Vw wagensville news august 2016 lr

AUGUST 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 19

WAGENSVILLE

ACHTUNG BABY! AND SO FORTH!

NEWS

Wagensville

News

VWCLUB.COM.AU

VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF VICTORIA VWCV COMMITTEE 2016

VWCV MEMBERSHIP FEES

n President n Vice President n Secretary n Treasurer n Editor n Associate Editor n Web Master n Club Historian n Technical Officer n Membership Secretary n Club Plate Scheme Officer n Cruise and Events Co-ordinator n Constitution & Association matters

Richard Graham president@vwclub.com.au Andrew Ermel vicepresident@vwclub.com.au Chris Scane secretary@vwclub.com.au Matt Reynolds treasurer@vwclub.com.au Andy RyanÂŽ editor@vwclub.com.au Josh Handicott associateeditor@vwclub.com.au Julian Langlet webmaster@vwclub.com.au Chris Scane historian@vwclub.com.au John Goodison technical@vwclub.com.au Andrew Mengyl memberships@vwclub.com.au Andrew Ermel chplates@vwclub.com.au Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au John Stevens constitution@vwclub.com.au

n Day of the Volkswagen

Lloyd Davies

Single Annual Full membership Single 3 year Full Membership Family Membership additional Membership Joining Fee

$60 $155 $20 per mem/per year $10 first year only

dovw@vwclub.com.au

Wagensville is the monthly newsletter of the Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc. Correspondence, articles and items of news or items for sale are invited and should be sent to: VWCV Editor: GPO Box 1215 Melbourne, Vic 3001 or editor@vwclub.com.au Disclaimer: All material in this newsletter represents the opinions of the author(s) and does not carry any endorsement by the Editor or Committee unless otherwise stated. Any material advertised for sale does not carry any endorsement by the Club and the onus is on the purchaser to ensure the purchased goods meet their requirements. Each VWCV Member is a volunteer carrying out club duties in their own leisure time. The Club has no paid officials, only enthusiasts dedicated in furthering the interests of the Club and its members. Therefore, please bear this in mind when contacting Club Committee Members.

Bits and pieces of art direction, creativity, inspiration, humour and encouragement: Mason RyanÂŽ AUGUST 2016

3

PRESIDENT

Letter to

the editorS

RICHARD GRAHAM

THIS REPORT COMES TO YOU FROM SUNNY QUEENSLAND, WHILST PIGGY BACKING MY FAMILY HOLIDAY ONTO THE VW SPECTACULAR 2016 IN VALLA, NSW. Over 500 Volkswagens travelled to Valla this year, coming from as far as Western Australia. A few Victorians from both the Ballarat VW club and our own Melbourne based club made the long journey up north and attended the event.

It's a good two days drive to cover the 1700 so kilometres to get there and can be hard work in an old VW. But cars came from north, south, east and west to attend this bi annual event. The festivities have been extended to run for the entire week. I arrived on the Friday night, in time for the Saturday morning street show in Nambucca Heads.The main strip was full of all sorts of variations of pre 1980s VWs. Some stock, some heavily modified and some just right out of left field. But every car there had an owner that appreciates the brand and the love of the cars and that's all that matters.

Saturday afternoon saw the swap meet at the Valla caravan park amongst other entertainment including a limbo competition for cars. This certainly proved to be a popular idea with people doing anything to get their car under the limbo stick. This included loading the car with as many people as could fit in or on it, or in one extreme case, jumping on the roof of a battered type 3 and squashing it. But before you jump on social media and blow a fuse, the car was already heading to the scrap yard and is very much beyond repair. Mind you it did create quite a stir on old Facebook.

Sunday was the show and shine display, trophy presentations and finally farewells, as many began heading home. Overall a great event with many cars we Victorians don't get to see in person much, due to distance. The event will be on again in 2018, so if you're thinking of going, book your accommodation well in advance as everything in Valla and Nambucca Heads fills up with like-minded VW nuts!

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Wagensville News

Here in Victoria though, we keep the events churning out to keep us “Mexicans” happy with our vehicles.

Our Christmas in July was once again a fantastic event, with many people heading to Element and enjoying the delicious Christmas food served up. Once again, the staff at Element were as accommodating as ever, and on behalf of the VWCV, I would like to thank them for their hard work in making this another great yearly event. Also thanks to Lloyd and Lyn Davies for their organisation as well as our webmaster Julien for setting up the online bookings.

This was a trial event for this type of booking.

Apologies to those who had trouble booking. We are continuously improving the way we do things like this, so it's been a good learning curve.

VOLKWERKE TECH DAY This month we have a tech day on the 13th at Volkwerke on those wonderful things called brakes.

Come and learn about your VW's braking system.

Lloyd Davies has kindly donated his workshop and time for this Tech Day. We will be pulling apart and recommissioning the brakes on an early Beetle that has been sitting for a while. This will involve the master cylinder, brake lines, brake shoes, drums and wheel cylinders. A BBQ lunch will be provided also to keep everyone motivated. If your brake pedal is feeling spongy or likes to meet the firewall before it actually does anything, then this is a must for you. If you have a newer VW please come along and ask questions.

Lloyd will be more than happy to help you out.

GERMAN AUTO SHOW Don't forget, we have our huge German Auto Show this month also. Head organiser Julien Langlet and Chris Jeffes have been working tirelessly to make this as big as possible. A big turnout of German machines are expected. The big news too for this event, is Mark Fletcher from the TV show “Classic Restos” will be there on the day with his camera and microphone to film the day. Fletch filmed a few of our Day of the Volkswagens years ago and did a great job in doing so (and filmed this year's VITS in Albury). So if you have something remarkable or even just cool (as long as it's German), and you want to see it on the small screen, then make sure you attend this show. See the advert in our magazine for all the details.

