ages est t 164 p gain hows & la cene! a is ighty st cars, s led VW S M ir A o e the b Airco with rom our f s w ne
Issue 08 | Winter 2012 | AirMighty.com
Show Reports AirMighty Picnic - VolksWorldShow Kustom Kulture in Europe and Japan!
Vintage Race Special
> Brussels Grand Prix - Mille Miglia Porsche Formula Vee and Type2 €14,50 | £12.95 | $21.95 | ¥2400
OG Paint Type 34
Outlaw Dauphine
Von Dutch’s Bike
It’s probably the world’s most original ‘63 Razor Edge Ghia!
Small French family car with a turbocharged VW flat4 engine!
Mad Harley Davidson powered by a 30hp Beetle power plant!
ISSN 1879-6508
9 771879 650009
08
14 | Formula Vee Transporter A rare Porsche built Formula Vee with a matching VW pick up hauler.
44 | MoonBuggy From Japan A sparkling Metal Flake Beach Buggy.
48 | Showroom Type 34 Ghia Found in Germany, unrestored, mint condition Razor Edge from 1963.
62 | Mille Miglia Split Window Out of the Grundmann stable, here’s their 1951 Split Window race car.
94
Outlaw Turbo Dauphine
74 | Ken King’s Barndoor Part 3 Follow the insane restoration project!
94 | Dauphine With A VW Turbo WPS crazy VW powered Renault, it’s good for 10second runs on the 1/4!
110 | Von Dutch’s HD XAVW Bike A VW/Harley mix fabricated in ‘66!
128| Porsche 356 Power Oval Built to compete in the Mille Miglia.
144| U.K. Slammed Karmann A stunning super low Resto Cal Ghia.
14
Mooneyes Buggy
Porsche Formula Vee
Dan’s Low Ghia 8
44
144
Up-To-Date There’s a lot going on in the scene, be sure to catch the latest news, events, forum and photos on our website: www.AirMighty.com Like us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AirMightyMegascene
48
Original 1963 Type 34 Ghia
Featured cars 128
Mille Miglia Oval
110
62
Mille Miglia Split
Von Dutch VW bike Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
9
106 139
AirMighty Summer Picnic
The Shows 58
86 10
20th Beetle Winter Fest - KWF
Brussels Tattoo Convention
32 | VolksWorldShow 2012 The world’s largest indoor VW show.
38 | Mooneyes HRCS Japan Full report on the 20th Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show.
58 | 20th Kever Winter Festijn First show of 2012 in Holland.
90
82 | The Mille Miglia Race The legendary Italian street race
Lucky13 Kustom Kulture
86 | BXL Tattoo Convention Brussels’ convention with over 200 artists and a car show on top.
90 | Lucky 13 Garage Sale Pinstriping and Kustom Lifestyle.
104 | Ninove 2012 - EPIC! 15th Ninove NoH2o show.
121| Brussels Grand Prix Vintage Racing under the Atomium.
121
139| AirMighty Summer Picnic Our annual gathering with friends and family, Aircooled of course!
Brussels Grand Prix 2011
38 32
Volksworld Show
82
...and more!
Mooneyes HRCS Yokohama
Mille Miglia 2011 Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
11
FormulaV Transporter Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Stefan Bau
14
Fittipaldi, Lauda, Rosberg, Van Lennep, Mitter, Herrmann: a few of the world-famous racing drivers whose talents were honed at the wheel of a Formula Vee single-seater racecar. This wasn’t lost on Porsche, who fully appreciated the importance of hooking up the champions of tomorrow. So, in 1964, the firm’s Weissach comps department ordered ten Formula Vee kits and six support pickup trucks to form the official Porsche-backed Formula Volkswagen racing team. Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
15
Volksworld Show 2012
Words: Niels Timmerman Translation: Georg Otto | GaĂŤlle Ramacle Pictures: Niels Timmerman
The legendary VolksWorld Show at Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey, UK is one of the most eagerly awaited of the season > 32
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
33
Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show Japan Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
38
Show | Hot Rod Custom Show ‘11
Come December it’s time to hop on a plane to Japan and pay a visit to the world’s greatest indoor hot rod and custom show! > t had been 2 years since my last pilgrimage to Mooneyes’ show in Japan, so needless to say I was seriously looking forward to it. By the time we all met up at Schipol the plans had been drawn up months ago, and the tickets booked way back when the rates were at their best. We had decided to go for as long as we could extract ourselves from our busy work schedules so that we could take in some Japanese culture while we were over there. That idea went down really well with Kieft en Klok’s Maurice and his girlfriend, so they joined Niels and Marieke and me on our jolly to the Land of the Rising Sun.
