2021 - Hot VWs Magazine

On the cover : The newly built Car Craft drag Beetle - fast and beautiful! (Photo: Shin Watanabe)

BOB TOMLINSON
December 5, 1933 - August 27, 2021.
On August 27, 2021, our VW community lost one of its greatest heroes, Bob Tomlinson. He was a true pioneer of the VW perfor- mance industry, leader of new product design and development, and a legend of the Volkswagen scene all over the world.

10-SECONDPROELIMINATORROCKET!
A multiple-time VW drag race champion, Southern California native Ron VanderSchaaf has been hooked on Volkswagens for over 40 years and never stopped driving them. Ron is a 100% VW guy who’s running a shop called Car Craft in Riverside, Califor- nia. And during his off-time, he races the Bug unveiled here...

KICKING ASPHALT
Automatic transmission, IRS, turbo installed behind the seats... Longtime VW enthusiast Bob Sechi envisioned unusual charac- teristics for his street/strip dune buggy. And the team of Para- dise Motorsports made his dream a reality.

A SPLIT HIT! - OCTO MEET
With over half-dozen events, the So-Cal VW Week had plenty of reasons to entice Volk- swagen enthusiasts, including the OCTO Meet – it gathered close to 300 Split Buses!

PARADISE GATOR
GROWING UP IN THE PARADISE OF SAINT CROIX, UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS, MARK FINUCANE BECAME IMMERSED IN THE VOLK- SWAGEN LIFESTYLE AT AN EARLY AGE – HIS MOM AND DAD OWNED ‘67 AND ‘73 BUGS THAT WERE PASSED ON TO HIM. HE NOW CRUISES IN HIS OWN ’63 SEDAN IN HAWAII.


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On the cover : Vee battle! Formula Vees are alive and well. (Photo: Shin Watanabe)

GOOD WISHES
TAKING SOME STYLING CUES FROM THE STREET ROD WORLD ISN’T A NEW IDEA. QUITE OFTEN IT’S POORLY EXECUTED, THOUGH IT OCCASIONALLY COMES TOGETHER FLAWLESSLY. IN THE CASE OF KEVIN LONG’S ’67 BUG, IT’S THE LATTER!

RARE VINTAGE AIR VW D’ELEGANCE
A PREMIER VINTAGE VW CONCOURS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

VARYING VARIANT
After initially buying a 1968 Squareback that would be just too much work to fully restore, Las Vegas’ Steve Peter opted for a different ’68, which was a better starting point. Little did he know, the process to complete the build on this beauty would not be as straightforward as expected.

CALIFORNIA CARAVAN REVISITED
THROUGH THE YEARS, SEVERAL EVENTS HAVE LEFT THEIR MARKS ON THE SCENE. THIS IS THE STORY OF ONE OF THEM: THE CALI- FORNIA CARAVAN. IT STARTED AS A ONE-CAR CRUISE FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO THE SACRAMENTO BUGORAMA IN 1982. AND BY ’87, IT INVOLVED 419 VEE DUBS!

STREET 11
Southern California native Ron Camire became hooked on air-cooled VWs at age 15, after his older brother gave him a ride in his ’69 Beetle. Ron clearly remembers going down the 405 freeway, hitting the off-ramp at 90mph, and landing on Beach Boulevard – good times! And that’s when he shouted: “I want one of these!”


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On the cover : Gary Madrid’s time machine - his early ’80s high school car. (Photo: Stephan Szantai)

CLASS OF ’83
Gary Madrid’s early ’80s high school car was this 1971 sedan, a Bug-In 28 class winner that ran 12.30s over the quarter-mile. Many thought the Cal Looker changed owners shortly after he decided to park it in 1985. Yet, he kept it untouched for 32 years – it is now back on the road!

SKATEBACK
This project car dubbed Skateback is themed around Legendary John Lucero and his Black Label skateboards, which has impacted the sport since the mid-’70s.

MADERA SPRING FLING #26
NUMEROUS MAJOR VW MEETS WERE POSTPONED OR CANCELED DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN 2020 – AND THE MADERA SPRING FLING WAS NO EXCEPTION. AFTER PATIENTLY WAITING FOR TWO YEARS, WE FINALLY ENJOYED THIS FUN EVENT, HELD NEAR THE SCENIC YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK IN CALIFORNIA.

GOOD VIBRATIONS
This comp sand rail buggy known as Good Vibrations toured all across the South- west from 1976 to 1986, winning hundreds of awards, including 89 Best of Show and Outstanding plaques & trophies and class awards. A real time machine, it reappeared in the hands of its original owner in 2021, following a 35-year separation.

