German Auto Show Full coverage and pics

Wolfsburg visit Brendan Pell

My VW life New member articles

WAGENSVILLE NEWS

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF VICTORIA | OCT 2017

AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST AND LARGEST VW CLUB

n President Andrew Ermel president@vwclub.com.au

n Vice President Michael Cronin vicepresident@vwclub.com.au

n Secretary Chris Scane secretary@vwclub.com.au

n Treasurer Matt Reynolds treasurer@vwclub.com.au

n Web Master Julian Langlet webmaster@vwclub.com.au

n Club Historian Chris Scane historian@vwclub.com.au

n Technical Officer John Goodison technical@vwclub.com.au

n Membership Secretary Charmain Green memberships@vwclub.com.au

n Club Plate Scheme Officer Andrew Ermel chplates@vwclub.com.au

n Cruise and Events Co-ordinator Chris Jeffes events@vwclub.com.au

n Constitution & Association matters John Stevens constitution@vwclub.com.au

n Day of the Volkswagen Lloyd Davies dovw@vwclub.com.au

n Editor Andy Ryan® editor@vwclub.com.au

Disclaimer: All material in this newsletter represents the opinions of the author(s) and does not carry any endorsement by the Editor and Editor Assistant or Committee unless otherwise stated. Any material advertised for sale does not carry any endorsement by the Club and the onus is on the purchaser to ensure the purchased goods meet their require-ments. Each VWCV Member is a volunteer carrying out club duties in their own leisure time. The Club has no paid officials, only enthusiasts dedicated in furthering the interests of the Club and its members. Therefore, please bear this in mind when contacting Club Committee Members.

Wagensville is the monthly newsletter of the Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc. Correspondence, articles and items of news or items for sale are invited and should be sent to: VWCV Editor: GPO Box 1215 Melbourne, Vic 3001 or editor@vwclub.com.au

VWCV MEMBERSHIP FEESSingle Annual Full membership $60Single 3 year Full Membership $155Family Membership additional $20 per mem/per yearMembership Joining Fee $10 first year only

T H E VO L K S WAG E N S TAT E AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST AND LARGEST VW CLUB

VWCV COMMITTEE 2017

21 OCT 2017 10.00AMCOFFEE MEETROCCO & COE, 1 FENNEL ST PORT MELB.

Monthly coffee meet with plenty of parking.

16 OCT 2017 6.30PMVWCV GENERAL MEETINGAUSTRIAN CLUB,

Meals available. Bring your membership card.

18 NOV 2017 10.00AMCOFFEE MEETROCCO & COE, 1 FENNEL ST PORT MELB.Monthly coffee meet with plenty of parking.

SEE AD ON PAGE 19

21 SEP 2017 6.30PM

VWCVANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGAUSTRIAN CLUB, 90 SHEEHAN RD HEIDELBERGThe VWCV will be providing finger food and coffee after the meeting. Come and welcome in the 2017/18 Committee.

PLEASE NOTE FOR PRINTED EDITION, THIS EVENT HAS ALREADY OCCURRED.

13 – 15 OCT 2017 5.00PMREVOLKSLORNE FORESHORE CARAVAN PARKRevolks returns again. Please note the display will be at the Lorne Foreshore not Geelong as in previous years.

19 OCT 2017 6.30PMVWCV GENERAL MEETINGAUSTRIAN CLUB, 90 SHEEHAN RD HEIDELBERGMeals available. Bring your membership card.

VWCV EVENTS CALENDARPlease don’t forget your Membership Card!

Andy and Willow Kerri keeping cool at the German Auto Show

PRESIDENTANDREW ERMEL

Wagensville News Photo by Barry Cripps 54

Keep those old Volkswagens on the road and keep those club permits coming in!

THIS MONTH IS THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF VICTORIA AND AS SUCH, THIS WILL BE MY LAST REPORT AS THE PRESIDENT.

It's been a great year for the club and we have gone from strength to strength having run many and varied events for you the members over the

last twelve months.

A full report of the years events will be given at the next meeting our AGM to be held on the 21st of this month at the Austrian Club on the Thursday evening.

GERMAN AUTO SHOWThe last big event we have just had and surprisingly the only event I can report on for this month was the German Auto show held at the Deaf Children Australia (DCA) 597 St Kilda Road Melbourne. This was the second time that we have run this event and it was as great and well attended show despite a very cold winter day.

We must thank the principal organisers Julien Langlet and Chris Jeffes and the team of volunteers for a fine event. Also thanks to Noel Henderson the GM from DCA who helped us

ANDREW ERMELVWCV PRESIDENT

organise the venue and was just a great guy in allowing us to have the event here again this year even though we made a little muddied up the beautiful lawns a little on the day. It was a very cold and blowy winter day but we still attracted near on 200 car entrants to the show as I’ve said a great event!

I will keep this report short as I have a lot to say and to thank the members in the wind up of the year at the AGM. I am not resigning from the committee next year, I’m just taking a back seat to do club permits and to build my new house next year.

Until next year, I wish the incoming club committee all the best. Don’t forget the AGM and remember that the club is providing finger food and sweets for the nights.

VWCV COMMITTEEI finally must thank the hardest working committee members I’ve had the pleasure of working with in this club.

Cheers and happy motoring.

REP RT

Signing off...OCTOBER 2017

German Auto Show 2017

Last year’s inaugural German Auto Show was an unbelievable success and has become one of Volkswagen Club of Victoria’s most popular car shows of the year.

