An axle seal kit is a set of seals that help stop oil from leaking around the axle. If your Volkswagen is dripping from the axle area, this is the kind of repair kit people use.
A “Baja bug” is a Volkswagen Beetle turned into an off-road desert-style car. People build them to survive bumps and dirt roads, usually with bigger tires and suspension changes.
A trail ride is when a group drives on a dirt trail instead of normal roads. Off-road cars handle it differently because the surface is rough and you have to pick your path carefully.
An off-road rally is an organized driving event where participants follow a route that includes unpaved or rough terrain. Unlike a track day, the emphasis is on navigating the course and keeping the car moving over obstacles like ruts, rocks, and washboard roads.
A power line road is a rough service road near electricity lines. It’s usually not a smooth paved road, so it can be bumpy or rutted—good for off-road driving.
The Ford Excursion is a big SUV that’s built like a truck, with a strong frame underneath. It’s meant for heavy-duty driving, including towing and rough roads. The podcast mentions it in connection with an off-road trip.
They’re talking about the meetup and drive plan to Good Springs, including an off-road trail and timing the day for other events. They also mention test-running the route first.
“Off-road capable” just means the car can handle rough dirt/sand roads. The host warns that the route is rutted, so you need something that can deal with that.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a classic car with a simple, rounded shape that many people recognize. It’s known for being popular with collectors and fans, so you often see them in groups at car events. The podcast is describing a drive where lots of Beetles were together.
An “engine battle” is an event segment where people show off their engines. It’s usually competitive and centered on engine builds and how they run or sound.
The Volkswagen Bus is a classic van made by Volkswagen. It’s known for carrying people and gear comfortably and for having a very recognizable shape. The podcast is talking about a particular bus and a photo connected to it.
“23 window” means the bus has a lot of windows along the side—23 of them. People in the VW world really like that specific look, so some buses are converted to match it.
Term
Cosmic
“Cosmic” is the name of a wheel style people use on classic VWs. Saying it’s on Cosmic wheels is basically describing the bus’s look.
A “Mendiola box” is a racing-style gearbox made by Mendiola. It’s the kind of transmission you’d see on cars built for fast, repeated acceleration runs.
“Cow look” is a nickname for a particular classic VW style. It’s the kind of look people recognize from magazine covers and car shows, not just a general “cool Beetle” idea.
Nerf bars are aftermarket side steps/impact bars mounted along the lower rocker area. In classic VW circles, they often show up as part of the “checklist” of period-correct or era-specific exterior modifications.
Term
brms
“BRMs” here is referring to a specific style/brand of wheels that show up on classic VW builds. They’re mentioned as part of the overall look people try to replicate.
Car
Volkswagen split-window
A “split-window” is a classic Volkswagen Beetle shape where the rear window is split into two parts. They’re talking about a famous one owned by Mike Mahaffey and how it was shown in a magazine feature.
Term
gold eight spokes
They’re describing the wheels: eight-spoke design, painted gold. In classic VW culture, wheel style and color are part of what makes a car’s look recognizable.
Concept
vw hobby
The “VW hobby” means the community of people who are into classic Volkswagens. The host is saying some photos represent what that community is all about.
“Hop up mods” are upgrades people add to a car to make it faster or more fun to drive. With classic VWs, it usually means changing parts to get more power.
“Dual CV axles” are axle shafts with CV joints that let the wheels move up and down while still transferring power. It helps keep the drive smooth when the suspension moves.
The Chevrolet Corvair is an older car with a unique layout compared to many others. The podcast mentions it because it uses a drivetrain setup that includes dual CV axles. That’s the kind of detail people talk about when comparing mechanical designs.
A “swing axle” is an older style rear suspension where the axle swings as the wheel goes up and down. Some people prefer newer suspension designs because they can handle more predictably.
A transaxle is a combined gearbox-and-differential unit. It’s used to send power to the wheels, and on some Volkswagens it’s part of what makes the car’s rear-engine layout work well.
Straight-cut gears have teeth that are cut straight, not angled. They’re often used in race setups because they can handle hard use, but they tend to be louder.
Concept
flash in the pan inventions
“Flash in the pan inventions” refers to one-off or short-lived automotive ideas that don’t become widely adopted. In classic VW history, it often describes experimental aftermarket solutions that appeared for a moment, then faded as better parts or proven designs took over.
Term
oil adapter
An oil adapter is a part that changes how oil flows through the engine. People use them to support upgrades—like better cooling or different oil/filter setups—especially on older performance builds.
Term
oil filler
The oil filler is the opening where you pour in engine oil. It’s where you add oil without spilling it all over the engine.
Center mount shrouds are covers/ducts that help guide cooling air around the engine. On air-cooled VWs, that airflow is what keeps the engine from overheating.
The cooling fan is the fan assembly that moves air through an air-cooled engine’s fins and around key components. The host describes a “saw blade”-looking generator fan setup on the front of the generator fan, emphasizing how it’s intended to cool the engine compartment and help manage head and oil temperatures.
The engine compartment is the space under the hood where the engine and related components sit. Cooling-related parts are often designed to improve airflow through this area so temperatures don’t build up around the engine and accessories.
“Head temperature” refers to how hot the cylinder heads get, while “oil temperature” is how hot the engine oil becomes. Both matter on air-cooled engines because overheating can reduce performance and accelerate wear, and oil temperature also affects lubrication quality.