I
After the long flight we acclimatised in Tokyo and then headed to Yokohama by train. Shige and the Mooneyes crew had just finished setting up the show inside the Pacifico Exhibition Hall, so when we arrived the band was playing and the burgers were being served at the official pre-event celebration, which they call the “Little Get Together Party”. It’s the moment to meet up with friends that you haven’t seen since the last time you hit the Pacifico and a chance to hang out with the “stars” of the custom scene. Still quite tired and jetlagged,
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
39
44
Words: Kobus Cantraine | Niels Timmerman Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
MOON BUGGY
Look what we found outside the Mooncafe: the “Wave Hunter”! Mooneyes’ boss Shige Suganuma’s wild metalflaked Beach Buggy! > ew people know that Shige Suganuma has had a long time love affair with AirCooled cars. It all started back in the days when he was at college in the USA. He found a Split Window Type 2 Panel and used it as his daily driver all through his student days. He’s owned many AirCooled rides since then, mostly buses, which he’s particularly fond of. When we went to the Mooncafe after the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show we spotted the buggy in front of Shige’s American-style diner. He found it years ago in California and had it painted in this
F
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
45
Top of the line! Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Niels Timmerman
48
It’s one of the best and most original Type 34s we have ever seen in the metal! We spotted this beauty at the 50th anniversary Type 34 show in Georgsmarienehütte / Osnabrück, Germany (read more about the event in AM#06), and we just had to get an in-depth look at this gorgeous testament to vintage originality.
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
49
Beetle Winter Fest 20th Kever Winter Festijn 2012
Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
The Dutch Kever Winter Festijn celebrated its 20th anniversary this year! Once again the event filled the Rosmalen Autotron to the roof! > 58
Show | Beetle Winter Feast 2012 still remember my first Kever Winter Festijn like it was yesterday: I didn’t even have a driving licence but I just couldn’t wait to get there and hunt for VW parts.
I
Back then, the event was held at Eindhoven in a sports complex. Over the years the swapmeet outgrew that location, so the organisation moved to the Autotron in Rosmalen. With plenty of room for expansion the event grew bigger and better on an annual basis. The main attraction to Kever Winter Festijn must be that it’s the first big hooley of the year, traditionally held on the weekend after the New Year. It’s the perfect place to get your mid-winter European VW fix and to look for those missing parts you’ll need to fettle your beloved Volkswagen during the dreary winter months! The swap-meet is a pretty big deal, and when the weather’s good the parking lot is overflowing with all sorts of AirCooled vehicles.
Samba bus spinning thumping dub step all day. That’s a cool place to be. There’s an area for kids to play in where they can draw on a Beetle, all legit - cheeky monkeys - or jump around in the bounce-house - and, new for the grown-ups this year is the additional indoor display area featuring regular Dutch VW clubs and a mouthwatering selection of cars for sale. Basically, all of Holland and Germany’s major VW players have a stand of some sort in the Rosmalen arena. AirMighty Megascene had to be represented as well, so we set up a stall and sold the last few remaining 2011 Portfolios. The Kever organisation always raffles off a Beetle to one lucky visitor on the Sunday, and needless to say, this draws a huge crowd. What a nice way to start the New Year, another one that’ll doubtless be filled with AirCooled fun!
Inside we find the usual suspects, like Kieft en Klok who always occupy the same room on the top level of the main building, animated by surf movies projected on the walls and with Rien from the Sunset Disco
s ist, als ob es gestern gewesen wäre, mein erstes Mal auf dem Kever Winter Festijn. Damals hatte ich noch nicht mal einen Führerschein und ich konnte es gar
Kaag Kevers’ Fanwagen was raffeled on Facebook
The Hot Rod Doesburg dragster’s still got it going
E
Plenty of cars for sale and every major vendor from Holland and Germany is there at the KWF
Paruzzi’s funky high roof sales flap bus on Sprints
nicht abwarten, nach Teilen zu suchen. Allerdings fand das Winter Festijn noch in Eindhoven im Sport-Komplex statt, erst später zogen die Organisatoren dann aus Platzgründen ins Autotron nach Rosmalen um. Jetzt stand einem Wachstum nichts mehr im Weg, denn hier gab und gibt es genügend Raum. Das auffälligste an dieser Show ist sicher der Termin mitten im Winter, genauer immer am ersten Januar-Wochenende nach Neujahr. Somit ist das Kever Winter Festijn die erste VW-Veranstaltung eines jeden Jahres und ein hervorragender Platz um in der Winter-Pause VW-Freunde zu treffen oder die noch benötigten Komponenten für die Restauration einzukaufen. Während sich draußen bei schönem Wetter ziemlich viele luftgekühlte Volkswagen versammeln, lockt im Inneren der große Teilemarkt. Dort finden sich die üblichen Verdächtigen, wie zum Beispiel Kieft & Klok, die immer den selben Raum auf der Empore haben. Dieses Jahr liefen bei ihnen an die Wände projizierte Surf-Filme und Rien vom Sunset Disco Samba legte coole Musik auf. Generell sind alle wichtigen
There were even some Cal Look Beetles there
Richard Krom’s Oval was on the cover of AM#04
You don’t have to be rich to own a Beetle, one was for sale for just € 3.900,- the Samba much more...