Wayne Lewis

ONE LUMP OR TWO? Also this month we have our usual coffee meet on the 20th. Come down and give your VW a little time out of the shed and have a cuppa with other Veedubbers.

Also, we have our usual general meeting. This month we will be doing my hat questions. No it's not trivia on hats, its random questions drawn from a hat by random members. Last year we ran this for the first time and it proved to be a huge success. It allows us to hear great stories from our members and also have a few laughs along the way. Make sure you get along to the Austrian club for it.

Dear Editors, Good, I'm glad that this section is now closed. I will confirm this next month. I don't know what this is.

Roger Kransenting, Greensborough, Victoria

GOD SAVE THE GOVERNER GENERAL On a sad note I would like to say that I will be stepping down as President at the September AGM. I was hoping to do another year at the top job, but raising three young children is becoming more time consuming of late and after many years on the committee I believe it's time to hand the reigns to the new blood with eager ideas and enthusiasm. I hope to rejoin the committee again later on and have another go at president hopefully in the future. But the club is in good hands with amazing people ensuring our club will still be here, better than ever in our future.

BEEP BEEP! RICHARD GRAHAM VWCV EL-PRESIDENTE

AUGUST 2016

5

Pre-order a New Tiguan

VWCV CALENDAR

from Bayford Volkswagen Camberwell and get a

Don’t forget your

Membership Card!

DATE

TIME

EVENT

LOCATION

DETAILS

CONTACT

TBA

TECH DAY

Volkwerke, 171 Para Rd Greensborough

Lloyd Davies will be conducting a VW Tech Day.

Richard Graham president@vwclub.com.au

6.30pm

GENERAL MEETING Special members draw bring your memb/card

Meals available. Bring your membership card.

Richards Hat Questions.

Richard Graham president@vwclub.com.au

9:00am

MONTHLY COFFEE

Rocco & Coe, 1 Fennel St Pt Melbourne

Monthly coffee meet with plently of parking

Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au

Pre 1990 German Cars.

Top 5 Trophies. Food & drinks avaiable. Vehicle entry $10, public Gold Coin donation. Proceeds aid Deaf Children Aust.

Deaf Children Australia Grounds, 597 St Kilda Rd Melbourne.

Julian Langlet: webmaster@vwclub. com.au

500

$

AUGUST 8 18 20

28

GERMAN AUTO SHOW 9:00am

GIFT CARD

*

Orders taken before 19 September.

See page 12 of this magazine.

SEPTEMBER 15 17

6.30pm

Austrian Club, 90 SheeANNUAL GENERAL MEETING han Rd Heidelburg

VWCV AGM. The club will be providing a light supper/finger food.

Richard Graham president@vwclub.com.au

10:00am

MONTHLY COFFEE

Rocco & Coe, 1 Fennel St Pt Melbourne

Monthly coffee meet with plently of parking

Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au

10:00am

reVOLKS

Display at Eastern Beach Gardens Geelong

Camping available at Lorne from Friday 7/10.

Display on Sunday in Geelong. See website

Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au

10:00am

MONTHLY COFFEE

Rocco & Coe, 1 Fennel St Pt Melbourne

6.30pm

GENERAL MEETING Austrian Club

OCTOBER

6

This month’s winner is Matt Gardner. Congratulations!

Wagensville News

OXLEY RD

ST

Bayford Volkswagen Camberwell Sales and Service

D LR EL RW BE

Isn’t it about time you got involved? Your club magazine is always looking for more contributions from club members. And each month, one story is picked at random to receive a $50 JB HIFI gift voucher.

BURWO OD RD

M CA

YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU!

Your Volkswagen Partner

VICTOR IA RD

ALBERT

Bring your VW along for Richard Graham Night Of The Volkswagen, president@vwclub.com.au a mini pre DOTVW show.

RD

20

Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au

AUBURN

15

HENRY ST

9

675 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East LMCT8128 Tel: 03 9811 1888 www.bayfordvolkswagen.com.au Contact our Sales department for an appointment.

*Present this flyer when you pre-order a 2017 Tiguan from Bayford Volkswagen Camberwell before September 19th to receive your $500 Coles Myer gift card.

CRAFTY!

57 OVAL FOR SALE

THE NEW ALL VW 2017 CRAFTER

NOTE: VEHICLE MAY HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTLY LOWERED DURING MAGAZINE PRODUCTION (SYSTEM ERROR 401)

Those in the market for a panel van may be interested in the all-new Volkswagen Crafter, which has just been unveiled.

While the previous generation Crafter shared its platform with the Mercedes Sprinter, that deal has ended and the new Crafter is its own van. This all-new model benefits from a variety of new technology, and will be built at a brand-new plant in Poland specifically made to build Crafters. The new Crafter has the standard Volkswagen ‘family face’, which seems to translate quite nicely onto a larger, boxy vehicle. Lying behind the corporate grille is VW’s familiar 2.0-litre diesel engine. It will be available in four power outputs – 1075kW, 90kW, and 103kW, while the twin-turbo version pumps out 130kW of power and headlines the range. (No engines are air-cooled – AR®) At 0.33, the new Crafter’s drag coefficient will be the lowest in its class, making the new model more aerodynamic than any other large commercial van in production.

The diesel engine is mated to a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes, and buyers even have the choice of front, rear, or 4MOTION all-wheel drive, depending on their needs.

Three different lengths and three different roof heights mean that whatever load you want to carry, you should be able to find a Crafter to suit your needs. Expect an entry-level load bay of around 2,600mm, in line with the current model, with a

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Wagensville News

width of about 1,300mm to match. There'll also be a range of specialist bodystyles and base vehicles ready for conversion to suit the needs of different businesses.

The big news for potential Crafter owners is the addition of lots of safety tech, both active and passive.