Term
upright engines
“Upright” just means the engine is positioned more vertically. That affects how cooling air is routed around it.
Concept
one-off things
“One-off” means a custom part that’s made for a specific setup, not something you’d find in a normal catalog. It’s usually built in small numbers or just once.
Car
Volkswagen flatback pickup truck
A “flatback” is a custom conversion where people modify a Volkswagen so it looks and works more like a pickup truck. The rear gets changed so you can carry things in a bed instead of the original body shape.
A “narrowed beam” is when builders modify the front suspension/axle assembly to make the car sit narrower. People do it to change the look and handling/steering feel of classic Volkswagens.
Nitrous is a performance “boost” system. It adds a gas that makes the engine produce more power for a short time, usually for quick bursts rather than all the time.
Term
lone wolf
“Lone wolf” sounds like a nickname for Scott Smith’s VW. It’s the name Bill uses to refer to that particular car/build in the magazine history.
Term
empty accessories
Bill is describing a specific style of add-on parts on Scott Smith’s VW. He means the car had a notable set of accessories that made it stand out in the magazine.
“Runs 11 seconds” means the car is very quick in drag racing terms. It’s usually referring to how fast it can complete a timed race run (often a quarter-mile).
“1776” is the engine size they built for the VW—about 1.8 liters. Bigger displacement like this is often done to make the car pull harder and run faster.
Term
wring its neck
It means pushing the engine really hard—revving it and using it at the top of its power. The point here is that you can still get fast times even without a huge engine if you tune and drive it hard.
They’re talking about an upcoming event on June 13. They’re telling people to sign up soon because spots are almost gone.
Topic
San Anita Raceway Park in the infield
They’re saying the event will be at San Anita Raceway Park, and they’ll be in the infield area. The infield is the space inside the track where cars and activities are usually located.
An engine dyno is a machine that tests an engine on a stand. It helps measure how much power and torque the engine makes, so people can compare different builds.
Torque is the engine’s twisting force. More torque usually means the car feels stronger when you accelerate, especially at lower speeds.
LIVE
Happy Friday guys and welcome to another episode of let's talk dubs. I'm your host spilty
Well, it's Friday and we're getting ready to put another podcast out for you didn't catch one for you last week
Got caught up at work in a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff happened the
trying to part trying to down
Download part two of the loud cherry recording and somehow it's 16 gigs and my computer's giving me fits getting it off the cloud
So we'll have that up for you the next week or two once I am able to get that pulled together off the internet
But without any further ado, we're gonna do another podcast where this day
We're gonna do a kind of a summer update of what's happening shows that are going on which shows I'm gonna be at and then
What shows I'm gonna be talking about here. So lots to discuss on this week's let's talk dubs. So
Before we get into that, don't forget to support those that support let's talk dubs
VW trends magazine a magazine for the people by the people matter of fact VW trends has a
Pinball rally happening this weekend in Southern, California. So you might want to go check that out and
That's taking place at
the pinball
Hall of Fame
Type of thing. Let's see. It's the car show and pinball rally
Taking place Saturday, May 16th 10 a.m. To 2 and that's gonna be taking place at
What is the name of this place?
It's a pinball place at 44 11 East La Palma Avenue in Anaheim, California
So make sure you guys check that out
Looking for
Sometimes people make flyers. Oh, here it is. It's really tiny on the bottom captain's arcade showroom
So go check that out captain's arcade showrooms can be down and I'm California and it's gonna be from 10 a.m. To 2 p.m. And it's
VW trends and MP sponsored by MP car show pinball rally happening this Saturday
So that's one of the things you go check out and don't forget to support those that support your favorite podcast
Ross Wolf high quality aftermarket parts built for enthusiasts by enthusiasts Ross Wolf has come out with some of the new
if you're tired of those
Axles leaking on your Volkswagen they've come out with a new and improved proper
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So if you've been struggling with trying to get a handle on those leaks make sure you go check those out at Ross Wolf
Com check those guys out a lot of new stuff. They have from their anodized
Stacks to their really awesome
Viton gaskets and their mini sump plates. They've got a ton of different stuff your motor leaking
Well, your bus got a jacked-up deck lid you name it. It's got it get it together
Don't forget the shift rod bushing couplers get your shift together
They got it all Ross Wolf dot-com and don't forget to use the code
LTD 10 for 10% off on your order
Also icon pistons new update from icon pistons the greatest Volkswagen pistons available
Icon pistons now have a 90.5 and you can check those out. Those are in stock today
Go check them out go over to to pick up a set go to type emotorsports.com
They'll be linked down in the description below and go check out type emotorsports and get you some of those new
90.5 icon pistons for your Volkswagen motor, so
Without any further ado guys, let's get into it this week with
The talk of the shows for this summer and some other interesting
Conversation that we're gonna have you guys you and me talking at you for this podcast
