We may have found the ideal protective wax for all those rat look VWs out there!

Following on from the previous blog post about Rikkki and his Patina we thought we would point you in the right direction of a very cool product we've discovered - and this one's for real (unlike Rikki's joke ageing product)!
Going by the name Collinite 476S, this clear coat wax is said to be very good at protecting your rusty or patinia'd car.
It is mainly used on boats to protect them from the elements and stop them corroding. The tin suggests that you only have to apply a thin coat to wood or metal for a lasting protection of up to a year! Blimey!

We've just bought a tin for the VW Camper&Bus Bay in the hope we can keep its rusty looks without it deteriorating too fast. We'll test it out and show you the results.

Apparently you can use the wax to get a great luster but if you have faded paint and want to retain it all you have to do is apply a thin coat and don't buff it too much. We'll see how we get on applying it to the project Bus and post up some photos!

For more info on Collinite visit www.shipshapenorfolkltd.co.uk or call them on 01353 676007

It seems that Rikki's little joke didn't get seen as it should have done!

Some of you may have read in the May 2008 issue of VolksWorld about a product called Patina. It was part of Rikki's column on page 63.

For those of you who missed it here it is:

Patina!
I came across this amazing stuff a few years back and was completely blown away by the effect it has on paint, wood and rubber! Up until then most of the Buses I have owned had been shiny, however with my most recently samba I wanted to do something different, so I turned to Patina! If your looking for the 'cracked rubber look' or the 'rotten, de-laminated wood look' and even the 'knackered and abused body work/paint look' then Patina is the application for you!
Now, most people that know my present '54 Deluxe Samba may think it got it's looks from being laid up in a forest in Sweden for 25 years or more but, they couldn't be further away from the truth! The fact of the matter is, I gave it the 'Patina treatment' and have never looked back since! It does exactly what it says on the tin, check out the before and after pictures!



Since publishing this we've had quite a few phone calls and emails asking where you can get Patina!
For the first few calls we thought people were just having a laugh with us and got the joke but it turns out that isn't the case! Rikki even had one man start to have a go at him for 'ageing' his lovley shiney Samba!

This is the type of email we've been getting!

"Please can you help me. I am trying to find a tin of "PATINA" mentioned in Rikki James Bus Scene May 2008 page 63. I have searched the net to no avail. Have you got an idea of where I can purchase a tin?"

Now just to set the record straight Rikki meant this to be a joke. While Patina does exist it is actually a wood stain with a very apt name.
So please don't go hunting for it and PLEASE DON'T start applying Patina wood stain to your VWs!

VolksWorld has only gone and made its own facebook page!

The terms 'bandwagon' and 'jump on' spring to mind...

If you happen to be a fan of facebook and of course a fan of VolksWorld, then why not join our facebook page?
We will be updating it on a regular basis by adding photos and the latest news about the mag. We will also be posting updates about the VolksWorld show, held at Sandown Park, Esher on the 29-30 March 2008.

So add our facebook page to your profile, put up a post and say hello!



There is also another VolksWorld Group, kindly made by a fan of the mag going by the name of Mark Watts. Cheers fella!
Pop in and have a look!

As the title suggests, Jon has just received his rear seat covers

With the chassis very nearly complete (all I need to do is bolt the shocks on) I've turned my attention to items I'm going to need further down the line.
One thing on the list was a rear seat cover set.
The original seats as a whole are in good condition, the covers though are torn and brittle.
It doesn't matter though as the whole interior is having a colour change so I would have to buy new covers anyway.

I decided to go with Karmann Konnection as they stock TMI Interiors which include door panels, seat covers and headliners available in all sorts of colour combinations for pretty much every model year of VW.


Julian took my order and got straight on the phone to TMI.

Today I've walked in to find a box from KK containing the covers pictured here.

The service I got from Karmann Konnection was second to none and as for the quality from TMI Interiors, well, it's spot on! Exactly what I was after!

Thanks to both companies for your quick and hassle free delivery.

To find out more about Karmann Konnection visit www.karmannkonnection.com
and to see the full range of TMI Interior products visit www.vwupholstery.com

With a bit of time on his hands Jon decided to get on with some productive re-build work!

After having a lovely time down in Cornwall (even if it did snow on two days) I decided to cut the holiday short to get on with the front end of the Beetle.
As you may have read in a previous post I now have my narrowed beam, leaves and track rods back from The Bus Station, so I was good to go and time is ticking so it was no good sitting around down in the West Country when there's work to be done!