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
59
62
Mil e Miglia Split This is the incredible story of a longcherished dream that remained unfulfilled for years. But all of a sudden things started to happen very fast. Believe it or not, this racing Split Window Beetle was built in just four months! Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Andreas Reinhold
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
63
Colombian Special ’52 24A build Words: Burt Campbell Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: David Milan
In issue #07 of AirMighty we ended the story with seeing the Barndoor leaving Ken’s workshop and it getting shipped off to the painter. Well a lot happened since then, it’s been prepped and painted - and the result can be seen on the bottom of this page – In the next issue of AirMighty it will be fully finished! > en King had no idea what he was getting himself into when he shipped this ultrarare ‘52 Type 24A Standard Microbus home to Canada from Colombia. If you have been following along, the last two issues of AirMighty (#6 & #7) carefully document the lightning fast restoration of this monster project. Last we left Ken, the bare metal beauty was on her way to get a fresh coat of paint. With over 60% of the metal replaced and every square inch of the body meticulously caressed, it’s reassembly time on this “Colombian Special” and Ken is full steam ahead!
K
AM - Word on the street is that you have picked up the old girl and she’s not looking the same as when you dropped her off. KK - Jim & Paul at Original Restorations had a ton of straightening to do before paint. Jim
74
mentioned that it was the most work he had ever done with such a short deadline. I just needed to get it done for the big BD Classic meet in June. Franz from KCW sent me color-matched samples from his all-original ‘52 BD for the single stage U-Tech paint coincidentally built the same week in November. We dropped off Trevor Pippin’s ‘53 smooth gate single cab to get paint at the same time to keep Jim busy. Trevor’s aim is to drive down to the Classic as well. AM - What is going to be the biggest issue you will face to get her done? KK - I can foresee a few major ones, but nothing fatal. The engine is not assembled yet and I am going to weld up a complete stainless steel, performance exhaust. It will be a BD single tip style. As well, I'm waiting
on a few key items, like the bits I sent to be chromed - headlight rings, horn button ring, door handles and deck lid “T” handle, etc. While I’m ahead of schedule compared to where I was at this point on my ‘54 25A, I still don't like leaving things to the last minute. AM - What are you running for front suspension? KK - I decided to build a front beam from scratch as the original beam was beyond repair. It appeared that the Colombian’s beam was welded and re-welded, it has cracks in it many times over. The roads in Columbia certainly killed the front end because it also seems that the center was cut and turned twice to correct sagging. I think it had no less than a million miles of wear and tear. The new beam has chromoly
Build | ‘52 Sunroof Standard - Part 3
This is where we pick up the story from last time
The body got delivered to the body shop by Ken
Only a bit of finishing here and there is left now
Ken wanted it all to be perfect even underneath
They took great care to get the doorgaps just right
Some last minute Funky Green Panel additions
To get the doors properly aligned they had to cut...
...basically recreate the inner structure in order...
...to get the result he wanted, Barndoor perfection!
fit under the engine tin and side by side with the new geometry, custom pistons from JE were needed to keep them from poking out the tops of the cylinders. The heads were also ported, and for better cooling, I went with an aluminum 356/912 oil cooler. The tranny is a rebuilt Rancho 12v swing axle with a 4.12 differential ratio complete with a Concept-1 nosecone. This special cone eliminates the need for any body modifications.
nuts and bolts were plated with dull zinc. I scavenged hardware from busses up to 1959 and ensured that they all have the proper markings and 14mm heads. She will also have grooved SWF semaphores restored through Matthew Ross in Edmonton, Canada, and safari windows from Creative Engineering. The glass is etched with the correct period logo all the way around.
tubing and original BD style offset steering so that it can easily be converted back to stock. It is also narrowed 2 inches, has a rebuilt steering box from other scavenged boxes, and it’s capped off with Porsche 356A brakes. AM - And the rear suspension? KK - I learned quite a bit from my last BD project. On our drive to the Classic in California, we went through a set of tires. I realized that the original BD spring plates were too short resulting in a bit of toe-in. This time I am adding 2cm so the rear can align correctly. To make the suspension clean, reliable and completely reversible, I custom fabricated bolt on, water-jet cut shock towers that allow the use of conventional telescoping shocks. AM - Can you give us a sneak peak of at what's under the BD deck lid? You also had some issues with the engine build, right? KK - For power, she’s getting a “20-“ 36hp engine with the Wolfsburg West Okrasa kit, 69mm crank and 83mm pistons and cylinders making it a 1500cc. I had some issues with both the pistons and cylinders. Rimco machined the barrels down so they would
AM - The standard microbus has a full interior. Describe & give us the specs on yours. KK - The interior is much like that of a deluxe - completely covered inside. The front, middle and back seats will get covered in stock brown vinyl. Currently, the middle seat needs a ton of repair on the frame before I can do anything with it. The headliner is wool and the sunroof will be the original brown vinyl. To top it all off, I had Koch’s rebuild a stock steering wheel. AM - What are some other detailing features you went with? KK - The bus is converted to 12 volt with a new wiring harness and all the original style
AM - Any tips you can share with our readers to make their builds easier? KK - At this stage of reassembly, the electrical is one of my biggest areas of focus. A bit of extra work up front saves many headaches down the road. Run a guide wire through the body before paint so that you can get your new wiring harness through the body. This is especially true with belly pans because there is no access to the center section once installed. I have also learned to re-solder the backside of the fuse box because they tend to corrode between the posts. The switches on the pod itself were rebuilt before installation, too. I’ve had some issues with items like the headlights failing and want to avoid things like this going forward, as they tend to fail at the worst times.