So let's get into it summer update on this week's let's talk dubs
Know that there's a new Volkswagen out that doesn't look like a Volkswagen
It's got everything that people who like the bug like
Well, it's about that time guys summertime is rolling around and the first of many weekend kickoffs start to happen
There's lots happening
This summer on the Volkswagen circuit down into the California here in Las Vegas and don't forget
One of the things I did want to announce more important than the stuff happens to the California is
One crazy weekend this year. There's a special. There's a special announcement. Well, let's talk dub listeners get first crack at this
We're about half sold out of the event
So there's about probably less than 200 spaces left and we have four months to go
So I think it'll be I think they'll be gone before you know actually five months to go so
But you want to get those registered right away
But also even if let's say this place gets sold out or whatever there's still stuff to do you guys can hang out the strip
Cruise you guys can I mean you guys can
Join in a bunch of stuff
But what's happening this year the feature vehicle this year is gonna be the Baja bug
So there's a couple Baja bugs being built for one crazy weekend and what we're adding to this weekend's event
Friday morning, we're gonna gather all the Baja's up together and we're gonna take a trail ride now. I'm working with
my neighbor Justin Bean Smith off-road racer X motocross racer and
He's he preps off-road preps and builds off-road cars for graph racing and stuff like that
so owns butch's speed shop
So if you guys were here last year went to his place of butch's and he wants to be a little more involved. So
He may be involved, but nonetheless, we're gonna be having an off-road
Out an off-road rally. So we're gonna do the road to Good Springs
There's gonna be a video coming out pretty soon on it
And we're gonna leave from the hotel at 7 o'clock in the morning and we're gonna take out
We're gonna hit out the blue diamond go up blue diamond about four miles and then there's a there's a turnoff there
That's an off-road and it's about a 20 mile off-road
excursion that is
Kind of a power a power line road, but it's been
It's it's typical for to see a lot of side-by-sides and things like that over there
And we'll take the road to Good Springs. So we'll go all the way out to Good Springs, Nevada
We'll meet up at this really cool
Pioneer saloon super old place. It's been there since the 1800s
Hang out for a minute get some photo shoots grab a burger and then be line it back out to Jean get on
I-15 and head back to the hotel so we give you back to the hotel in time for the bowling tournament
It's gonna be taking place on Friday as well
So there's tons to do this weekend the one crazy weekend
That's October 1st through the 4th with a Sunday pool part of the tapman so lots to do
But I did want to announce that we're gonna be featuring the Baja this year
So if you get a cool Baja vintage Baja anything like that bring it on out and we're gonna have
Friday morning is gonna be a special road
The road to Good Springs
So we've been taking a trail to Good Springs about 20 mile off-road track with as many
Baja bugs as we can put together now if you got a dune bug your manx or something VW powered off-road capable
Bring it but it has to be off-road capable because some of these roads a little rutted out
And you're gonna definitely need to be able to drive
We'll test run it a couple times first just to make sure if there's any places for to have some people set up or some
diversion
courses of stuff's a little too steep
But it should be a great time. Nothing cooler than seeing a bunch of Volkswagen bugs out there
Cruising through the desert headed out to Good Springs, Nevada the old town
So it's gonna be great more stuff coming soon, but I wanted to announce that first
So if you were thinking man, I wish I could bring something fresh and new to
One crazy weekend well last time I was on Marketplace you could find a Baja bug for under three grand
Slap a motor in that thing do the old backyard weekend interior get that thing dialed in and bring it on out to one crazy weekend
so it's gonna be a great time looking forward to seeing a bunch of you guys out here this year for that and
Just the the fun keeps on happening. So there's like I said, there's four Baja's right now that are being built for the event
so you'll definitely want to
Stay tuned and check that out. So more info to come as we get a little further into it. So
Now events that are happening this year. There's quite there's quite a few things happen and so Cal VW week has turned into so Cal
Month and a half of stuff. So there's a lot going on and with me leaving even as close as I am
I got a pick and choose what I'm gonna be headed to because there's other events that I'm headed to across
across the world
with Hessich and
and going to EBI so
This year the next thing that the next is coming up after this weekend is gonna be the
V-dub and BMX show and shine that's happening Saturday May 30th and then May 31st
Sunday is buses on the pier in Huntington Beach after bus on the pier the next event will be Friday June 5th
Just cruising car club cruise night in Ontario and then June 5th is the DKK cruise night in Anaheim
June 6th is the Octo bus show in Long Beach and then June 6th
During same time as the bus show is gonna be the rare vintage error
Concord the elegance at the Old World vintage place in Huntington Beach and then Sunday the BW revival and
Then let's see what else we got here. We also have black star camp out
It's gonna be happening June 10th through the 14th
Then June 13th now June 13th is the first weekend. I'm gonna be next to the California
I'm gonna be there for the Luft Ziegen air-cooled festival. Now. This is a show. You do not want to miss, right?