But, the weather in the lead-up to the show on Sunday 27th of August 2017 was getting worse the closer the date came around, and it kept a lot of

enthusiasts nervous.

Although with a site check undertaken with days to go, punters were getting extremely excited. Finally, Sunday rolled around (it was a long 12 months), and a peek outside revealed not great news. Cold and raining. For some (including yours truly), it would’ve

been hard to make that decision to take your beloved classic out, especially if it was a convertible!

Arriving at Deaf Children Australia in St Kilda, volunteers had to keep cars away until the publicised 9 am gate entry time, but due to a lot of keen entrants, gates were opened 20 minutes early.

The first thing that was noticed as you drove around the beautiful roundabout on the grounds was the presence of food and beverage vendors.

Due to the overwhelming success of last year, more were ordered this year, including good

old German Tucka, to get into the spirit of the theme. And DJ Nige provided some funky tunes from a blue Camper.

With $10 handed over for entrants to the hooded Chris Jeffes and a gold coin for the public, with all net profits going to Deaf Children Australia.Like last year, cars were grouped in their brands, and even trickier, to their models.

Cars were trickling in most of the morning, as the rain came and went.

The ground started to become muddy and slippery, and the merchandise tent became a shelter. All Volkswagens together were nearly outdone by Porsche 911s on their own, and there were some fine examples on display, including a bright green ‘70s Carrera race car which you heard before you saw.

The standout Mercedes-Benz was Patrick’s 300SL Gullwing, which he never left alone, always talking to the interested public.

It’s a car that got the entire ground talking, and there’s good reason - it’s one of the most stunning cars ever produced.

There was a stack of BMW’s, definitely outdoing last year’s attendance, and they were one of the first to arrive and last to leave, so thank you to all of you who brought them out to show. It’s hard to focus on a certain Volkswagen, as there were so many great examples, but it was always a pleasure to see the Ermel’s 1954 Barndoor Kombi out.

With so much character, it even got Fletch from Classic Restos hooked in, who promptly interviewed Andrew about it for his TV show.

Wagensville News6 OCTOBER 2016 7

FOOT IN BOWL PHOTOGRAPHY

By Mandy Turner

German Auto Show 2017

By the time this is published, the episode should already be on the Shannons’ Club website, so be sure to check it out.

This year, the trophies had changed, with each being People’s Choice for Best Volkswagen, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Other. And the crowd picked some very interesting cars. As another downpour came around, a lot of cars were starting to leave by 11.30am, so the decision to hold the trophy awards was pushed forward an hour.

WITH 190 CARS attending, even with the intermittent weather, the club was absolutely over the moon with the turnout, and it was great to see many new faces. It’s a true credit to organisers Chris Jeffes and Julien Langlet for making sure the day ran effortlessly.

And a big thank you to all the volunteers who manned the gate, the merchandise tent and the parking.

The special display area around the entrance of the show certainly had some special cars on show. The classic 1967 NSU TTS in its bright red duco was a crowd favourite and attracted a lot of attention from the many attendees! This car has its own story and this is detailed elsewhere in this edition of Wagensville News.

Another car that got a lot of attention was the grey 1936 DKW and its interesting history in Australia. The car was certainly the oldest car at

the show and fascinatedly this car was partly assembled in Adelaide, with other DKWs assembled from parts from Germany in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne before the Second World War.

The brightly presented yellow 1969 Opel was another special car that was worthy of the special display area. Another popular small car was the blue 1964 Goggomobil sedan that demonstrated a great example of a micro car of the 1960s. This car was produced by Hans Glas GmbH in the Bavarian town Dingolfing between 1955 and 1969.

Finally one of the most popular cars at the show was John’s Messerschmitt(FMR). It’s a tiny three-wheeled car that fits two

people behind one another and runs on a two-stroke. It had everyone fascinated, looked great with the German flag flying and with skis attached to its side.

The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), was a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 to 1964.

In 1956, around a year after West Germany joined NATO, Messerschmitt was allowed to manufacture aircraft again and lost interest in Fend's microcars.

Messerschmitt sold the Regensburg works to Fend who, with brake and hub supplier Valentin Knott, formed Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH Regensburg (FMR) to continue production of the KR200 and his other vehicles. This micro car proudly displays the FMR badge on the front of the car so fits into this later group of the famous car! The wide range of German cars was outstanding and a final thank you goes out to everyone who made the trip near and far, to help the 2nd German Auto Show become a complete success. Bring on 2018!

Wagensville News8 OCTOBER 2016 9

Charmain Green VWCVMatt & Elaine Collis VWCVAndrew Ermel VWCVMike Cronin VWCVHenry and Cooper Heer VWCVChris Lloyd VWCVChris McDermot MBCVJohn Cahill PCVChris Scane VWCVRuss Murray Foot in Bowl PhotographyLawrence Glenn BMWCVMike Samos VWCVBarry Minster VWCVSteven Hough VWCVMarc Cohen VWCVNoel Henderson & Volunteers DCAPhil Collis VWCVAndrew Mengyel VWCVDavid Hennessy VWCV

Foot in Bowl Photography (Russ Murray)

WINNERS:BEST VOLKSWAGEN: Edee Wilhelm– Golf Rallye

BEST BMW: Keith Olsen BMW 3.0 CSI

BEST MERCEDES-BENZ: Patrick Devine – 1956 300SL

BEST PORSCHE: Clive Massel – 1970 914

BEST OTHER: John Brooksmith – 1960 Messerschmitt KR200

PROMOTERS CHOICE: Peter Thorogood - 1967 NSU TTS

Thanks to the following volunteers (and anyone that we missed!):

John Brooksmith just prior to extracting himself from his Messerschmitt KR200.

