Sommaire pour Issue 84 de VWt

In 2001, Matt Bellamy of alt-rock band, Muse, told Rocksound magazine that the song Plug in baby was about the fear of technology and the human race “abandoning all individuality, becoming a collective whole via cables, and genetically engineering bodies that can exist out in space, or the loss of individualism.” * However, I’m pretty sure he was really describing modern day motoring. When I started driving, fixing old cars was par for the course. Hence pretty much everyone I knew aged 17 picked up at least some mechanical skills. Being a classic VW guy, spanners were essential, but even a relatively modern car at that point, such as a Ford Escort Mk3 or a Vauxhall Astra, was within the realms of the home mechanic. All us have-a-go spannerists were…

Chrome Yellow T6s are like buses. Well, they are buses, or Vans as we like to call them here on VWt. You wait ages for one to turn up, then two arrive at the same time. By that I mean, having never actually seen one on the road, I have been tasked with writing features on two of them for the magazine, with only a small gap in between. Firstly, the Momo promo Van by Salop Vans in Issue 81, and now the screaming yella Van you see in front of you, which is James Ottewill at Van Haven’s take on the Transporter thing. What’s great about this, though, is it really shows just how different the approach taken by two companies can be to what are very similar vehicles,…

When we sat down to have a chat about Steve’s gorgeous T5.1 Highline you see before you, my first question was, ‘Have you owned any other interesting cars in the past?’ What followed was an unbelievable list of toys, which left me with my chin on the ground. Suffice to say, Jay Leno is possibly the only person on the planet that may have registered more vehicles in his name! Steve’s very conservative estimate was ‘hundreds, just hundreds’, and that’s pretty amazing when you consider he’s just a regular guy with a single lock-up garage. I’ve met millionaires with huge garages housing private collections of cars that pale into insignificance in comparison to Steve’s ‘street fleet’ of rad rides. As Steve casually rolled off a seemingly never-ending list of classics,…

Early last year we received some pictures of a ‘fresh from the oven’, one-owner, 2001 T4 with only 70,000 miles on the clock. It looked stunning in its original colour of Friesian Green, lacquered to within an inch of its life and all ready for a full Camper conversion. The email came from John Cox who, together with his dad Norman, runs J C Campers in Runcorn, Cheshire. We suggested he get back in touch when the conversion was done as we’d be interested in featuring it in the mag. He kept his side of the deal, and so now here’s ours. John (37) and his dad (65) founded J C Campers in 2011, though in fairness it pretty much formed itself from their previous car repair business. John: “My…

• Towin’ it This T4-based caravan is a work of art • Towin’ it 2 The coolest caravan on the campsite • Wingin’ it Spotted this wicked motorised VW Bug front wing at a show • Fingerin’ it How tight? Finger tight will do… • Parkin’ it Jolly Jim found out that scene parking ain’t as cheap as it used to be • Grillin’ it Bulk buy charcoal delivered to the door – must be show season • Stretchin’ it Spotted this extreme tyre stretch on the internet this month……

If you’ve yet to experience the mammoth VW Van gathering that is Busfest, then perhaps you need to make the effort to get involved this year! What started as a small event called Vanfest back in 1994, which was held at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, has grown to become the World’s largest international Bus-Festival event for owners, lovers and enthusiasts of Volkswagen Transporters. Held over 3 full days, Busfest typically attracts in excess of 8000 vehicles and 25000 visitors, plus 300+ trade stands – in short, Busfest covers everything and anything Transporter-related, to say the very least. Advance weekend camping tickets are £45 (and a 7x7 metre camping unit is £20) while day tickets cost £15 for Friday, £20 for Saturday and £15 for Sunday. Find out more…

›My name is Sam Weston, I’m 21 years old and this is my 2004 T30 TDi Transporter. The 1.9TDi motor has been re-mapped from 85 to 140bhp and I’ve fitted an aftermarket cone filter, the combination of which has really transformed the performance and made it a pleasure to drive. So far it’s had a full 2014 facelift kit installed (front and back), including a Sportline spoiler, and the rear barn doors have been smoothed and the light cut outs modified to accept LED tailgate-spec lights. Oh, and as you’ve probably spotted, it’s also been repainted in a custom-mix grey. The Van runs a custom-built set of air struts with one-piece top mounts (the only set I know of that exist) and the Firestone air bags on the rear have…

Sliding Doors. Not the one (or ones) on your Van, but the cheesy, late-’90’s movie with Gwyneth Paltrow. Movie references aside, I’m a big fan of that whole thing about paths crossing and how certain things would have worked out differently but for some small change. I suppose on a grander scale it might be known as the butterfly effect. Whatever it is, and however you choose look at it, it’s difficult to ignore. In this particular instance, the meandering life of a retired couple on a short break to the Isle of Wight in their recently acquired Bay Window triggered a chain of events that would lead a far-from-retired 39-year old, Dave Barnett, and his family to the wheel of this peach of a T5.1 Campervan. How? Simple really.…