Luft Ziegen is the first time air-cooled
VWs are gonna be held at Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia and it's sponsored by hot BWs magazine and MP
Featuring over 300 vintage air-cooled VW Porsche car VW Porsche cars bring the family it's a family-friendly event to premiere
Summer air-cooled event featuring a kid zone awards raffles and an 80s BMX bicycle and scale model VW Porsche display
there's gonna be
Food trucks industry vendors music feature some of LA's
celebrated 80s and 90s DJs
like AJ Mora and
Florentine
gardens and the dome
Fame
Also live horse racing throughout the day. You don't want to miss the highly anticipated Southern, California event happening
That's Luft Ziegen this year. There's still time to register your car
So you guys can check the QR code in the latest June issue of hot VWs magazine or visit the foot online for ticketing under Luft Ziegen
And follow Volk stuff and VW kid on Instagram for more information, but I shared it on my
Stories earlier this week and I'll repost it again
So that's the first event I want to be at is Luft Ziegen
It's supposed to be one of the cooler events that's happened this year happened in the center of Santa Anita Raceway Park
So I'm looking forward to that. We bring it Zorba down there for that event and
Kicking it with all those guys. So that's the first event that I'm gonna be headed to
After that event the next event that I'm gonna be headed to
Is gonna be June 20th, that's the MP 70th anniversary open house
So that's gonna be MP celebrating their 70th year in business and they're gonna be having an open house
There's gonna be so much stuff to do
They're gonna have the engine battle again, and I will be emcee in the engine battle this time like last year
So if you didn't get a chance to see what it was go check the last day of the engine battle
Your boy Bill T from let's talk dubs and Adam Wick were there on the last day just talking engines
Builds all this good stuff. So it was pretty entertaining. I mean I had fun
It was five hours straight on the mic. So it was pretty
Pretty pretty pretty good stuff, but they've asked me to do it again this year
So we're gonna be doing that this year and so that's gonna be June 20th
MP 70th anniversary open house. So make sure you guys are there for that
So that's the second event that I'm gonna be at
This summer and then after that I get back that Monday, and I hop a plane and I'm headed right over the UK
I've meeting up with Andy and the fellows over there in Essex and we're loading up in cars and we're gonna caravan over to
Hessech
Oldendorf for the head for the HO show
2026 check that out for a couple days and then we're all gonna posse up again and be line it right over to
European bugging so it looks like it's gonna be a pretty pretty filled-up summer
There's also some stuff happening in August coming up that would be checking out
but I'm really looking forward to getting out there and
Spending some time out there in the UK with some of the friends out there that I've made over time
And what's funny is I know a lot of people from the States are headed out there
So I went out there last time and saw a bunch of people from all over the country that
Happened to go out there every couple years. So it's a great time
Lots happening this summer. So get your cars ready get them dialed in and
Be prepped they're ready for show season
But again, the only two weekends I'm gonna be in Southern California is gonna be June 13th for Lufthagen air-cooled festival in
Arcadia and they also have
Check the website go check vogue stuff and VWK to go check both their Instagrams
They'll direct you to where they've got a host hotel and some things like that in the area
So that's you know, kind of make a weekend of it. So check that out Lufthagen
So that's where I'm gonna be on the 13th expect to see you there
And if you see me there and you're listening to the podcast you make sure and come to see me say hey, man
I'm a listener. What do you got for me? I always have
Something special for listeners to the podcast. So if you listen to podcasts, you see me there
Hit me up. You might get some stickers
You might get some might get a poker chip because I do have some leftover poker chips from some of the older events
And I give you real clay poker chips, but they're let's talk. That was one crazy weekend poker chips
I got a bunch from 2023 with a limo bus on there. So that's definitely
Something special that you get for being a longtime listener, you know, so I appreciate all you guys for listening and
Been getting a lot of feedback via email for people to get on the podcast and stuff
It's just been cranking busy at work
So trying to make some more time to carve out some podcasts and I've had a couple setup that just didn't work out
So we're we still got plenty of stuff coming up for you guys
So I'm glad you guys are being patient and I know a lot of you guys are looking forward to it
Russell's calling me complaining. Where's the podcast every Friday?
They're waiting and then they're listening and I apologize for dropping the ball in you guys last week
But we'll make it up to you and I promise you this you get out to one crazy weekend
You're gonna have the best your best VW weekend of your life this year
So lots to be looking forward to this summer now
project updates
So there's man, there's a lot going on. Well, so I'll talk about a couple things, right? So this last week
New issue of hot VWs came out and there was a couple
Features in there that I know both of the owners of those features that are in there and the first one was
My buddy Chris Vukovic now Chris Vukovic has had that bus Mickey the bus that they built
Shoot that photo shoots like probably four years old matter of fact
His son graduates this year and if you look at that picture of his bus layout his son is in
His son might even be in junior high if he's not a freshman and it's been it took a little while to get that feature
And then that bus is super rad
It's his wife's bus and it's
23 window that they converted, you know builds 23 window out of an early panel
Super rad really nice bus and it's sitting on some og Cosmic, so that was one of the features in there
the other one was
Arizona ice team a boy Eric he had his car featured in there and he was back in the back of that magazine and
Real all the way in the back kind of almost like a reader's ride feature
So it's kind of weird he and I talked about it for a little bit
He wasn't super stoked about it because he was hoping to get you know
Sometimes you put a lot of time and effort in your card
You're hoping to get a little more coverage, but I was gonna get I may get him on the podcast
So we can just kind of get his feedback on
you know his take on
Some of that stuff, but the others lots there's been lots happening in the magazine scene and there was some other stuff
That I'd seen recently so I recently received all three issues, you know hot bw's
Volksworld and
bw trends and just going through the magazines look at the different features and just trying to
You know because I believe in supporting our local our local guys, and I subscribe to pretty much all of them
So that way I make sure that I support them, and I also try to stay on the scene and see what they got that's happening, but
You know there's there's a lot of stuff out there in the scene that it seems to take
I mean the Wayne's car finally got in the magazine Wayne's car has been done almost two years, you know, so
There's definitely
definitely taking some time to get some of these cars out there and
You know it's interesting you know with with magazines being
And this is universal right and I think that listen the fastest one
I see turning things around and this is just and you know it's interesting because I had some feedback from someone
That's with one of the magazines. They said yeah, I really like that bill said some stuff about a magazine, but
You have to understand me being on the podcast my my whole purpose is to be an objective
VW enthusiast that's and it's hard to do because I have a lot of friends in this industry and
My intention is never to try to cut anybody down or rip on anybody
My intention is to be honest with you guys that are listening
And if I can't be honest with you guys and I have to be a certain way because maybe someone's a sponsor or someone's at this or that
You know, it's it's not fair and it's disingenuous, you know, I mean
And so as an enthusiast I have a responsibility just to give my opinion on some stuff
And maybe some people don't think that I have their responsibility
But I feel like you know, you guys listen to me about stuff and you get emails and stuff asking questions
What's the best this to use or the best that I can only speak from either my experience
I reach out to George get some feedback from him, which by the way, George was supposed to be on a roundtable tonight
But he straight up dog me out. So
You know, George and you probably be listening this podcast tomorrow and where were you bro? Where were you?
