Table of contents for Issue 139 in VWt

HELLO, I’M NEW HERE (SORT OF) Hello and a warm welcome to edition 139 of VWt magazine. It’s my first issue in the hot seat and as padded buttock supports go, former editor Glenn‘s certainly left it nice and roasty. You did a cracking job, mate, and you’ve left big boots to fill. Anyway, as Glenn mentioned last time, I’ve been getting my hands grubby fiddling with Volkswagens for as long as I can remember. Like my dad and older brother, I’ve owned a whole fleet of Beetles and Buses as well as a Type 3 Variant and a couple of Karmann Ghias. I got my first water-cooled T3 about 20 years ago before moving on to T5s. I even wrote about those for VWt magazine at the time, telling…

One of the most fascinating things about Transporter ownership is the route into it. It’s a testament to the versatility of VW’s ‘box on wheels’ that almost every story is unique. The one thing that connects most owners is the line ‘I’ve always wanted one.’ We say most as, for Lee Dodson that wasn’t necessarily the case. He told us, “I was racing motorbikes in the No Limits race series. I was getting sick of lugging all my gear into a Caddy Maxi and decided I needed a bigger van. My mate, Rav Milburn whom I met through racing told me about a VW Transporter that his friend had, just sitting on a drive and never being used due to the guy having a work van instead.” Lee immediately followed…

When Volkswagen introduced the first all-wheel drive models to the Transporter family in 1985 with the T3 (Type 25) Syncro, nobody could have predicted the success and staying power of these rugged machines. Fast forward to 2010 and through the forthcoming T5.1, VW celebrated 25 years of all-wheel drive (4motion) by introducing a special model called Edition 25. Based on the SE specification Caravelle, it had distinguishing features such as a matt black roof and black 18in alloys. The sills and tailgate received black detailing along with a unique Edition 25 logo. Inside, the seven two-tone leather seats were luxurious and, in the rear, could rotate to create a lounge environment. Electric sliding doors, voice-activated sat nav and parking sensors were among some of the other goodies included at Hannover.…

A good five years ago, Carl Prosser decided he wanted to tick off the original paint Split Bus box on his vehicle bucket list and began looking for a suitable candidate. He wanted a project, something original that hadn’t been messed around with too much and despite some obvious signs of rust, this 1960 Mango green and Seagull grey Standard Microbus ticked the right boxes. “I knew it needed the bottom six inches replaced when I bought it,” says Carl, but the one-owner provenance, as well as the fact that it was still just as the factory intended with its original three rows of seats, meant that he just had to have it. The front half of the Van was heavily loaded with metal repairs, so it’s just as well…

Adventuring and shared good times have been wrapped up in the mystique of Volkswagen’s Vans right from the very start. When the company launched the amazingly versatile Type 2 back in 1967, their marketing materials ran with the slogan: ‘Next time you go for a drive in the country, don’t come back until Monday morning,’ and it was a notion which resonated strongly with enthusiasts, families, businesses and everyday folk across the globe. The alluring sense of adventure, combined with the baked-in dependability of the VW brand. The advert copy continued: ‘The rear-mounted engine gets you through snow, sand and mud.’ This really was a go-anywhere prospect for an intrepid generation. Get out there and see some stuff. Make some memories. When the Type 2 T3 (or T25) launched in…

PRACTICALLY PERFECT Are you in need of a bike storage solution for your Transporter? Ovano, the original innovators behind multifunctional bed, bulkhead and storage systems for VW vans, have introduced a retrofit Bike Bar for both their Narrow and XL Switches. The Bike Bar is designed to secure two mountain bikes or road bikes with the front wheel removed. With adjustable brackets, it can accommodate bikes of various sizes with ease. Installation is simple, allowing for quick attachment and detachment in seconds. When not in use, the bar conveniently fits inside the Switch drawer. Crafted from Ovano’s signature black phenolic birch ply, its minimalistic design seamlessly integrates with the Switch. Best of all, the Switch’s original functionality remains intact; even when storing bikes in bed mode, the drawer remains accessible,…

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” sang John Lennon to son, Sean, many years after American writer, Allen Saunders had written the mantra in a more encompassing ‘us’ and we’ format. It’s something that’s true for the majority of people on the good planet earth. Sometimes it’s subtle, and sometimes it’s a skiing accident that leaves you requiring surgery. For Nick Gordon it was most certainly the later. “I was immensely career orientated since graduating from Sheffield University,” he told us. “In 2008 I married Sabrina and we have two children, Archie and Elsa.” He continues, “I have always worked in the automotive industry for some well-known brands and cars and motorbikes have always been a huge part of my life.” Things began to…

If you want to beat the crowds and enjoy the offseason, then the winter months can be a great time to get away for the weekend in your Van. That said, you need to do some donkeywork beforehand to avoid it being chilly and miserable. To begin with, there’s nothing worse than feeling cold before you’ve even got anyway so ensure your Van’s heating is putting out some warmth. Start by checking for blocked heater matrixes, duff fan heater resistors, faulty fans and low coolant levels. SEALING THE DEAL Older Vans can have lots of draughts, but it’s not great having cold air blasting in through worn or badly fitting door seals. Replacement seals are readily available, so there’s no reason to endure a wintery breeze inside your Van. Go…

ROAD TRIP Retired Army officer Guy Deacon has Parkinson’s. He’s been living with the disorder for over a decade and he’d made it his mission to drive from Edinburgh to Cape Town in his VW Transporter. Why? Firstly, because he wanted to prove someone with Parkinson’s could. But more importantly, he wanted to highlight the plight of people with the progressive nervous system disorder across Africa and the stigma they face on a daily basis, and thus promote a better understanding of the condition. The last time we caught up with him, he’d abandoned his T5.1 California 4Motion in Sierra-Leone. Covid had hit the African Continent big time and he’d been repatriated by the British Embassy who’d instructed him to wait it out until it had blown over. At that…

Eastbourne is at the easternmost end of the South Downs National Park, where rolling chalk downland meets the sea. If you like hiking or cycling or simply admiring the dramatic coastal scenery, for a weekend away in your Van, the location is hard to beat. Why not walk or cycle the South Down’s Way – the route stretches for 90 miles between Eastbourne and Winchester, taking in picturesque villages and stunning views along the way. Incidentally, the grassy 162m summit of the world-famous Beachy Head, with its precipitous chalk face and red-and-white striped lighthouse at its foot, is less than an hour’s hike from the pebbly beaches of this Victorian seaside resort.…

CAROL SPENCER’S 2021 CRAFTER HIGHLINE Hey VWt, I’d like to share my Van with you. It’s a front-wheel drive 140bhp medium wheelbase Crafter which I bought new in January 2021. We chose this as it has more internal height than the rear-wheel drive version, 4in more in fact! It came with rear barn door glass fitted so we only had to cut out the side windows. We did all the work of converting the Van ourselves, on the driveway (the Crafter wont fit into our garage!) Our previous camper was a T5.1 and while I still love it to bits it was simply too small for a family of two adults and a teenager for camping comfortably and we just seem to travel with a lot of gear. The most…