The Crafter is the first large panel van with electric power steering, allowing for more safety systems to actively intervene during driving. That means the new Crafter has ESP with trailer stabilisation, adaptive cruise control, side-wind assistance and a trailer manoeuvring system – all available either as standard or optional equipment.

There’s also front, side, and head airbags for driver and passenger, as well as a reversing camera, parking sensors and a rear traffic alert system. Other safety highlights are LED headlights with a cornering system as well as main beam assist.

THIS TYPE 1 IS A FACTORY ROLL OUT SPEC RESTORATION, DONE IN THE 90'S.

autoexpress.co.uk

THE PRIDE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

But since then, it has done less than 1,000 miles. Still runs 6 volt. Has had a new wiring harness done by Remo auto electrics at the Glynde. Body was separated from floorpan, rust removed and was completely resprayed and re-upholstered. Original 1196 engine and gearbox rebuilt. Original NOS carpet from Germany. Bumper indicators can be disconnected and easily removed which allows semaphores to be plugged into wiring harness. Original number plates are not included with car, but can be negotiated if wanted.

Car is currently located at the Classic Car museum in Renmark, South Australia. $18,000. (08) 8410 0869.

VALLA 2016 VALLA 2016 FROM VALLA FIRST TIMERS First of all we have to thank John Stevens for all the effort he put in organising the trip to Valla. John took care of the bookings and even organised a mini convoy from Melbourne to Valla Beach. Bernadette and I decided to go the long way however, including Birdsville. Then a ten day trek with other off-road vans, ending at Tennant Creek. We then headed South/ East to get to Valla Beach Caravan Park, to meet up with the VWCV contingent on the Thursday at lunch time. This is where the fun started, as the sites the campers had been allocated were small. Some had a fence across half of the site, leaving very little room to manoeuvre our Tvan off road camper in. The guys in Kombis fared much

better. Valla organiser, Donna, was most apologetic and sent someone over to remove the fence (I must stress that this was not John's fault at all). We all then set up camp and soon found that although we had been relegated to the back blocks, it wasn't all bad, as when the folks in their VW's were doing laps of the park, they drove past our camp which was good fun. The rest of the day was spent chilling out and checking out the VW's. We all gathered at Lloyd and Lyn's Crafter to cook our evening meal and chat (and some of us even had a few drinks).

FRIDAY DAWNED and some headed into Coffs Harbour to see the sights (Big Banana etc) and then called in at the racetrack at Raleigh Raceway on the way back to watch the racing. There were all sorts of VW's racing and it was great to see so many going really hard to put in impressive times. It was a “run what you brung� affair, but some were very serious indeed, including a chopped kombi with a Porsche engine. Another gathering at the Crafter and a relatively early night (the days were beautiful and sunny but the nights were cold).

SATURDAY DAWNED and whilst Andrew, Mike and John headed into Nambucca ahead of all the VW's, the rest of us all piled into Andrea's Basil, to join the cruise. This all got off to a fine start and we arrived at the bottom of the road into Nambucca when everything ground to a halt. So we sat and waited. And waited. And waited. All told we reckon we sat there for about one and a half hours. John rang us to say there was a medical emergency in the Main Street so there was nothing we could do.

It turned out that there were two medical incidents in the Main Street, which is a first for Valla.

Whilst we waited in Basil, with windows, door and even the turret opened to let in some air, Andrea started off with some stories about being a midwife and we laughed and joked for the whole time we were waiting, until finally the convoy started again and we proceeded into the Main Street of Nambucca.

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Wagensville News

Photos courtesy of Andrea Green

The spectacle was amazing. VW's and some Porsches lined up and down the Main Street. There were hundreds of them. Everyone seemed happy and the whole vibe was cool. All the shops were doing a roaring trade as was the Vets hot food stands.

W

e all walked up and down the Main Street taking photos and looking many times in envy at the cars gathered. Andrea reckons she took a photo of nearly every Kombi, which was a huge task, as it seemed to me (a Beetle owner) that the majority of VWs were Kombis. At one o'clock it was time to pile back into Basil for the trip back to Valla Beach, with again lots of fun and banter going on.

seeing the sights. We made a fine spectacle with three Kombis, a Crafter and our non-VW following on behind. Valla is quite amazing as an event and we enjoyed the whole show but the best part was the friendship and fun we experienced as part of the VWCV contingent. Oh and the VW's.

Cheers from Wayne & Bernadette Hulbert Photos courtesy of Andrea Green

Next item was the swap meet where most of us walked around many times looking at all the treasures and some junk. Some of our members had good finds, so a good time was had by all, including the sellers who ended up with fat wallets as opposed to our empty ones. Another meal at the Crafter then on to the charity auction, where over $5,000 was raised for local charities. Sunday dawned cold but sunny and it was off to the show and shine so we could look at all the VW's again and take more photos.

AFTER THE SHOW AND SHINE, it was back into the swap meet and dealer stands in case we hadn't already spent enough. A group then decided that we really should take a look at the beach, so we went for a fairly long walk to the headland and back. It was quite beautiful. Another gathering at the Crafter then an early night to prepare us for the morning's pack up and trek home. A group of us stayed together for three days touring home and AUGUST 2016

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SOME DEUTSCHLAND CARS THAT YOU MAY SEE AT THE SHOW!

356 MUSTANG SPEEDSTER

EH OPEL POLIZEI PURSUIT VEHICLE

OPEL COMMODORE IMPALA

VOLKSWAGEN ROMETSCH MELBOURNE TAXI

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Wagensville News

*

PORSCHEBAKER 911 CARERRA SPEEDSTER

MERCEDES GOLFEN BUGGY MAYBACH

TYPE 1 -2-3 KARMANN GHERKEN

BUICK FIRETURD 911 TURBO

*But probably won't see at this show or any other show.

