Table of contents for Issue 167 - March 2026 in VWt

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW... Welcome to the March issue. We’re all gearing up for The VolksWorld Show here at VWt Towers. With the successful move from the Sandown Park Racecourse to a bigger and much better venue at The South of England Showground in West Sussex last year, the 2026 event on 22 March promises to be even more of a hit. In fact, we’re expecting over 1200 display cars and 4000 visitors. Now, if you’ve got it in your head the show is purely for air-cooled VWs, then you’re way off the mark because this year the water-cooled van contingent is likely to be more prolific than ever. Indeed, we’ve already got a stack of the very best feature vans from 2025 entered for the VWt Paddock, so…

Despite the sometimes chilly weather (yes, it’s snowed once), The VolksWorld Show has long been seen as the traditional season opener; it’s a precursor if you like to the long summer of VW show shenanigans. Moreover, it provides inspiration and a useful kick up the behind to take our vans to the next level. And the good news is this year, as well as some of the most drooled over air-cooled veedubs on the planet, there will be even more of a water-cooled presence. The VWt Paddock, sponsored by Campervantastic, will provide a showcase for some of the best Transporters in the UK, while right next to it is the VWt Trade Zone, with Black Rhino proudly coming in as the VWt magazine Trade Zone Wheel Partner. Like in 2025,…

WOLFRACE EXPLORER SLOTMAG There’s a pretty good selection of swamper-style rims out there right now, but this new hoop from Wolfrace has really pricked our interest. It’s called the Explorer Slotmag and as well as unlocking the true off-road / swamper look, there’s also the neat option of adding a touch of colour at the same time. It’s available in a 8.0x17in sizing with a wide range of fitments, thanks to Wolfrace’s clever Complete Fitment Coverage. The quirky thing, apart from those funky ‘70s styled slots, is the fact you can choose from a range of different coloured centres to match your van or your particular style. The range available includes Full Matt Black, Army Green, Gunmetal and Matt Bronze. Oh, and these wheels boast a super strong load rating…

MARTIN HUBBOCKS Hi VWt, this is my Martini Racing inspired Reflex Silver T6. I’ve arrived late into the Transporter scene having only had this for just under two years. I’ve had modified hot hatches previously and ran a successful Hyundai N owner’s club in Scotland, but decided it was time for a fresh challenge. The car scene had been great for me personally, ending in a trip to South Korea with Hyundai in recognition of how well the group had developed. Whether it was a club run on the Scottish B roads or attending one of the many shows during the year, I loved the connection with the other owners who shared the same passion for driving as myself. However, I wanted the next move to provide something that I…

“All of my close friends are into the VW scene, so I thought I’d get myself a little project” There are project vans, and then there are the vans that take on a life of their own. The kind that begin as a casual idea, snowball into something unrecognisable and, before you know it, have swallowed years, money and countless late-night conversations about whether something could be done just a bit better. For 43-year-old property developer Wayne Hughes, his 2016 VW Transporter T6 started with the intention of being a ‘little project.’ But two years later, that innocent idea has morphed into one of the most outrageous, bespoke, high-end Transporters ever to grace these hallowed pages. FLEETING CHANCE Wayne lives in the quiet village of Pannal, Harrogate, but he’s originally…

Hi Steve, so tell us a bit about yourself – where did it all begin? Were you always into VWs and what was your first Transporter? I never actually had the campervan bug growing up, but I was always an avid traveller and explorer. I’ve hiked and camped in all sorts of places from charity treks in Alaska, Tanzania and Nepal to Interrailing and backpacking across Europe. I have also been lucky enough to enjoy lots of other holidays too. Once we had young children flying became more stressful and complicated but we were determined to show them the world but at our own pace and on our own terms. In 2006 I found myself at an unexpected turning point and had the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy. Instead of…

“I really didn’t want white, not on a Crafter, so we braved the snow to make the 400-mile round trip to buy it” If the name Martie Pinfold rings a bell, it’s no wonder because it was his killer blue T4 that graced the cover of our July 2024 issue. Yes, the one with a funky bar at the back. But shock horror, that’s since been sold – along with his 2011 T5.1 – to make way for this cool-looking Crafter. “We decided we needed a bigger van after a 10-day trip to Spain in the T5.1, so we starting looking at Crafters,” says Martie. He found this one for sale on AutoTrader. It was a partly converted ex-race van and had been resprayed in Range Rover SVR Velocity Blue…

Dorset’s Jurassic Coast earned its place as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its blend of historic landmarks and geographic features that are set within its wild and rugged landscapes. I have had the privilege to live here for most of my life, and over the last few years, I have come to know Dorset intimately through my passion for outdoor adventure. Every Friday evening, my partner Lucy and I can be found frantically preparing our 1997 T4 ‘Helm’s Deep’ for an action-packed weekend away. Gas for the stove, water, food, and then climbing gear, paddleboards, snorkels, wetsuits, swimwear, surfboards, and hiking boots would be packed into every remaining space. I often felt that our beloved van was less of a home and more of a mobile storage unit for…

“I knew that to make it usable for me, I needed to fit a bed, and to really put my stamp on it” “I’ve tried to keep it that ’90s Cal look with an OEM+ feel” The nineties are bang on-trend right now. Every indie band from Cast to Kula Shaker is back on the gigging circuit to scoop up some of those nostalgic pennies (did you manage to get Oasis tickets? Nope, me neither), because these things always go in circles. Never a follower of trends, I picked my look in the nineties (baggy band t-shirt, baggy Levi’s, skate shoes) and stuck with it, and now I’ve somehow accidentally become fashionable. It’s a shock to the system, I can tell you. Forget all these wannabes buying fresh new Nirvana…

Want some recognition for all the hard graft you’ve put into your van, or simply want to park it up alongside some of the best Transporters in the UK in the VWt Paddock? Well, here’s your chance. Simply send an email to ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk with some images and a short spec list and we’ll take a look. If you make the grade, you’ll get two adult and two child passes for the show as well as a camping pass if you want to make a weekend of it. So why not give it a go! Space is limited though, so get your entry in soon!…

“the factory Graphite Dust paintwork was perfect” “We pretty much custom build everything in-house which gives us the edge. It was still a massive ball-ache, though” Andrew Goodby’s a name that holds a fair bit of kudos in the Transporter scene. His firm, Dub Alchemy, has always been at the cutting edge of some of the community’s finest, boundary-pushing van creations. “I guess I’ve always had a drive to always be first or ahead with concept, design and production,” he says. “I set the company up as a solo builder on my drive in 2018. In 2019 I moved into a friend’s cowshed and made friends with ‘May’ the one-ton pig (sadly no longer with us). By 2020 I’d moved into a little unit where it all started to feel…

Do passengers in your Transporter complain if they have to sit in the front for a long trip, as it hurts their back? The standard double seating is very upright, and certainly if you are tall, then it’s not really the right angle – and unlike the driver’s seat it’s not adjustable, which seems a bit unfair. But what if I told you there was a cheap and easy way to improve that situation? Today we are going to fit the VanKraft T5/T6 double passenger folding seat bracket conversion. It’s been crash-tested and fits all vans from 2003 onwards and comes in a choice of recline angles – either 0 degrees, 5 or ten. We went for the 5 degree, which seems about right. Aside from a nicer travel experience…