Co-conveners Chris J and Julien L have even reason to have big smiles following the success of the Show.

German Auto Show 2017

10 11

All pics thanks to Foot in Bowl Photography*

*This pic not by Foot in Bowl Photography

German Auto Show 2017

12 OCTOBER 2017 13

Kids always love a Goggomobil!

Chris J helps a BMW into the show while his Hoodie keeps some of the cold out!

Resident Kombi DJ kept us on the beat!

Ermels and small friends enjoy the cars!

BEETLE – PART 1

4TH GEN VWBY DAVID GEDICKE

I do recall his brother James (married to Lord Dorchester’s daughter Lorraine Carleton) was a photographer who also never saw service but went on numerous

“photography holidays” during the war nudge nudge! Alfred didn’t have any affiliation with VW that I know of; he did work for Lucas after the war. He also had a good friend Bob Platt, who was a senior engineer with Leyland and helped develop the Mini Moke, my grandfather had a bright orange one in the 70’s which I learnt to drive in.

They were intent on exploring Australia and purchased the dark blue Kombi GRN-145 around 1958, their first ever camping trip was to Phillip Island in 1959. Later that year they camped at Eildon on their way to Sydney. They did many small trips to, e.g. Lakes Entrance and Port Augusta .

Their second big camping trip in 1960 was to Brisbane and back. The third big camping trip took them all the way to Cairns in 1961 in a new Kombi HER042. This light blue barn door also did the forth big trip to the red centre in 1963. They went on to live in Carrum and Alfred became a maths teacher at Aspendale Tech and after that Knox Tech. One of the provisos of

David’s Volkswagen story started in 1963 when he was born into a family deeply involved with our marque. He had Kombis from 1957 when he first came to Australia from England.My engineer grandfather, Alfred Knowles, migrated with his family to Melbourne in 1957 living initially in Parkdale. My grandfather did his apprenticeship as a watchmaker; he was born in 1908 so that would place him starting work in the 20’s. During the 2nd world war he wasn’t in the services as he held numerous engineering advisor positions in aviation but later always claimed the “official secrecy act” when questioned about what that meant, we never found out.

Wagensville News14

This piece from David tells how Volkswagens were so much part of his family (four generations of VW enthusiasts) that we have broken it down into three parts. This is a very impressive story and we thank David for sharing it with us. Again if you have an email in your in tray from the ex-Secre-tary (or even if you don’t), bounce back an email to us and we will do our best to present your story in the magazine, for everyone to enjoy! We have seen some great stories so far, so don’t just leave it to later, get it going now. It will give you a great feeling when you hit the send button! – Thanks, CS

cheap rent in Carrum (on Beach Rd) was they had to vacate every school holidays, which was another excuse to travel in the Kombi.

My grandfather had a 3rd Kombi which was a mustard coloured 71 (I think). We had a major head-on in the light blue one on the way back from Sydney when I was young and wrote it off, we were ok.

Meanwhile my mother met my father in 1959 and they later married in 1960. My grandfather drove mum to her wedding, and received a parking fine for parking the kombi in a loading zone at the registry office in the city.

There just happened to be a newspaper photographer witnessing the argument with the policeman and it ended up in the newspaper with the headline “father says he WAS loading”.

STAY TUNED for the next instalment of David’s wonderful story which involves a few VW Beetles, one of which may come back to life soon!

OCTOBER 2017 15

BEETLE – PART 1

4TH GEN VWBY DAVID GEDICKE

Wagensville News16 OCTOBER 2017 17

Man: I'm off to the Day of the Volkswagen! Want a ride?

Woman: In that? No thanks. Gee, you're leaving a bit early, that's in November!

Would you like me to book you a Tow Truck in advance?

Man: A Tow Truck? What for? ... Ha ha ha ha ha... um... er... yes please.

VWCV NEW MEMBER As a new initiative this year the committee has asked all new members to tell us a short story about their Volkswagen and why it means so much to them. Here is another one of the three stories for this month we have but we need more for future editions of the

Club Magazine. This piece from Daniela tells how she obtained her first car and got her

'new' Volkswagen Superbug back on the road, So if you have an email in your in tray from the ex-Secretary, bounce it back to us and we will do our best to present your story in the magazine, for everyone to enjoy! We have seen some great stories so far, so don’t just leave it to later, get it going now.

It will give you a great feeling when you hit the send button! – Thanks, CS

Wagensville News20

Since childhood I have always held a special place in my heart for VW Bee-tles. It all started with my Dad, Joseph, his first car was a Beetle. He was a VW enthusiast. It would have been about

1968 when his parents bought him a fine shiny blue Beetle (JAN 936) for $1000, which, back then was considered a lot of money.

Dad was finishing his Apprenticeship as an Aircraft Fitter and Turner and once that was completed, he served in the Army for 2 years from 1971 – 1972. He drove his car back and forth from QLD to Victoria numerous times through-out this period, always ensuring he had a spare fan belt in the boot because Beetles would go on forever, he told me, but the fan-belts wouldn’t.

