Table of contents for January 2018 in VWt

“They allow me to be the ‘me’ I’ve always wanted to be” I have two garages I turn to when I know I’m out of my depth. It doesn’t matter if I’m fitting new brakes, attempting to stick metal together with a MIG welder or bolting on a new set of coilovers, I know full well that attempting anything outside my house in the road will always result in lots of swearing and tools exiting my pram. That’s where Andy’s Motors in Welling, Kent and Harvey Rice at HR Engineering in Saffron Walden, Essex come into play.You’ll probably have noticed these two companies regularly cropping up in the mag, and for good reason. These two chaps have become really good mates over the last decade, always there to help out…

Adrian Bird is an interesting and thought-provoking chap. Not only does he have a varied and successful air-cooled show car background, he’s clearly clued up on all aspects of car culture and, after spending a day with him and chatting on the ’phone for a few hours, it’s easy to see why his Van is such a fascinating, curious and exciting prospect. He just calls it his daily driver, but we know full well that this project has seen more evolution than Charles Darwin since Adrian took possession in late 2004. Regular VWt readers will recall it appeared on the cover of Issue 21 and, since then, he’s been thinking about and acting upon his desire to produce not only a talking point, but also one of the most divisive…

“Who says you have to save up for years just to build your own version of safe, sterile and easily repeatable?” There’s a thing on Chris McLeod’s Facebook wall that says, “Freedom is being you without anyone’s permission.” If you take that prose and morph it into Van form, it’s exactly what Chris’ T5.1 represents. Yes, to some, it might look as if Chris has ram raided Woodstock, having detoured via Haight-Ashbury while reading some Timothy Leary, but to others the free-spirited, tight-budget ideology this DIY Camper conversion exudes makes it one of the most inspirational builds we’ve featured in quite some time. As Chris says, “Who says you have to save up for years just to build your own version of safe, sterile and easily repeatable?” Built to live…

Chris Male and the team at Voodoo Campers have been churning out award-winning T4-T6 conversions for the past eight years from the company’s Cheshire HQ. Every time we see a Voodoo Van it has something special about it – be it the quality of paintwork, the wheel choice and finish or just the unquestionable air of class they have about them. Having bought you the orange T4 on the cover of Issue 60, as well as scooping the 2015 VWt Van of the Year award, there’s no doubt they specialise in T4s, which goes against the grain somewhat in the current marketplace, but it’s a strategy that’s sure to pay off in the long term as the earlier Transporters remain a popular, viable daily, or upmarket weekend warrior. That’s not…

VW winter health check The annual VW dealer winter health check is back once again. For just £20, your local dealership will carry a visual ‘traffic light’ system check of key mechanical systems to ensure you’re fit for winter motoring. They’ll also vacuum your Van, give it a wash and send you on your way with a car care pack that includes antifreeze, de-icer, rubber care materials and an ice scraper. Not bad for a score, eh? Who? www.volkswagen.co.uk How much? £20 Pikes Peak electric racer VW must have read our Jimbo’s editorial last month because it’s announced an all-electric race car for the world’s most renowned mountain race. The all-wheel-drive prototype is scheduled to be at the start of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado,…

Cementgang Darren Smith, Wiltshire My Pure Grey Caddy was bought just before Christmas 2016 after driving a friend’s similarly specified one a few times and falling in love with it. I bought it from a local dealer forecourt, and it came on a set of replica Rotiform BLQ alloys and already had colour-coded bumpers to boot. This wasn’t to my liking, however, so it wasn’t long before a set of Porsche Cayenne 19in alloys were added, and I set to winding the already fitted front coilovers down as far as they’d go. This started the addiction for me. Next, the interior was changed to Mk6 GTi spec and a Scirocco steering wheel was fitted. The tartan-trimmed front seats went in on Touran seat bases, with a matching Touran centre console…

It’s been a month of seemingly little activity, but the two jobs that have taken place have transformed the interior vibe of Project Shed, and I couldn’t be happier with them. In fact, I’d say they’ve changed my use of the Van more than almost all other mods so far.Yes, the jobs were done the wrong way round, but we’ll explain that in a moment. We covered the fitment of the Rusty Lee (www.vwrustylee.com) M1 in-Van certified rock ’n’ roll bed in the How to last month but, as it’s such a popular modification, it’s worth mentioning a few points again here. Some might say Status M1 approval is merely a way to extract more cash from us T4-T6 lovers, but I disagree. Yes, it adds an additional £500 or…

