Terror & Dune - Bay Window Baja

So we all know Bay Window Buses are hot property now, right? And yes, there's a few lunatics out there who have made them go pretty damn quick, but in general they're not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a fast VW. But what if you've spent the last 30 years of your life in the off-road racing industry and get approached by a customer - Guy Evans - to build something for the weekend that you can take the family out in and have a blast up the nearby sand dunes? A four-seater off-road rail, you might think, would be the obvious choice. But then everyone's got one of those in California, so Dave Bonner decided to think more laterally - taking the off-road rail concept but applying it to a Bay Window Bus. But hang on, isn't that going against the very concept of a rail? You know - stripped down, lightweight, manoeuvrable, wind (and sand) in your hair, that kind of thing. Maybe, but then Dave had a few tricks up his sleeve that would endow the Bus with a bit more of that flavour, at the same time producing something that would get a serious amount of attention in a sea of otherwise similar vehicles.
In contrast to the more usual VolksWorld feature Buses, this one's had its beam front end raised six inches and the spring plates rotated downwards a number of splines on the torsion bars for a significant increase in ground clearance. The major difference here is that rather than using adjusters in the beam, the entire suspension assembly has been moved downward so what was the original lower beam mounting bolt is now the upper one. To do this, the chassis rails have been kicked down, with suitable gussets added to ensure the extended chassis is as strong as the original.
Doing this meant the beam itself could remain pretty much stock, right through to the ball joints, track rods and brakes on the ends of the stub axles. Even the steering is standard Bay Window, though it now benefits from a hydraulic servo driven by a pump on the engine, of which more later. Where things are not quite so stock, however, is with the shocks, which have been replaced all round by long travel Fox emulsion units, filled with pressurised nitrogen and tuneable for velocity sensitive valving. These guys supply to many of the major US off-road competitors so were an obvious choice for Dave.

For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the November 2009 issue of VolksWorld

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