work and personal time goes into running a club with more than 650 members and their expectations of what our club should be. The year for the committee started in third week of January with the familiar White board grid of activities for the whole year spread over the 4-5 weeks every month. This is a very dynamic event where all the regular Volkswagen events are slotted into the new ideas that came to the table. Lloyd Davies (Volkwerke) generously let us turn his workshop into a epicentre of planning for the night. The dedication and passion the committee put into this session is reflected in the quality of the events we have to offer to the membership over the span of the year. Ably lead by Richard Graham and Andrew Ermel, the year took shape quickly and the VWCV calendar was soon chock full of great VW events. The first three VWCV events for the year have been well attended and a great indication of the year to come. Special thanks to everyone who worked and participated in the Charity Auction at Williamstown. It is fantastic that the club can help out a fellow enthusiast with some ready cash to dent the burden and shock of what they went through recently with
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the devastating bushfires that clobbered some many communities. The really exciting news for you all is a new initiative that would build a wonderful bridge across the Pacific Ocean to our Commonwealth cousins on the Canadian west coast and truly bring our club into the international Volkswagen community by exploring becoming ‘sister’ Volkswagen clubs. Our proposed ‘sister’ club is the Victoria Volkswagen Club, based in Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island - the west coast of Canada near the USA border. The VWCV committee, the secretary has been in communication with the Victoria VW Club for about 3 months and all indications are that we will be able to finalise arrangements with our Canadian friends in the second quarter of this year. What does a ‘sister’ club entail, you may ask! Bit like a ‘sister’ city really, but it focusses on building formal links between the two clubs to enable friendship and communication with members of both club with similar Volkswagen passion. We hope we can link the web sites and participate in the Canadian Club forums and the Victoria Club writing some stories for our magazine. Our intention is to start of slow and test the water to what level both clubs are happy with. There are good signs back from the Victoria Volkswagen Club so we are hopeful of making an announcement at the March General meeting. Until then, see you at the next meeting. Yours in service of VWCV,
Chris Scane SECRETARY
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MARCH 2016
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VCVW | CHRIS SCANE
ist
s ’ n a ori
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Once Germany picked itself up after the war, a small but worthwhile market for cars began to grow. After all, there will always be people who profit from war, even on the losing side. At the time, as far as new cars were concerned, the only choice was the Volkswagen Beetle, but even that was not made available to the general public - not that the average German worker would have been able to afford one.
The first prototype had only crude, external hood hinges and wind-down windows in the doors only, while the second had wind-down door and rear quarter windows and concealed hinges. Neither had a rear window at this time.
When Wilhelm Karmann’s thoughts turned to coachbuilding once again (after all, it was his family’s business), he realised that he had only one option as far as a suitable chassis was concerned.
46 CABRIOLET The First Karmann Cabriolet It is often easy to forget that the current Golf and Audi Cabriolets owe their precision mechanisms and developed barrier against the elements to the late 1930s and the mid-1940s engineers. For this reason it is often good to have a look at how it came to be.
There is a lot more to the story but I thought just a little snapshot would be a good introduction to much bigger story. Maybe later in the piece the historians in the club could help put together a more complete story. Until then... Yours deep in Volkswagen history,
He approached the Wolfsburg factory on a number of occasions, hoping to be able to acquire a chassis on which to resume work. Each time the answer was ‘no’, until eventually, in November 1946, Karmann was given the 10,000th Beetle to have been built post-war. The reason for this change of heart was Ivan Hirst’s belief in the need for an expanded product range. Soon afterwards, two prototype Volkswagen cabriolets were built at Osnabrück.
Although the prototypes were attractive - and indeed not at all dissimilar to the original KdF prototype enjoyed by Hitler - they both suffered from body flex, which led to problems with doors not shutting properly or, worse still, coming open while cornering.
Chris Scane historian@vwclub.com.au
MARCH 2016
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CALENDAR
ITEM THINGS AND THAT
MARCH 2016
Send us your ideas!
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VCVW General Meeting
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VCVW Coffee Run (Roccoe & Coe)
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Volksclub Easter Extravaganza Bendigo
I hope you enjoyed the cruises and events of last year. It’s time for the committee to map out this years’ activities. What we would like is to hear from you what you liked, disliked and your ideas for the future.
April 10 Jamboree – Carribean Gardens
This can include events to participate in, sights to see and cruises to little towns in the countryside.
Contributions Get your articles in for your chance to win $50! Congratulations Ryan Meredith!
I look forward to your ideas.
Send through your ideas to events@vwclub.com.au
General Meeting Albert Park
Regards, Chris Jeffes
You may WIN* a Brashes Voucher!
New Coffee Run!
*MAY NOT WIN. DEFINITELY NOT.
Head on down to Rocco & Coe at 1 Fennel Street Port Melbourne on Saturday morning 17th March. Come and celebrate St. Patricks Day and other occasions!
Contributions
Have something to say? You could win a $50 JB Hi Fi voucher.