But there's been a lot that's happened in the BWC
Then I want to talk about here coming up in just a minute, but you know to kind of go back to the magazine thing
Hands-down volks world is the fastest at turning around
Cars the newest cars. I mean there was a car just built by Andy Finch over there
for my buddy
Mark and they had gone through and had to redo this whole car as a whole story a whole back story behind it
But that car is one volks world in March. It's already on the cover of this month's volks world
So I'd go over some of that detail, but I had to give it to my buddy for his his car
My buddy Wayne's car was featured in there. So I had to give it to him
And that's why that's why I had to do in my volks world magazines
If one of my friend's cars featured and then I just give him the magazine
Slightly pains me because I look like I'm a hoarder collector like you guys
So I have a tendency to just you know, but I've gotten the point where if somebody I know his cars in there
I'll give him my copy of the magazine so that they have an extra copy because sometimes it's it's tough to get your extra ones, but
you know again my
First and foremost before anything else. I'm a BW enthusiast. We're almost I'm no different thing to you guys, right?
I have the same passion for the hobby. I may have a different taste in you and that's okay
You know, I mean, it's good that we are able to have different viewpoints and different
And different flavors of what we like, but really the hobby is never about putting people down
It's about trying to push people to do better push people to and I believe it's it's our responsibility
Is the consumers to give feedback where we believe feedback is deserved because all of us should be
Anticipating every month getting a copy of the magazine and sometimes
Lately it's been falling flat when you get it and that's on on a lot of those different magazines
Not anyone is specific and it's like you'll see a car that has been done featured or finished for over a year and
You know for a long time and it just sometimes it's you know
They got to get quicker because what they're up against print media is up against social media
And by the time it comes out and print meter from social media
If it's that long it loses some of it says also and
There's so much going on in the BWC and that doesn't get covered
matter of fact
I was on Facebook the other day and kind of going back and forth to some of the guys and
Someone says yeah, I think it was cage 66 chase says yeah, I listen to let's talk
Dubs
What's your some of your guys you guys listen?
Let's talk those were some of your favorite episodes and one guy says yeah
I listen sometimes but sometimes the show gets weird and I was like weird what is
What is that so I I hit up old Robert Bagwell and I was like well
What's the you know what what do you mean? It's weird and then he was just kind of I mean he was more given feedback of like
he doesn't
And this is interesting
I'd like to get some feedback from you guys and if you guys can go ahead and send me an email
Give me some feedback on what you honestly think
Has there been do you feel like the podcast is?
Primarily, you know East Coast versus
Or West Coast versus anything else because I try to do my part to get a lot of different variety on here
You know I have I don't just do you know just
Cal look stuff. I don't do just I mean I do everything from modern suspension to
You know superchargers last week and all kinds of stuff now the proximity of
Southern California being so close and a lot of people and a lot of the stuff coming out of Southern California or California in general is
kind of just the way that it is but
You know my guy Robert said that it doesn't really listen to much of the I'm trying to find it for you here
I'm looking for it and it said something to the effect of he doesn't really listen to it
that much with
With
Some of the stuff that he doesn't he doesn't get into his feedback was that he had thought that
It maybe was
Pretty heavy Southern California, but I've done my I've really done a lot of work to try to make sure I get both coasts plus
Overseas
Hoping to get the guys from VW Heritage on here soon
You know, I really focus on trying to do really well rounded you be
Surprised to find out how many emails I send
Overseas all the time trying to connect people. I mean I'm trying to get Johannes on here the guy who's got that
1600 cc rap motor that
That's putting out like 200 horsepower because I'd love to get him on here and just talk about that
He also makes the JPM heads
He does a lot of really unique stuff out of I think he's out of Sweden and
They just do he just does some really really really wild stuff cutting edge
I mean that you know and also the car if you've seen it that runs that fast in a quarter mile
It also actually it has like a six-speed transmission too. I think it's a sequential
A sequential
A
Mendiola box, I think it's like a sd
SD6 or something like that. I'm not sure but I definitely watched a quarter mile run with that thing and it had
I mean that thing was it was flying so
And it was 1600 I think and it's putting out like
200 and change
With respect to
Horsepower which is pretty impressive and he just really goes and I'd like to get podcasts like that
Because what was interesting is chase had mentioned that you know, he only really he doesn't really listen to the engine stuff because he's he's not
really
He's not really into
The the whole engine technical stuff and I'm not an engine builder all that stuff
But it's really interesting to hear the stories of the people that
are building engines kind of how they got into building engines and
There's there's just there's just so much there
that
I find it really
I really find it interesting anything with respect to