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
75
The Mille Miglia, a street race open to cars built before 1957 and only those that are matching to cars that competed in the original Mille Miglia races held between 1927 and 1957.
Mille Miglia 2011
Long day’s journey into night >
Words: Johnny Tipler Translation: Yves Maertens | Janik Otto Pictures: Johnny Tipler | VW Classic orsche privateers always play a strong hand in the Mille Miglia. The retrospective of the iconic 1,000-mile Italian road race draws cars from the original event that ran between 1927 and 1957. Ten 356 Coupes, eleven 356 Speedsters and six 550 Spyders have entered in recent years, all authentic participants from the original series. Along with exotics like Cisitalia, Ermini, OM and Stanguellini the retrospective has factory representation from BMW with its late ’30s 328 models, Mercedes-Benz fielding 300SL roadsters, and Jaguar Heritage running XK120s. Stir in the Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia and Alfa Romeo hardware, and it’s a heady mix. The record for the 1,000-mile race stands at 10hr 7m set by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in 1955 - an average of 97.86mph - but the modern Mille Miglia lasts three days, and is a series of rally
P
82
regularities on closed public roads. Flagged away from the packed Brescia startline at 30-second intervals for the trip to Rome and back, the cavalcade follows much of the original route, progressing southeast via Ferrara to the Adriatic at Ravenna. From there it climbs into the Apennine mountains (the Mille is traditionally held in May so there’s still snow around) to visit the tiny republic of San Marino, before plunging down to Sansepolcro. Then it’s south to Rome and a meeting in the shadows of Castel Sant’Angelo, a stone’s throw from the Vatican, where the cars file through the crowds for the nocturnal presentation. Classic cars don’t do well sitting still with engines running and several usually boil. No such problems for Porsches and ‘Dubs, natch. Early next morning everyone’s up for the climb into Tuscany, with a circuit of Siena’s Palazzo Publico
before a hilltop lunch at Monteriggione. Then it’s northwards to Florence and the notorious Futa and Raticosa mountain passes where smart navigation by co-drivers is a must. It’s all downhill to Maranello and the Ferrari factory before a blast through Parma and Cremona brings the phalanx back into Brescia for that coveted finish line. The brightest stars in today’s Mille Miglia are usually Le Mans winners Gijs van Lennep and Jan Lammers in their 550 Spyders. But back in the day the works cars were handled by the likes of Hans Herrmann and Herbert Linge. Their 6th place in 1954 involved an incredible escape: approaching a level crossing the barrier dropped and Herrmann ducked below the Spyder’s scuttle, pulling his co-driver down as they hurtled under it - just seconds ahead of the Rome Express. It’s definitely not like that any more. ie Wiederbelebung der Mille Miglia, des legendären 1000 Meilen-Rennens von Brescia über Rom und zurück nach Brescia, lockt jede Menge Autos an, die bereits bei den klassischen Rennen zwischen 1927 und 1957 teilgenommen hatten. In diesem Rennen hatten und haben die Porsche-Privatiers immer ein gewichtiges Wörtchen mitzureden. Deswegen war es auch kein Wunder, dass im vergangenen Jahr bis zu zehn 356 Coupés, elf 356 Speedster und sechs 550 Spyder teilnahmen. Mit von der Partie war auch eine Horde exotischer Fahrzeuge wie Cisitalia, Ermini, OM und Stanguellini. Natürlich zeigten sich auch die Werke, allen voran BMW mit den 328er Modellen aus den späten 1930er Jahren, Mercedes setzte mehrere 300 SL Roadster ein und Jaguar schickte einige XK 120 ins Rennen. Unter all den Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia und Alfa Romeo waren sie die Aufreger und ergaben zusammen einen atemberaubenden Mix klassischer Rennmaschinen. Während die heutige Mille Miglia auf drei Tage ausgelegt ist und eher touristischen Charakter besitzt, ging es früher an einem halben Tag über die Distanz! Der Rekord von Stirling Moss und Dennis Jenkinson liegt immer noch bei zehn Stunden und sieben Minuten und wurde 1955 herausgefahren! Was für eine Heldentat! Das entspricht einer Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit von 156,58 km/h und das auf den schlechten Straßen! Doch das war früher! In 30-Sekunden-Abständen werden die Teilnehmer in Brescia auf die Strecke geschickt, folgen weitestgehend der originalen Streckenführung zunächst süd-östlich über Ferrara und die Ebenen bis hin zu Ravenna an der Adria. Von dort aus geht es hoch in die schneebedeckten Apenninen (die Mille findet traditionell im Mai statt, weswegen die Höhenlagen meistens noch nicht schneefrei sind), um zum
D
Most cars that are entered into the Mille Miglia races are museum pieces...
...but lately the Beetles lead by VW Classic have been making their comeback!
