15 minute read
From Africa with love
When you’re the owner of an auction house, and have just imported some classic cars from South Africa, you could be forgiven for dipping your hand in the till, so to speak… Words Mark Walker Pics Paul Knight From Africa imported some classic cars from South Africa, you could be forgiven for dipping your hand in the till, so to speak… Paul Knightwith love Mark Walker Pics
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avid Boulton launched BPI Auctions (www.bpiauctions.com) a few years ago now and it has grown to be one of the UK’s favourite auction platforms for businesses, holding over 1,200 events annually at its premises in Wake eld, west Yorkshire. Having found a useful contact in South Africa, David then started importing a few classic cars as a bit of a sideline. In the process of which he found this ’61 Single Cab in decent shape, and decided it would make the perfect tool to promote his business.
Let’s face it, Single Cabs are pretty much the coolest incarnation of the VW Transporter. You get all the bene ts of a Split Screen Bus, and the ability to move a ton of oversize stu around that might not otherwise t in a Panel Van. Sure, ‘real estate’ on the sides is more limited, but they still make a great rolling billboard, and have been logo’d up by businesses with imaginative liveries from day one.
Having decided on a plan, David wasted no time in having the solid body knocked into even straighter shape, after which it was painted with several coats of L31 Dove Blue, a well-loved colour that endured from 1950-1967, the entire length of Split Screen production.
Burwell bound
With a freshly painted rolling ’shell, David then went in search of a company with the experience required to handle the rest of the build, which led him to Type 2 Detectives in Burwell, Cambridgeshire (www.type2detectives.com).
Proprietors, Paul Medhurst and Mark Fulton, were happy to take on the project. After all, what’s not to love about stepping in after all the messy and dirty work has been done, and doing the glory work? I know some people thrive on metalwork, others love the painting process, but there’s a lot to be said for the more tranquil, and in nitely cleaner environment of the re-assembly process.
And there’s also the satisfaction of knowing every part you put on is one step closer to the end of the project. Guiding lights
As David, by his own admission, isn’t really part of the VW scene, he asked for, and willingly heeded, a bit of guidance from Mark and Paul about how to progress. He knew he wanted the Bus to sit a bit lower than stock, and was keen on some di erent wheels, but he wasn’t after a slammed and narrowed ‘scene’ truck.
With this in mind, the guys at T2D detailed and re tted the stock width beam, and then added a set of ‘ ipped’ dropped spindles to bring the front end down by 3½ inches. Onto that went a set of early Porsche 944 disc brakes on T2D brackets. Not only did this improve stopping power immensely, it handily meant the chromed and detailed 4.5 x 15-inch Fuchs replicas could be bolted up without adapters. A pair of T2D’s specially made Bilstein shocks help soak up the bumps a bit better, while a conversion to steering rack makes the old Split a vastly di erent animal to drive.
Moving to the rear, the reduction box transmission was removed in favour of a straight axle conversion, complete with Bilstein shocks and adjustable spring plates. Being a Beetle-derived unit, there are Porsche pattern rear drums available straight o the shelf, so a pair of these were bolted up to enable the tment of matching wheels to the signi cantly lower rear end. Bite the bullet
We’ve become so used to seeing US-import Buses over here that it’s easy to forget that not all ’55-onwards Splits had bullet front indicators. In fact, all those destined for Europe and the rest of the world outside America retained their funky semaphore indicators until 1960 and so, being of South African origin, that’s what this truck left the Hanover factory equipped with. Converted to 12V units, they’re now literally better than when they were new.
