Wagensville%20May%2008.pdf

Volume 53 Number 11 May 2008

VWCV History from 1954 • Super Super • Jigs from the Archives and more...

wagensville

The Oficial Magazine of the Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc.

The Club History Issue

www.vwclub.com.au

Calendar of Events

MAY

May 20th

VWCV General Meeting.

RACV Club, Bourke Room at 8pm.

2nd loor, 501 Bourke Street Melbourne.

May 24th

Pre-Concourse Social night

See Ad on page 2 for details.

May 25th

VWCV Concourse

See Ad on page 2 for details.

wagensville

The Oficial Magazine of the Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc.

VWCV Committee

President Michael Cronin 0419 684 181

Vice-President Dean Holden 0412 500 588

Secretary Matt Kinsey 9484 8953 mkinsey@bigpond.net.au

Treasurer John Farlow 0418 357 416 farlowj@internex.net.au

Additional Committee Members John Stevens & Paul Kinsey

Public Oficer John Stevens john.stevens@justice.vic.gov.au

Motorsports Co-ordinator Chris Antonello 0407 309 244

Social Secretary Kingsley Morrison 03 9484 8953

Membership Secretary Xavier Larkin 03 9836 7607

vwcvmembership @ yahoo.com.au

Technical Oficer Bill Malkoutzis & Michael Clark

Editor Tony Albers 0408 330 894 wagensville @ hotmail.com

Assistant Editor Andrew Ermel 03 9369 1360

AndrewE @ brimbank.vic.gov.au

Web Master David Holinger david.holinger@rmit.edu.au

Advertising Manager Dean Holden 0412 500 588

Club Historian Chris Scane 0417 593 573

sjscane@unimelb.edu.au

Features

2 SUPER SUPER

The Superbug that has lived up to it’s name.

4 VWCV History

Take yourself back to the Volkswagen Club

of Victoria where it all began in 1954 and

read about the irst Volkswagen Club formed

in the world.

JUNE

June 17th

VWCV General Meeting.

Studley Park BoatHouse at 8pm.

Meals and drinks available at ClubHouse

prices prior to the meeting.

See June issue for further details.

June 22nd

Dayelsford Cruise.

See Ad on page 3 for full details.

VALLA 2008

Volkswagen Spectacular

VWCV General Meetings

Melbourne Club meetings held every third Tuesday of every

month at 8pm at the RACV Club (Henty Room), 501 Bourke

Street, Melbourne, unless advised of an alternative venue

in the Club Newsletter.

WVCV Annual Membership Fees

• Single One Year Full Membership $55

• Single 3 Year Full Membership $150

• Additional Family Membership $20 (per extra member).

• Membership Joining Fee $10 (irst year members only).

To join the Club, please complete the membership form inside

this Newsletter and forward together with cheque for payment

to the Club’s postal address as quoted on the form.

VWCV membership also available on line www.vwclub.com.au

Wagensville News is a monthly Newsletter of the Volkswagen

Club of Victoria Inc. Correspondence, articles and items of

news are invited and should be sent to:

VWCV Editor

GPO Box 1215 Melbourne VIC 3001

Email wagensville @ hotmail.com

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE

May 30th 2008

July 31-August 4 2008

All bookings via web.

www.volkswagenspectacular.com

MOTORSPORT EVENTS

Contact Chris Antonello VWCV Motorsports

Co ordinator for full event details.

0407 309 244

See Ad on page 8 for full details.

www.vwclub.com.au

12 Mem ber ship Stat s

�

www.vwclub.com.au

Contents

DISCLAIMER All material in this magazine represents the opinions of the author(s) and does not carry any endorsement by the Editors of 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 requirements. Each VWCV Committee Member is

a volunteer, carrying out Club duties in their own leisure time. The Club has no paid oficials, only enthusiasts dedicated in furthering the interests of the club and it’s members. Could members

please bear this in mind when contacting Club Committee Members.

wagensville Deluxe May 2008

Super Super

by Peter and Lloyd Davies, Edited by Tony Albers, VWCV Editor.

President’s Report

Michael Cronin, VWCV President

In last months report I said that the club general

meetings would continue to be at the RACV Club.

Unfortunately although this is what we believed

it now appears to have been premature. The

committee has been in on-going discussions

with the management of the RACV Club since

November last year regarding the use of a new

meeting room that was completed last month as

part of their extensive building renovations. It had

been the committee’s understanding that our third

Tuesday of the month general meetings would

be able to be accommodated in this new room

and that this would put an end to our nomadic

wanderings since the closure of the Henty Room

at the RACV Club around the middle of last year.