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
83
Lucky13 Kustom Kulture Event Words: Niels Timmerman Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
When we were invited to this event we instantly accepted. The AirMighty crew is always up for a nice day out that involves cool custom cars. So we set up a small AirMighty Megascene trade stand and spent the day sniffing paint fumes in Lucky Lenn’s shop during his annual garage sale and pinstriping day! > t was a typical autumn morning when we headed out to Lenn van Beek’s Lucky13 Kustom Lifestyle store - the 28th of October and, no kidding, it was seriously freezing in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJsel, near Rotterdam. But despite the weather the carpark was crammed with cool custom cars by the time we arrived. Some diehard pinstriping aficionados had even ridden to the event on their motorcycles. Lenn, aka “Lucky Lenn”, is a pinstriper himself and every year he invites his pinstriper and other Kustom Lifestyle artist friends to meet up at his “Garage Sale and Pinstripe Event”. This time there were pinstripers from Holland, Belgium and Germany, plus sculpture and Tiki carvers. Among the artists present were El-Cheapo, Mystic-Al, Sen-One, Tiki-J and Ruben Ooms, to name but a few. Inside Lenn’s clothing store there’s a place where he keeps his hotrod - just how trendy is that! The perfect working environment in our opinion! Out in
I
Always nice to see cool customised US cars
the carpark we found the usual suspects, like the members from the Undutchables VW Club and a whole posse of the Scrapers C.C. and their respective super-cool cars. Never mind the freeze, there was plenty of One-Shot paint being applied to cars en plein air - it is a pinstriping event after all. We’re pretty sure that everyone went home with a souvenir of the event, either painted on their ride or in their car’s boot, as there was plenty of Kustom art being bought. We even saw someone struggling to fit a huge handcarved Tiki statue into a tiny car… Lenn’s event was a great winter break, a Kustom fix that sent us home with smiles on our faces. s war ein verdammt kalter Morgen, als wir am 28. Oktober 2011 zu Lenn van Beeks Lucky 13 Kustom Lifestyle-Laden aufbrachen. Der erste Frost hatte Nieuwerkerk aan den Ijsel, nahe Rotterdam, heimgesucht. Und doch war der Parkplatz gut gefüllt mit
E
Techtip Marco’s daily, on Cosmics, what else?
Aircooled Volkswagens mixed up with American cars, we like this alot!
90
Kustom Cars und sogar Motorrädern von einigen Hardcore-Pinstripe-Fans. Lenn, auch Lucky Lenn genannt, ist selber Pinstriper und lädt ein Mal im Jahr seine Kunden und Freunde zum "Garage Sale and Pinstripe Event" ein. Dieses Mal trafen sich dort auch Pinstripe-Kollegen aus Holland, Belgien und Deutschland, dazu gesellten sich noch Skulptur- und Tiki-Schnitzer. Unter den Künstlern fanden sich Namen wie El Cheapo, Mystic Al, Sen One, Tiki J und Ruben Ooms, um nur ein paar zu nennen. Im Laden selbst, wo Lenn Klamotten verkauft, hat er übrigens seinen Hot Rod stehen. Cool, oder? Das wäre für uns der perfekte Arbeitsplatz. Draußen vor der Tür gab es wie gesagt auch einiges zu sehen, darunter die üblichen Verdächtigen wie den Undutchables VW Club und den Scrapers C. C. mit entsprechen lässigen Fahrzeugen. Und trotz des kalten Wetters bekamen viele der Wagen frische Pinstripes - schließlich geht es hier ja
Despite the cold weather bike’s were riden out
Inside Lenn’s shop there was a full on Pinstriping gathering going on.
Show | Lucky13 Kustom Kulture
>
Lucky Lenn’s clothing shop is the official Lucky-13 distribution point for Holland! Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
91
Outlaw Dauphine 94
Gratin Dauphinois a la sauce d’Outlaw Here’s the recipe: take one part Renault Dauphine, slice it up, add some tubing and a quick Aircooled flat-four engine, with a dab of oldschool turbo setup on top. Stir together in the Wolfsburg Performance Services workshop, and serve it hot at your local drag strip! Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Laurent Bagnard
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
95
Pictures: Joep van Cranenbroek | Niels Timmerman Words: Niels Timmerman Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto
> On our way to Ninove in Belgium. This years ‘AirMighty Cruise 2 Ninove’ counted over 103 aircooled VWs, it was massive!
AirMighty Cruise 2 Ninove his was our 5th AirMighty Cruise 2 Ninove! It’s become an event in its own right, attracting ever more cars every year. As usual we set off from our warehouse for the Hazeldonk meeting point on the Belgian/ Dutch border, this year with 15 cars. Once we got there numbers rapidly grew, and at 10.00am we were off to Ninove. More cars joined us along the way and by the end our convoy numbered well over 100 cars! That was a super impressive sight, seeing the entire highway taken over by Aircooled cars, hitting Ninove just before noon. Roll on next year!
