Sommaire pour Issue 102 de VWt

Although this issue may carry a March 2021 cover date, this is officially the first issue fully put together in the New Year. I was looking forward to saying a big goodbye to 2020, mainly in the form of a middle finger and looking forward to a very different and more prosperous year ahead. However, as I write this it’s the day after the announcements of the latest lockdown and I’ve just had the news that the Volksworld show has been postponed until 2022. It seems 2021 didn’t get the ‘New Year new me’ memo and we’ll be heading into another challenging period for everyone. At least I’m lucky enough to do a job I love and one I can do from home, so I can’t grumble. But fear not,…

GOING FOR GOLD The T6.1 has been awarded the coveted Euro NCAP gold medal. The NCAP consortium, made up of European transport ministries, automobile clubs, insurers’ associations and research institutes tested the safety of 19 light commercial vehicles, with the tests focusing on the availability and function of the active safety systems. Following extensive testing, NCAP concluded: “The Transporter offers consumers the option to buy a wide range of good-performing safety features and earns a gold medal in Euro NCAP’s tests. The Transporter sets the bar for commercial vans in 2021.” The T6.1 offers a wide choice of driver assist systems. These range from Lane Assist and Front Assist with City Emergency Braking function all the way to Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with speed limiter. No wonder it took home…

JVC KW-M565DBT This full-fat, 6.8-inch LCD touchscreen unit comes fully loaded with everything you need for our modern world. It includes Bluetooth, DAB+ radio, Android Auto, Apple Car Play, screen mirroring (with touch control) for Android devices, and even an extra special 1.5amp rapid charge socket for your smartphone. Being from a world-renowned brand like JVC there’s a good few audiophile pleasers chucked in there, too. All the clever, infinitely tinkerable stuff like a 13-band EQ, three 2-volt pre-outs and special AV and Cam inputs for all those external 21st Century essentials, like extra screens and reversing cameras. Of course, we’re big fans of all this user-friendly electronic wizardry. But, what we love almost as much here, is simply the way it looks. And, that’s quite an important point because,…

This month I had originally planned to do a fair bit of work on the T6 ‘velle, but to be brutally honest it’s been too wet and too cold. Now that’s not me being a pussy, it’s the fact that I’ve invested in some wheel arch covers and side body mouldings etc to toughen up the T6’s exterior. But, if it’s too cold they’ll basically not stick and stay put. So instead I turned my attention to the T5.1. First on my list was a new battery, as the old one that came with the van had given up and, well I am not going anywhere without one. It’s funny, you don’t ever really think about your battery until it’s buggered, then all of sudden it’s the most import part…

Send us yours: Ever dreamed about seeing your van appear in the pages of VWt? Make that dream a reality! Simply e-mail a selection of good quality high-res images of your van to glenn.rowswell@kelsey.co.uk along with a full spec list and add the subject title ‘Your Vans’. But please remember, if you didn’t take the photos, you MUST have permission from the photographer to use the images in the magazine, and all images should be free from watermarks (by submitting an image you assume responsibility for any copyright infringement). So, what are you waiting for? Let’s see those project builds! SCOTT HAWKEY’S 2010 T5.1 T30, Northamptonshire Hiya VWt, having a family of five plus a dog, we needed something in addition to the daily drivers to get us on our…

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should and showing restraint on a build is probably harder than allowing your imagination to run wild. In every successful relationship there is a balloon and a weight. Seriously. Look at the couples you know. If you’re in a relationship yourself, take a closer look at home. There will be a balloon - the one with the flighty ideas, and there will be a weight - the one who is literally more down to earth. The most successful relationships have a nice balance of the two. It appears, in the automotive sense at least, that Andy Stretton (head honcho at Transporter HQ) displays both aspects of this theory all on his own to perfection. Take a look at his last ride, bright yellow,…

IS THE ON HEAT Hi Glenn and VWt, I am really enjoying the magazine, I was lucky to have been gifted a subscription this year. In light of the colder weather I wanted to make other readers aware of a fairly simple upgrade that could make all the difference this winter. I’ve known for a while, or to be precise ever since I bought my first T5 in 2008, that some VWs have a Webasto or Eberspächer engine heater fitted. This little device kicks in when the temperature drops below around 5c and helps warm up the engine more quickly. It does this by burning diesel and circulating the coolant. What I didn’t find out until I upgraded to a 2016 T6 Caravelle recently, was that this engine heater can…

HEXA GRID GARAGE LIGHTING Is it just us, or are garages, sheds and man caves becoming more glamourous? Maybe it’s just one-upmanship or the fact that more and more industry experts, auto content creators and car collectors are opening their garage doors on YouTube and various social media networks. We mean, you only have to look up #coolgarages or #garagegoals on Insta to get some serious garage envy and we’re not just talking about the vehicle contents. Nope, we’re talking garage set ups and quite often what can only be described as garage porn and we don’t mean the old copies of Playboy you found hidden up in your old man’s tool cabinet. Aside for modular garage kits and posh ramps, one thing we’ve noticed a lot of recently is…