As it was built for the South African market, this pick-up left the factory equipped with option M004 – a pair of large air intakes positioned on the back of the cab to draw cleaner air into the engine bay from the bed of the truck. ere are a few di erent designs when it comes to dusty conditions trucks. Some have large intakes positioned just inside the side pick-up gates, while the Australian market had the ‘High-roof’ models, which pull air in from the vents under the peak at the front of the roof. Engine is now a mild 1914cc with dual 40IDF Webers. Coupled with a Beetle gearbox it’s a far happier way to fly
We’re loving these factory fitted additional air scoops, designed to channel cleaner air into the engine bay in dusty environments. The bars are to stop small children and animals being sucked in. They’re known in the trade as option M004
Interior treatment is suitably sensible too, using putty-coloured vinyl and pleats to lift the commercial style trim
Additions include a wood rim wheel, Berg shifter, digital speedo and a RetroSound head unit with door panel speakers
One curious thing we noticed on David’s pick-up is that it has the rear cab vents and the regular pick-up rear corner vents. It’s unclear whether it left the factory like this (which would certainly be unusual), or whether the cab vents were a later addition. Another option is that the corners have been replaced at some point. Whatever the story, this combination is a bonus now as it funnels additional air into the 1914cc engine that Type 2 Detectives tted to help propel the truck back up to Yorkshire at a more spritely pace. Straight talking
e beauty of the upgrades to a straight axle transmission and a bigger capacity, dual carb engine is twofold: acceleration is notably improved (let’s face it, it could hardly be any worse!), but the Bus will easily now turn the speedo needle o the clock, too. e deletion of the reduction boxes means David can go around 20-25% faster for the equivalent revs, which means motorway cruising at 70mph is now comfortable, rather than a distant dream, accompanied by a screaming nightmare from the straight-cut reduction box gears.
at said, you have to be pretty clued up on the gearing options when it comes to doing a conversion like this. For years, everyone thought you had to have a GT Beetle ’box, with its coveted 3.88 gear set. Indeed, at one time there were probably more people driving about with supposed ‘GT Beetle’ gearboxes than they ever made GT Beetles! A 1500 ‘box, with its 4.12 ring and pinion was the next best thing, but these come a cropper when you approach the rst steep hill, as a stock 1600cc motor won’t deliver the goods required.
So, here’s my hot tip: a general rule of thumb is that any Bus with a stock 69mm crankshaft engine will perform better in day-to-day driving with a 1200 or 1300 (4.375 ring and pinion) gearbox. Of course, Type 2 Detectives have been doing this long enough to know how to select the right engine and transmission combination, and that knowledge pays o in the driving experience.
With all the mechanical side of things buttoned up in the T2D workshop, the truck moved into the clean area to have the polished front and rear safari windows tted, as well as the new interior.
T2D have been using their own trusted trimmers for years, and
they covered the seats and door panels in putty-coloured vinyl, which works very well against the exterior blue for a classic look that’s a good bit com er than the original commercial-spec garb. For pleasure
As far as additional creature comforts go, there’s a digital speedo that’s hopefully more accurate than the old cable-drive version, 17-inch wood rim steering wheel with blacked-out spokes, Gene Berg shifter and a RetroSound DAB radio, which all help make driving a bit more pleasurable. e crowning glory, however, is the hand-painted BPI Auctions logos, which were expertly applied by Mandy Melliard at Sign 79 (you’ll nd her on Instagram @sign79co) who Mark and Paul call up to Burwell whenever they have anything that needs signwriting or lettering. Mandy added logos to all three drop gates and the cab doors, leaving the nose free of extra adornments for aesthetics purposes.
When you are used to the driving position, comfort levels and response of a modern car, it can be a shock stepping into a Split Screen Bus, but David is delighted with the nished truck. He now has a classic air-cooled VW that drives better than they ever did when new to use as a fun vehicle, while at the same time promoting his company on the roads of Yorkshire and beyond. at’s what we call having the best of both worlds. ■
Polished safari windows front and back are another tasty upgrade to the sombre commercial vibe
When we see pick-ups restored as nicely as this, we always onder if they’ll ever do any picking up again
Through the square window you’ll find the fuel filler. Through the narrow slots further forward the semaphores
Many Melliard at Sign 79 is a master of type and a dab hand with a brush. The hand-painted signage is her wonderful work
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