dune buggies and hotVWs July 2022

As of April 2022, our company OCI Media has reached its fifth anniversary, after taking over Dune Buggies and hotVWs Magazine’s operation. I just can’t get over how time flies. We have produced 63 issues since 2017. Of course, this is still a tiny part of the 55 years and 616 issues in the magazine’s history, but we are very proud to deliver our publication to both subscribers and newsstands without interruption. We want to thank you all for your strong support and encouragement. We would have never met this challenge and achieved such a benchmark without you. I am grateful for the fantastic support from our loyal subscribers and readers, our very special advertisers, our team, our talented contributors, and my dear family and friends. You kept us inspired, allowing…

As many of you know, my “day job” is running the website Oldbug.com and, as a result over the past 23 years of actively running the page, I have been following the VW market probably as close as anyone out there in the world. Multiple times daily, I am quizzed by someone that has an old VW that is wondering what it is worth. Over the years, I have been wrong as many times as I have been right, but in the end it’s not what I personally think, or what an owner wants for a car that sets the value… It is the buyer and what he actually forks over to make the deal that sets true value. Back in 2011, I had a gentleman come to me with a…

You have the fever and you want one of those cool looking Cal Look Bugs! You had a VW Bug in school when you were younger, but it was just stock – or a beater – and cheap to operate. Now you have a little money and the whole Volkswagen scene is cool in your view. Or maybe you’re in your 20s or 30s, making pretty good dough; you just want a cool ride and a Cal-Look Bug it is. Well, sit down and let me advise you/ First, what group do you like? Split Windows, Ovals or later bigger windows? This choice is critical if your idea is to find a stock car and do all the mods to your liking. Let me explain what I mean. First, there is…

Widen the Fan Shroud When using a stroker crank, wouldn’t you also need to widen the fan shroud? Tim Howell Texarkana, TX Yes, you are correct! You can build a “standard-width” stroker up to around 78mm by using the “B-type” pistons with shorter dimensions, but when you go longer than this, the engine gets wider. This is especially true when you consider the use of cylinder spacers and longer connecting rods. When folks started using the 36HP fan shrouds for a cooler look, they noted that there was a gap between the cylinder covers and the shroud. The fix for this was to either drop a spacer in there, or modify the cylinder covers by bending and welding the tin. Tim, let me tell you that this has been a constant annoyance to me over…

In the post-Barndoor years, Westfalia production really got going. From here on out, Westfalia would have multiple types of camper kits and options available within those kits. A person could buy a regular Deluxe Export model off their dealership floor; then whatever was the normal kit arrived via a regular dealer order. Or the customer could special order something and get a bit creative. Westfalia was a coachbuilder that was used to building things to customer’s specs. For instance: If you wanted a different kit, or your camper kit installed into a different model, or add to or take away parts of the kit, or choose your own color. In the mid ‘50s, there were not many color choices for Buses. Sure, there were special paint versions, but those were pretty…

It was a bit of a shock when I found out at the end of April that Dieter Schmidt-Lorenz was closing the doors of his world-famous parts store forever. The merchant from Hamburg has decided to retire after more than 34 years and now – at the age of 60 – enjoys his well-deserved retirement. I first heard about Dieter and his company of the same name in the early ’90s. Even then he had the reputation of only supplying the best goods and his main focus was always on NOS parts. Wherever possible, he bought up stocks from VW dealers who, 30 years ago, were happy to finally get rid of the old Bug, Bus, Ghia and Type 3 components. What should they do with the useless stuff? After all,…