Most people think that it’s easy to modify a van. So many of the builds we see follow a set formula, that you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a simple matter of picking items off a parts menu and wheels out of a catalogue. Sure, this approach works for many and, let’s face it, there are so many wheel and suspension options on the market, that it is still possible to create something that looks fairly unique by using this tried and tested recipe. But, not everyone subscribes to this formula of picking parts out of a catalogue, or modifying everything, so that the finished product is a mere shadow of its formerself. There are lots of us out there who appreciate the finer points of Volkswagen design; call…

When I got the T5 it had around 200,000 miles and it was an ‘old builders van’. In fact, it still had some stuff in the back from the previous owner and it was dirty inside and out. There were definitely some signs of wear and tear, the steering wheel was one of those parts which had seen better days. The rubber wheel was breaking up in my hands and now being the Covid conscious germ freak I have become, it started to dawn on me just how dirty a steering wheel probably is. I used to visit a business that sold vans, I would photograph their stock for them and some of the vans were fresh from the auction house, I would photograph them before they could be cleaned.…

Own an awesome Transporter and want it featured in these very pages? We would love to see what you’re building! Please e-mail a selection of good quality images that show the exterior, interior and engine bay of your van to glenn.rowswell@kelsey.co.uk along with a full spec list and add the subject title ‘Feature me VWt’. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you and talk about the possibility of a VWt magazine feature shoot. So, what are you waiting for? Get snapping and show us what you’ve got!…

“With my racing background I’ve always been into modifying my cars ” For some of us, VW is a way of life. For others, it’s more of a hobby. 48-year-old Bristolian, Justin Warren’s motivation behind this smoother-than-a-tomato’s-arse T5 is a solid mixture of both. For a man who by his own admission, “isn’t really into road cars” he’s managed to build himself one killer road van at least. “I’ve been racing Autograss since I was 14-years-old,” he says. “My first car was a Mini Clubman 1275 GT that I used to compete in until I moved into a single seater space frame with a Hayabusa engine.” Just imagine tearing around sideways in something with acceleration akin to an F1 car and you’ve got the gist. It’s a bit of a…

NEW SHORE WATCH CO TRAILSEEKER We love a sexy time piece, but one made from wood? Yes really! This unique two-tone watch is made from ebony and zebra wood, meaning you can see each individual grain in the wood, making every watch a total one-off. Features include a black wood face with chrome NewShore Watch Co logo, and rear engraved logo on the back and clasp. It even comes with a branded bamboo case and link adjustment tool to ensure the perfect fit. Want! Price £80 www.newshorewatchco.com YPLAC BAD PARKING KIT Whether it’s a 4x4 taking up two spaces in the supermarket car park, or a car left on double yellows with two wheels up on the kerb, bad parking is antisocial at best and downright dangerous at worst. But…

So Colin is thinking of going Swamper with the T4, but what’s the appeal? Well, for many of us who’ve lived the lowered life, it’s a more practical approach to enjoying a camper to the fullest. No one can deny that pretty much everything looks better slammed, but when it comes to having a camper that can go anywhere without it feeling like blunt force trauma to the head, I’ll take raised over stock any day of the week. Rutted campsite track or unmade beach car park in a slammed van? Ideally no. Maybe it’s an age thing…but bumping up kerbs and negotiating a big dip pulling out of a petrol station without puckering up is something you can easily get used to!…

I’ve bandied around the idea of owning a coffee shop a lot over the years; what could be cooler than owning a Shoreditch style coffee shop? The smell of artisan roasted beans, coffee sacks, scaffold boards, distressed walls and mismatched industrial furniture. The thing is, as much as I love frequenting these places for an oat milk latte (I know, such a hipster), I’ve realised that it’s the experience of sitting and soaking up the vibe with a nice cup of coffee that appeals to me. Having watched more than a few Baristas go about their work, I’m pretty convinced I’d know how to put a fancy leaf on top of a flat white, or one of those patterns that look like a cock and balls, but I’ve also seen…

We love a good meet, there’s something very wholesome about meeting up with like-minded people and chatting all things Transporters. But, unfortunately this last year (for obvious reasons) there’s not been a lot of opportunity to hang out and chew the fat. So, when the guys from Low Intent said they’d be dropping into Caffeine & Machine for a little socially distanced get together during a break in the lockdown restrictions we knew it was worth a visit. We mean, c’mon! A place where you can check out modified vans, grab a bit to eat and a chai latte? That’s van heaven right there! Now, if you’ve not heard of the Low Intent guys, you can be excused, as they used to go under a previous guise. Low Intent’s Marcus…

When my buddy, Jolly Jim, mentioned that he wanted to drop his T6 panel van, my first thought was ‘awesome, let’s get this thing sitting in the weeds’. However, he was quick to add that he had some basic requirements, the first of which being that it couldn’t be ‘Knighty’s chop-shop low’ as he needed to use it for work on a daily basis. Work use in Jim’s world involves the occasional heavy load of building supplies and, more often than not, traversing building sites and bumping up kerbs (to stop at the chip shop etc) hence he was adamant that a static drop of maybe 60-70mm would be ideal. Now, it is possible to pick up relatively cheap spring kits that will achieve a reasonable drop, however, they don’t…