It was natural to follow in my Dad’s footsteps and I too, at the age of 18, remember looking through the Trading Post and finding my first Beetle. She was a 1974 Grasshopper Green, low mileage, one lady owner Bug which had been parked in the garage for numerous years. I bought black fluffy car seat covers and replaced the radio with one of those fancy car stereos where the faceplate came off to deter thieves. Whilst my friends were cruising around in their Honda Integra’s or Toyo-ta Celica’s, I was driving to night clubs in my Bug, with the doof doof blaring from my super cool stereo system. The only downfall was I couldn’t

sneak home at night, my neighbours would hear that “chirp, chirp, chirp” from the minute I turned the corner all the way down my street. It was hot in Summer and cold in Winter, didn’t have a sunroof but I didn’t care. I loved my Grasshopper.

Dad and I would go for drives together to Ger-man mechanics he would find in woop woop, because according to him they were the only ones who knew how to service a VW.

After I graduated, I worked in a full time sales role and I was given a Company Car, so it was time to say goodbye to the Bug. A Graduate Doc-tor working at the Children’s Hospital bought it so I knew she was going to a good home.

I am now married and have two children, aged 5 and 7. We enjoy looking for “punch buggy’s” whenever we are out and about and taking random photos of them in car parks.

My children are fascinated yet somewhat con-fused as to where the screen is for the satellite navigation? How come you need a key to unlock and open the doors? Where is the button to open and close the window? I enjoy reminiscing with them about my first Bug.

Sadly, I lost my Dad to cancer last year. He was 67 years old.

OCTOBER 2017 21

A

MY VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE STORYBy Daniela Marasea

One year on, my husband decided to surprise me with the purchase of a 1972 Beetle he successfully bidded for at an Auction. He knew how much it meant to me. The car was taken to the Swap Meet in July (seen here with no rego plates) and again seen at the VWCV Tech

Day (this time it was up on the hoist getting checked out by John Goodison).

I was overwhelmed with excitement, as

were my children, whose first question when I took them for a spin was, “why are there no beeps when you reverse, Mum?” All of my teenage memories flooded back to me when I sat in it. I remembered the interior smell, the fun-ny way I had to get into Reverse on the gearbox and the old radio (which I will not be replacing

this time!).

I will forever cherish the fond memories I have of my Dad and our Beetles and I look forward to creating more memories with my children, as my Dad did with me, because as we know, Beetles go on forever. I know my Dad is looking down on me and is thrilled that I am keeping the Beetle spirit alive that he inadvertently and so passionately started long ago.

This is my story.My family and I look forward to sharing our interests and forming friendships with you all so we can together continue to share our stories in this Club.

Daniela Marasea

Wagensville News22

Why are there no beeps when you reverse Mum?

MY VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE STORYBy Daniela Marasea

OCTOBER 2017 23

This car was one of the display cars at the recent German Auto Show on the 27th August this year. The Club Historian asked Peter whether we

could use his display notes on the car with a bit more information from him and got the OK to proceed. His story is another chapter in the increasingly expanding history of the German Auto Show in Melbourne and we hope to follow up a number of other cars at the show next year in order to bring you some more interesting stories – CS.

This car has an engine number of 778 01 438 and a Chassis Number of 34 001 424 which makes it the 424th car of the production run. It was acquired by the current owner from Mr Fritz Bohle of Frankston South.

This man was an engineer by trade and had a large factory in Dandenong. Fritz howev-er kept his cars at home where he worked on them. Fritz also had a Sport Prinz and a 1000L, cars he had collected and kept in his large garage for a decade to my knowledge. The sport Prinz is now in Perth, Western Australia. Unfortunately there is no more information about where Fritz obtained the cars from and he is now deceased.

Upon purchase of the car, it was found to be very original; but new big ends, valves and piston rings were required. The paint had fad-ed in patches and repainted where necessary. Brakes were relined and new pads and brake lines installed with a thorough overhaul com-

pleted. The car was registered for the road on December 2000 with 50,968 miles on the Odometer and has been regularly used this ten. The car has participated in the Australia Day and Mornington Show and has gone to the German Auto Fest in Canberra.

It is believed to be the only TTS in Australia and few NSU models were sold here by the Factory. The owner is a member of the Histor-ic German Vehicle Registry of Australia.

The TTS achieved a lot of success in racing and Hill climbs. Its engine was installed in the fastest road motorcycle in the world at that time – the Munich Mammoth!

In racing mode, the 70 bhp output could be increased to 100 bhp, which for car weighing under 700 kg made the TTS very competitive. Famous tuners like ABT, Spiess and Willi Berg-meister raced the cars with Bergmeister the German Hill Climb Champion in 1974.

It is easy to imagine you are in a Porsche when driving a TTS with its clingy handling and air cooled clatter in the back at 7000 rpm!

PETER THOROGOOD

It was very appropriate that the organisers have approved Peter’s car this year for the Promoter's choice award – we at VWCV agree wholeheart-edly with their choice – CS.

Wagensville News24

G E R M A N A U T O S H O W S T A R

B A D T O T H E B O N E !The TTS quickly advanced to become a value-for-money motor sport machine on race tracks all over Europe. In total, The NSU TTS won 29 national championships in Europe and North America between 1967 and 1976.

OCTOBER 2017 25

Engine: 4-cylinder inline engine | Displacement: 996 cc | Power: 70 hp at 6150 rpm Maximum speed: 160 km/h | Series: 1967-1971 | Production: 2,405 cars

Wagensville News Wagensville News26 27

Mike Clark summed it up well at the time “Seems like an awful waste of good beetles for a trendy con-venience!” Thankfully for us it did not take off!

The recovery of an edition of ‘Wheels’ magazine (see separate article) has given us another oppor-tunity to reflect on this period of motoring history – the ascendance of the VW Golf.