SPRING PICNIC & CAMPOUT
HELD AT FEATHERLY REGIONAL PARK IN ANAHEIM, THE ORANGE EMPIRE BUS COMPANY’S (OEBC) SPRING PICNIC & CAMPOUT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR CAMPING EVENTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR OVER 20 YEARS. VW FANS SPENT THREE WONDERFUL NIGHTS CAMPING ON SITE; THEN ENJOYED A GREAT SHOW ON SUNDAY. THIS MEET IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS EXCITING SLOW DRAG RACE, ALWAYS A POPULAR ATTRACTION.


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On the cover : Damon Dayton’s fantastic garage, mixing VWs and BMX bikes. (Photo: Boston Brown)

JUDSON THE DARK STAR JEWEL
LOOKING TO BUY AN EARLY BEETLE, SCOTT TEDRO STUMBLED UPON A GORGEOUS ’51 SPLIT FULLY REDONE BY BUDDY HALE. THE MASTER VW RESTORER LATER HELPED TRANSITION THE BLACK SEDAN INTO SOME- THING MORE TO SCOTT’S LIKING, JUDSON SUPERCHARGER INCLUDED!

ENTERING THE WHEELIE MAN’S CAVE
Meet Damon Dayton, “Wheelie Man”. Whether on one wheel or six, if something has wheels, or is transportation-related memorabilia, it’s likely he’s into it. Peering inside Damon’s man cave, is it a bike store? VW shop? Museum? Flat?

18TH CENTURY CAVE
Stefan Byszio lives in a small village just 10 minutes away from Bad Camberg, Germany, where a premier vintage Volkswagen gathering is held every four years. We got the chance to visit his garage after attending the International VW Veteranen Treffen. When he opened the barn’s huge swinging doors, we discovered some true old speed VMW and Porsche jewelry.

ELMAR HOFFMANN’S VW TOY CAVE
Almost 30 years ago, a visit to a toy store on a rainy day while vacationing in Germany led Elmar Hoffmann to start his small toy VW collection.

MAGIC ISLAND CAVE
BORN IN POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, GORDON ABBOTT COULD ALMOST PASS AS A “ALOHA NATIVE”, HAVING LIVED IN HAWAII SINCE HE WAS NINE MONTHS OLD. HE GOT HOOKED ON VOLKSWAGENS IN THE EARLY 1980S AND IS NOW ONE OF THE CORE MEMBERS OF THE VINTAGE VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF HAWAII, AS WELL AS A HARDCORE VW MEMORABILIA/TOY COLLECTOR. WE WERE THERE- FORE CURIOUS TO FIND OUT WHAT HE HAD HIDDEN IN HIS GARAGE.


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On the cover : 1966 Clinomobil High-roof Bus photo- graphed in Germany. (Photo Shin Watanabe)

NOT FOR SALE
There seems to be two types of car guys: The ones that build or buy something and hold on to it for decades; then there is the other type of guy, who builds, buys, sells and flips, and moves on to the next. Lindy Herrell falls into the latter category.

SIRENS AT MIDNIGHT
UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, AN UNEXPECTED INCOMING PHONE CALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ISN’T EXACTLY A WELCOMED CALL. IN FACT, A FRIEND CALLING YOU AT MIDNIGHT CAN ACTUALLY BE QUITE ALARMING DEPENDING ON THE MESSAGE THAT IS TO BE DELIVERED. FOR ME, THIS CALL WAS ALARMING INDEED, BUT IN A DELIGHTFUL WAY.

THE SÜFUNK SAGA
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE JUST BEETLES. THEN A DUTCHMAN VW IMPORTER BY THE NAME OF BEN PON SAW AN IMPROVISED PARTS TRANSPORT VEHICLE – THE “PLATTENWAGEN” – IN WOLFSBURG’S VOLKSWAGENWERK. HE SKETCHED OUT A DESIGN FOR A BOX VAN BASED UPON THE BEETLE CHASSIS, AND GAVE THE IDEA TO VOLKSWAGEN – THE TRANSPORTER WAS BORN.

A TALE OF TWO STRIPES
IN A WORLD OF “EVERYTHING NOW”, DELAYING GRATIFICATION CAN BE A CHALLENGE – THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITH RESTORATION PROJ- ECTS. OWEN BROWN HOPED TO HAVE HIS 1970 VW SINGLE CAB RESURRECTED IN A YEAR, WHICH PROVED A BIT TOO OPTIMISTIC...