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VICE EL-PRESIDENTE | REPORT

ANDREW ERMEL JUST HAVING RETURNED FROM THE VALLA SPECTACULAR AND OVER 3000 KM TRAVELLED FOR THE WEEKEND IN MY GOLF5 TDI, I’M FEELING A BIT TIRED AND WEARY OF TRAVEL, BUT ALL IS GOOD!

Other notable Victorians in attendance at Valla were Craig Jamieson (Stenchy) and Tony Anstie who entertained the crowd at the new event “the VW Limbo”, where Tony’s Type 3 fastback on a beetle floor pan thrilled the crowds with its extra low stance and much pan scrapping as it went under the limbo bar even lower and lower, time and time again.

Valla was a great experience and first time attendee, Andrea Green in her Kombi sure did enjoy the parade into the town on the Saturday and those on Facebook may have seen the videos of that, event including the spectacular drone video footage taken byLloyd Davies.

Photo courtesy of Andrea Green

VALLA SPECTACULAR was a fantastic event this year, with lots of Vee Dubs and lots of VW goodies to be bought from the swap meet. There was a big contingent from Melbourne on the pilgrimage this year to Valla, including John Stevens, Mike Cronin, Rosko Daikin, Andrea Green, Lloyd & Lyn Davies, Peter & Margret Bruty, Dale and Jarred Brun and Wayne & Bernadette Hulbert. John Stevens did a fantastic job too of organising the travel the accommodation and getting us together each night for our evening’s entertainment and drinks. On the nights at Valla we sat around at Lloyd and Lyn’s camper, outside John’s cabin and had our fresh cooked fish dinners and BBQ with just a touch or red wine, beer and the odd single malt whisky.

VWCV President Richard Graham joined us on the Friday with Jayden, he had travelled up from Newcastle with a group of Herbie enthusiasts.

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Wagensville News

Club permits are going very strong, and this Saturday Michael Cronin and I will be attending a seminar at Seymour on the “M” plate scheme, which we will be looking at introducing to our club. This will allow us hopefully, to approve some engineer approved modified VW’s which we have not been able to approve on the “H” plate scheme in the past. This will require a bit of work from the club committee on finalising the requirements, but we are confident that it will be an asset in the long term to the club members who have modified vehicles.

The AGM is coming up soon and there will be some vacant positions including that of the Club President of which I will nominate for.

Happy VW motoring and keep those log books filled in and drive those cars!!

Andrew Ermel VICE President

AUGUST 2016

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TOP TIP

STOP/START TECHNOLOGY HERE'S A TIP TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK THAT YOU HAVE STOP/START TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR AIR-COOLED VOLKSWAGEN. When you pull up at the lights, quickly turn off the ignition with your left hand while keeping your right hand clearly visible on the steering wheel. Most cars these days have the ignition on the steering wheel and the key is normally inserted into the ignition with the right hand. Therefore drivers will stare in wonder at your up-to-date and environmentally friendly VW. If you have a 12 volt starter motor with a 6 volt flywheel, please allow an extra 30 seconds or up to 7 minutes to start the engine again. You can install 'L Plates' on the rear bumper to marginally minimise the abuse from drivers behind you for not immediately accelerating on the green light. If driving at night, please remember to turn the lights off and back on again if stuck at the lights for some time.

P

lease note that if you have one of those fancy heaters, a radio or windscreen wipers installed, these will not work with the engine turned off. But they should come back on if you get the car started again. It's good to keep your roadside assistance up-to-date when driving in the Stop/Start Technology mode. Also, you may have to install a

tandem solenoid starter motor, an extra heavy duty battery and low-friction bearings in your crankshaft due to the increase in the engine constantly stopping and (hopefully) being restarted.

Next week we will show you how to make your own airbag that can be made from camping equipment, soda cartridges and a bicycle pump! Once installed, all you'll need is some good reflexes as the airbag is manually operated.

TOP TIP

MAKE YOUR OWN AIRBAG THIS CAN BE EASILY MADE FROM HOMEMADE CAMPING EQUIPMENT, SODA CARTRIDGES AND A BICYCLE PUMP IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN LOUNGE ROOM!

You can option it up by installing a timer but these have proven to have inconsistent results.

ANDY RYAN®

S

Most airbags won’t deploy unless there is an impact or equivalent in deceleration of 23 km/h.

So if you are driving under that speed, either going forwards or reversing, your airbag will not deploy, especially if you don’t have airbags installed. So you could still crash at 22 km/h and keep your airbag in perfect working order!

o when you are about to crash, its best to slow down so that your airbag remains intact.

They can be quite difficult to put back into the steering wheel, especially at night time or while the car is moving.

Weld the leftover wires to a timer and install sensor light mechanism. Set sensor to distance required. This will need to be manually adjusted when driving as the distance changes as speed increases.

For maximum expansion on impact, insert some small, sharp nails to help speed up recoil lubrication of working parts and assist in deflating the airbag once impact is finished.

Fasten airbag to steering wheel with occy straps and then attach hose to correct end of bike pump and connect other end to the vehicle’s vacuum manifold if one is installed. Do not rev car over 2,500 RPM as this may set off the airbag. The engine must be kept running when re-fuelling so as not to re-set the sensor.

Once installed, all you’ll need is some good reflexes as the airbag is manually operated unless sensor is accurately set. The optional timer mentioned above has proven to have inconsistent results and its best simply to manually adjust the sensor as you drive.

For those people from other countries that drive on the other side of the road, please simply repeat this process in reverse. But I'm no expert. Good luck!

ANDY RYAN®

Now let’s get down to manufacturing your very own airbag. Firstly, I would advise upgrading your Volkswagen to 12 volts prior to commencing installation of the airbag.