...IN SEPTEMBER 1992 MICHAEL CLARK WAS THE CLUB PRES-IDENT, GARY COLLIS WAS VICE PRESI-DENT, TIM HOSIE WAS SECRETARY KIM WHITTLES WAS TREASURE AND GREG FARRELLY AS EDITOR, SOME STILL AC-TIVE MEMBERS EVEN TODAY. The highlights of September were the preparation for the Day of the Volkswagen at the Dandenong Saleyards on the 31st October, the General Meeting at the Anchor & Hope Hotel, Richmond, Bowling at the Northcote Bowl and Group 5 Motorkhana at Rockbank with Rob Bussellman as the contact.

The ‘News’ carried articles about the new Golf VR6,the Audi Cabriolet, the 21 Millionth Beetle and a great little article on a ‘6 Volt Starter Bush Fix’ from Michael Clark. Also of note was an interesting article from the Magazine Editor, - this was a great little story that gave a good summary of club activi-ties similar to the current President’s Report!

...IN SEPT/OCT 2007MICHAEL CRONIN WAS THE CLUB PRES-IDENT, DEAN HOLDEN WAS VICE PRES-IDENT, MATT KINSEY WAS SECRETARY AND JOHN FARLOW WAS TREASURER; AGAIN THE COMMITTEE HAD COMPRE-HENSIVE PROGRAM FOR THE YEAR. The ‘News’ was in the broadsheet format and announced the next VWCV meeting to be held at South Yarra Volkswagen, there were a number of new Volkswagens on display including the new Eos,

IN THIS YEAR’S ‘CORNER’ WE HAVE ANOTHER SET OF FASCINATING TALES FROM OUR CLUB NEWSLETTER, ‘WA-GENSVILLE NEWS’ AND OTHER PUBLI-CATIONS OF THAT TIME. This month we are looking at a more recent is-sue of the ‘News’ and what was happening from 25 & 35 years ago to give you another window from VWCV history. I hope you enjoy these and please feel to contact me if you can help in developing the documentation our history.

...IN SEPTEMBER 1982STEVE KOSA WAS THE CLUB PRESIDENT, MARK ZELLNER WAS VICE PRESIDENT, MAX BONNEY WAS SECRETARY AND NEIL TATTERSALL WAS TREASURER; AGAIN THE COMMITTEE HAD COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR THE YEAR! The highlights of this time were again are the motorsport events in organized by Neil Walker and Steve Kosa (Clayton, Twilight, Adam & Eve as well as the Alpine Rally) all in the 3 months to the end of the year. Promotion for Day of the Volkswagen was full on too!

The ‘News’ carried a number of interesting articles about club activities (mainly motor-sport) and an article about Norman Yemm

and his Rent a love Bug venture (I have not been able to find out any information about this yet).

Norm was a star of the TV Series ‘The Sullivans, Homicide, Matlock Police, Number 96 & Prisoner’ and saw an opportunity to rent chopped top beetles as a business venture with Barry Jan in South Yarra.

T H E VO L K S WAG E N S TAT E

HISTORIAN'S

Chris Scane's PART ONE

CORNERhistorian@vwclub.com.au

with the new folding convertible hardtop.

The highlights of this time were the preparations for the Day of the Volkswagen at Cranbourne Race-course including the Drive In Night at the South Gippsland Drive In and the Volunteers Pack details. Other events included the Octoberfest details at the Hofbrauhaus and the Trip to Merimbula in early November.

The ‘News’ carried not a lot of information being in the broadsheet format but the Motorsport event of the month was Drag Racing at Heathcote Park on the 13th October. Not a big month for the ‘News’ by the format but interesting For sale – 1958 Big Win-dow beetle, One owner, excellent condition inside and out, Registration number GXV 632.

Wagensville News Wagensville News28 29

FINALLY THE ARTICLE ON ERNST FIALA WAS THE MOST INFORMATIVE. PRO-FESSOR FIALA WAS AN AUSTRIAN BORN ENGINEER WHO JOINED VOLKSWAGEN AS HEAD OF RESEARCH IN 1970 AFTER WORKING FOR MERCEDES BENZ AND THE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN.

HE SOON BECAME THE HEAD OF Development and by 1982 was the most senior engineer at Volkswagen. Interestingly he thought the days

of the air cooled Beetle were over in 1961! The decision to go down the water-cooled path was greatly affected by the development of these engines at Audi.

But how Volkswagen progressed is probably best summarized by Fiala’s own words :

Initially we were going to develop our own water-cooled engine, distinct from the Audi unit.

The idea was that the two marques should compete and therefore should have different engines. But economically that really didn’t make sense.”

As an extra part of the ‘Cor-ner’ we have another set of fascinating tales from other publications of that time.

This month in Part Two we are looking at 35 years ago to give you another window Australian and Volkswagen motoring history. I hope you enjoy these and please feel to contact me if you can help in developing some more stories about our Volkswagen history.

...IN SEPTEMBER 1982THE RECOVERY OF THIS EDITION OF ‘WHEELS’ MAGAZINE HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON THIS PERIOD OF MOTORING HISTORY – THE ASCENDANCY OF THE VW GOLF.You know when you are going back in time when you read a motoring magazine with a Holden Camira as a SUPERCAR, a Mitsubishi Starion – Towards 2000 and a SAAS Super Wheel included in the adverts.

1982 was a memorable year for the current Club Historian as a 1967 VW Beetle 1300, very similar to the VWCV Project Beetle sat very comfortably in my driveway on a set of white Peco Star with fat Bridgestone tyres and small SAAS steering wheel in brown leather to match the colour of the interior. Sadly the car is no longer with us but the Pecos and the SAAS wheel is still in the collection.

