Table of contents for Issue 131 in VWt

SHOW BUSINESS... Hello and welcome to issue 131 of VWt magazine. You may have noticed we’ve gone a bit bigger in the pages department this month, and that’s because this issue is our show season special. A kind of what’s hot and happening for the year ahead. We take a look at what killer mods you need to build a show winning van, the freshest wheels of the year and we also check out some awesome drive-away awnings for any budget. And, if you’re a bit brassic, thanks to your money pit - or the fact you need to remortgage your house to pay for energy bills - you can check out our ‘50 Nifty Mods For Under £50(ish) feature. Proving you can still make some magnificent mods to your…

HOT VANS The title of this feature could well have been ‘Evolution of Van’ as Toz took the similarly long and winding road that many do when it comes to their van ownership history, starting many, many years ago with a Bay Window Devon conversion and working his way through another six vans before he bought this VR6 ‘velle nine years ago. Nine years is a very long time for most when it comes to van ownership – plenty of our readers and feature peeps might get through ten plus vans in that time! But not Toz; he’s found a van that he loves – after plenty of practice – and he has no plans to ever wave it a tearful farewell. He hadn’t really planned to sell the last…

HOT VANS Against all odds, Dale Bufton has managed to create a magazine-worthy ride. His strong desire to modify his van has been met with resistance at almost every turn. It has come in many forms, not just from the 2005 T5 itself! Lesser beings may have quit before now, but Dale’s persistence has paid off. Is he mad? Is he stubborn? Is he simply a guy who knows what he wants and gets after it? We’re just here to talk about campers, we’ll let you decide the rest! There’s a familiar beginning to this particular story. Man buys van for work. Man has a penchant for modified cars. Man does one thing to van, and it gets out of hand. We can see one or two of you nodding…

HOT VANS With countless Transporters around the globe already sporting ABT Sportsline’s beautifully crafted exterior styling upgrades, you’d be forgiven for not paying too much attention to the firm’s recently launched XNH model here. Just another body-kitted T6.1, right? No, actually – far from it. The XNH (Explore New Horizons) is in fact the Bavarian company’s first foray into offering a complete camper van experience, encapsulating its rich 125-year history to ensure this is undoubtedly one of the most sumptuous ways of bringing the great outdoors to your doorstep. We probably don’t need to remind you that ABT Sportsline is the world’s largest tuning provider for vehicles from the VW Audi-Group, producing range-topping styling parts and performance upgrades that are often developed alongside the manufacturers themselves. The firm was also…

HOT VANS Most of us have somebody we can point the finger at to blame for our obsession with Volkswagens and the subsequent vacuum of money in the bank. For Jordan Emery, owner of this super clean 2015 T5.1, it’s his Uncle Bretty. “Yeah, it’s totally his fault,” laughs Jordan. “He got me into the scene as he’s always been into air-cooled owning Splits, Bays and Beetles, even though he’s a T5 man now. Growing up we were forever going to Cornwall on holiday. The number of vans you see around there is crazy! He took me to quite a few VW shows and when I was 17, I just knew I had to get a van.” Jordan’s first foray was a diesel T3 (Type 25) from 1985. “Most of…

CAMPER GLASS FLUSH SLIDING WINDOWS The wait is finally over, that’s right after four years in the making the Camper Glass flush sliding window is finally here. Why so long? Well, let’s just say these guys truly put the R&D into research and development, and that these windows have been tested, tested again and then tested some more to ensure they’re the best offering on the market. These glazed beauties boast OEM level design and manufacturing, a front opening flush sliding window (like OEM VW factory fitted windows) and the mid-section safety latch closes and locks when shut. They boast privacy tinted glass – that’s stained glass not a flimsy film tint that can be scratched off or deteriorate - with tempered safety glass that is E marked for safety…

