2. 2
Hello readers! Welcome to the first ever Issue
of Volks Life. This magazine holds a special
place in my heart; ever since I was a child I
have dreamed of creating a magazine based
my all time favourite hobby. Volkswagens!
It means the world to me to be able to create
something that will reach all corners of
the globe and speak to everyone in the
VW community. I hope you all enjoy the
magazine!
ReadersSectionTake a look at the readers section to see if your car has
made it into this weeks issue.
BettytheLupoOn page 3 we have the main feature car of the magazine, a Nato
Green ratted Lupo. Make sure you check out the editors pride
and joy.
SneakPeakAnd finally on page 10 take a look at the front cover for
next months issue of Volks Life .
CarpartsforsalePage 9 is full of bargins, take a look and see if you can find
that part you lost in the shed years ago.
Page 7 contains a detailed article on Volkswagens new
electric cars.
IamElectric!
On page 6 take a look at our recently created Social Media.
Make sure to like and follow
SocialMedia
Question&AnswerHave a look on page 5 to see if your question has been
answerred in this issue. Also fill out the subscribtion form
for each months issue delivered to your door.
Charlie from York says “Hi all! This is my
1975 Rusty Beetle, I have spent my life
savings working on this thing and getting
it to where it is today. Don’t worry; the rust
is just a paint job! I’ll be sure to send some
more photos in when she gets a makeover,
thanks for reading.”
Emma from Thirsk says “Hello! I just
wanted to show you all my pride and joy.
Here we have a 1965 22 window Samba
Bus. Instead of going along with all the
tempting mods, I choose to stick with
restoring this classical beauty. And here
she is after a full nut and bolt restoration.
Thank you for your time!”
Karl from York says “Hey! I am the one
responsible for creating this monster of
a Lupo. I’m sure you’ve either seen me at
a show or heard of me through word of
mouth. This machine makes 345 BHP at
the wheels without the huge tank of NOS in
the back. It’s kitted out with a full role cage
and racing harnesses. Thanks for reading.”
4. I remember the first time I laid eyes on this
car, looking shabby on standard steel wheels
with a poor excuse of a paint job. Advertised
on Facebook for £500 I couldn’t say no.
Despite the fact that she came with no rear
seats and copious amounts of problems in
the engine bay, I definitely do not regret the
rushed decision to buy the car.
After getting the car home it was time for
diagnostics. She ran rough for a fair while due
to being sat for so long; a service was definitely
in order. A head-to-toe clean out and detail
was the next task to come, along with all the
engine work that was definitely needed.
New shoes came next, and I settled on a pair
of banded steels, which was the first step
down Betty and I took down the ratted path.
They weren’t perfect and in dire need of a
refurbishment but because of how tight of
a budget I was on (and still am on!), I settled
with this set. Running 15’s on coil overs
turned speed bumps into my worst enemy, as
I’m sure most of you can relate. But other than
that, the fitment is great and I feel they really
transformed the car.
Next on the list was a full respray, interior
and exterior. Having to colour match the old
green was a reasonably simple job since I was
kindly given 2 cans of spray paint with the
car, so I bought some more of the exact cans
and the colour fitted perfectly. Whilst I had
the interior in bits for the respray I thought
now would be a good time to replace the ugly
red standard Lupo seats with a full Audi TT
leather interior, which completely reshaped
the inside of the car. The full respray not
only tidied the car up but also made it look so
much better without little bits of the standard
factory red showing through.
Once I had the car running fine I started on
‘ruining’ it. The first steps in doing this was
picking a panel to rust, it was a hard decision
between just doing one panel or the whole car.
The passenger side panel was already looking
rough because of an accident the previous
owner had, so I decided to make it look even
rougher with a fresh coat of rust over the top.
It took some time, but as a wise man once told
me “Rust is like a fine wine, it only gets better
with age” which I remember every time my
car is looking sorry for itself. Once the rust
had developed enough, I sealed the rust off
with diesel oil and sunflower oil; this stops the
rust progressing further and darkens it off
nicely.
My most recent mod, and favourite to date,
is the roof rack I have put on. I found it on the
Facebook market with the help of a friend,
and after looking around; I can say I’d never
seen one that looked the way this did. It was
so unique I knew I had to have it. I have a
suspicion that the rack itself is older than my
car. But sadly, since I do not have a roof rack
expert to help me, I guess I’ll just have to leave
people guessing at all the car shows.
At these shows, one of the main talking points
of the car is the ‘ridiculous’ exhaust, which
is a homemade DIY from a scaffolding pipe.
By people not in the community, its been
called over the top, but I disagree. In true VW
fashion this exhaust is a serious bodge job,
with no back box, this gives the car a little bit
of a growl when you put your foot down. Just
enough to turn heads and put a smile on my
face.
She has so much personality; it is truly a car
that you need to see in the flesh to appreciate.
All the little details - both inside and out - are
never ending, just like all ratted cars. I’d be
shocked if spotted them all on your first look.
In all honesty, I haven’t always been into cars
like I am now, although I have always had a
huge soft spot for VW cars and busses. Mainly
because I spent a large part of my childhood
in the back of my dads blue T25 ‘Doris’. When
I first saw the T25 I instantly fell in love,
this sparked the interest that I have in the
community now. I was hooked. When I first
saw the nineteen-year-old Lupo, I had the
same feeling.
‘Doris’ was sadly sold, but my love for VW’s
blossomed again when I began learning to
drive and was searching for my first car.
Although this 1 Litre Lupo isn’t anything fast
or flashy, I absolutely love this car and hope to
keep it forever.
Car Details:
Engine size: 1 Litre.
Wheel Specs: Banded Steels, 15”,
and 8J, Et25.
Age of production: 1999 (1 Year
older then the owner!).