T H E VO L K S WAG E N S TAT E

HISTORIAN'S

Chris Scane's PART TWO

CORNERhistorian@vwclub.com.au

This Volkswagen engineer was given an incredible task to get just the Golf over the engineering hurdles it had to climb let alone the physic of moving away from their air-cooled established platform.

This man has played such an important role in Volkswagen history, he deserves an article of his own! Stay tuned and we will do our best.

Look forward to seeing you all at the next VWCV event! Regards,

Chris Scane(historian@vwclub.com.au)

Back to this edition of ‘Wheels’ magazine and interestingly six years after the last 1600 Beetle was available to buy in Melbourne the thirst for infor-mation about a performance water-cooled Volkswa-gen was still there. So not surprising, an article on the 1982 VW Golf GTI was read intensely from start to finish! Featuring a Black GTI with UK plates the car that wets the appetite of every V-dub enthusiast and gave great detail on what it was like to drive, although we were unlikely to see it and we didn’t.

Another Volkswagen article that is now more inter-esting than when I first read it 35 years ago is a piece on the Audi Four Door Quattro. The new sedan was to be known as the Audi 90 Quattro and was benefit-ing from the previous rally successes.

It was to be known as the ‘Quattro for all’ with fuel injected 2.2 litre 5 cylinder engine and a top speed of 190 km/h. Brings back great memories of punting Jon Edsell’s Audi around the Morwell hill-climb track, all those years ago.

ON A RECENT HOLIDAY TO EUROPE WE WERE FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO SPEND A DAY IN THE SPIRITUAL HOME OF VOLKSWAGEN AT THE FACTORY IN WOLFSBURG WHICH IS SITUATED IN NORTHERN GERMANY ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO EAST OF HANNOVER BY CAR.

The factory as many will know was originally built pre WW2 but was heavily damaged during the war. Restored to manufacturing capacity with the help of

the British, post WW2, it now sits grandly on the Mittelland Canal and occupies central stage in the town of Wolfsburg.

If you were to visit Wolfsburg it would be a good idea to plan your day (days?) in advance as there is a huge amount of things to see and do, not just at the factory, but at the impressive Autostadt (Auto City) which sits adjacent to the factory.

We were very lucky in that Irene’s sister who had experienced the whole thing first hand when she purchased her Tiguan and collected it from the impressive Customer Centre a few years ago, had organised and booked a few things in advance for us which made for a most enjoyable day.

The first thing we did was the factory tour. If you want to do this with an English speaking guide you will need to make sure you book this in advance as they don’t run all the time. When you arrive at the Autostadt which sits on one side of the canal, you purchase a day pass which allows you access to all of the pavilions and the museum situated within the beautifully manicured park lands. The factory tour costs extra but it’s well worth it. To access this you are taken by boat from the initial huge glass fronted reception area a short way up the canal to a dock alongside the factory. From there you board a long narrow articulated bus like thing which takes you through the factory. It seats around 50 or so and there is a guide at the front

who gives a running commentary throughout the tour (again, book the English speaking tour in advance).

As we make our way towards the factory proper, we are given some pretty impressive statistics about the buildings and facilities that make up the factory there. It is larger in area than Gibraltar and employs more people than live there – 66,000 from memory.

The roof area alone is bigger than Monaco and the main production line building is 2.7 kilometres long! Just as well we were on a bus and not having to walk around this building. The staff working in the factory mostly use pushbikes to get around and with bike stations everywhere there’s easy access to one at any time. The bus weaves its way past various buildings before it enters the main production line for the Golf which is produced there. Apparently a new Golf rolls off the production line every 55 seconds and doing this tour you get a bit of an idea of how it all happens.

The whole place is designed to be totally ergonomic and efficient in the production of the

A VISIT TO

BY BRENDAN PELL

Wagensville News30

cars, a far cry from my memory of visiting the Holden Production line in Fisherman’s Bend in the 70’s as part of a school excursion.

Robots are central to the car’s production but many of the more intricate stages are still performed by people who work on a moving floor alongside their automated assistants.

The bus runs right alongside the production line and has its wide doors open along both sides so you can hear and see everything clearly. It stops at various points so you can see some of the various stages of the production. So we were able to watch as the car body comes down from up high and is matched to the chassis. Next the engine comes up from below to be inserted into the front of the vehicle. The whole dash assembly is moved into position by robotic arms and takes 15 seconds (!) to be fully installed, even having the key in the ignition ready to be started later on. The whole thing is computer controlled and as every Golf on the production line has already been purchased specific add-on components are installed to individual cars, making each car a personalized assembly. There were all the different colours, left and right hand drive, sports models and a few variants that I had not seen before. We were even shown one or two with one of the newer colours, a sort of gold with olive undertones which actually looked quite good.

The tour guide used us for some on-the-spot market research to ascertain what we thought of that new colour, with a 50:50 result. The tour lasts about an hour and you are then returned to the dock where you board the boat again, to be taken back to the Autostadt to continue your day’s tour, and this is where the fun continues.

Any of you who have visited before will know this already, but the place is almost an overload for the senses, even if you are not a hardened VW enthusiast like me (although I think most of the people there have at least some association/passion for the brand). The Autostadt was opened in 2000 after being in gestation since 1994 and

today looks as fresh and pristine as the day that it was opened.

Essentially it is a huge VW themed showroom I suppose, with examples of all of the new cars produced as part of the VW stable to be found in one of the many “pavilions” situated within the grounds.