We found out last week, much to our dismay this

new room is now almost fully booked and we will

not be able to secure our regular meeting nights

throughout the year. In the circumstances the

committee is now giving priority to the evaluation

of a number of non-RACV Club venue options that

will secure future general meeting arrangements,

hopefully to take effect from the July 2008

meeting. We see it as essential to re-establish a

regular and consistent meeting venue, in a suitable

environment and apologise to club members if the

recent varying meeting arrangements and venues

have caused any dificulties. If in doubt of the

location for a meting please ring me or one of the

other committee members for conirmation.

I would like to personally thank John Stevens for

the time and effort he has put in trying to resolve

this issue.

Don’t forget the Concourse this month, even if

you don’t intend to show your car just come for

the day, if you are new to the club come and

introduce yourselves so we can make you feel

welcome. That’s all for now, I will keep you posted

on the progress of inding a permanent home for

club meetings.

To survive the test of time and still look super is a rare thing in the

Volkswagen world. This 72 Volkswagen Superbug has certainly survived

and lived up to it’s name, life has taken it down the easy road with only

8,000 miles on the clock when purchased.

In 2003 the Volkswagen Club of Victoria had a

Cavalcade through Tasmania and amongst this

cavalcade this super 1972 Volkswagen Superbug

was spotted. At irst glance it seemed like any

other beetle until closer inspection revealed how

clean and straight it was, no rust and a perfect

interior. Lloyd then found the owner of the car

and had a long talk about the car which she was

looking to sell at the show.

Amazingly the car was original with a mere 8,000

or so miles on the clock. The owner continued to

tell how her uncle had bought the car new when

he retired and promptly fell ill. After his death the

family barley used the car, it lived up in the country

somewhere in a shed near a dirt road. The family

used it occasionally as their emergency car for

when their cars were out of action and that’s where

the 8000+ miles come from. Many years went by

and the next generation of children then wanted to

get their hands on the car and that is what made

her decide to sell it.

The owner had her concerns about selling the VW

to a non VW enthusiast who would not look after it

and would become another run down beetle

like most are. Lloyd explained his situation and

how he collected Volkswagens. Later in the year

the car was purchased and shipped it back to

Melbourne.

Today the cars condition is even better.

The Superbug received a detailed wash and a

few necessary parts. Due to age minor things

like tyres and copex tubing had to be changed

and bumpers had to be re-chromed due to

surface rust but that was pretty much it. Items

such as the mufler and even brake pads are still

the original items that came with the car, it has

also never had a radio.

Although these days the speedo reads

somewhere closer to 8,500 miles this vehicle

only makes appearances at shows and some

Volkswagen Club events. The rest of the time

this VW Superbug resides with Lloyd’s collection

of Volkswagens in a secure, safe environment to

ensure its current condition for many years

to come.

Concourse

Cruise to

Dayelsford

Sunday June 22nd

Sunday May 25th

Forest Edge Restaurant Gembrook

2905 Launching Place Road (Mel. Ref. 299 B5) .

Entry to concourse $10 per vehicle.

Delicious Restaurant lunch available for $18 per head.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Concourse vehicle entry reserved for

Volkswagen Club of Victoria members.

The concourse will be held at Gembrook within the grounds of the Forest

Edge Restaurant. A very pleasant and scenic cruise via the townships of

Launching Place and Hoddles Creek will also incorporate the concourse.

Cruise participants are to meet at the Croydon Hotel carpark, Croydon

(Mel. Ref. 50 E2) at 9.30am for 10 o’clock departure.

Upon arrival at approximately 11am, all vehicles will be parked on a

grassed area with amazing panoramic views of the Bunyip State Park

and the Warburton Ranges. The VWCV has reserved seating within

the restaurant for lunch. A small selection of reasonably priced meals

will be available. Join us and enjoy the relaxing surrounds and classic

volkswagens, live music will play from 1pm.

Further information contact Kingsley on 9484 8953

Cruise to Dayelsford to maybe spend some time

aboard the vintage railway, enjoy a natural and

relaxing spa, or perhaps visit the multitude of antique

shops, galleries and cafes of the surrounding area.

Go Karting Pre Concourse social night Saturday May 24

Trophies will be awarded to best in categories.

VWCV meet at the Deer Park BP Service Station

(Western Hwy, Deer Park - Melway Ref 358 K6)

at 9.00am for a 9.30am departure.

Fun City Entertainment Complex 5.30pm - 7.30pm 234 Ballarat Road Braybrook 3019

Contact Kingsley for any further information on 03 9484 8953.