T
At certain moments all the lanes were packed
ereits zum fünften Mal fand der AirMighty Cruise nach Ninove statt! Langsam entwickelt sich der Konvoi zu einem eigenen, kleinen Event und zieht von Jahr zu Jahr mehr Fahrzeuge an. Wie üblich starteten wir an der AirMighty Lagerhalle mit etwa 15 luftgekühlten VW in Richtung erster Treffpunkt in Hazeldonk, an der holländisch-belgischen Grenze. Dort stieg die Teilnehmerzahl schnell an und als wir gegen 10 Uhr in Richtung Ninove losfuhren, hatte sich bereits eine stattliche Anzahl alter Volkswagen versammelt. Immer mehr VW schlossen sich unter-
B
Quite the impressive sight this long line of VW’s
Along the way more Aircooled cars joined in, once we entered on the Belgian teritory it became huge!
106
wegs an, um schließlich einen über 100 Autos zählenden Konvoi zu bilden. Es war ein unbeschreiblicher Anblick, wie diese Masse an Luftgekühlten einfach die Autobahn einnahm! Kurz vor Mittag erreichten wir Ninove und Ihr könnt drauf wetten, dass wir den Cruise auch nächstes Jahr wieder organisieren! ifficile à croire, mais c’était déjà la cinquième caravane AirMighty pour Ninove! C’est devenu un évènement à part entière qui attire de plus en plus de voitures chaque année. Comme de coutume, la ballade a
D
Riding very low, this oval on BTR wheels
Always great photo opertunities while cruising
Show | FreddyFiles Ninove 2012
FreddyFiles Ninove’12 Pictures: Niels Timmerman Words: Kobus Cantraine Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto
Legendary names in the VW firmament already: Kieft en Klok and T2D; so with these guys on board, Freddyfiles No 15 was bound to be an “epic” event > he weather turned out just fine, and VeeDub fans showed up from all over Europe. This year’s special Cal-Look programme didn’t just reach last year’s record of 650 cars, it topped it handsomely! In the end more than 750 cars made it to this Cal-Look edition along with the 48IDA gettogether (gotta love those slurping Webers!). Those guys are well motivated! AirCooled clubs rolled in from Italy, Switzerland (the Hangy team), the UK (JG54), Germany (DFL), Holland (DVK), and of course some super-turned-on and tuned-in guys from Belgium who just had to be there in numbers to defend their colours on home soil ! DAS and DBS cars were also out in force. Along with vast numbers of aircoolers, we’d also invited the local Café Racer club to show off their bikes. This crew is called the Flying Hermans after their tame crow, who’s called - Herman, of course! The world of modified motorbikes opened up before our widening eyes. OldTimer machines from the ’50s ’60s, ’70s and even YoungTimer ’80s bikes were being given the same TLC we bestow on our aircoolers, and why not? Meanwhile the local two-wheeler club were going great guns with their beer stall, pulling
T
démarré de notre hangar avec une quinzaine de voitures. En route vers Hazeldonk, notre point de ralliement à la frontière belgohollandaise, puis direction Ninove pour une ballade de deux heures sous le soleil. Progressivement, d’autres personnes nous ont rejoint pour atteindre un total de plus de cent voitures – quel spectacle impressionnant sur l’autoroute ! Rejoignez-nous l’année prochaine pour voir ça de vos propres yeux… l
www.AirMighty.com
a brew from the area known as WITKAP. Plenty of locals swelled the crowd, mixing with the AirCooled Volkswagen enthusiasts and checking out all the cars, and for sure there were some eye-popping experiences awaiting the uninitiated! For example, Klaus Missing's best-in-show-winning Hebmuller coupe, or a Fridolin, even a genuine wartime Kübelwagen equipped with Ercos and race slicks in honour of the Cal-Look meet. This Swiss Kübel took a Top 15 prize as well. Welcome to Cal-Look heaven. Sixty-seven cars performed their once-a-year deck-lid lifting operation to reveal their hot engines complete with 48IDAs, of course. The quality of the exhibits gets better every time, as more and more aficionados find their way to high-end restoration enterprises and powertrain wizards so their cars stand out from the crowd. And that makes it harder and harder each year to select the winning car! Prizegiving started at 16:00, handing out the www.bbt4vw.com sponsored trophies. All the lucky winners were given theirs by Miss Freddyfiles 2012, Sabrina (and no, we can’t reveal her phone number). There were prizes for the TOP15, the TOP3 Cal-Look prize, a special AirMighty award, a T2D award, the
No, this isn’t So-Cal... this is Europe!
This Samba looked like it came straight from L.A.
Not all the VW’s were modified in Ninove...
DVK Jesse Mast’s recently finished ‘64 Beetle
Many Cal Lookers came to the 15th Freddy Files
Always nice when a lovely Porsche 356 shows up
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
107
Von Dutch aircooled VW powered bike We all know the name... “Von Dutch” today it’s even a clothing brand, but back in the days he was just a very, very creative mind that left his mark on the Custom scene with his wild creations and mad paintjobs. We have found something about him that few people knew about, he built a VW powered Harley Davidson and we got the full story for you!
Words: Chadly Johnson Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Chadly Johnson
110
Like all of Von Dutch’s work he signed it, 1966!