“a pilgrimage for motoring enthusiasts across Europe” “the T6 never felt out of its depth, and it was only on the very fastest roads it really lost ground on the supercars” Supercar Driver (SCD) is a members’ club and community for owners of supercars. We give the guys and girls who own these cars a reason to use them and get out and drive them, both in the UK and abroad, giving the owners a chance to stretch their cars’ legs in the safest possible way. The club was established in 2010 and, as it has grown, has started to offer a wider variety of events, including factory tours, track days and socials, but always with the focus on the driving. Keen to encourage the cars to be used in…

The last time we did a #vwtmag layout in the mag we had 100 or so images to choose from, this time there was over 6,200, so clearly some of you would like to see your Van in these here pages at some point. We’re generally fans of Instagram, though dislike people trying to capitalise upon, or simply re-posting other people’s photos. So do it the old fashioned way and post your own unique content to Insta. You’ll get more respect for it, and more chance of us re-using your snaps in the mag. So, if you’ve got a Van, a road trip, a job, a campsite, or even a picture of your hound that you’d like to see here, drop the only hash tag that counts on your photos,…

“The original idea was just to build a basic Day Van for me and the kids to get around in” When most parents bring back a present for their kids from a holiday abroad, it’s some lame t-shirt, or perhaps a cork coaster set showing pictures of their hotel. Kleon Fenton’s parents, however, brought him back a name from Greece! Being the first Kleon I’ve ever spoken to, I had to ask about his unusual moniker. It seems his parents set him on a course to stand out from the crowd right from the start, but that path has entered the stratosphere with the creation of this jaw-dropping, body-dropping T5. It could all have looked different though, were it not for a plot twist in events. “I had a deal…

“It’s a veritable who’s who of the air and water-cooled world” It’s the show you can’t afford to miss if you’re in any way curious about, or currently involved in, a VW Van project. The weather this year might have tried its best to suppress even the most ardent camper, but that didn’t stop the trade turning out in force to support the self-proclaimed, ‘world’s biggest bus show. Whether it is or not, there is genuinely no other show on earth that’s easier to spend your money at than Busfest. It’s the sheer scale, breadth and diversity of traders on offer that amazes us. It’s a veritable who’s who of the air and water-cooled world. So, whether you’re after a fully converted Van, or just a couple of little…

Where do old VWs go to die? Well, that depends. Firstly, it depends on what you call old. Secondly, do Volkswagens ever really die? This LWB T32 Sportline was once the workhorse for Mo Twiddy. As one of a fleet of T5 Vans at his waste machine maintenance firm, T-Services Ltd, once it passed 100,000 miles, Mo deemed its time was up: “It’s a ’62-plate, 2012 model, and at the time it hit 100,000 miles it was three years old, so I took it off the road and bought a new T6.” Now, I refer you to my opening question. Can a three-year-old Volkswagen be considered old? Or does 100,000 miles on the clock mean one is finished with? For Mo and his business, the answer to both questions was…

“a rather daunting task as we’d never tackled anything like it before” It’s only a question of gluing some carpet onto a grease, oil and contaminant-free surface, but carpet lining is a bit of an art and one that not everyone can necessarily get their heads, or hands, around. Certainly for us, it was a rather daunting task as we’d never tackled anything like it before, but we were dead set on giving it a go. The vital ingredients for the job are good quality, high temperature spray adhesive (buy the stuff made for carpets from an automotive trim supplier), a roller, lots of Stanley knife blades and around 3-4m of carpet per side to tackle the job. A hairdryer or heat gun also comes in handy for re-activating the…

Uberock T6 An off-road build that capitalises upon VW’s legendary 4motion chassis. Could swampers be the new big thing? Bass Bus After promising it for months, we finally get around to bringing you the ultimate stanced T5.1 Grey pride Real-world T4 built on a surprisingly sensible budget Not stock Stephen Stockdale’s gorgeous family camping ’Wagen proves you really can have stance and use it Plus Trip on a tank The first of a new mini road trip series.You’ve got a full tank of gas, one day and a chance to show the world your favourite place to visit in your Transporter How to: install a night heater With winter now officially here, this is the best thing you can fit in your Van. Period – as they say in America…