What people are doing in the hobby? So that's kind of my
That's kind of my whole draw to get anybody and everybody
Especially some of the early drag racers and stuff just to kind of get and when I get those guys on there
You know, my intention is to have us
Have them walk us back to what it was like
Back in the day
You know at the track in the 80s or the 90s, you know when I had rick sadler on a couple weeks ago
And I just do my best to try to get as much variety on there as I can
There are other podcasts out there that focus more on kind of a local a local level of things, you know
But uh, you know, my my main thing has turned into really
Kind of chasing history and when I do podcasts with people and hearing
people talking about
uh, particular things
Or
You know, I'll be doing an interview with someone and they'll mention two or three names. I've never heard before and then I'll kind of
Chat I'll chat to some of those people
um
I'll call them up and say hey, you know, someone's will talk to me about you and I just kind of wanted to know
um
Some more information about that and then some of those really turned into some really good podcasts
So yeah, so I found the post from robert bagwell and he says dude, I love the show
But sometimes it's odd and I said I said how so and he said
Let's see
robert bagwell said
Bill too much tech engine talk not enough about the everyday vw guy or vw shows
And volks outside of the las vegas or cali. I really like
The just you and your bro shooting the breeze and yes, absolutely talk too much about
two liter flat force and then I had to correct him said I think you're talking about tight force
robert so
Yeah, no, but you know, I definitely appreciate I appreciate the feedback because I like to know what people are thinking about stuff
and what kind of uh
What kind of feedback that I can get and I'm completely okay with that and everybody's got kind of the flavor
But I think if you take your time and you listen to some of the podcasts that you might not think you're interested in
I think you'll find a goldmine or really because I'm not a dune buggy guy
And the podcast of bruce mires was just incredibly interesting and fascinating
Not a 356 guy or a baha guy and I've got two podcasts with
gary emory who just recently passed away
and
You know, there's just there's just so much rich history there
And if you're really paying attention to these things you'll start seeing
more of these connections and overlaps throughout the history, which I find
Incredibly fascinating and it and it also sees that this begets that and things just continue to keep evolving
now
Let's get back to some of the
Some of the stuff that's been happening in the vw scene
I really see that there's been some passing away of uh, quite a well
I don't see quite a few people but
what the flat for
Flat for owner
His name is
I think you want let me see here
yes is
a takashi kamori founder flat for passed away on
May 1st, you know, and he was probably
The the most hardcore collector in japan. I mean he contributed a lot to the vw scene out there, especially with
You know flat for and moon. I think it's moon eyes japan too. Maybe
Or just maybe just flat for I don't know a ton about it
But maybe we'll get the guys from flat for uh on here and we just talk about the story of flat for because
Again, it's another story. I'd like to get and get some of the details on
How it started some of the things that they did develop and some of the things that you know, they recreated but a ton of history and
you know lots of
Lot lots of different
Different angles in the vw scene. I mean you're talking from japan to
You know from japan to england to everything else and so there's just
so much going on all the time in the vw scene that
That I try to get whatever I can that's contemporary and happening and that's the the advantage of having the podcast right as we get
we get on here right away and
chat with you guys and
Let you guys know
What's
What's happening, you know
In addition to that some of my favorite stuff to do is go through some of the old
vintage hot vw's magazines and vw trends and really look at some of the cars
That are in these magazines and kind of go over and you can see some of the history and I had I was on the phone this week earlier with
Jim Kurlinski and he's podcast listener and we started talking about some stuff and
My buddy rustle. I don't know if my buddy rustle is going to get weird about this
But rustle owns the white car the car that's known as the one or the erranton homes
Um
63 rag top that was owned by um greg erranton and jim homes
So it's called the erranton homes car the famous cow look cover car for the february 75 issue of the cow look
Hot vw's but we were talking and I said, you know, I I was thinking about
You know, there's everybody thinks that
Well, not everybody but there's a lot of people that think like, okay, there's the be it, you know, burly burlough drew the diagram for
the vw
The cow look diagram nerf bars or bumpers brms or this these type of bumpers or no bumpers trim or no trim
you know, kind of the the check off thing but
I was talking to jim and I thought
There's the green car that was it was mike mac mike mahaffey's split window, right?
Which is a pretty famous split window and it was like an m&m green color
but where it got at least for me
Where it stood out to me that it was something different was when it was featured in the first issue of vw trends
there was a feature on that car and
It had a picture happened to be at a beach in southern california is kind of by a
Like kind of a brick background. There's a kid in a wetsuit and
It was a green split. It was on gold eight spokes
And as jim and I were talking we were talking about I said, you know, I wonder which one had more influence
Which photograph had more influence was it?
