vccck emag - september 2011
DESCRIPTION
VCCCK eMag - September 2011TRANSCRIPT
1 www.vccck.org
THE
VIN
TAG
E&
CLASSIC CAR CLUB
OF
KE
NY
ATH
EV
INTA
G
E&
CLASSIC CAR CLUB
OF
KE
NY
A
eMag Sept 2011
The Volkswagen Beetle…one of the best selling cars of all time
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Automobile Engineers,
Panel beaters & Spray Painters OFFICIAL DEALERS FOR
NISSAN & MERCEDES BENZ
P.O. Box 72283, 00200 City Square, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 – 20 – 555692, 557562, 550178
Fax: +254 – 20 – 530596
Email: [email protected] ,
From Start…
To
Finish
Vintage or Classic car restorations, mechanical repairs, panel beating and spray painting, we do it all!!
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Page 4.............................................................Committee Contacts
Page 5.............................................................Chairman’s Desk
Page 7..................................................................Editor’s Desk
Page 8……………………………………………………………………….Forthcoming Events
Page 9 & 10……………………………………………………………………….Outings
Page 11 - 14………………………………………International Article – The
Volkswagen Beetle
Page 15………………………………...................Sokoni
Page 16 & 17….....’Hapa Kwetu’ –
Concours D’elegance
Page 18………………………….Chill Out Corner
Page 19…………………………Club Page
In This Issue
4 www.vccck.org
Chairman Monte Singh Vice Chairman Raju Chaggar
[email protected] [email protected]
020 – 555692 020 – 552854
PO Box 72283 – 00200 PO Box 18381 – 00500
Nairobi Nairobi
Treasurer Nitin Pandit Membership Brian Nicol
[email protected] [email protected]
020 – 4440772 0729 – 984376
PO Box 20497 – 00200 PO Box 15184 – 00509
Nairobi Nairobi
Secretary Cilla Young Editor James Dyson
[email protected] [email protected]
0722 - 738069 + 44 7889 125 782
4 Caxton House, Oxted
Surrey, RH8 0TE
Merchandise Peter Young Events Pavi Panesar
[email protected] [email protected]
0720 - 740821 0734 – 600541
0728 - 600541
Reciprocating Clubs
Vintage and Classic Club Of Old Auto Club
Matabeleland Border Vintage Club
Vintage and Veteran Club
Club Sponsors
Chequered Flag Ltd Central Motor Service Ltd
Nanak Car Parts Ltd Davis and Shirtliff Ltd
Unifilters (K) Ltd Westlands Secretarial Services Ltd
Domaine Kenya Ltd Nimrod (A) Ltd
Arun’s Auto Ltd
Committee Contacts
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Please be aware that the contents of this magazine reflect the opinions and experiences of members of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Kenya and are not to be used as legal advice. Whilst we attempt to ensure the enclosed information is as reliable as possible all matters relating to motoring law, or any other legal / official matters should be pursued with the relevant legal authorities. We cannot accept any liability for loss or damage based on of the following advice as it is given in good faith only.
We’ve had a lot of encouraging feedback from Members regarding the new look eMagazine and two from Members who say that they prefer the “traditional type”. Please do support our initiative by sending in any news article that you feel should be included.
The Annual Run that is scheduled for November 5/6 is taking shape and we have at least seven confirmed entries and another five that are not yet fully confirmed. We are starting off from the St Austin’s Service Station in Lavington and driving to Pembroke School for a
picnic lunch after which a drive back to Naivasha (most probably Sopa Lodge) for an overnight stay and then back to Nairobi after Breakfast the next day. We have organised Fuel vouchers and a hefty subsidy on the Room Rate for those coming in their Vintage or Classic so please take up on this offer and lets have some old cars out! More information will follow in a Newsflash soon.
With the Concours just around the
corner, I’d like to wish all our Members who have entered all the best. I know how much hard work goes into the preparation of these cars right up to the last moment. I had one of our members in my Workshop the day before panicking that the Dynamo on his car was not charging. Luckily a loose connection was sorted out so hopefully his battery is fully charged! To the rest, the Club has its usual hospitality tent where Leo is serving bitings, cold Beers and soft drinks so you are most welcome. See you at the Concours,
Monte
Chairman’s desk:
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Dear Members,
Welcome to the September edition of the VCCCK Magazine. In this issue, there is
the club’s January outing to Pavi’s plot, an article on the Volkswagen Beetle as
well as a small write up on the Concours D’elegance which is taking place this
Sunday.
On the leisure page there is a chance for Members to win a club polo shirt as
usual by identifying the vehicle shown. A big congratulations to last month’s
winner! Answers can be emailed to my
email address which is at the bottom of
this page. We also have a new addition
to the ‘Sokoni’ page of a Chevrolet Pick
up. Anyone interested can contact
Crispin Murua whose contact details are
shown on the same page.
I would also like to thank all members
who provided feedback and constructive
criticism on the magazine. Any further
comments will be greatly appreciated
and please don’t hesitate to contact me
in case of any problems with opening
the magazine.