HOT VANS I’ve probably mentioned a few times over the years that I’m a bit of an imposter; I began my VW life age 16 in the air-cooled scene and never left. I’ve owned tons of water-cooled VWs and later Transporters too over the years, but I usually get my kicks from kickin’ it old school with a Bay Window. Writing for this mag over the last six years though, there have been plenty of vans that would tempt me into modernity. This is one of those vehicles. I remember being on a campsite near Mont St. Michel in France about 10 years ago; I’d spent weeks putting a Split Screen Bus back on the road that’d been in a New Mexico junkyard for 40 years, just so I could…

Let’s be honest, one of the best ways to build a show winning van is with a big ol’ pot of cash. Problem is in these tight times not everyone has huge sums of money to throw about. You may think all is lost, but you would be surprised how much you can do on a sensible budget, so we’ve picked out 50 nifty mods that you can do at home for around £50-ish or less. That’s some credit crunch van modifying in the garage right there! 1. DE-BADGE One of the simplest tricks and it costs nothing, take a few of those badges off and your van will be looking smoother than a shaved dolphin. 2. GEARKNOB You spend a lot of time with your knob in your hand,…

I’ve been tinkering with and modifying vehicles since I was a 17-year-old, so that’s 20 plus years now (and then some! – G). I’ve swapped engines, fitted countless air bags, painted them colours that many would think not wise – I’m talking metallic poo brown with a cream engine bay – and even had to help drill holes in the roof of a colleagues Nissan R32 Skyline. That was to fit some flashing Japanese police lights to a replica Tokyo highway pursuit police car we were building for the Gumball 3000 Rally, as you do. But, despite all of this, nothing quite prepared me for the thought of a person/s I’ve never met cutting a substantially large hole in my van’s roof. Yep, that’s correct, it’s pop-top time. Probably one…

WICKED WHEELS There are plenty of alloy wheels out there, and very nice they are too. However, to stand out in the crowd you need to take it to the next level... FORGED WHEELS There’s no getting away from it – forged wheels are expensive. There’s a good reason for that though, the process is what you might call a little ‘involved.’ A forged wheel will start life as a solid block of metal referred to as a ‘billet.’ This will undergo extensive heat and pressure treatment making the metal less porous than cast wheels improving strength, durability and resistance to corrosion. With this process, the same structural integrity of a cast wheel can be achieved using a lot less material and this means they can be up to 30-percent…

APRIL 7th - 9thCARRY ON CAMP OUT 5South of England Showground, Haywards Heath,West Sussex, RH17 6THwww.carryoncampout.co.uk 13th - 16thVEE DUB FAMILY BIRTHDAY WEEKENDERCoast Rd, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 2RBwww.veedubfamily.org 21st – 23rd AprilALIVE & KICKINHaughley Park, Suffolk, IP14 3JUwww.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk 23rdGTI FESTIVALSanta Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants,NN29 7XAwww.gtifestival.com 28th – 1st (May)VW CAMP OUTBudle Bay, Nothumberlandwww.vwcampout.uk 28th – 1st (May)THE ONLY MEET IS ESSEXThe Orsett Showground, Essex RM16 3JUwww.vw-tomie.co.uk MAY 4th – 7thDERBYSHIRE DUBS VW FESTIVALWardlow, Derbyshire, SK17 8RWwww.derbyshiredubs.co.uk 5th – 7thVANWESTTaunton Racecourse, Taunton, Somerset, TA3 7BLwww.vanwest.co.uk 5th – 7thVANLIFE FEST Scampston Hall, Malton, North Yorkshire, YO17 8NGwww.vanlifefest.co.uk 7thEARLY EDITIONSywell Aerodrome, Northampton, NN6 0BNwww.edition38.com 12th – 14thGLAMPFESTMarket Flat Lane, Knaresborough, Yorkshire, HG5 9JAwww.glampfest.com 19th – 21stVW BREAKOUTSanta Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants,NN29 7XAwww.santapod.co.uk 21stCRUISE TO THE PROMBeach Road, Beach Lawns, Weston super Marewww.veedubfamily.org 25th –…