ESCAPE FROM L.A.
Best known for his acting roles in the Star Wars saga, Ewan McGregor has a keen interest in air-cooled Volk- swagens. Team hotVWs managed to secure an inter- view with the artist – our conversation revolved around his 1967 SO-42 Westfalia camper in particular...


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On the cover : Joey Bautista’s Porsche 356-powered Zwitter. (Photo Shin Watanabe)

FOR THE LOVE OF MINUSCOLO
The doctor said he would never drive a clutch-operated vehicle again... But Grant Reiling from Walnut Creek, California never gave up, successfully setting his wheelchair aside to drive a Volkswagen again. The passion for VWs always wins – proof that nothing can stop you from driving what you love.

SUPER-POWERED ZWITTER
JOEY BAUTISTA, a vintage Porsche 356 and 911 collector and enthusiast, is a successful businessman who resides in San Francisco, California. He has always admired and liked vintage Volkswagens. Who knows, this could be a rare case: A person coming into the VW scene after owning Porsches. Since Joey got his first Volkswagen, he’s been hooked as he discovered many similarities and interchangeable parts between these two iconic German brands. As a result, he wanted to build something unique, mixing vintage Porsche 356 and Volkswagen Beetle compo- nents... Let’s take a look at the outcome.

LEADER OF THE PACK II
In July 2020, hotVWs Maga- zine ran a piece featuring some fantastic ads, published in Germany’s Gute Fahrt – the world’s oldest VW-related periodical. Back by popular demand, we take a look at another batch of advertising, going as far back as 1950!

LUSH & HUMBLE
For years, Volkswagen offered two distinctive Beetles, the Deluxe and the starker, less common Standard – a model never officially exported to the USA. Curious to know their differences? You’re in luck: We found two desirable 1952 Splits to illustrate our study!

WELCOME TO THE VINTAGE PERFORMANCE WORLD!
Created by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the Volkswagen Beetle has argu- ably been the greatest people’s car ever built. The VW air-cooled horizontally opposed four-cyl- inder motor is a masterpiece of “combustion chamber power”, which later became the basis for the Porsche 356 engine. Until 1954, both the VW and Porsche 356 used the same engine case, making them interchangeable. Some VW owners even swapped Porsche engines into their cars, making their performance on par with the 356 sports cars. Then third parties started offering various engine tuning options for the VW engine.


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On the cover : EMPI is returning to off-road racing with Class 11 Beetles. (Photo Jason Stilgebouer)

EMPI BACK IN THE DUST!
WITHOUT A DOUBT, 2020 WAS A STRANGE YEAR. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FORCED PROMOTERS TO CANCEL MOST VW EVENTS, INCLUDING DRAG RACES. COMPETITORS HAD NO CHOICE BUT STAY IN THEIR GARAGE, MISSING THE TRACKS’ SMELL OF RACE GAS AND TIRE RUBBER... BUT HERE IS SOME INSPIRING NEWS: EMPI DECIDED TO RETURN TO A VERY POPULAR OFF-ROAD RACE CATEGORY – CLASS 11.

FAST TIMES AT FARMINGTON #33
WOW! WHAT AN AMAZING TURNOUT THIS PAST OCTOBER AT FARMINGTON DRAGWAY IN MOCKSVILLE, NC: OVER 75 RACERS, 60 NEW AND USED VENDORS, AND WELL OVER 250 CARS IN THE SHOW AREA. THIS WAS ONE PACKED HOUSE AND THE LARGEST TO DATE FOR THIS EVENT.

GRETCHEN
A HARD-WORKING AND SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS OWNER/GENERAL CONTRACTOR, DAVID CARR FROM GATLINBURG, TENNESSEE, GREW UP AROUND MINI TRUCKS. HOWEVER, THE AIR-COOLED SCENE ALWAYS ATTRACTED HIM... HE FINALLY BOUGHT HIS FIRST VW IN 2012. SINCE THEN, HIS FASCINATION WITH VWS LED HIM TO OWN FIVE AIR-COOLED MODELS, INCLUDING THIS FULL-CUSTOM EURO ’58 BEETLE RAGTOP NICKNAMED GRETCHEN.

THAT TURBO THING
AFTER YEARS OF HEAVY INVOLVEMENT WITH VW DRAG RACING, JOHN MEADE DECIDED TO BUILD A STREET-LEGAL THING. BUT, TRUE TO HIS PASSION FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE, IT FEATURES A CHROMOLY CHASSIS AND A 2.5-LITER TURBO ENGINE!