The 6 volt airbag has double the reaction time of the 12 volt versions and if the lights and radio are on at the time of collision, the 6 volt airbag has been known to inflate up to 5 seconds AFTER impact which means the airbag gives little or no benefit.

STEPS 1 TO 4: Complete these steps prior to commencing manufacturing airbag. See page 79 of this month’s Wagensville News.

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STEP 5A: Purchase a 4-6 man tent from a camping shop then carefully cut the tent fabric into two x 300mm circular shapes whilst retaining the zipper element. Dispose of the remaining portion of the tent, poles, pegs etc. Stitch the two pieces together along the edges horizontally. Insert the explosive carbonated water soda cartridge inside the circular tentshaped object and connect the wires to the previously inserted bicycle pump (See figure 92). Make sure the black and red wires are inserted to the CORRECT end of the pump. (Not incorrect end).

Wagensville News

AUGUST 2016

17

Synchronised welding – Arbeiter bei LÜtarbeiten, 1953

s ’ n ria

o t s Hi

C

r e n r o

2006

In this month's ‘Corner’ we have some more interesting tales from our club newsletter, ‘Wagensville News’ and other Volkswagen publications of that time.

T

his month the club celebrates the 1958 big window beetle, the biggest change in Type 1 sedans, at that time for 5 years. How this change affected the sales of Volkswagens in Australia is worth exploring. I hope you enjoy these and please feel to contact me if you can help in developing the documentation our history.

Frank Kilfoyle was the Club President and C. Barber was the Club Champion. The club was 4 years old and the committee was working hard to provide an interesting program for the enthusiastic group of Volkswagen Club members in Melbourne. Our club championship was born the previous year with Frank Kilfoyle taking out the first of three Club Championships but in 1958 it was C. BARBER.

AUG

1958

The trophy for the Club Championship was named after Laurie Whitehead, VW proprietor, famous journalist and winner of the 1955 Redex Trial in a VW. But Frank took out the first VWCV “Roy Jarvis Perpetual Trophy – Motorkhana Champion” in 1958. The factory at Clayton was busy assembling Big Window Beetles and Split Window Kombis.

Again the Australians were doing it different to

20

Wagensville News

Paul Kinsey was the Club President, Michael Cronin was Vice President, Andrew Ermel was Secretary, Andrew Donnelly was Treasurer, Ross Woolley was Membership Secretary and the committee was preparing to finish their term for the 2005-2006 club year and the AGM the following month. The program for the rest of the year was in good hands, kicking off with a cruise to Castlemaine then Steam Train to Maldon, Teddy Bears Picnic planned at Eildon in September, the National VW Swap Meet on 1st October at Bacchus Marsh and cruise to celebrate OCTOBERFEST at the Cuckoo Restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges. The August issue of the newsletter held great reports on plans for the 38th National Bug In for Easter 2007 in Tasmania, the ‘Christmas in July’ Cruise to Clarkefield and finally a great report from John Stevens on the great trip to Central Australia – ‘VW Adventure to the Red Centre’. Look forward to seeing you all at the next VWCV event! Regards,

AUG

their German cousins with a different set of paint pots that can confound any Volkswagen enthusiast from the Northern Hemisphere doing a full paint restoration on a ‘down under’ car.

Interesting news at that time was that early in 1958 the film Bridge on the River Kwai was released in Sydney. Towards the end of the year the first episode of Bandstand goes to air on TCN-9, hosted by Brian Henderson and Australian federal election, 1958 is the first to be televised. Also of interest on that month there was a great story in Motor Manual August 1958 edition – Comparison Ford Anglia/Prefect vs Morris 1000 vs Standard 10 vs Volkswagen vs Fiat 1100 vs Simca Aronde vs Hillman Minx vs Vauxhall Victor vs Austin A55 vs Ford Consul vs Lancer/Major/Wolseley – needless to say the VW Beetle fared well.

David Mitchell was the VWCV President, Dave Evans was Vice President, John Slykerman was Secretary, Ken Hosking was Treasurer, Competition Secretary was Dave Evans (previous VWCV Historian) with the Editor’s position again filled by Kevin Hurford. The club continued with the new look magazine and the

AUG

1969

front cover featured a very shiny 1967 Beetle accessorized with driving lights. The events for August included an Club Championship Motorkhana at Motor Producers, Centre Rd Carpark, an Annual General Meeting at Motor Producers (VWA) Centre Rd, Clayton and a Snow Trip to Mt Baw Baw on the last Sunday of that month.

The big format ‘News’ reported on all things Volkswagen detailed president’s and Secretary’s reports and Roger Backway’s ‘Back’s Chatty Page ‘with lots of snippets’ of VW and VWCV news, - finishing with this little gem, ‘SAFETY NOTE; Beware of children on the roads; some are shocking drivers!

Chris Scane

historian@vwclub.com.au

Details of the VWCV Championship Motorkhana from last month, a report on the Club Championship points score for the club year, a witty piece from the Treasurer on Committee Meetings and finally a For Sale – Pat Whitaker’s 1963 Notchback (one of the first in Australia) – fully imported, fitted with twin carburetors, ‘Pirellis’, extractors, P.B. Radio, many extras.

Looking for a good home, this one owner sedan has been driven to perfection! (True Whitaker Style – CS) Haggling begins at $800. (Had I known about this car I would have lined up like many VWCV members, only problem I was only 14! – CS) AUGUST 2016

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A SAMBA ADVENTURE 58 CORAL RED VW BEETLE It is interesting sometimes when you are looking for a story to compliment another Volkswagen story to consult ‘The Samba’ which has been an international forum on all things VW for decades. his story truly fits this mould and has helped me understand a lot more about Vintage Volkswagens than I did before! It is intriguing how you can be focussed on the cost of obtaining a wonderful car, like this one and forget the reason why you are in the market to buy a car in the first place.