As previously mentioned, it is set in beautifully manicured park-like gardens, with many of the pavilions separated by water from the canal, with bridges connecting the areas, all carefully designed and adding to the beauty of the place.

The main reception building where you start has a range of activities for young and old. There are plenty of activities for kids, including small model electric VW’s to drive around a test track.

There also was a whole room of “simulators” set up for kids to test their skills. It was quite cute to see so many children transfixed in their individual simulators doing things that come quite naturally to them, with their learnt-from-birth computer skills.

Next there’s a huge play area and a hands-on engineering workshop where kids are given all sorts of bits and pieces and the tools to assemble them and create the next ‘prototype’ .

There are also a few restaurant options, a high-end home-concept retail shop and various other displays to entertain the visitors.

But that’s not where you want to spend all of your time, because you want time to visit the various individual pavilions associated with the VW brand as well as the museum out in the parkland.

First though by this stage we were a bit hungry, so we headed over to the Customer Centre in the middle of the Autostadt to have one of their famous Currywursts. Not sure why it is famous, but I think it was first “cooked” up in one of the many staff cafeterias at some stage in the past and by now is an institution.

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We weren’t going to argue (and it tasted pretty good too). The Customer Centre is where you also go to collect your new VW if you have organised it this way. Pre-collection cars are stored in massive circular glass silos to the side of the Customer Centre. Your car is collected by robots from one of these huge buildings and delivered to the Customer Centre where it is handed over to you with much pomp and ceremony. Here is also a retail store that contains lots of VW branded accessories to complement your newly purchased VW. Hot tip: don’t spend ALL of your money here - there are many more places where you can get the wallet out and part with some of your designated (and in my case too many non-designated) Euros to buy some amazing VW paraphernalia.

There are several other pavilions dotted around the parkland area, one for each of the different brands within the VW stable. There is one for Porsche, Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Seat, VW of course, and another one called the Premium Clubhouse. This was previously for Bentley, but now houses a single Bugatti Veyron which looked

absolutely stunning. The car sat on a sloping mirrored floor, which you access by walking down a spiralling walkway so you could admire it from every angle. The car itself was finished in a polished mirror finish and it just sparkled with the lights shining on it. In another part of the room was a single engine from the Veyron, which in its W16 layout looked nearly as big as the whole of my 1970 Beetle!

With the day fast disappearing we realised that we weren’t going to see everything and I desperately wanted to allow as much time as I could for the museum, so we had to rationalise which pavilions we entered.

Before visiting the Premium Clubhouse we went to the Porsche pavilion where another walkway winds down around the building a couple of levels with displays of scale models of all t he racing Porsches through the generations, ending up at three brand new models in their sports range. These are open to sit in and I didn’t need to be asked twice if I wanted to get behind the wheel of one of their latest 911 open top sports cars to sample the driving position – which was very nice. Up on the big screen above the display was a video featuring our own Mark Webber describing the whole Le Mans approach taken by Porsche and the history behind it. The Le Mans winning Porsche from last year is itself on display and looks very smart!

From here Irene and her sister went off to find a coffee in a beautiful restaurant housed in the Museum building where she had the door opened for her by one of the Porsche family members still involved with the company who just happened to be entering at the same time! I had gone off with her brother-in-law to have a look at the Lamborghini pavilion and this was quite stunning. It consists of a feature show which runs every 15 minutes or so. You enter a large three story building and find a vantage point that looks over an empty floor. The room then darkens and huge screens appear on the opposite wall which start

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showing a film of a Lamborghini storming through what looks like a lunar landscape with shards exploding out of the ground. The whole time they have the sound of a Lambo engine on maximum revs blasting out through the sound system. This builds to a deafening crescendo where the whole room fills with smoke before the wall in front of you spins around 180 degrees to show a brand new burnt orange Lamborghini mounted flat on the wall. Very impressive!!

From there it is just a short walk to the museum and you really don’t want to leave this one out. It is around five stories high and the idea is that you start on the top floor and work your way down via a network of stairs and bridges which transverse the central atrium of the building. You can either take the elevator or a very long escalator which goes from the ground floor all the way to the top.

You would think being a VW museum, it would just house VW’s but this is not the case. The concept behind this museum is to showcase the engineering and revolutionary designs that shaped the automotive world and it houses one of the most impressive and varied collection of cars that I have ever seen.

There are of course many VWs of all shapes, sizes and vintages, from a very early Beetle to one of the latest and quickest Golf’s ever built. (It was built in 2007, had a W12 engine of nearly 6 litres and could travel at speeds of 325 kmh – but before you get your cheque book out, it was a prototype and never went on sale). Again there were models here that I had never come across before, including a 4WD Mark 1 Golf (ahead of its time again as it looked like the forerunner of the modern SUV – I would happily have taken this one home!) and many others that I’d never seen before.

They also had Citroens, Renaults, Cadillacs, BMWs Porsches, a Tatra, Bentleys and too many more to mention in detail. Each of them was there because it demonstrated a unique perspective on automotive evolution. The whole thing finishes

nicely on the ground floor where there are engineering displays and a fantastic merchandise shop containing all forms of VW paraphernalia books, and some fantastic motoring memorabilia from various times in history.