A Steward Warner oil pressure gauge was added
n the mid 1960s world renowned pinstriper and custom builder Von Dutch found himself living in “hiding’ from the reputation he had built, and working as a mechanic in an un-disclosed motorcycle shop in Southern California… A goal was established of a low budget motorcycle capable of running a side car to haul a horse of all things. Using money earned from the sale of a pistol he had crafted Von Dutch scrounged junkyards collecting components to complete his vision. A Harley Davidson Experimental Army (HDXA) frame was utilized along with a 36 hp Volkswagen engine for power. The VW power plant was chosen due to its smooth, lower rpm acceleration in comparison with equivalent horse power engines. The Harley’s original gear box was mated to the 36 hp engine by means of an adaptor plate fabricated by Von Dutch. Though the generator remains in place the cooling fan and shroud were removed and cooling duties were moved to an external oil radiator found in a dump. Fuel is delivered through a set of Amal carburetors and spent fumes exit through a set of Triumph mufflers. Once the HDXA was complete Von Dutch discovered his design for the side car was not going to work as planned which apparently greatly upset him, so the bike was completely torn down and pushed it into the corner of the shop. The disassembled bike was then purchased/traded to legendary custom car builder & pinstriper Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. The still disassembled bike was later sold to Randy Blackwell who reassembled it and put it on display at his chopper shop in Longbeach, California. When Randy and his wife later moved to Tennessee they brought the bike with them and parked it inside their barn. 30+ years later Mike Wolfe enters the equation. Mike has a television show on the History Channel called “American Pickers” where he travels the back roads of American in search of what he calls rusty gold. After “picking” a property for his show Mike received a phone call from the property owner that a lady down the road had a VW powered motorcycle built by Von Dutch sitting in her barn. The story sounded a little too good to be true. Mike figured the VW powered bike must actually be a trike, but the gentleman assured him the engine sat between your legs. Mike did some quick research online and discovered Von Dutch had in fact built such a piece, so he hit the road to check it out. Needless to say when Mike laid eyes on the lost, iconic bike he didn’t leave until it was added to his stable of early American motorcycles. Now on display at his Antique Archeology store in Nashville, Tennessee the world is welcome to check out this masterpiece crafted by one of history’s legends up close and personal. You can rest
I
The bike’s unrestored and all the pinstriping is OG
assured that under Mike’s care the bike will not be restored but retain every pinstripe, every hand formed panel, and personality flaw collected in the bike’s nearly 50 years. s war eine Vision, eine Von Dutch-Vision. Mit wenig finanziellen Mitteln wollte er ein Motorrad schaffen, das in einem Beiwagen ein Pferd transportieren könnte! Den finanziellen Grundstock bildete der Erlös einer Pistole, die der berühmte Künstler hergestellt hatte, doch die meisten Teile versuchte er auf Schrottplätzen zu schnorren. Als Rahmen verwendete er den einer (heute sehr seltenen) Harley Davidson Experimental Army (HDXA) und pflanzte ihm einen 30 PS Käfer-Motor ein. Von Dutch wählte den Typ 1, weil er im Vergleich zu ähnlich starken Triebwerken bereits aus dem unteren Drehzahlbereich heraus mit samtweichem Durchzug überzeugt. Daran schloss der Pinstriper mittels einer selbstgefertigten Adapterplatte das originale Harley-Getriebe an. Und obwohl die Lichtmaschine auf ihrem Platz blieb, entfernte er den Gebläsekasten samt Lüfter und übertrug deren Arbeit einem externen Ölkühler, den er auf einer Schutthalde gefunden hatte. Kraftstoff lieferte ein Paar Amal Vergaser und die verbrannten Gase entsorgten zwei Triumph-Auspuffrohre. Als die HDXA dann endlich fertig war, musste Von Dutch feststellen, dass seine Idee mit dem Beiwagen nicht wie geplant funktionieren würde. Voller Ärger und Wut nahm er das Motorrad auseinander und stellte die Brocken in eine dunkle Ecke der Werkstatt. Später tauschte er das zerlegte Zweirad mit dem berühmten Custom Car-Erbauer und Pinstriper Ed "Big Daddy" Roth ein. Der baute es jedoch auch nicht auf und verkaufte es in Teilen an Randy Blackwell, der es komplettierte und in seinem Chopper Shop in Longbeach, Kalifornien, ausstellte. Einige Jahre später zogen Randy und seine Frau nach Tennessee, nahmen das Motorrad mit und stellten es in eine Scheune. Gut 30 Jahre später betrat Mike Wolfe die Bühne. Mike hat eine eigene Fernsehshow mit Namen “American Pickers” auf dem Geschichts-Kanal, in der er über die Nebenstraßen der USA fährt, immer auf der Suche nach "rostigem Gold", wie er es nennt. Als er mal wieder ein Grundstück nach Schätzen durchsuchte, bekam er einen Anruf vom Eigner, der ihm von einer alten Dame erzählte, die nicht weit weg wohne und ein von Von Dutch gebautes Motorrad mit VW-Motor besäße. Das klang fast zu schön um wahr zu sein. Mike war sich sicher, dass es sich hier um ein Trike handeln musste, doch der Herr am Telefon versicherte ihm das Gegenteil: Der Motor säße zwischen den Beinen! Schnell recherchierte Mike online und erfuhr so von diesem Eigenbau. Also nichts wie hin und überprüfen, was dran ist, an der Geschichte. Unnötig zu sagen, dass Mike, nachdem er das Motorrad mit eigenen Augen gesehen hatte,
E
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
111
Mille Miglia Oval Words: Georg Otto Translation: Kobus Cantraine | Yves Maertens Pictures: Andreas Reinhold
128
Besides the Targa Florio and the Carrera Panamericana the Mille Miglia is the most famous long distance race in the world. Many big names participated in that competition, like Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Porsche and‌ Volkswagen. Yes, the guys form Wolfsburg competed with Beetles and were pretty successful in the 1950s. Now Volkswagen Classic wants to repeat those triumphs and is sending out Splits and Ovals like this one to stir up the rivals again!
