Table of contents for Issue 145 in VWt

THE TALE OF THE £390 T5... Hello and welcome to June 2024’s edition of VWt. I know I’ve said it before, but I love hearing about your Vans. Every time an email lands in my inbox with photos attached, I get a tingle of anticipation wondering what’s in store when I click the preview button, be it a £100 rattle-can T4 or a spanking new T6.1 camper conversion. It reminds me on a daily basis how wonderfully eclectic the VW Transporter scene is right now. Anyone can get involved, at any age, with virtually any budget. Even if you haven’t got the readies for a T6.1, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy the same Vanlife experience in a more affordable T25 or T4 instead. Or for that matter, a…

Skyrocketing prices can put a lot of people off buying a VW Transporter these days. Yet, Roy Barber somehow grabbed this T5 for a bargain £390 and transformed it into this stunning, fully kitted out campervan for less than £5k! For sure, there are still some dirt-cheap vans around and even a few bargains containing some creature comforts to be had, if you look hard enough that is. Unfortunately, many of these tend to be not so desirable models that are most likely on their last legs. Yes, maybe you can pick up a 20-year-old Transit with a Mickey Mouse MoT and something loosely described as a bed in the back for £1500, but would you really want to spend a holiday in it? The chances of finding a more…

Just to recap, last time, after a measure up, we headed up to Teng Tools in Bedford to collect a bunch of its tools and tool boxes, so we could kit out the back of our Project Caddy and give it a real Race Support appearance. You’ll probably remember that we fitted a whopping tower unit inside the rear doors, and a lower level tool box in the centre of the Van to house the air tank, with another pair of tool boxes facing out of each sliding door. Basically, having done the head-scratching we ended up doinga great job of working out where everything was going and mounting everything in its desired place. This time, it was just a case of coating everything in grey carpet for an OEM…

Arjen Dalebout from Ede in the Netherlands spotted an ad for this ’71 Deluxe when it was still in California. It was about to be shipped to a trader in Belgium (aircooled.be) but he was so keen that he ended up collecting it from the docks at Antwerp as it arrived and took it straight home. Said Arjen: “It was solid but had been treated to a cheap paint job, plus all the trim and the interior were shot... oh, and the sunroof didn’t work!” However, it was the early Deluxe he had longed for, so he began the task of stripping it in readiness for some resto work. The front beam was removed, narrowed by an inch, fitted with adjusters and rebuilt with a pair of dropped spindles to…

EATING OUT “Leave out the bacon if you don’t eat meat, or add feta if you have it” This dish really couldn’t be easier. Spanish omelette’s perfect for first time campers, but tasty enough to become a regular lunch or dinner that everyone loves, and you can adjust the vegetables and herbs to suit what you like and is in season. Leave out the bacon if you don’t eat meat, or add feta if you have it. It’s also great with smoked salmon, or other cooked smoked fish and if you’ve got it to hand add some dill to the fish too – it takes it in another lovely direction. It works every time and it’s easy enough for children to do too. My chickens go into egg production overdrive…

HOT VANS Retro revivalism is Peter Jones’ modus operandi. He doesn’t shun the modern world – far from it. He’s simply a person who feels that today’s world is a better place with some older stuff in it. And we’re not talking about air-cooled shenanigans or spending all winter in a cold garage chipping away at the sills of a Split Screen Type 2; no, this is a nouveau-retro approach, winding back the clock around 15 years to the time of Wii Sports, Taylor Swift and Pointless. (Yes, we’re still sort of in that era, but only because the decades of the 21st century don’t appear to be earning their own distinct character like those of the 20th century did. Best not to dwell on it.) “I moved to Newquay,…

Devon & Cornwall VW Transporters (DCT) held their first meet of 2024 in Plymouth in January, with a gathering at the Burlington Way premises of Clarified Detailing, who have come on board as a new club sponsor. Clarified specialise in all manner of products to keep your van clean, as well as being a newly confirmed supplier of Navis wheels. The company already run a very tidy branded Caddy and shop manager Tony Britton-Daly is hoping to swap his air ride suspended Audi A5, for a Transporter in VW the near future. “I love my modified cars,” said Tony, “we already run a regular and increasingly popular ‘Mugs and Motors’ night, and so a van event seemed ideal.” DCT are a very vibrant club and organise meets from Penzance to…

IAN’S OLD T5 When writing buying guides, I’ve always banged on about the importance of taking your time to make sure everything works before sealing the deal on a used motor. The whole buying process is fuelled with high octane emotion, so it’s easy to get carried away and miss something that will kick you in the butt later on. That’s why I was annoyed with myself for spending strong money on a T5 only to find that the climate control wasn’t working. The sophisticated dual zone Climatronic was blowing ambient air, not chilled, and it was the fact it was chilly outside anyway that fooled me! Aware it was my bad, I was clinging on to the vague hope that it was simply a case of carrying out a…