This event will be pay as you ride, visit www.funcitygokarts.com.au for details or contact Kingsley on 9484 8953

2 Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc.

wagensville Deluxe May 2008

Volkswagen Club of Victoria History

by Chris Scane, VWCV Historian

In the beginning

The Club was formed in April 1954 by a group of nine Volkswagen enthusiasts.

It was one of the irst Volkswagen Clubs formed in the world.

�

Image from Wagensville News Volume 2, Number 9, June 1968.

1950’s & 1960’s

As the 1950’s progressed the VWCV grew as an

organization as the familiar sight of a VW Beetle

around Melbourne and regional centers. The late

50’s saw the development of the motorsport

program in cooperation with other Melbourne

motorsport clubs with the success of the VW

Beetle in Australian Trials & Rallies.

The early 60’s saw the motorsport theme develop

and the club organization of trials, motorkanas

(which started in 1958), and economy runs

was very impressive. The competition with

other Melbourne clubs was also tight and the

Competition Secretary had a very busy job!

The social side was also jam packed with general

meetings, bowling and a number of other social

events. The meetings were every third Thursday

and were regularly held at dealerships, eg

Pound Motors. There were also a number of

engagements and marriages associated with the

club that helped the Editor of ‘Wagensville News’

ill up the back page.

In 1962 some of the members formed a new

club – VW Auto Club, which had a main focus

of social events with a bit of motorsport but not

to the levels of competitiveness as VWCV. The

VWAC lourished thru the 60’s and 70’s but could

not form a committee in the mid 80’s and was

disbanded. A number of senior members of our

club (including the VWCV Club Historian) were

members of VWAC. In 1969 the irst ‘Bug In” was

held at Albury, NSW and a VWCV member won

the outright trophy against all competition.

By the end of the 60’s the club had about 70

members and meet at the VW factory in Clayton

for their general meetings. This was arranged

by Pat Whitaker who was the VWCV President

and also worked at VW Australia. The 1969 Club

Championship was fought out over 7 classes with

trophies worth $100 (a lot of $$ in those days) and

the Armstrong Trophy (extra $30) for 1st Outright.

1970’s

The 70’s had a strong competition program with

motorkanas, treasure hunts, economy runs, trials/

rallies and ierce interstate competitions. The

social side of the club activities included monthly

meetings for ilms, lectures, table top rallies,

discussions and general “getting to know you”.

They also enjoyed beach runs, cabarets, bowling

nights, squash nights, parties and other social

events.

The meetings were still at the Clayton factory

(1056 Dandenong Rd, Carnegie) and later at the

Light Car Club of Australia (LCCA) in Queens Rd

Albert Park. Motorkanas were held in Keilor under

the Power Lines (Reserve) were later held on the

corner of Stud & Wellington Rds, Rowville.

1990’s & 2000’s

The 1990’s were going to be a critical era for the

club because of the trend of the past few years.

One of the biggest blows for the club was the

lost of the venue for meetings. The Light Car Club

of Australia (LCCA) had been the critical focus

for general meetings for a long time but was no

longer available and the building was eventually

pulled down. Meetings where then held at the

Hope & Anchor Hotel in Richmond and the Royal

Exchange Hotel (now La Porchetta) on the corner

of Peel St & Victoria Pde, West Melbourne.

This trend was compounded by a very bad turn

out for a Day of the Volkswagen in the early 90’s at

the Dandenong Sale yards. Weather was terrible,

very few people came and no money was made

by the club. It was only going from bad to worst

when the enthusiasm for the club had fallen to

level where the magazine was on occasions not

produced and there was starting to be less regular

communicate with the members.

The Club formed a new committee in the late 90s

with Steve Ermel, Jon Edsell and Bill Sundermann.

Together these gentlemen managed to put the

club back on its feet and drag it into the 2000s.

This was done with regular meetings at the RACV

Club and good club programs and organization

that has pushed the membership in 2008 to over

450 members. This new drive also lead the club

to a regular magazine output that has resulted in

the high quality production we all enjoy today!

1980’s

This period saw an ongoing commitment in

competitive activity of the Club especially in Group

5- Motorkanas were keenly participated in and

points awarded to members were hard to achieve.

Some of the other die hard motorsport club

members also moved on to more main stream

activities in Formula Vees and other motor

sport clubs.

The beginning of Day of the Volkswagen saw a

change in the type of activity that the club put

emphasis on and the motorsport thrust began

to change. The demise of air-cooled VWs meant

the club needed to promote water cooled cars

and this was part of a number of changes to the

club. As the 80’s ended the interest in the club had

declined again and by 1989 the membership had

dropped to about 30.