I got back on Thursday morning and got right to it!
That's when I hit the first stumbling block! After swiftly bolting up the beam with no problems I then spent most of the day trying to fit the urethane bushes!
They needed a lot of persuasion to fit in the holes. Apparently this is common when using urethane bushes! I then had trouble getting the trailing arms in! This took me through pretty much all of Friday too but about an hour before the light faded I succeeded and quickly fitted my King and Links ready for the brakes to go on the next day!

I have to say the CSP front brake system is engineering at its best. It is all very good quality and very well thought out! Plus it was so easy to fit a 10 year old could have done it!
All I have to do on the brakes now is find some shorter hoses (thanks to the 4-inch narrowed beam) and then bleed the system.
I even had plenty of time left to bolt on the steering box, track rods (complete with new ends), and the steering damper. It almost felt rude not to put the wheels on too so I got them out of the garage and whipped them on!

Sadly Sunday was spent trying to work out the best move regarding shocks as the normal King and Link fronts don't want to fit. This is because the beam is designed for use with a rose joint (or you can ask Mark to fit a bracket so you can use ball joint shocks). So after a few questions on the Restowagen forum I discovered that rear Mini shocks are the best way to go!

These, together with my rose joints are now on their way via eBay. I will post up photos of how they fit once I have got it all on the car.

Thanks to 58Vert and Shamrockez from Restowagen for your help and photos of shock setups on narrowed beams! It helped a lot!

Our publisher came over to our desks today all happy and eager to show us a new toy!

When we got to his office there on the desk was a Tamiya Sand Rover surrounded by a load of bubble wrap and a box like they had been ripped open on Christmas morning to get at the goods inside.
Richard (our publisher) was grinning from ear to ear!

I guess we should mention that, although a highly respected publisher for IPC Inspire group, a father, and an ADULT, Richard is really into his radio controlled cars. And not just any old radio controlled cars, oh no! He likes to collect the cool, retro and rare stuff!
He has a good sized collection (10 I think I recall him saying), which include the Holiday Buggy and Sand Scorcher - toys that almost any '80s kids will remember dreaming about!

Anyway, Richard is going to fix this one up and liven up its power with a bigger engine! We will keep you posted of his progress and no doubt throw some footage online in the video section.

After getting his beam back Jon needed to buy a few parts to get it back on the car

As you may have read in one of yesterdays blog posts, I've got my beam back and I'm over the moon with it.
It's really well finished after Mark from The Bus Station had narrowed it 4-inches and installed new shock towers.

But before I can bolt it on I had to buy some urethane inner and outer bushes for it (as the needle bearings have been removed) and I also needed the full set of track rod ends as mine were a little bit shot!

I had a hunt about on the internet and decided on using Cool Air!

Well I'm glad I did use them as the parts arrived in under 12 hours of me placing the order! How good is that?
I ordered them at 11pm and by 9.00am the next morning the box was already on my desk!

So with that I would just like to to say thank you very much to Cool Air for a fantastic service!

Just in case you didn't go, we've uploaded a load of images for you to see just what you missed

For those of you who have already been through our show photos that we uploaded yesterday afternoon you might want to head back as we've added a whole load more.
Over the next few weeks we will be added even more too so keep checking back! You never know you or your car might have been snapped by the many snappers we had on site!

View the VolksWolrd Show Gallery

Already seen them? Check out the newest VolksWorld photos here!

Jon gets his beam back for his Bug and is eager to get it fitted.

Things are slowly turning back to normality here in the office now the VolksWorld Show is done and dusted.
Everyone seems to be a little tired - me included!

My energy was restored somewhat though when Mark Walker from The Bus Station handed me back my beam for the '61 Ragtop.
He had worked his magic and narrowed it by 4-inches (2 either side), cleaned up my adjusters as they were hanging, put on new shock towers so it will fit to the Bug with no body mods, shortened my torsion leaves and steering arms!

He has done a grand job and he even had his mate clean it up and spray it black to stop it rusting.

You can read all about The Bus Station beams in our News section

I'm yet to offer the beam up to the chassis but I can tell you now that I can't wait to do it!
Why so eager?
Well, once the beam is on all I have left to do is fit my CSP brakes and bleed the system. That will be the chassis done for now until I can get my body back from the painters.

I'm off to Cornwall at the weekend so the chances are no progress will be made till next weekend! Arrgh!
Oh well at least I can try and catch some waves in the meantime.