dune buggies and hotVWs January 2021

Most subscribers will receive this issue of hotVWs Magazine around Thanksgiving or early December 2020. However, our magazine production calendar is a couple of months ahead – what you have in hands is already the January 2021 issue. Since I became the editor of hotVWs Magazine (as OCI Media took over ownership in April 2017), we have produced 44 issues. HotVWs Magazine is now starting its 54th year, carrying over a long tradition. It’s been said many times before: We would have never made it without the loyal support of our readers, proud Volkswagen owners, advertisers, and all our fans. Thank you again for your continuous encouragement. For most our VW friends here, I am pretty sure 2020 has been the strangest year ever. Last March, the Coronavirus affected the entire…

Recently, while trolling Facebook, I came across a photo of a VW. Obviously, this is not the first time this has happened and it probably won’t be the last, but it was one that made me laugh out loud and to be immediately thankful for being a part of the VW community. A recent VW group to pop up on Facebook that has been entertaining to me is “Ruined VWs – Purists not allowed”. At the time of this writing, they have grown to just under 1000 members, but already I love where it is going. I may catch some flack for this, but I have found that the guys that think outside the box, when it comes to modifying their cars, are the most fun to hang around. This…

12-Volt Power! Hi Jon, I am converting my Oval Window from 6 to 12 volts and hope you can help… Is there any way to convert my current 6-volt generator to 12 volts? I just found out that most 12V generators for VWs feature a larger diameter and won’t fit my 36hp engine case. I heard that Porsche 356s had a same diameter 12V generator, but I couldn’t find any. I was hoping not to spend a fortune to achieve my goal. Thanks! Mystery Name Hi Mystery Name, I’m afraid that you are going to have to throw some money at this issue if you want that original 36HP look. Yes, a Porsche 356 generator is the correct thing that will fit and look the way you want; but if you find one,…

Why is it your clutch cable always has to break as you come up to a Busy intersection? You all know what I’m talking about. In this article I would like to talk you through how to replace one. Now Bugs, Ghias, Type 3 and Things are all the same. Buses are different. So, let’s get to it. This is how you go about it on everything but a Bus. First thing is to jack up the car and get some jack stands under it. If you’re along the side of the road, use anything you can to block up the car. Don’t crawl under it without some kind of safety in case the jack slips, especially if you’re using the stock jack. Find the cable, it’s on the driver’s side…

You see less and less Bugs in everyday life in Germany, but they still exist. And sometimes, good friends – but non-VW people – give you a hint that they have seen an “old Beetle” for sale, which you may be interested in. When you ask for details, they usually can’t help with useful information. But “it is really old”, they say – old in the mind of “normal-people-old”. Something like 1976. If you’re lucky. Mostly, however, built in 1984, 1995 or something along these lines. Of course, for people who have nothing to do with air-cooled Volkswagens, that’s pretty old. But not for many VW fans. For them, an old Beetle’s year of manufacture needed to start with a 4 or a 5. Maybe one from the ’60s, too. But…

What is up with these old Buses? I noticed various stickers – bumper stickers for instance – that people put on their cars. When the sticker shows a vehicle, it is a different make than the car which it is on; but that sticker almost always revolves around a Bus (and you can bet the car it is on is some boring modern model). Maybe they are dreaming that someday they will experience the bliss of driving a Bus, or they just like a cool looking sticker of the coolest car ever. It’s not just stickers on random cars; Type 2s are seen on billboards. However, they do not advertise the Bus, but other things, like a country music concert. We see them in magazine ads, in commercials, and on countless…