VEGAS DEUCE
IN 1962, LAS VEGAS WAS A BOOM CITY IN AMERICA WITH 25 PERCENT OF THE STATE’S POPULATION LIVING WITHIN 25 SQUARE MILES. FRANK SINATRA WAS THE HEADLINER AT THE FAMOUS SANDS HOTEL AND FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY VISITED ON A CAMPAIGN RALLY TO HELP FUND THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. LAS VEGAS – BETTER KNOWN AS SIN CITY – IS THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF AMERICA WITH CONVENTIONS, GAMBLING, MUSI- CAL PERFORMERS, AND LIVE STAGE ACTS.


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On the cover : Ray Eide’s 1957 Karmann Ghia with a rally theme (Photo Shin Watanabe)

A LOWLIGHT LIVES ON
A REGULAR SACRAMENTO BUGORAMA ATTENDEE, LONGTIME VW ENTHUSIAST RAY EIDE GREW UP IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, THOUGH HE CHOSE TO RESETTLE IN IDAHO WHEN RETIRING OVER A DECADE AGO. HE STILL WORKS ON HIS AIR-COOLED RIDES EVERY DAY, HIS LATEST PROJECT BEING A ROLLING PIECE OF ART BASED ON A 1957 LOWLIGHT KARMANN GHIA.

REVIVALOFDARRELLVITTONE’SRACECAR
MISSING FOR OVER 46 YEARS, THE JOURNEY TO FIND AND RESTORE DARRELL’S RECORD-HOLDING ‘67

THE VOLKSTREAM
“WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, IT CAN ACHIEVE” IS RANDY GRUBB’S MOTTO. HE LITERALLY PUT HIS ENTIRE LIFE’S SAVINGS ON THE LINE WHEN HE CONVERTED FROM A GLASS ARTISTTOANAUTOMOTIVEARTIST.THE VOLKSTREAM IS HIS LATEST OFFERING, WHICH FOLLOWS A LONG LIST OF ROLL- ING AUTOMOTIVE MASTERPIECES.

PENNSYLVANIA CAL LOOK
DECADES AFTER THE FIRST CALIFORNIA LOOK BUG CRUISED THE STREETS OF SO-CAL, THE TIMELESS TREND HAS BECOME A STAPLE OF THE VW COMMUNITY. PENNSYLVANIA IS A LONG WAY AWAY FROM ORANGE COUNTY, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE CAL LOOK INFLUENCE HASN’T REACHED THAT FAR. CASE IN POINT: THIS STUNNING 1969 OWNED BY RYAN LETTICH.

DAS O.C.T.O. FEST 2020
It’s already been over a year since the Coronavirus forced us to completely change our way of living. In 2020, most major Volkswa- gen events had been canceled, and many are still on hold this year. But one major VW meet held in Southern California successfully managed to take place last October...

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- On the cover : Goldie2, a tribute to a famous Manx, an ex-hotVWs cover car. (Photo Shin Watanabe)
- WHEELS UP FOR KRIS KLINGAMAN
-WE BID GOODBYE TO ONE OF THE ALL-TIME BEST VW RACERS-
At the heart of the California Look movement was the desire to have the quickest VW on the street. For most of us in the ’70s, each could find a certain level of performance, but only a few sought to find the limit in power, and actually drove a 12-second VW on the street. In 1978, hotVWs introduced two such guys who were just plain bad-ass on the street: Scott Bakken and Kris Klingaman. Scott is still active drag racing his Bug, but sadly this past December, we lost Kris Klingaman.
- GOLDI 2
A recreation of a Meyers Manx, which graced the cover of the very first issue of Dune Buggies and HotVWs Magazine - And it is now ready to hit the trails of Baja California.
- BRUCE MEYERS’ OLD RED
Artist, inventor, surfer, WWII Kamikaze attack survivor, and original creator of the iconic Meyers Manx – Bruce Meyers is all that. The Southern California native, who recently turned 94 years old, has played an essential role in defining the hot rod and VW cultures during the last seven decades
- THE STORY OF MOG
In April 1968, Craig Newcomb completed the assembly of his Meyers Manx, before embarking on well-documented off-road adventures in Mexico. This time-capsule with a fantastic backstory and documentation is still around and remains one of the best preserved examples in the world.
- BUGGY WONDERLAND
While remembered for his Manx buggy, Bruce Meyers produced several other beautifully designed VW-powered vehicles. We take a look at his lineup stretching well over a half century.