The irst meeting were held in a garage converted into a hall at the Alvee

Park Autos in High Street, Mount Waverley. In 1957, branches were

formed in Warragul and Ballarat and other clubs were formed in other

states. The Volkswagen Club of Victoria is the irst V.W Club in Australia.

Foundation members were Mr. Don Bowd (President) Mr. Gregory Drew

(Secretary) Mr. Ray Witherten (Treasurer). Don Bowd wrote to new

owners of VWs from Regent Motors to invite them to join the club.

The committee consisted of: Mr. George Reynolds, Mr. Otto Wegener,

Mr. Laurie Weston, Mr. Ron Kenny, Mr. Bruce Mummery and

Mr. Jack Beecham.

The Ladies Committee: Mrs. Jack Beecham, Mrs. Nancy Lucas

and Miss June Holloway.

At that time the VW was a rarity on the Australian roads and the club

created great interest with the long line of beetles in convoy heading off

on beach runs, motorkhanas, etc.. In 1955 the Australian VW produced

at Martin & King of Clayton reached 6634. Subsequently membership

increased and it was found that the club headquarters could no longer

contain all the new members.

Regent Motors in Stuart Street, South Melbourne became the new

home of the VW Club and meetings were held on the Third Thursday of

each month. The success of the 1955 Redex Trail with VW 1st and 2nd

(Laurie Whitehead and Bob Foreman, and Lance and Eddie Perkins) had

membership increasing to an extent that standing room only was general

for meetings. Some members even brought their own chairs. Parking

was also a problem. Anything up to 200 Volkswagens illing the road as

far as the eye could see.

The club grew and at one stage comprised of ‘satellite’ clubs in regional

centres also including Seymour, Mildura and Morwell. This is the reason

for the name ”Melbourne” on the club emblem. We now have an

associated VW Club in Bendigo and the tradition continues!

Extracted from Wagensville News & Day of the Volkswagen

Booklet 1986.

Image from Wagensville News Volume 5, Number 3, January 1971.

Continued page 6

4 Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc.

wagensville Deluxe May 2008

One of the most interesting parts of the History

project will be the collection of an image archive.

The current Club Historian is keen to contact

any members that have any photo’s of past club

activities and will return any photos as required

after scanning/photographing them with high

resolution equipment. The Club Historian is

currently following up a member of leads to old

B&W photo’s of club events.

VWCV History Project & the Future.

The VWCV History Project is an important

initiative for the Volkswagen Club of Victoria to

protect and preserve its archives and origins

for the future. The VWCV Club Historian is

willing to co-ordinate the inputs into this project

providing the members are willing to give a major

contribution and commitment to the project’s

success. The VWCV Committee is keen to

record more Member Proiles and details of club

member’s cars in the History.

With more contributions from ex members and

current members in the next 12 months, it is

hoped that a VWCV History Display may be

available at the Bug In next year. It does not

matter how small he contribution is, all items

will be looked at favorably because other than

Wagensville News the VWCV History is scattered

over many different people and experiences.

The long term goal is to write a formal history

of the club but this will require a major input

from the members and the committee. There

is so much happening in the club that does not

get into Wagensville News, so I hope we can

capture some of it in the history and have some

fun along the way!

Please contact Chris Scane on 0417 593 573

if you would like to contribute any items or

would like to help set up a display at the Bug In,

next year.

Acknowledgements: The VWCV Club Historian

is thankful for the support and contributions of

Roger Backway, Mark Zellner, Bill Malkoutzis, Jon

Edsell and Andrew Ermel. There are a number of

members I would still like to contact, but I ran out

of time, so please feel free to contact me as

I would value your contribution.

“I think people that love Volkswagens are really lovely people”

Member Proile Fran Oliver, VWCV Club Member

The ‘News’ has gone

thru some drastic

changes from the irst

issues in the 1960’s to

the major productions

of recent years, with

recent inception of

the ‘Deluxe’ issue

in colour which is a

major improvement in

quality and gives the

member a magazine

they can be truly

proud of!

Fran has been a member of the club since 1992 and regularly attends most club events including

not in the least the trip in 2004 to Germany with a group of club members to our pilgrimage to

Wolfsburg and the WV factory.

What is your earliest memory of a Volkswagen?

In about the late 1960 my then boyfriend Eric Oliver’s brother in law, knew someone who had a

1958 VW Beetle for sale around the £300 mark .So he bought it for cash of course and turned up to

collect me from where I worked at the Freemasons Hospital as a nurse. I was the only one who had

boyfriend with a Volksy. I was very pleased and following year married Eric.

What irst got you interested in Volkswagens?

Eric if course! He was always working on his VW which was the occupation of most Volkswagen

owners then. Both my sons Rohan and Andrew at an early age learnt about cars from that irst VW

that Eric owned, amongst other skills such as metal work and soldering.

