VW Warwick will be held on the weekend of October 2nd-3rd at the Warwick Dragway 1/8th mile track located at Warwick, Queensland:
"as much VW drag racing as competitors can cram into two days" more...
Mick Motors
Issue 25
Rat Bay
Without a doubt, a heated VW debate will always start when the question "what makes a rat a rat?" is proposed on forums, chat rooms or at club meets world wide.
Although the style has been with the scene for some years, a consensus on what constitutes a rat is far from being resolved, although there is agreement that
rusted hulks fit for landfill should never be confused with the definition. Terms such as patina, character, original, and matching numbers, are often bantered
around in close partnership with lowering, narrowing and big motors, yet whatever your combination of the afore mentioned, the fact remains that the rat style
is here to stay and grow.
Industrial Engines
Heinz Nordoff was the architect of Volkswagen's direction for three decades. When he took over the company, he quickly moved to thoroughly investigate
how the VW Beetle's potential could be maximised. The motor and other parts were soon incorporated into many different applications, such as VW powered
snow mobiles, swamp buggies and aircraft. Eventually the very successful VW Industrial Engine was developed and produced.
VolksFest
When VolksFest loomed on the Splitty Calendar in late November, it was bags packed and the camera at the ready for two days of relaxed VW entertainment.
Once a year, Todd Street in Port Adelaide Enfield is closed to VW traffic only, and the mix of classic cars, street entertainment and pavement restaurants
make this show one of a kind. The street closure is made possible by Port Adelaide Mayor Gary Johanson, a VW nut and a progressive public servant.
Round 4 FVAQ
The 2009 Queensland Formula Vee Championship culminated in a title showdown at Morgan Park on the weekend November 7-8th. Eighteen competitors faced the challenge
of beating the heat and each other. It inspired fierce competition, gutsy driving, strategic timing, controversy, surprise, misfortune and triumph.
Tim Hamilton
Tim Hamilton hasn't exactly taken the traditional path of would-be Formula racers, having only entered the competitive and exciting class of Formula Vee racing four years ago
at the age of 18. But this hasn't stopped Tim making his mark on the sport, with his 1600 Jacer a regular contender at the pointy end of the field. VWMA sat down with Tim after
the 2009 season to learn what goes on in the Hamilton helmet:
Toy Time
Ute: a word that describes a pick-up truck in a sun burnt country; a word that leaves the rest of the world at a loss with no idea how useful it really is. Out of
necessity at the turn of the century Australians converted coupe bodied and roadster bodied cars into a commercial backed vehicle that was called a utility or ute.
JUNKA
Nick and George Economou are Vollkommen Art, a well respected performance and restoration workshop in Melbourne, with a fetish for Volkswagen. The pair have been
responsible for unleashing insane and immaculate street and strip VWs onto the Oz scene for many years, and have unashamedly set a bench mark for detail and finish.
With the early influence of the Economou family Split Kombi delivery van owned by their father, through to George's very first Type III Fastback in 1987, the boys
have crafted many unique cars for themselves and for their many satisfied customers. VWMA managed to tear the boys away from their latest projects to chat about
their work, their VW passion and their 'Junka' drag Beetle, which quenches their speed addiction...
Salt Racer
Every car guy's dream is to someday have a race car, to someday drive at top speeds in a competition event worthy of bragging to his mates about.
Creating that dream in four wheeled flesh seldom becomes reality due to the constraints of economics, family and personal ability. I'm one of those folks who
held onto the dream for decades before all the cards finally fell into place and the car of my dreams became a fact, albeit with compromises, lots of compromises!
The major stumbling block was my financial limitations to build a dedicated racer, and therefore I had to find a type of racing avenue that allowed me to assemble
a car that could also double as a daily on the street.
Classic Karmann
First run in 1997, the Classic Adelaide is an event showcasing the sights, sounds and colour of a bygone era of motorsport. The event is conducted over a number of
special stages utilising sealed public roads throughout Adelaide and surrounding suburbs, and covers a total distance of approximately 1000 kilometres, including
transport stages, over five days. Rene Felkl is no stranger to the rally, having won the Heritage Category in 2003, and he never needs a second invitation to roll
out his immaculate 1959 Karmann Ghia for his hometown event. For the 2009 event, Rene competed in the same Category, and experienced the gamut of motorsport highs
and lows over the five days....
Spool Diff
Both Michael Waldron and Craig Hughes agreed to 'go hard' with the VWMA drag rat at Warwick '09 during their shared driving duties, and although the achilles
heal was likely to be the Super Diff matched with slicks for the first time, their philosophy was 'break it today, or break it tomorrow'! After a full Saturday
of serious burn-outs and an impressive quickest time for the 1/8th mile of 8.52secs@79.51mph, the Super Diff let go big time Sunday morning.
Resto Kombi
At what point does a bare metal restoration of a 1970 Bay Window Kombi become inexpensive? When somebody else does the work and you win it as a prize! Such
was the scenario for Maraia Gamblin when she became the lucky winner of the Gold Coast Bulletin's 'Win a Classic Surf Kombi' promotion, drawn in December 2009.
Behind the scenes it was Bruce Moore and team at The Resto Shed who put in the hard yards to make this sensational prize a reality.
WA DOTVW
The 2009 Day of the Volkswagen (Sunday 6th December) was held in sunny, hot weather, in a relaxed picnic atmosphere at Patterson Park, Burswood.The event is organised
each year by the Volkswagen Club of WA (Inc) and is well supported by VW dealerships, commercial businesses with an interest in VWs and the motoring enthusiast,
including the main sponsor, Shannons Insurance.
DOTVW Wetlands
Three months prior to the Volkswagen Club Of Victoria's DOTVW '09 I booked a plane to Sydney for the Wednesday prior to the big weekend. Why you ask was I leaving town?
Only so I could drive back down to Melbourne with the Sydney crew, hitching a ride with Pierre Thorand in his Mk4 GTi (VWMA#18). There was one small catch however.
The leisurely cruise back had to be at a pace in time for me to collect a Mk6 Gti press car from VGA on the Friday to put on display for the show! Life's tough, hey?!
Mk1 Marvel
Thomas Wahl considers himself very lucky. The 29 year old VW enthusiast from Schlierbach in Württemberg owns this spectacular Golf Mk1. Thomas found the Golf back
in 2001, although it wasn't his first choice in watercooled VWs. After having owned a couple of Polos, Thomas had his goal set on finding a Scirocco Mk-I, but his
buddy, Marco Rebholz, continued to pester him about the merits of the early Golf models, and Thomas finally caved in.
VIC DOTVW
Sunday the 15th of November 2009 dawned fine and clear and provided a perfect day for the VW Club of Victoria's 2009 Day of the Volkswagen. And what an absolute
ripper of a day it was too. The Cranbourne Turf Club was selected as the venue again for 2009 and with the recent regular rain in Melbourne, the gardens and turfed
areas were in perfect condition. Against this back drop Volkswagens of all types and models on display looked very colourful.
VANFEST
Vanfest is billed as the world's largest event for VW bus enthusiasts. Held annually at the Three Counties Showgrounds in Malvern England, this show doesn't disappoint.
With a staggering 8000 plus vans, campers, single cabs, dual cabs and emergency vehicles on display, it is an absolute Mecca for those enamoured with the versatile
commercials from Hannover.