Table of contents for Issue 119 in VWt

Hello and welcome to issue 119 of VWt magazine. The next few months are some of the most exciting of the year, not just because we get to hit the shows again, but because it’s the time fresh projects come out to play after their winter builds and new trends are born. It could be a hot new must-have mod, the re-emergence of certain colour palettes, a new style - like we’ve witnessed with the Swamper movement - or even a combination of them all. Quite often it’s these pioneering builds and styles that will now dominate and influence our scene for the coming calendar year. Obviously, trends come and go, and this year’s trends can soon become next year’s trash. But one thing that never goes out of style…

Usually the arrival of another child can somewhat change a man’s motor collection, often for the worse. However, I think the change of circumstances did Dean a favour. There’s no denying that his previous Kombi was pretty cool - it’s now owned by his brother Lee, who’s put his own stamp on it - but it’s this badass OEM+ Caravelle that really floats my boat. I always think that when a car or van is modified but still looks like it could have been conceived by the manufacturer, it’s the absolute best of all worlds, retaining a quality look and feel, without being cheapened by the modifications. Anyone can build or customise a car; millions of people try every year and, in their minds, they are very successful. However, for…

SWATCH MISSION TO MERCURY WATCH With its intense deep grey colour and metallic grey velcro strap, this Mission to Mercury Swatch watch is light years ahead of the game. The dial carries the OMEGA X SWATCH branding, as well as the iconic Speedmaster and new MoonSwatch logo. The sharp and smooth lugs construction, the iconic ‘dot over 90’ detail on the tachometer scaled bezel, and the unique Bioceramic touch are stand out details for those passionate lovers of the little things All hours, minutes, chronograph seconds hands and hour markers sport the famous superluminova for a perfect go and glow in the dark timepiece. Price £207 www.swatch.com ROTHFINK WORKSHOP TEE Those cool cats over Rothfink have just released this awesome new ‘Workshop’ design just intime for summer. It’s 100% organic…

Brown may make you think of all-things sweet and chocolatey, but it can be a bit of a Marmite colour choice. Chris Lister, the 42-year-old Lake District-based Mechanical Engineer and owner of this tasty Caddy explained that when he viewed the van back in November 2018 despite the low mileage and immaculate condition, he was the first to see it and it had been languishing in the classifieds for a good while. It seems that the Toffee Brown hue wasn’t popular with those wanting a small commercial. But, this Caddy story actually starts with a different example, a 1.6 TDI in white that was the big project prior to this one and was originally destined to be sprayed in Toffee Brown once the build was complete. Chris brings us up…

Usually in these ‘ere column inches you’ll find me waffling on about my bagged T5.1, as that’s the van that gets most of the exciting parts and presents, but that’s a van I only use occasionally and for shows as it’s just a bit of fun. The true hero in my garage - well on my driveway, as it won’t fit in the garage – is my families T6 Caravelle, as this is the one that gets used, abused and racks up the miles. This month it was time to spend some money on the workhorse, because she was due a trip to my local VW dealership for a major service. This included a full inspection, oil change, new oil filter, fuel filter and a new dust and pollen filter,…

MAY 20th – 22nd VW BREAKOUT Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants, NN29 7XA www.santapod.co.uk 26th – 30th DUBS IN THE MIDDLE Ashdown Farm, Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 7EN www.dubsinthemiddle.co.uk 27th – 29th VOLKSFLING Biggar Showfield, Biggar, South Lanarkshire, ML12 6PN www.volksfling.co.uk 29th CRUISE TO THE PROM Beach Road, Beach Lawns, Weston Super Mare www.veedubfamily.org JUNE 3rd – 5th VAN JAM 13 Lincolnshire Showground, Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln, LN2 2NA. www.vanjamboree.co.uk 9th – 12th DUBBED OUT VW FESTIVAL Ashley Hall, Ashley, Altrincham, WA14 3QA www.dubbedout.co.uk 10th – 12th VANLIFE FEST Scampston Hall, Malton, North Yorkshire, YO17 8NG www.vanlifefest.co.uk 9th – 12th ALIVE & V-DUBBIN Haughley Park, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 3JY www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk 10th – 12th BRISTOL VOLKFEST Birches Farm, Bristol, BS48 3RN www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk 17th – 19th MIGHTY DUB FEST Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, NE66 1NB www.mightydubfest.com…

What makes the mighty Transporter such an appealing proposition when kitted out as a camper van? Whether it’s their unrivalled versatility or the ability to provide home comforts at your fingertips as you explore the great outdoors, we’ll all have relatively similar stories in our path to ownership. With these vans acting as such a fantastic blank canvas to build up and create the perfect companion with, combined with the recent Covid-fuelled ‘staycation’ boom, it helps to explain why there are currently more aftermarket camper conversion options available to you right now than ever before. Unless you’re getting your camper directly from the VW dealership forecourt, however, knowing exactly what sort of conversion you’re going to get can be something of a minefield. Thankfully, there’s a new outfit on the…

TRANSPORTER HQ EXPOSED Ever wondered what goes into a magazine photoshoot? Then get yourself over to YouTube, where the crew at Transporter HQ have released a great exposé on the recent shoot of their ‘Practically Perfect’ T6.1 4Motion Kombi cover van. You’ll see behind the scenes at THQ, you’ll get to hear Andy’s dreamy dulcet tones and you’ll also get to see why you shouldn’t fill a Crafter with boulders and then drive it over a wet boggy field. Simply search ‘The making of this month’s VWt magazine’ or go straight to www.youtube.com/transporterhq HERITAGE MEETS ARE BACK After a 2-year hiatus the yard at Heritage Parts Centre in West Sussex will once more be jam packed with Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles as their ever-popular Heretics meets make a return. Big…

