Indice dei contenuti per June 2024 in VolksWorld

volksworld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Every now and then, a topic crops up at VolksWorld HQ that divides opinion, and this month it’s the subject of electric vehicles we’ve been debating. Not EVs in general but, more specifically, converting classic cars to electric power. For the record, I’m not quite as cynical as some of the VoWo team members, as I genuinely think there’s a place for electric conversions in our hobby. However, it is a niche part of our scene, and certainly isn’t for every VW (or VW enthusiast). Nevertheless, it’s a fast-developing business across the whole classic car scene and, as the tech and range improves, I think the appeal will continue to grow. So, as we’re on the subject, I thought I’d run through some of the key points that come…

The idea of turbocharging air-cooled VW engines first gained acceptance in the 1970s, but it was still far from a common thing to do then. VolksWorld has followed the trend and featured its fair share of turbo cars since it started in ’87. Historically, these VWs follow in the footsteps of many other automobiles, though turbochargers have been used in marine and railway applications for the last 100 years or so. Various aeroplanes employed the same devices during WWII, too. While the mainstream automotive industry began experimenting with them in the 1950s, customers would have to wait until 1962 to see two regular production models appear on the market: the exotic sounding Chevrolet Corvair Monza and Oldsmobile Jetfire. However, both experienced only limited sales success in the US. European customers…

Email: VolksWorld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Email news, thoughts and products to VolksWorld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Email your news, thoughts, opinions and products to volksworld.ed@kelsey.co.uk Cookie monster New at John Brown Wheels (JBW) are these Cookies – essentially a replica of the classic ATS cookie cutters fitted to various Porsche models through the 1970s and 1980s. Available in either 4 x 130 PCD (post-’68 Beetle, Ghia, Type 3 etc.) or 5 x 130 Porsche bolt pattern, and in 15 and 17-in diameters. The four-lug VW versions feature a deep ET40 offset (in both the 7 x 15 and 7 x 17-in versions), although we suspect you may need to combine them with a narrowed beam if you want to tuck them under the ’arches of a lowered VW. The five-lug Porsche wheels feature the same ET40 offset…

The 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe was the first car to make the National Historic Vehicle Register in the USA when it began in 2013. If you know what that car is, that should come as no surprise. What might raise a few eyebrows, however, is the car the panel of judges selected next. Amongst the Cadillacs, Fords and Chevrolets proudly sits the very first Meyers Manx beach buggy, affectionately known as Old Red. Having watched from afar as the mostly V8-powered Dune Buggy craze exploded on the beaches and sand dunes of California, Bruce Meyers felt he could do a better job. He is widely quoted as saying, “I’m an artist, and I wanted to bring a sense of movement and gesture to the Manx.” He followed that up…

It’s hard for many of us to remember a time when Porsche’s earliest models were practically worthless. Same goes for other now highly desirable classics. I remember my great uncle Lawrence telling me he’d once seen a Mercedes 300SL ‘Gullwing’ on a second-hand car forecourt in Leeds for £650. And didn’t buy it! Reason being he was into British cars, having owned a ’65 MGB roadster since 1966. Despite my preference for old German tin, he lovingly imparted all his automotive knowledge with patience. I can only imagine what life might have been like if he’d been into old Porsches! The fact is, there was a fairly extended period when 356s, and even early 911s, weren’t valuable at all, though there was always a hard core of enthusiasts keeping them…

This ’61 Bug has been on our radar for longer than we can remember. It’s no wonder, as its owner, Mark Akullian, began working on it some 27 years ago now, not that long after I wrote a story about his former car, a turbocharged ’57 Oval, in the early 1990s! That car left undeniable marks on my memory. Bought shortly after Mark turned 15, it shook southern California’s VW scene thanks to its turquoise paint (applied by early Der Kleiner Panzers club member, Mike Martinez), fully polished Fuchs wheels and a Kawell Race Engines-built turbo motor sticking out the back. After the turn of the century, I would regularly bump into Mark at local Volkswagen events, which he often entered in his simple, clean, black ’67 Bug on Flat4…

Produced in Brazil from June 1972 until December 1975 for the domestic market only, just 10,205 Volkswagen SP models were produced, 681 of which were exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Despite being voted Volkswagen’s most beautiful coupé in 1973 by the German magazine Hobby, the SP2 was never officially sold in Europe, as the auto maker didn’t want it to compete with its own Scirocco model in the sporty coupé sector. There were also certain technical legalities that would have made it difficult to sell in Europe in its original form. Consequently, the lithe coupe was all but forgotten about for several decades but, thanks to the internet, the SP2 experienced a resurgence of interest around the world, which has been going strong for quite a…

From time to time, you come across these little Japanese tin Volkswagens for sale at toy shows, or in online auctions. The oval rear window shows they represent the 1950’s era of Volkswagen production, so it’s no surprise to learn these toy VWs were produced in Japan during the mid-to-late 1950s. The manufacturer was Tokyo Plaything Shokai (T.P.S.), and they were sold in various configurations, including single boxes, display rack plastic bags or ‘loose’, with six or eight in a larger store counter display box. Inner friction The original single box had a very nice red cover with a yellow burst design and a blue VW depicted. The manufacturer marking on the box is an oval insignia and the word Plaything, denoting the manufacturer. The word friction also makes an…