When Steve Gosling (VolksWorld Art Ed) and Mike Pye (VolksWorld Features Ed) built Dr Gonzo, our own interpretation of a VW-based hot rod, a few years ago, we swiftly realised that these kinds of custom VWs divide people into two definite camps – one that says using non-VW parts on a VW is wrong and that Beetles look funny without their wings, and the other that digs 'em. Of course, this is true of all types of customised VW, but VW hot rods, or Volks Rods, seem to divide the scene more than any other style. We’ve watched with interest as new and different interpretations of the concept have appeared all over the world, but the one thing that’s interested me most is whether those building them are wannabe hot rodders who see this as a route into the altogether more expensive route of building a ‘real’ hot rod or whether they’re dyed-in-the-wool VW people who have seen it all and just fancy doing something different.
Rob Pane, a Parts and Service Director at Niello Volkswagen in Roseville, California is the owner of this particular version, named Freaky Tiki, and is definitely of the latter group, though he did used to own a '32 Ford roadster.
“I got into Volkswagens when I started working at Niello VW in 1991 and Volkswagens became my passion,” he told us. But that passion got a bit out of control one day when Rob was having a bench racing session with some of the other guys in the workshop at work...

For the full story check out the September 2008 issue of VolksWorld magazine. On sale on 08 August and then available through back issues.

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