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power a modified 2ltr Kombi gear box was installed in the Kombi with a longer ratio and some Porsche parts... an interesting hybrid! The custom build Trailer was made by cutting the roof section and doing more transplant surgery by re-joining the front clip of a Bay Window Kombi maintaining the front glass covered in vinyl to the B pillar. Thomas worked hard with the panel work to achieve workable trailer that was designed to enable the production of premium quality burgers. This conversion was not easy and took a long time to get right, Thomas now knows it could be done easier but that is not how the story went!
THOMAS WIEDERMANN Kombi Burger Food Truck After having a chat to Thomas Wiedermann, the owner and creator of the Kombi Burger set up that we all enjoyed at our February General Meeting, it was considered worthwhile to follow up with a background story in our Club Magazine. Thomas has provided me with an outline of how he came up with the idea and how it was made. We all agreed on the day it was a great success and wishing him good luck for the future.
Thomas came to Australia in 2010 as a backpacker spending my first half year on French Island; working at a organic farm before he moved to Melbourne to work as a panel beater in the classic car/ classic race car field with classic road and track who went into a sponsorship with me to keep me in the country. Thomas was born in Rheda-WIedenbrueck (Home of Westfalia Campervans) an hour from Cologne. Rheda-WIedenbrueck lies within the valley of the river Ems in the Westphalian Lowland south of the Teutoburg Forest.
Thomas told us that the Kombi and Trailer set-up took 2 years to build and cost around $75,000 to complete. It was built in a workshop in North Melbourne where he worked Full time as a panel beater(Classic road and Track). Thomas used a caravan pop top parts to finish the Kombi’s lid which was modified to give the operator more room than the original set up but still used the original roof. All work was performed using his own expertise, apart from gas and appliance installations. The original engine was not considered powerful enough so a transplant was achieved using a Holden Commodore V6 power plant (not something for the purists in our club to enjoy). To handle this increased
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Thomas has a focus on Music Festivals, Car shows and private functions to cater for and if current indications keep on the current path, Thomas has a bright future in the hospitality industry.
Volkswagen Kombis sold from the early 1950s to 2003 were subcontracted for modifications to the company Westfalia-Werke. From where Thomas lived he looked over a huge carpark for Westfalia campers which certainly had an impact on him. Growing up in that city must have lead to his decision to use a Kombi as the car of choice!
Thomas has taken a sustainable twist on a Burger, Roo with fresh home-grown herbs and Mushroom Burgers with local sourced salads... He has also looked at catering for the vegetarians in the crowd with the ‘The Mitey Veg’. A classic Veggie burger with an Aussie twist you can’t resist which was released at his first public event in Preston early December, last year.
Thomas can be contacted on 0412 346 807, kombiburger@gmail.com or on his web site kombiburger.com.au Yours enjoying Kombi burgers, Chris Scane (not hungry after 2 burgers – yum!)
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MARK WAUGH | REPORT
I didn’t want to cut the edge away or roll it, so the other option was to try to reduce the track at the rear. The new 1914cc Scat motor that I had bought was not really too well matched to the original transmission and reduction box setup, so I decided that this was a good time to go for a straight axle conversion, which I was assured would reduce the rear track. Er, no. The wheels were so heavily cast at the rear that I was able to machine enough off to make them fit. I just hope I never get a puncture.... Adjustable spring plates will likely be the answer when I have some money again.
11 WINDOW BUS 1957 AUSSIE BUILT KOMBI As the second bite in our Canadian series of articles, I would like to introduce Mark Waugh (yes not the Australian Test Cricket legend!) and hope you enjoy his passion for Australian Split Window Volkswagens, like all of us. Mark too has a great story to tell and I hope we will keep in contact with him in the future. The fact that this Splitty has survived so many journeys by sea let alone by road, says a lot about the passion of their owners and the strength of how they were built in Australia. Mark has some more tales in the future to share with us and I hope you enjoy this story like I have; maybe we can get Mark to do a separate story on his KG. - CS I bought it back in around 2001 through an Australian living in the UK. He was importing buses from Australia for people. I wanted a RHD bus because it made more sense living in the UK (I am British and emigrated to Canada 11 years ago). He knew of a ‘56 located in the Melbourne area and showed me a couple of photo’s. To cut a long story short, it turned out to be a ‘57, supposedly owned by a Greek gent’ living in the Melbourne area and had the licence plate Kool VW. I bought it. The bus is in really nice condition and has had minimal welding. It is a semaphore model built in Australia, so is presumably a CKD. When I bought it, there was no interior except for the front seat and it was running a very tired 1600cc twin port. I suspect that it was a basic Kombi originally, with seats in the rear and little else. The original running gear was in place, but the rear had been lowered slightly and the front had two of the springs removed from each of the tubes. It bounced up and down and was awful to drive. I managed to source a set of replacement springs, lifted the rear and fitted a new set of shocks - the bus was transformed and drove much better, once we replaced the motor. After driving it around as was for a while and visiting a couple of UK shows (Vanfest and VW Action) I stripped it back to bare steel, had a few very minor body repairs done (patches on the outer sills and the lower six inches of the front panel due to deep pitting) and had it repainted in the original colour, matched to the inside of the cab roof. I think it is supposed to be Dove Blue, but it is a few shades out on what I have seen on other buses