now the white car has the fame because of
It being the cover of the first cow look issue
But I really believe like the picture that captures the essence of vw hobby is
The beach scene with the split window with the eight spokes and now the reason why I say with the eight spokes is because
When you had that car which that car later went on to be ed craig's car
Which ed craig I've been in communication with to get him on the podcast because ed craig only did he buy uh mike mahaffey's split
And then he I think he's the one that put the eight spokes and some stuff on there
But there's the history of that car, but he also had uh one of the
franchises of
of uh auto haas which we just recently lost uh ron rose veer
Recently and uh, you know, his wife really gave me a sweet message and said, you know
He was so happy to be on the podcast and be able to tell tell and share his story
And I think like it's been 40 years since
He had his vw business
But for me to track him down after all this time and have a conversation, you know
Two hour conversation with him about
The history the origins the evolution the business and all that stuff
It made an impact on him where it was like
And sometimes we just think we're going through this life and we're just you know
Eat sleep and work, but sometimes when when things like that happen
It brings things into a realization of the impact that had
And with him having auto haas and then people going off like ed craig opening up his own auto haas
And so there's more stories that branch off from that original story
And so it's not that I ever try to favor
any type of
Any type of like to so cal or los vegas or whatever
Anything that has to do with any kind of history
Connection has always been interesting and fascinating to me. So hopefully we get ed craig on here soon
I'm sure he's got a great vw story and it'd be great to hear about what it was like to to start your own
I think they said he was in a point of park. I'm not I'm not 100 sure but
Buena Parker and anaheim one of the two. I don't know listen. I'm from vegas everything here is
You know on a square grid so
but
You know, it's definitely
One of my favorite things to do is is just tracking down the history and and just every time I do a podcast
It opens another door to another story. So hopefully some of you guys enjoy that as well
and
You know
One of the ideas I've been toying with is going through
and
reviewing some of the old magazines
in
A calendar year time starting in the the late 70s
And just given a summary of what each year
What some of the new things were what some of the topics where they talked about
Because it was really interesting as I as I went through some of these mid 70s magazines
And they were talking about building up your 40 horse for your bahan stuff like that, which is like
Nothing anybody would be doing today, but they were doing it back then because the 1600 was
Pretty much a new motor and you wanted to do something with your
Baha, so you'd get your 40 horse and you'd put a few
You know hop up mods on it and stuff like that. So it was just really cool to see
What stuff they were doing and a lot of the one of the things I'm on the hunt for is I'm starting to go through these magazines
they're like these
one-time inventions that I see that come out right like perfect example, so
We all looked at I think
maybe it was 10 or 15 years ago where
um
another podcast
Uh kintuna that was on there was uh mike with the blue gear. I can't his last name escapes me right now
but he has a blue karmine gear drag racer and
They did a w-jointed axle on his car
And it kind of seemed like like that was the new thing that they were doing right, but here i'm here. I'm looking at
1979 february issue of hot vw's and chennaworth
has
Dual cv axles similar to like a corvair would have had
And that's kind of what they did for heavy-duty race axles when you go irs on drag cars and so
You know 15 years ago
It was in the magazine like this was the new thing to do
With the bucks box and all this kind of stuff in your swing axle car
But you know, they've been doing it for quite a while
So that's kind of the thing that you know like rough country that we see rough country today and we're all
We associate rough country with pickup trucks and stuff like that. Well rough country had
new shocks for vw specifically made for vw's that they were advertising in hot vw's
And just a lot of little cool niche things that I see like that that
Show us back when volkswagen was like the hot ticket
You know how how many people in what companies were really paying attention to it?
And then also like this other the one i'm looking at the 79 issue
It's inside the huling gearbox
You know jim bar boat desert racing performance built my first trans axle and he had given me huling gears
For the close ratio of trans and those were straight cut gears and like you have straight cut gears in a motor
I'll tell you what you put straight cut gears in a trans axle
You are hearing it. I mean it is like
You know and in huling was like a household name in the racing community just like cosworth and all that kind of stuff
So these were like grand prian indy car gears
Is where the origin came from but it was you know
Like that that's where guys would go to start getting stuff that wasn't being manufactured
and as we listened to the podcast just a couple weeks ago with
um
Lyle cherry he talks about
You know him knowing joe at liberty liberty trans axles and having liberty make him specialty gears and stuff like that
so
it's definitely
It's interesting to look at the history and see
When vw was all the rage in the 70s how many big players were being a part of
The whole thing going on as far as trying to get their piece of that vw market and then
Looking at these flash in the pan inventions these one time, you know the the oil adapter we
We had kent on here a couple weeks ago with the oil adapter
that he had the ati about time ink and
You know had him got to hear a story about it and as he and it's funny as you look at how technology kind of
pushes that stuff out where they went with the plastic instead of having the
The manual oil cans that you speared from the top with your oil filler
They went to the plastic jugs and that was kind of the end of his business, right?
