Tabla de contenidos para February 2021 en VolksWorld

First and foremost, I’d like to welcome you back to the February California Look special. As many of you will know, the reason we’ve traditionally picked February as the month to celebrate all things Cal Look is due to perhaps the most memorable VW magazine cover of all time, the February 1975 cover of dune buggies and hot VWs. Yes, so-called California Look cars can be traced back further than that, but it was the Feb ’75 issue that really put the style on the map, and is widely considered to be the first time the ’Look was celebrated by the media. And what better way to pay tribute to that most memorable cover of than to bring you an exclusive feature on the very same car? That’s right, 45…

Mental Wiz Hi all at VolksWorld magazine. I’m not sure if any of you remember the Mental Images concept drawing of the hot rod Wizard, which appeared in the Winter 1999 issue of the magazine, but I was inspired by the idea and set about building something similar, which was mentioned in the September 2000 issue following the Stonor Park event. The car was far from complete, but it was running and driving and the basic concept was there. Sadly, I fell ill shortly after that first outing and ended up selling the unfinished project to cover my mortgage. In 2011, I decided to hit the internet to find out if the car was ever completed but, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find any information about it anywhere. Fast…

“I don’t recall the first time I met Jay and Matt, but it was about 20 years ago now. I do remember their incredible enthusiasm for VWs, and all things Cal Look. “Every few weeks they’d pop down on a Saturday morning and Jay would show me some pictures of their progress. I was amazed by their tenacity, and what two amateurs were achieving with just basic tools, in a single car lock-up in Walthamstow! “We would discuss ideas and, as their skills developed, they were going back and re-doing jobs they’d already completed as they knew they could make a better job of it. “Every spare hour the brothers had was spent in that lock-up, and they deserve maximum respect for achieving such quality work in such difficult conditions.…

It was at the 1994 VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park that Ivan debuted his finished ’67. It may not have been as wild looking as some of the other cars on display that year, but it left a marked impression on a great many who saw it. It’s subtle, factory looks, backed up by an engine that most had previously only seen in purpose-built drag cars and its magnesium Speedwell BRM wheels all set the stage for a resurgence of interest in a style of VW customising that had already been around for over 20 years but, until then, hadn’t really been seen outside of the United States. It’s no exaggeration to say this car started a UK and European Cal Look revolution.…

Despite working as a service advisor at a BMW garage, 31-year old Yannick Glasée has little interest in modern German machinery. It’s classic VWs that really float his boat, specifically those with a touch of California Look about them. As a member of the Dutch VW club, Der Vollgas Kreuzers (DVK), Yannick lives in Oud-Turnhout, Belgium with his wife, Nathalie, and two-year old daughter, Janne, and explains how this car came about: “I’ve owned the car since 2011, but it’s been a long journey to get to this point, and I’m certainly not finished with it yet.” As you might expect, this isn’t Yannick’s first rodeo, as he’s previously worked his way through a number of other projects, though it might surprise you to learn that his automotive passion began…

The story begins in the late 1960s, when Greg Aronson, a founder member of Der Kleiner Panzers Volkswagen Club, purchased an Anthracite Grey sunroof Beetle with red interior in Garden Grove, California. Greg, or ‘Youngie’ to his friends, was anxious to stamp his own identity on the car, respraying it metallic brown and replacing the grey ragtop with a tan fabric one. Inside, the dashboard was sprayed with black crackle-finish paint and a row of idiot lights added. Greg fitted chrome, Porsche 356-style wheels at the front and a pair of Ansen slots on the rear using adapters, while the original 34bhp (US 40bhp) 1200 engine was treated to a 1350cc big bore conversion with the help of fellow club members, Don Crane and Ron Fleming. Greg took the car…

“I’m heavily into performance, and Cal Look is really my thing” "It’s been written many times before how Karmann Ghias are the undervalued gem in the air-cooled scene, and how they make a boat load of sense to the air-cooled anorak with the desire for something other than a Beetle or a Bus, but with a bit more style and grace than the Type 3 line up. If you’re looking for a stylish, air-cooled coupé that’s guaranteed to turn heads, the Karmann Ghia and the Porsche 356 and 912 are the obvious choices. But there are pros and cons to each. You don’t need us to run over the pros for any of these cars, but the huge con for the Porsches are the massive dose of PAT (Porsche Added…

‘I was born in Germany in 1967 and moved to Graz, Austria shortly after. I then spent a few months in Rimini, Italy, briefly returning to Graz before immigrating to California. In 2000, I relocated to Detroit and eventually, at 41-years old, retired to the UK in 2008.’ Ring any bells? I’d be amazed if it did! It sounds like the bio of somebody rather windswept and interesting, doesn’t it? It is, in fact a synopsis of the life of this California Look ’67 Beetle. Despite its accumulated mileage, both on the road and at sea, and worldly travels, it retains every single piece of metal it left Wolfsburg with 54 years ago. Okay, it’s had a tiny repair on the front apron due to mild accident damage – call…