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of the same vintage. I suspect that it was all blue when new, but it was white from the beltline upwards when I bought it. I liked the way that it looked so I had the roof painted Cumulus White. I used to work on cruise ships and so spent a lot of the year away at work, so my Dad did most of the mechanical work on it for me to get it up and running. Then I moved to Canada. I considered selling my VWs and started looking for replacements, but could find nothing anywhere near as good as what I had. So, I arranged to have both the bus and my ‘71 Karmann Ghia convertible (LHD Californian import) shipped to North America. Both arrived in Tacoma near Seattle just before Christmas 2006. My parents were visiting from the UK, so we travelled down as a family. Dad drove the KG back whilst I drove my bus. Once in Canada, I started working on the bus. I fitted rear seatbelts, bought a new motor, fitted lowered spindles, AirKewld discs, lowered the rear end with a straight axle kit and built up a camping interior loosely based around a UK Devon Conversion, which I am still working on. I eventually got the bus back on the road and after all of the work that I had done, hated driving it lowered. The wheels rubbed on the arches, so I thought about a narrowed beam. I found that the front still needed to be lowered further to get it to sit right with the lowered rear end, but I was paranoid about whacking it off the asphalt and also found that I was unable to change the rear wheels if I ever got a puncture. It got to the stage where it was sat in the garage and I was making excuses not to drive it. So, I refitted the original spindles and the original drive train. My brand new Scat engine leaked oil like a sieve and overheated on it’s first outing (probably due to lean carb’s and a restrictive exhaust), so I replaced it with a good 1600 twin port with twin Italian weber 34s. I ran it like this last year and loved it once more. I think that my flywheel oil seal is leaking, because I now have a slipping clutch and an oil leak so I need to sort that out.
when the weather improves in the spring. It is currently running on reproduction Sprintstars, because my original rims will not fit over the AirKewld disc calipers, but I am looking for some smooth early Beetle wheels to get it looking as close to stock as I can, without losing my disc brakes. I also have a set of nice leather Volvo seats in the front at the moment, primarily because I like the idea of head restraints if I am ever in an accident, and because they are way more comfy for longer trips than the OG bench seat is. I still have the OEM seat though. After the bus arrived in Canada, it was taken off the road for a number of years. I wasn’t happy with the interior in the bus and the engine was leaking oil from the flywheel seal. I decided that a new engine was the way to go and what started as an engine replacement morphed into bit of a mechanical rebuild as one thing snowballed into another. I decided that with a bigger engine, the woefully inadequate drum brakes needed to be improved upon. So, I bought a set of Airkewld BAD front discs, which I was assured, would fit beneath the original wheels. Wrong. So, with a fantastic excuse to buy some nice 5 lug Sprintstars, the credit card went into further use. Then I discovered that the new Sprintstars, that I had been assured would fit the bus, would not fit under the rear arches. Being an early bus, it has the straight arches without the rounded shaping on the lip. The inner edge of the arch is angled perpendicular to the body and fouled the tyres - badly.
I bought the various components, including the modified transmission front mount, specifically designed for this year of bus, which I was assured would enable the late Bug transmission to fit. See a pattern here? Having modified the transmission mount to take a countersunk M10 bolt (ever tried finding one of these locally?), the transmission finally went in. The straight axle conversion meant that the rear was now 3 1/2” lower than stock, so I managed to source a pair of dropped spindles - amazingly, they fit. Although modified, they were of course OEM. I had a similar story when I built up the ancillary parts onto the long block. It seemed that absolutely nothing that I bought fit to anything else. In the end, buying a long block and adding everything else cost far more than a turnkey engine would have done - I would never go this route again, if I ever have the money to do this again... Finally one trip to also include: in 2014 Russ and I were on the way back from Volksfest 2014 (Victoria BC’s answer to Day of the VW) and we had several unscheduled stops to allow the 1957 bus to cool down. One of them was at this picturesque viewpoint so it wasn’t a bad thing... Near the Russell Farm north of Duncan. We get lots of “help” as we decide to remove the engine lid. Mission accomplished. My Dad and I made it back to Nanaimo in one piece. Well maybe a few pieces... but we made it. Overall it was a great show and the year before, we blinked and it was all over. The Victoria VW Club put on a great show as usual, and the weather was fantastic. MARK WAUGH – Nanaimo, Canada
Also, the rear end is slightly lower than the front, so I need to lift it up a touch more. I’ll do these jobs over the next month or two and it should be back on the road
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MEMBERSHIP | APPLICATION
Maybe you collect Volkswagen Vases, tea towels or have a collection of model cars that would make a small child cry. Whatever you collect that is VW related, send us a short story and some pictures and show everyone how dedicated (or obsessed) you are. Josh Handicott 39
MARCH 2016
MARCH 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 14
Wagensville
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