What do you like most about Volkswagens?

They are reliable, fun to drive and its amazing how many like-minded people also love their VW’s like

I do. I think people that like Volkswagens are really lovely people and I really enjoy being with them.

How and why did you become involved with the Volkswagen club of Victoria?

When My husband Eric irst when into care we had two cars including my 1972 Type 3 which at the

time was making some terrible grinding noises from the engine bay. I rang the VWCV because my

then mechanic said that the car was not ixable and should be cannibalised for parts. I spoke to a

lady by the name of Frances Evans, Dave Evans wife. She said that David was away and would ring

you back. David later rang me back and invited me to The Day of The Volkswagen at Albert Park

where there would be someone who could advise me on my cars problem. My son Andrew came

along on this Beautiful day, very sunny and Gary Collis looked at the car and Said “it has a broken fan

in the engine”. Soon after I had it ixed with a good result. I was so impressed with the attitude of the

club members that I joined the VW of Victoria forthwith on the day.

What is your favourite Volkswagen Type you have owned?

My type 3 that I still own. Eric had a type 3 1962 model which he was quite proud of. It had diamond

blue paint, was much quieter than my Type 3 and it seemed much lighter than mine and therefore

easier to drive.

If you could have any Volkswagen what would it be?

If Eric’s Type 3 was still around then I would like to have it back. When Eric had to let it go he was

quite emotional about parting with it at the time. It had brings back very good memories for me.

What has been your most enjoyable experience in a Volkswagen?

Two trips come to mind one to Port Lincoln and the other Grifith. The Grifith trip, Eric inadvertently

spun My Type 3 whilst driving home in the wet on and unmade road. The boys were in the back

and cheered at the excitement whilst Eric resulted the car back into line after doing full circle in the

mud. The mud was quite deep and up to the doors. It was an exciting trip for the boys and I with me

gripping the grab handle at the front. The trip to Port Lincoln was a holiday and went on Cofin bay to

pick and eat oysters. Andrew my eldest was about nine at the time and he was looking for smallest

oysters to pick so that they would it his mouth in one swallow. The oysters were huge!

Is your unique Volkswagen enthusiasm recognised and supported by family,

friends and community?

Yes. I will bore the socks of anyone who is willing stop and listen to my VW stories.

“How your Volkswagen going?” is a regular question that I am asked.

Is your family car a Volkswagen?

Yes. I also own a Mazda 2 Maxx of which I still daily drive at the age of 76. As the Type 3 is CH

registered it can only be driven on club events.

What is your profession and do your Volkswagen interests and profession cross paths?

My profession had not crossed paths with my interest other than until I met Eric whilst working in

the Hospital as a nurse. I was a nursing sister for twenty ive years in hospitals then an occupational

health and safety nurse of twenty years and I am now retired.

If you could go back in time what Volkswagen experience would you change?

The engine ire which nearly burnt out my Type 3 to ground. It was lucky that I called the ire brigade

and they came immediately to put the ire out. They commended me that I didn’t open up the engine

lid, otherwise either ire may have spread to the rest of the car. Members of the VW Club came to my

assistance and helped with getting the car repaired and back to original. It was looking for some time

that the car may have to be written off by the insurance company. It was not without much protest

and many phone calls to the insurance company that I had the car retuned to me. I appreciated the

generosity of the club members in getting the parts and the assistance to repair the car.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how much of Volkswagen nut are you?

10 but who’s asking?

Wagensville News

One of the irst known issues was called VW Auto and was a B&W production with a colour

lash with a B&W photo on the cover. The early edition of Wagensville News relied on a

common cover for a period of a year and roneo (old printing machine) productions for content

in each volume.

The details of these reports were (and still are) very interesting to read but the quality of the

printing varied enormously (as did the cost of production) and it was sometimes dificult to

read the text. The photos on the covers are a small snapshot of the club’s activities and

mirrored the emphasis on motor sport at that time in the club’s history.

The ‘News’ and the club would have struggled to grow without the support of the club

sponsors. Their support has been invaluable over the years (and still is!) and continues to be

an import part of the ‘News’ .Some of the sponsors have contributed to the club for decades

and it’s very important that the members patronize their business’s in recognition to their

marvelous support to the club.

Disclaimer. All the information presented in this article is a compilation of articles from Wagensville News, requested information from the contributors and personal experiences of the

VWCV historian. All inaccuracies will be keenly corrected and followed up. I regard this as a work in progress and welcome any contributions that can help with the VWCV History.

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6 Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc.

wagensville Deluxe May 2008