Held at the beautiful Quex Park in Kent, not far from Margate, this event is the perfect family weekender, and then some. Steve ‘Mudman’ Brooker and his team go over and above to make everyone feel welcome, and there are none of those hi-vis jackets that look like they’d rather be anywhere but stood in a field full of VWs you see at other shows. This is where the Quex crew thrive, and it’s clear everyone involved is a true VW enthusiast and wants to be there. Also, there’s so much well-maintained space for clubs and Campers that nobody is penned in, or stuck in a rutted field. We heard numerous positive comments about not just the cleanliness of the toilets, but the number of ‘boxes’ on site. That might…

As I mentioned last month, Portree is a picturesque town on the Isle of Skye and, as our arrival there was roughly the mid-point of our trip, we had decided to splash out on a tasty seafood dinner to make the most of this wonderful place. While wild camping often isolates us from other campers, the free car park designated for caravans and Campervans in the centre of the town offered the ideal opportunity to immerse ourselves in a small community of like-minded people. On arrival, I noticed a shiny green T4 with its owners sat outside it enjoying a dinner they’d prepared on their slide-out cooker. Ella was very impressed by their Van, which was quite obviously in much better condition than mine, and had a stylish interior that…

“[lowered] for improved handling, rather than for looks” Let’s go out on a limb here. Not all Van builds are created equal. Never does this become more apparent than when you’re helping friends shop for a ready-converted Camper. Some of the workmanship I have witnessed on home and, dare I say it, even some professional builds, is enough to make you shudder. Not to mention downright dangerous at times. Obviously, when we’re putting this mag together, we give those kinds of build a swerve and attempt to bring you more inspirational, better built Vans. Which brings us to Luke Hutchinson’s that you see before you – the polar opposite to a cobbled together build. There are two different ways of viewing OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder to its friends. Either you…

God bless Glastonbury Dear VWt,In reference to Paul’s editorial column in the August ’19 issue regarding the shameful dumping of tents and plastics at music festivals, I wanted to respond in defence of Glasto’ this year. While I fully agree with the comments regarding plastic waste and the need to change attitudes of festival goers, I think Glasto’ really stands above some other festivals right now. During the festival, David Attenborough appeared on the Pyramid stage, where he praised the festival for its plastic-free drive and, with zero plastic bottles on site this year, things have really changed for the better. Also, Emily Eavis tweeted that 99.3% of the tents were packed up and removed from the campsite, which is pretty amazing, I’m sure you’ll agree. We certainly noticed that…

My name is Darrell Kemp and I run Dub Van Styling in Guildford, Surrey. I’ve always loved my VWs, my first being a Beetle that I bought when I was 16 and still own to this day (I’m now 46). I’ve also owned a Karmann Ghia, plus various Bays, Type 25s and Mk1 / Mk2 Golfs. Currently, my daily ride is a 2004 2.5 Kombi that does everything I need it to, from travelling to Germany to see family to filling it up with parts for my business. It just gets the job done. Anyway, I thought I’d send you some pictures of my latest Van before I have it signwritten. It’s a 2012 61 reg’ with 25k miles on the clock, which started life as a lease vehicle. Given…

August 01-04 Life’s a Beach #5 Mersea Island (on the beach), Essex www.facebook.com/ LifesaBeachFamilyCamping/ 01-04 Great Wonderfest Duxmore Farm, The Downs Road, Isle of Wight PO30 2NZ www.greatwonderfest.com 02-04 Kent VW Festival Coldred, Kent CT15 5AH (on the A2 near Dover) www.kentvwfestival.com 02-04 MK Volks Junkies Camp Out Emberton Country Park, Olney, Bucks MK46 5FJ www.mkvolksjunkies.com 04 Beach Dubbin’ Southsea Common, Portsmouth PO5 3AE www.beachdubbin.co.uk 04 Dubs at the Beach Paignton seafront, Devon www.dubsatthebeach.co.uk 04 VW Northwest (Tatton Park VW Show) Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN www.vwnw.co.uk 09-11 T3 Bus Meet Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Westonhall Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AL www.t3busmeet.com 09-11 VW Festival Harewood House, Leeds LS17 9LG www.vwfestival.co.uk 10 Dubs at DLWP…

There’s nothing lucky about a breakdown, unless it happens as you’re reversing onto your drive after a weekend away. Just 30 minutes earlier I had been in stop / start traffic through the Dartford tunnel, and shudder to think of the chaos a dead coachbuilt Camper could have caused back there. Anyway, I was home and had a pretty good idea what had just happened. A quick peek beneath the bonnet confirmed it was indeed a shifter issue as I could see the selector lever ‘ball’ was no longer sitting within the linkage clevis. The bush in the pivot / bracket had failed. This is the Achilles heel of the T4 gear selector system, but at least that means a three-piece bush kit is readily available, and costs less than…