Índice para January 2017 em VWt

“I was just about to go back out into the world and get ‘a proper job’,, I joined VWt as a full-time staff writer during the production of Issue 14. December 2013 if I remember rightly. I had been keeping tabs on the water-cooled Transporter scene by taking pictures of and writing features from Issue 2 onwards. Like almost everyone else in the office, I had also been doing some freelance work for Camper&Bus magazine, keeping my predecessor, James Peene, up to speed with the modern, water-pumping Vans I was finding myself increasingly drawn towards as the tide of popularity was rising. Truth be told, being offered the job on VWt was one of the best things that could have happened to me at that moment in time. My somewhat…

Pointless? Dear VWt, How utterly useless was last month’s cover Van? I honestly don’t see the point of building a pick-up that you can’t realistically put anything in the back of, but at the same time I doff my cap to the fellow who built it. There’s being different for the sake of being different, but craftsmanship like that makes me realise why we try and make our Commercial vehicles that little bit different to the next (wo)man. I’ve only had mine for a few months, having moved on from a Vauxhall Vivaro, and I had no idea there was such a huge variety of parts, upgrades and really nice people involved in making an old Van like my T4 better to live with. Hopefully, one day, once I’ve learnt…

I’ve been into VWs since the early ’90s and owned a string of air-cooled motors – four Beetles, two Early Bays and a Chesil Speedster. So when it came to persuading the missus that we needed a Campervan for holidaying with our two boys, Alex and Sam, and especially when Sidney the cavalier king charles spaniel came along, it had to be a VW. My pleas for a Barndoor Split Screen fell on deaf ears, and it was clear it needed to be a newer Van with all the mod cons. Finding the right Van wasn’t as easy as I thought. Searching for a low mileage, high spec auto’ for a decent price proved impossible. Finally, seeing four battered T5s going through the auction block for crazy money led me…

If you’ve never heard of it (difficult with social media being what it is these days) what does Dubtoberfest offer? A Bavarian-style beer festival aimed at Volkswagen owners, that’s what. As VW shows go, it has a different twist and promises an experience not easy to find elsewhere. If it’s a party atmosphere you’re after, this is the one for you. The build-up started on Friday afternoon with some music, which covered most tastes, including rockabilly, rock, pop and dance, and continued throughout the weekend. I can honestly say that this is one of the first shows I have been to where water and air cooled truly mixed without a ‘them’ and ‘us’ feel, and with both groups showing mutual respect for one another’s rides. This was even more apparent…

“we’d advise leaving the 230V side of things to someone who is used to dealing with twin and earth” The main reason for having a split charge system in my Van was to power a pair of amplifiers for the audio system I have in mind. Overkill perhaps, but it means I will be able to play music when I’m away in the Van with the engine off without worrying about the starter battery going flat. The Durite 140amp voltage sensitive relay (VSR) cuts in at 13.3V and cuts out again at 12.65V, so there’s no chance of draining your main battery. And thanks to its voltage sensitive nature, there’s no need to run extra cables to your alternator. The secondary leisure battery system also gives a basis to build…

When Richard Broughton bought his T4 in 2014, it was a stock, LWB nine-seater Minibus that had been used as an airport taxi and had clocked up 225,000 miles. “But they go on forever if they’re properly looked after,” quips Richard. “I acquired the T4 at a really good price from a mechanic, who had serviced it from 70,000 miles. The first week after I bought it, I looked at it and thought to myself, that’s massive, compared to my previous SWB T4, what am I going to do with this?” The answer was obvious. Start modifying it. In the first week, Richard bought a new set of 18-inch, load-rated BK Racing wheels (which have a black chrome effect in bright sunshine) fitted adjustable suspension front and rear, had the…

Last year, Retro Dub seemed to have hit on something – a late summer camping show that managed to grab the last of the decent weather, bring together a superb collection of vehicles, traders, exhibitors and fans and create a proper weekend to round out the show season. Since then, the event has moved from the previous venue, which it had well and truly filled, to the beautiful and slightly trippy new location of Bentwaters Parks, just outside Rendlesham, near Woodbridge. The base was formerly an RAF / USAF base in the Cold War and local rumour has it that it was home to a dozen flight-ready long-range nuclear bombers, as well as a huge store of atomic weaponry. It is also close to the site of the UK’s most…