It reminds me of a dear friend who challenged me many years ago with the fact - we never really ‘own’ a motor car, we are merely ‘custodians’ of these wonderful time pieces. What we can achieve with their acquisition, nurturing and sometimes restoration, followed by their preservation, is the ability to pass them on to another generation to do as good or better for the generations to follow!

Anyway this 1958 all original (by appearances) VW Beetle with approximately 20,000 miles looks like a buy that you could not pass up. The potential buyer on ‘The Samba’ seems very worried about the $15,000 US asking price and tries to seek reassurance or a reason to offer the seller less. But by this person’s own admission, he concedes the car seems fairly complete and has original everything, engine, interior etc. Importantly - No rust! What would you ask for a car in this condition?

THE FIRST OPINION was in agreement with the potential buyer – ‘In my opinion this looks like a very nice original car. I love the fact that the paint has just a little fade and that the wheels are still the correct colour. The interior looks completely correct and original, as does the motor. The hubcaps may be German, but more than likely were replaced sometime in the cars life, due to the fact that they don’t have the painted emblems on them. Some of the other things I noticed are the 58/59 grey wire cover and trunk liner, both in awesome condition.

The bumpers look original and very straight as well.’

Another opinion had good advice for the potential buyer – ‘I would still have to have some documentation and the history on the car before I would even think of dropping 15k on it. But just from the pics I would say it looks legit to me. If it all pans out and turns out to be legit, offer them $12.5 cash and see if they bite. Its kind of hard to tell, but that ‘Hazet’ (tool set) looks like it’s a repo‘.

T

...and then a giant finger appeared!

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Other comments included – ‘That is very interesting to me. I know that this is your opinion, and I’m not slamming you, but it costs way more than 6 grand to restore an early big window. There are a bunch of 2 year only parts that are becoming difficult to find.’

‘Well, I am guessing somethings happened over 52 years even to an all original car like this one.

I can see all original fenders, pans, heater channels, original paint on the interior, trunk and engine compartment. It even has yellow markings in the trunk area from the inspectors when it was built’. ‘ A few changes I noticed were hubcaps, running boards, although they look old. Passenger mirror, and the rear bumper is not the original. Other than that I can't see any other big changes’. ‘I put money on it being an old resto. Shouldn't the door hinge screw plugs be clear, and the fender beading (should) be body coloured? I'm no expert, but I don't think it's an original. More detailed pics are needed such as under the car, the fender wells, etc’. inally the last contributor admits that this car is a very nice 58. Bugs like that are few and far between. Keep in mind that you can’t restore an early small window bug to the originality that this one has. Most restored cars will have way more into them than the asking price of this one, and they won’t be half as original or as nice, and forget about how well they won’t drive. This bug is a dream in every way. To the true educated enthusiast, it’s worth every penny. Drool.

HOPING YOU ALL ENJOYED this voyage through a very interesting 1958 Coral Red VW Beetle story although it was not an Australian car, these stories can be very interesting for everyone on this side of the world too. Any more information can be sort from the original web location below. If you would like to try this again, send me some feedback and we will see what comes up in the search. If you have any other great ideas for stories on Vintage Volkswagens, send us a message to the Historian email, till then I too look forward to the next interesting VW tale!

F

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=424889

CHRIS SCANE

historian@vwclub.com.au

AUGUST 2016

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MANLY TAN & BORONIA BROWN VINTAGE AUSTRALIAN VOLKSWAGENS 1956 1957

1958

1959

MANLY TAN BORONIA BROWN MANLY TAN BORONIA BROWN MANLY TAN MANLY TAN BORONIA BROWN

An interesting story that came out of a discussion with John Stevens about his 58 Manly Tan Beetle and its rare colour scheme. Upon some more research, I found some more examples of Manly Tan and Boronia Brown that was used from 1956 in Australia.

7940 2265 7940 2265 7940 7940 2265

Volkswagens sold in Australia have used a combination of unique locally produced colours for Australian-made VWs, together with German colours for imported models. The Volkswagen Australasia Ltd factory in Clayton, Melbourne, first produced cars from CKD kits in 1954. The paints were first supplied

by Balm Paints Australia (British Australian Lead Manufacturers), who also had a factory in Clayton.

They were bought out by Dulux Australia Pty Ltd in 1964. They produced a large range of Australian colours not seen on German/US models. The Clayton VW factory was the first car factory in Australia to use full-immersion dipping and four-layer baked enamel finishes. The quality of their work from this era has stood the test of time well with well-preserved examples still holding the most of the paintwork that was probably intended to last for only half the time it did!

The colours listed 1956-59 cover all Australian-produced and Australian-sold Volkswagens. These are sourced from numerous old Balm colour cards, Dulux Auto Shades catalogues and other references. Boronia Brown has been a famous Kombi and Beetle colour, ask our Events Coordinator – Chris Jeffes! Boronia Brown is also peculiar to CKD Kombis and Beetles in Australia and often surprises enthusiasts from the UK and USA who are looking for the correct colour on an Aussie import.

The Samba is a great reference post and although Manly Tan is not mentioned in their listings, Coral Red was featured from 1956 to 1958 and sometimes crops up on early 1960’s Beetles.

MODELS 113, 114, 117, 118 April 56 up to July 57, from Chassis No. 1 173 573 up to 1 600 439 MODELS 113, 114, 117, 118 Aug 57 up to July 58, from Chassis No. 1 600 440 up to 2 060 331

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PAINT CODE

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Another great resource is the ‘Pre 67’ web site and details give an insight these colours of this era. These colour chips are taken from original vehicle paint

charts, but accuracy can be lost through the scanning process and also monitor settings. For true accuracy, this web site recommends that a small amount of paint be mixed by an automotive refinish supplier.