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- On the cover : Frenchy Dehoux’s perfect 1966 California Look sedan. (Photo Shin Watanabe)
- THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Better known as Frenchy within the Volkswagen community, Jean-Louis Dehoux has attended almost every single Bug-In held at Orange County International Raceway. His latest Cal Look project, this L639 Zenith Blue '66 Sunroof Bug, takes its inspiration from California's 1970s VW scene.
- ENCORE PERFORMANCE
Some 40 years after winning America’s Most Beautiful VW award at Bug-In 23, Mark Ramirez cruises the streets of So-Cal in a freshly completed ’67 Beetle with his Der Kleiner Kampfwagens club brothers!
- LIVING THE CAL LOOK LIFESTYLE
Being at the right place and the right time certainly helped Mark Ramirez to get involved in the Cal Look scene during the ’70s. But there is more to the story, as he was also lucky enough to be raised by a car-lov- ing dad, Carlos, who owned a VW shop in Whittier, a few miles away from Orange County. Mark began working there in 1975 and, with his Driver License test just a couple of months away, he and his father built a ’59 Beetle inspired by the emerging California Look. Dechromed body, powder blue paint job, chrome Porsche 356 wheels and T-bars – it was all there. “Working at the shop, a lot of customers wanted to buy our cars sitting outside on display. There went my ’59”, he adds.
- SUMMER SLAM
In the midst of a global pandemic and looming shutdowns, drag racing has taken a hit like most industries. It was decided that the show would go on and the Fast4Cartel hammered on with their Summer Slam at Medford Dragstrip. Racers came to show support, even if safety adjustments needed to be made for the event to happen.
- HOOKED FOR LIFE
Harold Dyer's 1964 Cal Look Bug.
Harold Dyer has been a Volkswagen enthusiast for over four decades. He currently lives in Prague, Oklahoma, though he spent a good portion of his life in Cal Look mecca - Orange County, CA.

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- On the cover : Jason Trabue’s insane custom double- door Deluxe Barndoor (Photo Alex Aredondo)
- BARN DAZZLE
HEN BEN PON introduced his idea of a trans-porter to VOLKSWAGEN in the ’40S, he certainly would never have envisioned this customized double-door panel bus, redesigned and built for JASON TRABUE by the compound restoration.
- LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
FOR BJÖRN VAN BOOM, a GHIA is nothing unusual. His father already had a TYPE 14. So, it was quite obvious for him to own a similar VOLKSWAGEN.
- THE TEAK
“If you had to pick only one Volkswagen Beetle to own or drive, what would the best year model be?” As enthusiasts, we never get tired of asking this question – truly a never-ending debate among the entire VW community. A look at this ’67 sedan might sway a handful of folks.
- 13TH ANNUAL SUMMER BUG RUN
When we heard that the Summer Bug Run was still on the books despite the pandemic, we jumped at the opportunity to go to what might be the only vintage VW show this year! Stephanie and Jason Peterson, owners of US-131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI decided to still hold their event since their track and parking lot was large enough to encourage distancing.
- IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD MANX!
Who remembers this MEYERS MANX, displayed on HOTVWS’ cover in 1986? BOB MAZZOTTI managed to hold on to his show-winning BUGGY, which he built as a 19-Year old – it remains untouched and has aged remarkably well!

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- On the cover : Tony Klink recently unveiled his 540hp drag Oval. (Photo Heather Nickles)
- RISE OF THE NEW ZERSTÖRER!
The first car Tony Klink can remember sitting in was his parents' Baja Bug. Fast forward to 2020: introducing Tony's brand new 540HP drag machine!
- BUSES BY THE BRIDGE XXIV
Three fantastic nights centered around a campout and 600 transporters, gathered in Lake Havasu City, Arizona: in our opinion, buses by the bridge is one of the best VW events, welcoming all type 2 generations. Amazing lakeside location, amazing friends, amazing experience... This get-together should be on any enthusiast's bucket list.
- THE BEACH CRUISERS
Old VW buses often conjure up images of beach outings and surfing - this duo of '71 Bay Windows with Palapa Roofs certainly proves the point!
- THE SCIENCE OF SPEED
A few months ago, you might have discovered a new product released by CB Performance - their pro-flanged main bearings. We won't blame if you thought of them as "just another new bearing". In actuality, their new technology will please race/Hot Rod VW engine builders. Let's delve into the secrets of these "newly invented" parts for our Air-Cooled VW engines.
- THE SO-14
Erick Sowder's 1961 Type 2 Single Cab pickup, a SO-14 version known by VW as a "Pritschenwagen mit Nachläufer", features a long list of special options.

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