Sometimes it’s not the getting there that matters, it’s what happens when you get there and who you spend the time there with that makes things special. For a lot of Campervan owners, the drive isn’t the pleasure, but then maybe they haven’t driven a T6. While it may sound preposterous to suggest driving a Van can actually be fun, a rising tide of opinion suggests that T6 ownership can deliver genuine car-like refinement and performance. And never more so than if you opt for the 204bhp, 2.0-litre, BiTurbo, Euro6-compliant engine. Combine the 0-62mph in 8.6 seconds ability of the high-spec engine with the best in aftermarket suspension technology and you’re looking at a Van that’s nippy rep mobile fast out of the box, and a true joy to drive.…

“where some of the world’s largest waves crash to shore” Our three-month road trip around Europe in a T4 we had converted to an elementary standard was going surprisingly well. We had failed to prepare, so were preparing to fail – as was often said to me at school, but had evidently taught me nothing. Me, my friend Tom and our Van, Dolly, made up our aberrant trio and so far we had driven from our home in Dorset to the coldest, most remote areas of Norway, then to northern Portugal via Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and France. Now we were ready to explore Portugal and Spain before finally heading home. We had got into the habit of initiating ourselves into a new country with a weekly food shop. On this…

“Slammed has become a very overused word lately” VWt: How do Spence? What’s happening? You got transferred to the naughty corner at The Camper&Bus Show for being a noisy bunch of dancing party herberts with a penchant for 1980’s poodle perm rock ballads. With that in mind, do you think the water-cooled scene is a little bit tame? SP: Personally, I feel there’s a lot of the same stuff out there that’s not really eye catching. That said, the air-cooled cars are getting ridiculously overpriced, so the T4 / T5 route is the cheaper, easier route and it’s keeping the scene alive, which can only be a good thing. I know a few that have replaced their air-cooled vehicles with T4s and T5s because of their relative comfort, speed and…

We’re sticking our head above the parapet and begging for a poke in the eye this month, because even the owner and builder of this Van says it’s gone down like a cup of cold sick with much of the water-cooled Transporter fraternity. But then that’s not entirely surprising, because it’s not entirely a Transporter.You see, to get this low didn’t require a huge amount of re-engineering of the T4 suspension system, rather some ingenious back dating of the proportions more normally associated with around 1.21 gigawatts, or a bolt of lightning. Still not with us? Take a closer look at the pictures, and you’ll discover there’s as much 1960’s Beetle about this T4 as there is T4, possibly even a little more. Allow us to explain. What you are…

Hi all, it all started for me when a few mates and myself went to Bug Jam last summer. I never at the time understood the whole VW scene, but the bug has certainly got a hold of me in a big way now. After tagging along to a couple more shows in my mate’s Bus, I decided this might be the thing for me, so the next mission was to convince the wife. After finally getting her around to the idea, the hunt was on for a standard Panel Van I could put my own stamp on. Two months later, and there she was sat on my drive – this 2010, LWB, 102bhp ex-builder’s Van. Christmas time then arrived, which gave me time off to start converting this now…

I’ve always been into VWs. They’re a passion of mine and I have owned Caddys and Polos for years, but having kids was a really good reason to try and build a cool, slammed Van. So I bought my T5 in June last year, as an empty Van with windows, with a view to doing the interior myself. I insulated and carpeted it, fitted flooring and installed a second hand, full-width rock ’n’ roll bed. When I bought it, I knew it needed injector seals and a new intercooler. The injector seals ended up requiring a helicoil to fix, so it turned into a head off job. I then managed to drive it for two days until it spat another injector out, so needed another helicoil and more injector seals.…

The more modified a car is, the less practical it becomes. Or so they say. Lower has always meant slower and faster generally involves a disregard for stance. Well, that’s not necessarily true any longer with the latest air ride kits. Paul Harrison’s T5 is the perfect example of the beautiful relationship that can be had between increased bhp and extreme low stance. Paul, 47, from Lincoln, and his wife, had always wanted a Volkswagen Transporter. At least, ever since they visited the Isle of Wight in July 2013. After witnessing the tail end of the VW Festival convoy, they were completely hooked on the idea. “I remember sitting outside the tent one night looking at our shabby Vauxhall Vivaro and thinking, ‘I have to have a T5,” the welder…

In December 2012, a rag tag bunch of intrepid journo types thought that the T4 / T5 scene was increasingly on the up, so decided to do something to recognise that. Things have changed enormously since then. Of course, the Transporter has always been there for a subculture to enjoy since its inception in 1950, but never before has it been more accessible, more democratic and more enjoyable to be part of a scene that shows no signs of slowing down. Quite the opposite in fact. The VW Transporter’s continued evolution means trends have changed, new, exciting products are relentlessly emerging and feature Vans continue to improve and push boundaries we never previously knew existed. If you’re not already part of the crowd, what are you waiting for? Get one,…