COLOUR GUIDE CODE YEAR TYPE

L351 1956-1967 113,114,117,118

Coral Red/Korallenrot L352 Cognac L353

Brilliant Red L354

Cardinal Red

L358 1959-1987 113,114,117,118 Garnet Red/Granatrot

Ray Black found his Manly Tan Beetle in Albury, NSW covered in red dust, permeating even the engine bay and heater channels. From reports about the car on the web the restoration was relatively simple as the car was largely complete. The seats were re-made to the original colour and new carpets from Dylan Cheesely in the UK were installed. The car was re-painted in its original colour which is called Manly Tan. This colour is unique to the Australian market.

(This would be an Australian assembled Beetle) Ray doesn't know why the colour is called Manly or Tan, as it is really similar to Coral and other pinkish reds.

There are many stories that can come out of how paintwork was restored or changed but sometimes it is interesting to find out how the colour of the duco is composed of. So with this mission I looked hard and found out that Manly Tan (286-7940) was composed of four elements.

204-4836 white 49 parts 204-5668 red oxide 31 parts 204-5048 ferrite yellow 20 parts 204-5062 bone black trace Finally, this has been an interesting project that sheds a new light on a part of the Volkswagen that you rarely put a lot of thought about but it is fascinating how many times we all admire a great paint job on a Volkswagen! Yours into Vintage Volkswagens,

CHRIS SCANE historian@vwclub.com.au

58 MANLY TAN BEETLE

A

t the 2010 Day of the Volkswagen at Yarra Glen I was strolling along a line of fine looking VWs with Ron Hodgetts, a former club member and one of the very keen participants in the club’s 2006 Adventure to the Red Centre.

A

ll of a sudden Ron stopped in his tracks and then pointed out to me a beautiful 1958 Beetle in a most unusual colour. Ron told me it was called Manly Tan. I now know, from information that Ron subsequently provided to me, that in 1958, as a 19 year old, Ron had made the courageous move to buy a brand new Manly Tan Beetle. He loved the car but as his family grew to include him, his wife Robyn, and their children, things became a bit cramped so he had to sell the Beetle.

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Ron said that he once owned the car that we were looking at and that he had restored it in 1999. He then told me the story of the restoration. He said that after selling the original Beetle, years before, in 1997 he found another 1958 Manly Tan Beetle. It had only covered 25,000 miles, was rust free but it had terrible paint work.

As he had always wanted to have another Manly Tan he purchased that run down VW and, after storing it for two years, on Boxing Day 1998 he set himself an ambitious target, to restore the Beetle and have it ready for the 1999 Nationals in Sydney just three months later.

With the assistance of his good mate Ray Greer, another veteran of the Adventure to the Red Centre trip, and who is an accomplished spray painter, they commenced the bare metal restoration.

Believe it or not they completed the restoration task in time and did not sacrifice any quality standards, an unbelievable achievement.

I understand that John Goodison from Volkshome provided additional assistance in the project by re-building the Beetle’s 1200 motor. So good was their combined work that the Beetle travelled up to the 1999 Sydney Nationals and won first place in two categories, Best Beetle 1957 – 1967 Standard and Best Interior Standard, an outstanding result.

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ome years later Ron decided to sell the Beetle to Lloyd Davies. At that 2010 Day of the Volkswagen it was clear that the Beetle was still in mint showroom condition. On opening the driver’s door you could still smell the “new” upholstery. The car’s paintwork and interior was unmarked and the car had only recorded a genuine 53,000 miles at that time. The motor and engine bay were still spotless, not a drop of oil anywhere to be seen. Walking back to the main area we were still talking about the Beetle and from Ron’s comments I thought he might be considering approaching Lloyd to buy the Beetle back. At that time I thought that the car would look

MANLY TAN

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good in the one remaining car space in our garage but I genuinely felt that if Lloyd wanted to sell the car it was only right that Ron should be the purchaser. As it turned out Lloyd said he would consider selling the Beetle but Ron did not end up buying the car. Jan and I thought about buying the Beetle for a few months and then finally decided to make the move. In May 2011 Lloyd sold us the car.

W

e now had a magnificent Beetle to compliment and complete the fleet and the garage is now full. No room for any more VWs. We have driven the Beetle on various trips around Melbourne and country Victoria and many club events including the Cavalcade over the Bolte Bridge to celebrate the club’s 60th Anniversary a few years ago. We also drove the Beetle over to Aldinga in South Australia for the 2012 South Australian Bug In. At that year’s Bug In show and shine the Beetle won best car of the show against some stiff opposition. On our return to Melbourne we let Ron know that his Beetle was still a car show winner and he was, understandably, quite chuffed.

7940 S

OME PEOPLE FIND THE NAME OF THE BEETLE’S COLOUR QUITE NOVEL.

I was aware that Volkswagen in the US had a colour called Coral Red that is very similar to the Manly Tan but, at the same time, it is slightly different.

I think that Manly Tan is a little more vibrant, and, as an Aussie, I am permitted that view. This colour variation has always intrigued me and not that long ago on one of the VW forums a person offered the comment that the colour Manly Tan was actually created by Volkswagen Australia to commemorate the holding of the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

I am not sure if that is true but it makes a great story.

Jan and I are very happy that we purchased the Beetle, it is a great car to own and to drive and definitely turns heads wherever we go. We look after the Beetle, that still has less than 55,000 miles on the clock, so that any future owner will be able to enjoy the great work undertaken by Ron and Ray just as much as we currently do.

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Picture from Australian Volkswagen

JOHN STEVENS

AUGUST 2016

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ZIOVAS BUGSTER

1964 VW BEETLE RECALL info@ziovasbugster.com

Converting a beetle sedan to a roadster had always been a challenge. Visit ziovasbugster.com to explore this most interesting conversion of a Beetle !

The following article is from their website and the company is located in Greece for some reason.