MARK ROPER, 2018 T6 HIGHLINE Hi VWt, this is my second VW camper. I got the bug with a fully converted T5.1 and was hooked. I convinced my dad he needed a T6 Highline camper and chose the one I wanted, for him to buy! Sure enough, two months in he realised it wasn’t for him. So I grabbed myself a new van with family discount! The Van was converted to a good specification and with a few modifications I made it my own. I added the SuperMetal Rockets, a spoiler, side bars and a few other tasteful modifications. The paint lacked shine with a number of little issues, so a full spray later it gleamed. After a few camping trips, we discovered that the kitchen wasn’t very user friendly…

NEW CRAFTER SUSPENSION KITS Want to make your Crafter cool? Then it will need lowering, and that’s where expert campervan conversion specialists DCD Transporters come in because the Suffolk-based firm has just launched a spanking new suspension kit for the vehicle with a couple of different options to get just the right drop and ride dialled in. Said MD Darren DuRose: “We started doing lowering springs for the Crafter a couple of years ago and we’ve been refining the kit ever since. Luckily, I’ve been able to use my motorsport contacts and insider knowledge so we’re now able to offer a complete shock and spring package. As far as I know, we’re the only company doing a static suspension kit for the Crafter at the moment.” The kits include custom…

“Iwouldn’t call myself a VW enthusiast, but I am slowly getting there,” smiles 62-year-old Barry Scrase from Falfield, near Bristol. And given the fact that he’s just taken delivery of this killer T6.1 from Van Haven, we wouldn’t be surprised if that smile becomes something of a permanent fixture from now on. Local government project manager and qualified community youth worker Barry has been disabled since birth due to cerebral palsy, which impacts on his speech and fine motor movement and, since Covid, his mobility as well. Said Barry: “I can walk, but since Covid 19, lock down, and working from home, my walking has become less steady and more of an effort – hence the need for a mobility scooter to get out and about more. I am not…

Daily driver, surf bus, fun weekend plaything – there’s plenty of reasons why people love T4s. And if you like the idea of a ‘classic’ looking VW camper but want some of the mod cons of a T5/6, then the T4 is the less expensive but just as cool solution. Built at VW’s factory in Hannover, it was available in SWB or LWB and in different roof heights, with the range including a Panel Van, Eurovan, Kombi, Caravelle, single and double cab pickup and Syncro 4x4. You can obviously buy one that’s been converted into a camper, Westfalia being the name which has the most kudos. A facelift in 1996 introduced a longer, re-shaped nose to accommodate the optional VR6 lump; the short nose vehicles were known as T4a, the…

ANDREW’S T5.1 This was a job that was supposed to have been done four years ago as soon as I got the Van – I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really like the T5.1 front end and I didn’t like the blue colour! But I did like the price of the Van, the fact it was LWB and a Twin Slider. There is nothing like an editorial /show deadline to get things moving on a project. Despite having four years to get this done, it came down to one day for everything to be done. Sometimes I need a deadline to make things happen, although I’ve painted several vehicles with graffiti paint over the years, I thought the T5 would be a harder vehicle to paint because of so…

MAY 9th – 12thDERBYSHIRE DUBS VW FESTIVAL 2024 Seed Low Rake Camping, Wardlow, DerbyshireDerbyshiredubs.com 17th – 19thVW BREAKOUT Santa Pod RacewaySantapod.co.uk 23rd – 27thDUBS IN THE MIDDLE Badsey Road, Evesham, WorcestershireDubsinthemiddle.co.uk 24th – 27thRUN TO THE SUN Newquay, CornwallRtts.co.uk JUNE 2ndSTONOR VW Stonor Park, Henley on ThamesTheabvwc.wixsite.com 6th – 9thALIVE & V-DUBBIN Haughley Park, SuffolkAliveandvdubbin.co.uk 7th – 9thBRISTOL VOLKFEST Birches Farm, Bristol, BS48 3RNwww.bristolvolksfest.co.uk 22ndDRIVE YOUR VW TO WORK DAY Global 28th – 30thEUROPEAN BUG IN Chimay, BelgiumEuropeanbugin.com JULY 5th – 7thVANS IN THE VALLEY Grinton, Richmond, N YorksVansinthevalley.com 12th – 14th BUS & BUGFEST Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, IrelandClassicvolks.com 12th – 14thDORSET VOLKSFEST Wareham, DorsetDorsetvolkfest.co.uk 12th – 14thVOLKS WEALD Penshurst Place, PenshurstVolksweald.co.uk 18th – 21stDUBS AT THE CASTLE Caldicot Castle, MonmouthshireTicketorders.simpletix.com 19th – 21stBUSSFEST 2024 Topcamp Onsakervika, Oslo, NorwayNt2k.org 25th…

Own a super-tasty Transporter, Crafter or Multivan and want it featured in these very pages? Then show us what you’ve got! Please e-mail a good selection of images that show the exterior and interior of your van to ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk along with a spec list and add the subject title ‘Feature me VWt’. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you ASAP about the possibility of a full VWt magazine feature shoot. So, what are you waiting for? Get snapping and show us your van, we’d love to see it!…