so
But it's interesting to see these things that that come and go and they're kind of unique
um
Inventions to themselves or what i'm seeing people do right now. I just we just recently saw
Some center mount shrouds being uh designed. There was a carbon fiber one done that
Danny and those guys the Ramirez brothers had
Um, and they were putting them on they're doing on their off-road car or not off-road car. I'm sorry, they're drag car
But now it's like center mount shrouds are starting to come back
You know, so it's funny because as things kind of get old they they get new and sometimes when we think
We've never seen something before
It's already been done. You know, I mean i'm
I'm looking at i'm looking at the we're cooling fan
It's on in page 78 in your
February 79 hot vw's this thing looks like a saw blade. That's on the front of your generator fan
I mean, it's absolutely insane and it says cools your engine compartment reduces
Head and oil temperatures improves carburetion and performance also works
fine with air scoops all vw's upright engines machine cast them
Heat treated precision electronically balanced and it's like you're looking at this thing thinking
It's a it's a freaking saw blade. That's on the front of your it's what it looks like a saw blade
I'll post a picture of it on my instagram
But it's like there's all these crazy one-off things
that I see
That they start inventing
You know for the volkswagen scene because you know the flatback right the vw economy with pickup versatility
And it's the flatback conversion. So transform
Your volkswagen into a flatback pickup truck. You could send them a dollar
For a color brochure or five dollars for installation instruction and templates, right? So I mean
It's just so nuts the stuff that they used to do back in the day
and I think it's
It's something i'm gonna start doing going through these things and making some points and talking about specifically some of these inventions
and um
You know these things that people
That they did for the vw scene. So I think there's
Just uh, just so much there's so much history and stuff that dig up out there
And then I think that's going to be a new thing that I'll be doing like what we thought was new
when it was first done like
um
like
Larry Larry uh
Larry rick that's got the uh did the first narrowed beam in 19
1925 jim kurlinski had me there's their slettin capers
They were the first ones to have a narrowed beam and he told me that story and I said we got to get this tour in the podcast because
you know
I I didn't realize narrowed beams were happening until you know late 90s and uh
You know the first narrowed beam was in 75. So there's definitely a lot of
A lot of that history that we did or did not know about and some of us younger guys
And when I say younger like we're in our 50s now, but some of those 50 year olds and 45 year olds
We have no idea
Some of the stuff that was done and how early it was done because what what's interesting is
Maybe it seemed to be so much work at the time that people didn't want to put the time effort energy into it
And so they just ended up
Not narrowing their beam because it was so much work when they could just get you know the focus like it's easier to get skinnier tires
you know so
it's uh
Definitely my passion of tracking down all this rare stuff that's happening and one of the ones I one of the ones
I'm looking at that's gonna be on that's on my list to get them down for a podcast
I'm looking at the 1994
February issue of hot vw's that has mike smith's
Red 67 on here that has got I mean this car has got a nitrous a 1776 that's on the squeeze
Also has scott smith's car in here, which I'm a little upset about scott smith's car was the uh
the
lone wolf was the original
Feature on it's actually in 67 cowlick special in this issue
But scott smith's one of that he was the card that I would say was the first one that had
a lot of the original empty accessories on it and
I've been wanting to get him on the podcast. He's a paint rep somewhere
I ran into him at the roadster show a couple years back and just believing in messages and trying to get him on the podcast and
Who knows, you know, some people might be a little shy, but uh mike smith's car
So we've got scott smith the black 67 with all the empty accessories on it. So he was one of the
One of the original empty guys that I don't want to say one the original empty guys
There's a lot of guys doing empty
He was the original empty guy that got a lot of coverage in the magazine for that car
And he had pretty much everything the gauges the steering wheel the dash pad
The door pulls like literally the gtv badges. He had it all
It'd be interesting to know the history of that car and what happened to it, but
You know the
Mike smith's red 67
Runs 11 seconds and has a 1776 in it. So
that's uh
That's a car we want to get the story on, you know, so we'll be having mike smith on hopefully soon in the future
I talked to him at one of the events
Lonnie set me up with him to chat and so
it's definitely
Definitely one of the cars I want to hear a lot about because when you got a car with a 1776 running
1182s
That thing is hauling the mail. So it was on the squeeze. I'm pretty sure and uh
But get some more info like that because a lot of us think like to run 11s you got to have
You know 2.2 liter plus, but sometimes you can do it if you can wring its neck, I guess
Wow
Yeah, that's uh, that's the update for now guys. Don't forget. We're gonna be at the louis zegan on the 13th of june
Go check it out. Go to the folk. Look them up register for the show
Get that out of the way so that you guys can be there before it sells out
It's getting close to being sold out. So you guys want to make sure that you get there and uh,
They're they're pretty close to sold out. So you want to go ahead and hit that before they're gone
And you can't get in that's going to be in san anita
Raceway park in the infield and then after that imps 70th anniversary. So I'm really excited to kind of be over there
and
And check out all the cool stuff plus do the engine
the engine dyno
But I think this year they're going for who can make the most amount of torque. So
We'll see whoever brings the type four wins. Ha see thought you're gonna get out of this episode without me talking about type fours
but
Anyway guys, uh, you want to hear more on the podcast once you got some particular guests and people that you want to hear about
Send me a message. I did get a message from uh
Someone in utah that had sent me a bunch of names to get for people over there in the utah area
And I'll be working on getting those guys on the podcast as well. So I appreciate you guys for listening
Also, want to give a quick shout out to brett gilbert for supporting the podcast picked up some merch
And that was a little bit ago and I delayed on sending it out to him
So I sent him a bonus shirt appreciate you brett for supporting the podcast. So until next week guys
later
You probably don't know that there's a new Volkswagen out that doesn't look like a Volkswagen
So
About this episode
Bill and the crew kick off with summer event updates, from a VW Trends–sponsored car show and pinball rally at Captain’s Arcade in Anaheim to Baja-focused weekends in Las Vegas and air-cooled festivals like Luft Ziegen at Santa Anita Park. They also dig into classic VW magazine culture—how features lag behind build timelines—and compare old “one-time inventions” to what feels new today. The conversation blends event planning, engine/gear tech, and magazine history.
On this episode Bill reviews the latest shows coming up for this summer in the never-ending SoCal weekend festival of shows throughout the entire summer. Lol I talk about the shows I will be at which is gonna be Luft Zegen and also Empy 70th anniversary happening June 20th. Also discuss the passing of Takashi Komori of Flat 4, Japan. I didn't get a chance to mention before I finish the recording the passing of legend Fred Simpson from performance technologies I'd like to get some people on to do a special podcast just for him. Also, I discuss some of the unique features you could find and some of the early issues of the magazine and some wild inventions, which will be a new feature coming up. also couple magazine reviews