We know the reach of VW is far ranging. From one-man bands to families of six, the Transporter delivers something unique for everyone. Today our spotlight turns on Graeme Milligan, a solid Ford guy having restored a Mk1 Escort Mexico back in the day and owned an RS2000 of similar vintage. You might have thought a Transit would be more his thing, but no. For as long as he can remember, it’s always been VW when it comes to vans. He had a brief dalliance with a Bay Window that his son ended up driving around but when it finally came down to it, he bagged himself a T5. Graeme told us: “When I first started looking for one, my uncle sadly passed away. Not long after that, I lost…

As I write this it’s the week after the Volks World show and you know what? I still haven’t come down from cloud 9! It was an outstanding weekend and the kind of show that makes you realise why you ‘invest’ so much money and time into something that many people just don’t get. And I am fine with that, because it makes it all the more special for the likes of us that do get it, right? There was a real sense of anticipation leading up to this year’s Sandown Park spectacular, celebrating the essence of everything VW. With the disappointment of cancelled and rescheduled shows behind us, the finest cars were selected, clubs and traders invited and it was just a case of waiting excitedly for it all…

I properly shot myself in the foot when I wrote the feature on Dean’s Caravelle (see pages 22-28). I mentioned that I can see why he sold the van you see here to his brother Lee, so smitten was I with Dean’s cool green number. But as T4s go, Lee’s is an incredibly cool van too, with a lot of the similar OEM+ mods, to the point that you could be forgiven for thinking that the two vans were built by the same person…but they weren’t. You see, although Dean sold the van to Lee to buy the Caravelle, it didn’t look anything like it does now when it changed hands. As you can see, the build progressed along similar lines, with a few shared parts to boot. Steering wheels,…

It always seems to be the way, I spend some cash on doing the right things for a vehicle and then it comes back to bite me. For some unknown reason the van died whilst on the motorway. It just cut out and stopped dead, a few hundred meters before a service station, of course! I’m starting to think my AA membership is the best money I’ve ever spent. Anyway, it wasn’t too long, and I was back at a friend’s garage looking over it. There wasn’t a great deal of interesting info logged on the van, but it was showing the DPF was blocked, and it wasn’t idling right so we headed to Avon Auto Clinic who specialise in this sort of thing. They got everything sorted and it…

VB Airsuspension’s air suspension systems have been known to be of amazing quality for some time. But recently, they’ve even piqued the interest of VW itself, who has deemed the gear so good that it is now officially approved by the manufacturer, making it a warranty-friendly option when installed at an approved dealer such as Norvan. The system on this particular van boasts auto levelling, meaning ride height is constantly monitored to ensure the vehicle keeps level even when fully laden and taken sharp corners. Combined with unlimited ride height options, it’s no wonder it’s the go-to choice for the majority of Norvan’s customers!…

VARIETY SHOW Hi VWt, Sometimes I feel the world is too full of negative Nigels, who only ever pipe up when they want to have a whinge. I want to be a positive Percy however and say top work on the last issue, that’s what you call an eclectic bunch of vans. From the Practically Perfect THQ T6.1 to that bonkers Monkey Design T6 with a spoiler which means the barn doors can’t open, which is as equally insane as that exhaust. What has that fella been smoking? Brilliant! Roger Wooley via email VWt: Hey Roger, thanks we do our best to feature plenty of variety. But issue 118 was certainly up there! ON TOUR Hey VWt, I thought I would send in a few photos from a recent NC500…

There’s something about the early Caravelle, Multivan and California fabrics that didn’t seem particularly cool a few years ago; everyone seemed to want later T4s with the later fabrics. Now that most of them have disappeared though, the rareness of these earlier vans in nice shape alone makes them a cool sight to behold whenever you do see one. If you’ve ever tried to find fabric for an early T4 though you’ll quickly figure out that these fabrics are pretty much unobtainable, unless you get lucky and find an original passenger seat with nice original fabric, so you can use it for reupholstering. Dean’s front seats were pretty threadbare, but 12 months of looking eventually led to finding a contact in Germany who searched and found the last 4 metres…

VIBE AUDIO 8-INCH TRANSPORTER BASS PACK Is your Transporter lacking in the bass department or in need of some more boom-boom in the room-room? It’s your lucky day then, as VIBE Audio have developed a completely custom bass solution to suit the T5 plus range. If you own a T5, T5.1, T6 or T6.1 this beautifully designed built enclosure fits snugly under the driver’s seat for some proper stealthy bass enhancement. Yep, you can sit on 8-inches and you won’t even feel a thing... until the bass kicks in that is! The Transporter bass pack features VIBE Audio’s new SLICK8D2 8-inch subwoofer which delivers wonderful accurate and deep bass, paired with their custom designed bass enclosure. The hand built in the UK bass enclosure fits perfectly into the Transporter seat…

VWt: Hey guys, thanks for taking some time out of your busy filming and building schedule to chat with us. So, who are the guys behind Full Metal Junkies? Jim: So, there’s five main characters. Shred and Butta was started back in 2012 by me and a friend. Ben was there at the time and has been with us pretty much throughout all the trials and tribulations of the business. Paul, he came along about 5/6 years ago and has loved every second since. We’ve also got Scott Penman, who’s unfortunately not here but is the, can I say ‘clown’ of the group. Jim: The lovable rogue then! He’s out doing a road tour, event work, he loves being out on the road doing his thing. And then, unfortunately other…

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! PAUL CHURCH’S 2006 T5, SURREY Hey VWt, I’ve been into VWs all my life and had several Bay Windows, a Splitty, two Beetles, six Golfs, a Polo, two Square Backs,…