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
129
Kick back, have a beer and chill with your friends...
...and the kids were having an equally relaxed day
Perfect for an event like this, a Westfalia camper
hanks to the positive feedback we received in 2010 after the first AirMighty Supper Picnic - ‘we’ being Michiel of Eetcafé Fijn fame and myself - we started looking for a bigger and better spot to have our second AirMighty Summer Picnic. And we found exactly what we were looking for, right next to the open-air swimming pool at Apeldoorn in Holland. On the 3rd September, after it had been raining for almost the whole of August, we were treated to a perfect sunny Saturday! The Picnic had a wonderful laidback vibe: no stress, and a great family day out with the weather as an added bonus. Soon enough, everyone was ready to hit the pool, and the kids absolutely adored this new location. Michiel, aka Mr Fijn, made sure the catering was top notch, providing hot sandwiches, ice cream and chilled drinks for all! The rest of us just kicked back and watched the field fill up with beautiful cars.
Holland, and more than 300 people. Since the site at Apeldoorn worked so well, lots of them asked if we could turn the picnic into a 2-day event with overnight camping. So, we checked it out, and… yes, we’ve got a permit for 2012. So we will be back at Apeldoorn for the third AirMighty Summer Picnic on the weekend of 15th and 16th of September! Be there or be square, and bring your hamper, BBQ and swimwear, plus of course your AirCooled Volkswagen! This time we’ll treat you to live music, camping, super clean toilets and showers, all with that delightful pool on hand. All the ingredients for a perfect weekend if you ask me! Odds on, the sun will shine too. I’m looking forward to it already.
schnell, was wir brauchten - direkt neben dem Freibad von Apeldoorn in Holland. Am 3. September trafen wir uns dort und wurden von einem herrlich sonnigen Tag verwöhnt - nachdem es im August fast durchgängig regnete! Das sorgte natürlich für eine entspannte Stimmung und man genoss den Tag mit Familie und Freunden. Es dauerte nicht lange, bis alle für das Schwimmbecken fertig waren und vor allem die Kinder genossen dieses neue Highlight. Michiel, auch bekannt als Mr. Fjin, sorgte für das Catering. Warme Sandwiches, Eis und kalte Getränke gab's für alle und so konnten wir relaxt zusehen, wie sich die Wiese nach und nach mit luftgekühlten Volkswagen füllte. Insgesamt nahmen knapp über 100 VW und 300 Leute teil - wenn das mal kein Erfolg war! Und weil das Gelände so perfekt zu diesem Treffen passt, fragten uns viele der Besucher, ob wir nicht eine 2-TagesVeranstaltung daraus machen könnten. Euer Wunsch war uns Befehl und tatsächlich bekamen wir eine Genehmigung für 2012!
T
The picnic was a great success, with well over 100 Aircooled VWs from all over
Always nice to see super clean Type 2’s like these
achdem wir so gute Resonanz auf unser erstes AirMighty Summer Picnic 2010 bekommen haben, suchten Michiel Van Den Bosch vom Eetcafé Fjin und ich nach einem größeren Platz für die zweite Auflage des Picknicks. Und wir fanden
N
A few replica Porsches showed up on the lawn
In the early afternoon the whole area filled up with cool Aircooled Volkswagens
138
Barry Krul’s single cab, the cover car of AM#01
Just perfect, the weather, the people and the vibe! See you there next time?
Show | AirMighty Summer Picnic
Fijne AirMighty
Summer
Picnic Having a relaxing time with family, friends and your beloved aircooled VW is what it’s all about at the AM Summer Picnic! And on the warmest day in September, what more could we ask for... > Words: Niels Timmerman Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto Pictures: Niels Timmerman
Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
139
Words: Kobus Cantraine
144
Translation: Yves Maertens | Georg Otto
Pictures: David Hall
Dan Smith has owned a few VWs in the past, so this Ghia was supposed to be an easy project. But in the end the car even got nicknamed Christine: it took blood, sweat and tears to get it looking like this. Winter 2012 | AirMighty Megascene |
145
Subscribe > Do it now and don’t miss a thing! Just log in on the webshop at www.AirMighty.com and fill in the form to get the next ‘megascene’ in your mailbox every 3 months!
Next time... 162