• Aluminium VW case, cut for 94mm barrels and full flow oiling • Scat chromoly 82mm stroker crank with VW journals; eight-dowelled, chromoly flywheel; heavy duty gland nut • Scat 5.4-inch H-beam rods with ARP 2000 3/8in bolts • Mahle 94mm piston and cylinders • Engle FK-8 cam, clearance for crank and with matching Engle lifters • Shadeck oil pump; full flow cover • Manton chromoly pushrods • CB wide mouth pushrod tubes • Gene Berg deep sump • Welded and ported / polished (by Brothers Machine) VW heads with 42 and 37.5mm valves; match ported to unknown brand short IDA manifolds • Italian Weber 48IDA carburettors with Gene Berg linkage • 8mm chromoly head studs • Scat 1.4:1 Pro rockers • Scat stainless steel valve covers with welded vents…

Show down As if the 2020 show season wasn’t disappointing enough, we now have a new strain of the Covid virus to thank for further VW event cancellations throughout 2021, too. As mentioned at the head of this issue, The VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park has been postponed once again, and the re-scheduled date for your diary is the weekend of 19-20 March 2022. Yes, it’s a blow for us all, but we will be back and the event will be bigger and better than ever when we are. Tickets and booking for 2021 will be rolled over to 2022 and further information can be found at www. volksworldshows.com The VolksWorld Show may be the first on the ’21 calendar to roll over, but it’s certainly not the last as…

There have been many great Cal Look VWs built over the years, from the Orange County originals of the mid-’70s, through countless period perfect homages here in the UK, in the States, in Europe, Japan and Scandinavia, but every so often one comes along that just really makes you stop and stare. From the moment we first saw Jason (Jay) Clarke’s ’67, it was clear this car was one of those. The closer you look, the more you see, and the dedication to the tiniest details is evident throughout. Yes, it has a professional paint job, and some ‘big names’ were involved along the way, but this car was almost entirely built by an ophthalmic technician and his equally dedicated assistant (Jay’s brother, Matt) in a single car, lockup in…

“Savanna Beige was just the colour I got, and I had no intention of changing that” Built at Wolfsburg in August 1966 to UK specification, my old 1300 Deluxe was one of the earliest 1967 model Beetles built in right-hand drive, Type 114/143 spec. Painted L620 Savanna Beige, and with a black vinyl interior, it was imported by VW Motors Ltd. on November 23 1966, and then passed to Authorised Volkswagen dealer, Denham Service Station in Buckinghamshire, and given the stock number V.1741. On February 21 1967, Ian M. Bartrop of Denham Service Station sold the car to John Henderson in Middlesex, who ordered it with seat belts fitted and Flintkote underseal. The on-the-road cost was £677.11. The new car was registered UBH 140E and delivered to Mr. Henderson on…

The four-lug VolksMag wheel was made by Superior Industries in Van Nuys, California in the late 1960s and early ’70s. They are a 4.5J x 15-inch one-piece aluminium wheel (though A 5J version appeared around ’72 labelled as a VolksMag II) and were sold by Superior and by Volkswagen of America between 1968 and ’73 as part of the Formula Vee dress-up package. The wheels came either with an ‘as-cast’ or black finish with machined rims and highlights, and its their appearance when painted that has given rise to the ‘Turtleback’ nickname. They were never officially called that.…

If you’ve already read the accompanying story, you’ll know this car has a bit of a back story. Sure, it was imported from the USA some years ago, and has a fairly well documented history of its time spent over there, but what’s confusing us is it was originally a European-spec car, built in Germany and, we suspect by looking at the dealer stamps in the service book below, sold new in Graz, Austria. In which case it would have been built with sloping headlight wings and headlights, as only ’67s destined for sale in North America were equipped from the factory with the M option 611 denoting upright, sealed beam headlights. So what s the story, accepting the part about the car still having all its original panels is…

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the ideal start to any project is the best, most complete car you can find. Sure, it might cost a bit more in the beginning, but that is far outweighed by the long-term savings. Robert, however, ignores that advice. All three of the show-quality cars he owns were bought as incomplete parts cars before he put his stamp on them. Perhaps the main reason why a lot of people don’t start projects with a parts car is a matter of skill set, or lack thereof. If you don’t possess the ability to fabricate panels, weld them in, straighten metal and otherwise repair bodywork, then you’ll be in for a huge bill in labour costs alone if you have to pay someone…