Sadly it was time to leave, but it counted as a highlight of our holiday and is certainly a place I would visit again as there is so much to see and do and so much that we missed. It is not the cheapest place in the world food-wise, but other things mostly fitted in with costs in and around tourist attractions. If the budget can stand it and you want to spend a full day there, you have several accommodation options nearby with a fancy Ritz Carlton hotel on one corner of the Autostadt that will put you right there when the place opens in the morning. (I imagine such accommodation might also include entry so might be worth a look). If you arrive early enough, they have a pretty good 4WD test track on the other side of the canal where you can book a time to put a new Touareg or Tiguan through their paces, watched by an envious crowd on the other side of the canal. These spots go quickly so get there early if you want to drive one of them.

There were several other “motoring” related highlights on this holiday, including a tour of the Ferrari factory in Maranello, having a bowl of pasta at the Ristorante Cavallino over the road from the factory where Enzo used to dine each day, then going on to stay in a villa on the side of the beautiful Lake Bolsena and having the full entry of the 90th running of the Mille Miglia road race drive right past our door! Four hours of non-stop motoring royalty with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Mercedes and yes - some lovely old Beetles and Kombis, not to mention countless other classics driving past at various speeds. There was a great sense of fun about it, with most of the entrants smiling, waving and hooting as they went past. The only thing missing was a cold Peroni – good reason for next time!

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KOMBI – PART 1

MY VW LIFEBY MATT WALDRON

Beginnings of my VW life started when I was 24 and bought a 1974 Kombi to travel Australia. I bought the 74 kombi off a landscaper in Merimbula in 1996 for

$4,500 and did it up from the motor to the interior was completely redone. It was during this time I met my wife Minna and we travelled all the way around Australia for one and a half years.

We travelled from Melbourne to Cape Tribulation and back which took 7 months and then travelled to Adelaide/ Alice Springs, Darwin, Broome, Perth and back to Melbourne which took another 18 months.

The VW have always appealed to us as we travelled Oz in one. I have many pictures of my journeys and starts with a shot of the 1974 camper in 1996 as our around Australia vehicle, seen here

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As a new initiative this year the committee has asked all new members to tell us a short story about their Volkswagen and why it means so much to them. Here is another one of the three stories for this month we have but we need more for future editions of the Club Magazine. This piece from Matt (Part 1) tells how he started his Volkswagen journey with a VW Kombi Camper, Part 2 will allude to his current Volkswagen classic. So if you have an email in your in tray from the ex-Secretary, bounce it back to us and we will do our best to present your story in the maga-zine, for everyone to enjoy! We have seen some great stories so far, so don’t just leave it to later, get it going now. It will give you a great feeling when you hit the send button! – Thanks, CS

in various locations. Another hot day on the road and the Kombi is seen here at the West Australian border with the tradie’s trailer on tow.

The VW Camper was a great vehicle for getting around Australia and coupled with a sizeable tent/annexe, it was an enjoyable lifestyle on the road and in the caravan parks.

Whether it was on the bitumen or on the dirt the Kombi was the way to get around Australia. This love of the Volkswagen bought me back to get a Beetle and join the Volkswagen Club of Victoria, see Part 2.

The Camper was sold to buy our first home. On return our daughter was born so the car was used to help fund the purchase of the house.

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This car is Kalahari Tan with a Black interior, has a strong motor and a full service history from a one lady owner previous to me, the body and heater channels are solid but it needs some paint and a repair under the battery. On Club Plates (not transferable). Price is negotiable, contact Chris on 0417 593 573 or chrisjscane@gmail.com

Daniela is looking for her 1974 Grasshopper Green, low mileage (when I got it), a two lady owner Bug which had been parked in the garage for numerous years. It had a black interior with a Volkswagen black steering wheel cover. I bought black fluffy car seat covers and replaced the radio with one of those fancy car stereos where the faceplate came off to deter thieves. It was sold to a Graduate Doctor working at the Royal Children’s Hospital so we hope we may be able to pick up the trail of where this car is now as it was a very distinctive car of its day.

It had Black and White Victorian registration plates – LTC 741. Maybe you knew a doctor from the RCH with a L Bug or you had an L Bug with a similar rego plate, that may lead to where it was purchased from. Even if we do not find the car, the adventures of this Bug after it left me would be great. Please help me find my Grasshopper.

WANTEDNew Custodian for my 1974 1300 VW Beetle

FOR SALE MISSING IN ACTION1974 1300 VW Beetle M.I.A.

By Daniela Marasea

PLEASE FIND MEwhere is my grasshopper?

This is another new initiative for this year and as a service to members who are looking for their Volkswagen from a past life. Here is the first one for this year, so if you have another request for future editions of the Club Magazine, send them to the Club Historian or the Secretary. This first request is from Daniela, also featured in this edition. If you can help, please get back to the club and make another member’s day! – Thanks, CS

A look into a future VWCV driverless coffee run. No coffee, no oil stains and no driving.Enjoy a Soylent Green Tea, sit back and let the car drive you home. Just put it in Drive and go.I think these cars are driverless. Probably should check prior to putting it in Drive.

A vehicle service centre specialising in Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Since 1987 we have been offering only the highest level of care. Our passion is unsurpassed and it shows in the quality of our workmanship. enquiries@volkwerke.com.au Ph: (03) 9840 6449

The Club organises and participates in numerous events and activities, including cruises, technical days, swap meets and trade shows. Other great events such as a weekend away, as well as interstate and overseas trips are organised. There are annual car shows; including 'The Day of the Volkswagen'.

SURFACE MAILPOSTAGE

PAIDAUSTRALIA

If not received, please return to:Volkswagen Club of victoria Inc.GPO Box 1215Melbourne Vic 3001

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OCTOBER 2017 VOLUME 62 ISSUE 29

WAGENSVILLE NEWS