We are dealing with classic cars, motorcycles, modifications and design from the late 80’s. The idea of converting a beetle sedan to a roadster had always been a challenge for us.It was undoubtedly the Hebmuller that inspired us. Therefore, after the completion of the restoration of an MGA roadster, we started the Bugster project At that time the first roadsters and cabrios with a retractable hard-top had already been in production.

So, the conversion of the beetle to a roadster with a retractable hardtop was an even greater challenge for us. The project turned out to be much more difficult than we expected.

From a design perspective, we had to find the best possible configuration of the hard-top shape and size to achieve both aesthetics and also practicality, as it had to be stored in the space where the backseats used to be. There had to be a lot of accuracy when dealing with lowering the windshield, changing the size of the roof and its joints etc.

A dilemma we encountered at the beginning of this project was the style, due to the fact that we had two different options. Either, staying at the well known

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classic look or creating a more modern (restomod) style. We chose to give our prototype a modern (restomod) look instead of a classic, because we were given the opportunity, besides the uniqueness of the roof, to redesign the interior and exterior look of the car (front and rear lights, seats, dash, console etc).

Modifications that really makes it unique. The design and construction of the conversion was made from the beginning having in mind to be produced as a kit. Our aim is to produce a kit that contains the right instructions to be as easy as possible to be installed and of-course affordable.

Therefore fibreglass is the material that is used for the construction of all the panels of this modification.

Even the moldings of these panels are made of fibreglass. The basic parts of the kit are the two sections of the roof, the cover of the roof-top, the engine cover and the tubular subframe. That subframe is manufactured in a jig and is used to reinforce the bodywork and support the roof. The parts of the roof are in a sandwich type. Smaller pieces such as, window glasses,rear parcel shelf, hinges, roll bars etc., are also included in the kit. The End. Ziovas Bugster. Address: Erg. Kat. Aivasiliotika ST.11 Agrinio 30100 Greece.

This vehicle product recall should have been posted in 1964. Our apologies for the delay. We were going to send it out, but we forgot or something.

Congratulations on the purchase of your brand new 1964 Volkswagen Beetle! Congratulations from both Premier Henry Bolte and Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Hoorah!!!

It is with tremendous grace and fanfare and somewhat discomfort that we announce that your car may may be the subject of a product recall due to the following conditions that may have been overlooked during some night shift production in Germany or Australia!

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS MAY NEED TO BE CHECKED ON YOUR CAR: As the new groovy seatbelt legislation will come into effect probably in 1971 (seven years from now), it is recommended that an additional bolt be fitted in the B-Pillar of your vehicle. This is not a compulsory recall, but you could contact your local dealer to tell them that you won't be stopping by if you choose not to have the bolt fitted.

THE REAR SPRING PLATES: It is thought that these may be modified in the future as the standard plates may increase rear wheel camber if set too low, so a special adjustable plate may be inserted instead of the original. When there is an excessive amount of rear wheel camber, people may point out to you that your wheels are about to fall off, while they are taking photos of your vehicle with their instamatic camera. This is also not a compulsory recall, but advisable. After all, the car CAN actually be lowered all the way down to the lowest factory setting. You won't be doing anything wrong, it's just the intended design of the vehicle. But who in their right mind would want to drive a vehicle that is actually LOWER than the standard ride height? Well, I hope I never see anyone doing this in 1964 or in the future! The whole idea should be totally SLAMMED immediately!

FRONT BEAM: In 1963 there were many people narrowing their front beam and welding in adjusters to increase handling ability and aerodynamics, especially in the wet! This product recall includes replacing the standard front beam with a narrowed and fully adjustable beam at no cost. We probably should have done it in the first place. Sorry about that. Maybe the 1965 model will have this modern feature as standard equipment! Bonza!

Thank you. Wayne Lewis

SERVICE REPAIR HANDBOOK FOR VOLKSWAGEN TYPE 3 SQUAREBACK AND FASTBACK. 1962 – 1972 in reasonable condition.

Price: $20. For enquiries please phone Denise on 0409 025 366 or Brian on 0418 585 377.

VCVW | CHARMAIN’S NO 'E' CHALLENGE

Charmain pictured yesterday in the 1940s

FIND THE MATCHING WORDS AND WIN! Actually, just find the matching words.

SWIMMMWAGGEY IS CLOSE ENOUGH! SCHWIMMWAGEN BAY WINDOW TRANSPORTER HEBMULLER BLUE MOTION NOTCHBACK CAMPMOBILE

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Wagensville News

WESTFALIA KUBELWAGEN KARMANN SQUAREBACK SPLITTY VOLKSWAGEN BRASILIA

MULTIVAN TOUAREG FASTBACK AMAROK FRIDOLIN BEETLE LOWLIGHT

HERBIE SUNLINER PASSAT KOMBI TIGUAN SAMBA BUS • TSI • UP • VW

GHIA EOS GOLF GTI POLO TDI OVAL

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To update your postal address, your email address or phone number, it’s as easy as going online at vwclub.com.au and signing in.

We the Membership Officers are happy to take you through this process.

Andrew Mengyel Charmain Green

Membership Officer

Assistant Membership Officer

Email: memberships@vwclub.com.au

1959 CHARLES TOWNABOUT CONCEPT CAR (Not Photoshopped)

It is a requirement that all vehicles on the Club Permit scheme (CH & H Plates) are current financial members. If you have a vehicle on Club Permit registration and you are not a financial member – you are deemed, by law, to be driving an unregistered vehicle.

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MEMBERSHIP | APPLICATION

AUGUST 2016 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 19

WAGENSVILLE If not received, please return to: Volkswagen Club of victoria Inc. GPO Box 1215 Melbourne Vic 3001 Print Post Approved 1000018822

ACHTUNG BABY! AND SO FORTH!

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