Hope to see you on Sunday,
Karann
Editor’s desk:
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Save These
dates…
September 25th – Concours D’elegance
November 5th & 6th – Annual Run
December 12th – Christmas Lunch
Forthcoming Events
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Above and Left:
Members relaxing
as they wait for lunch
Right:
Smokey’s
cooks
preparing the lunch
On the 30th of January, a club barbecue was held at Pavi Panesar’s Plot up at Kitengela. All members were to meet at the Total Petrol Station on Mombasa Road at 11am to depart to Pavi’s plot in a convoy. We all arrived at Kitengela at around 12pm to be met by Pavi who led the rest of the way to his plot. After arriving all members relaxed under the tents already set up by Raju’s workers and waited eagerly for lunch which was served at around 1.
Outings
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Immediate Past Chairman Brian l
The Menu included various barbecued foods and was catered by the Smokey’s Restaurant. After a well awaited lunch members began to leave by around 4pm.
The event was well attended with around 25 members attending. A big
thanks to Mr Colin Davidson for coming with his Peugeot 404 Convertible. The weather was good and all in all, everyone had a good day out.
Outings
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The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle and Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. With over 21 million manufactured in an air-cooled, rear-engined, rear-wheel drive configuration, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured automobile of a single design platform anywhere in the world.
Development
In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a Volkswagen (literally "people's car" in German). Hitler required a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings scheme at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle (an average income being around 32 Reichsmark a week).
Design
Although designed in the 1930s, the Beetle was only produced in significant numbers from 1945 onwards, when the model was internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the
"Volkswagen".
The Beetle featured a rear-located, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four cylinder, boxer engine in a two-door bodywork featuring a flat front windscreen,
accommodating four passengers and providing luggage storage under the front bonnet and behind the rear.
Indicative of the car's simple, no-nonsense design, the interior featured painted metal surfaces, adjustable front seats, a fold-down rear seat, optional swing-out rear windows, front windows with pivoting vent windows, heating via air-to-air exchange manifolds operating off
One of the best selling cars ever: The Volkswagen Beetle
1949 VW Beetle Type 1 interior
Dr Ferdinand Porsche
VW Beetle Type 1
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the engine's heat, and a windshield washer system that avoided the complexity
and cost of an additional electric pump and instead received its pressurization from the car's spare tire (located in the front luggage compartment) which was accordingly overinflated to accommodate the washer function.
The car was designed to be as simple as
possible mechanically, so that there was less
to go wrong; the air-cooled
25 hp 995 cc motors proved especially
effective in actions of the German Afrika
Korps in Africa's desert heat. This was due to
the built-in oil cooler and the superior
performance of the flat-4 engine
configuration. The suspension design used
compact torsion bars instead of coil or leaf
springs. The Beetle is nearly airtight and will float for a few minutes on water.
The Volkswagen was officially named the KdF-Wagen by Hitler when the project was officially announced in 1938. The name refers to Kraft durch Freude ('Strength Through Joy'), the official leisure organization of the Third Reich. The model village of Stadt des KdF-Wagens was created near Fallersleben in Lower Saxony in 1938 for the benefit of the workers at the
newly-built factory. After World War II, it was known as the Volkswagen Type 1, but became more commonly known as the Beetle.
Wartime production
The factory had only produced a handful of cars by the start of the war in 1939;
the first volume-produced versions of the car's chassis were military vehicles, the
Type 82 Kübelwagen (approximately 52,000 built) and the amphibious Type
166 Schwimmwagen (about 14,000 built).
A handful of Beetles were produced specifically for
civilians, primarily for the Nazi elite, in the years
1940–1945, but production figures were small. In
addition to the Kübelwagen, Schwimmwagen, and
a handful of others, the factory managed another
wartime vehicle: the Kommandeurwagen; a
Beetle body mounted on the Kübelwagen chassis.
669 Kommandeurwagens were produced up to
1945, when all production was halted because of
heavy damage to the factory by Allied air raids. Much of the essential equipment
1953 VW Beetle Cabriolet
1940 VW Kübelwagen
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had already been moved to underground bunkers for protection, which let
production resume quickly after hostilities ended.
Post-war production and boom
Mass production of civilian VW automobiles did not start
until post-war occupation. The Volkswagen factory was handed
over by the Americans to British control in 1945; it was to be
dismantled and shipped to Britain. Thankfully for Volkswagen, no
British car manufacturer was interested in the factory. The
factory survived by producing cars for the British Army instead.
The re-opening of the factory is largely accredited to British
Army officer Major Ivan Hirst (1916–2000). Hirst was ordered to
take control of the heavily bombed factory, which the Americans
had captured. His first task was to remove an unexploded bomb
that had fallen through the roof and lodged
itself between some pieces of irreplaceable production
equipment; if the bomb had exploded, the Beetle's fate would
have been sealed. Hirst persuaded the British military to order
20,000 of the cars, and by March 1946 the factory was
producing 1,000 cars a month, which Hirst said "was the limit
set by the availability of materials". During this period, the car
reverted to its original name of Volkswagen and the town was
renamed Wolfsburg. The first 1,785 Volkswagen Type 1's or
"Beetles" were made in 1945.
Following the British Army-led
restart of production, former Opel manager Heinz
Nordhoff was appointed director of the Volkswagen
factory. Under Nordhoff, production increased
dramatically over the following decade, with the one-
millionth car coming off the assembly line by 1955.
During this post-war period, the Beetle had superior
performance in its category with a top speed of
115 km/h or 71 mph and 0–100 km/h (0–60 mph) in
27.5 seconds for the standard 34 hp engine. This was
far superior to the Citroën 2CV which was aimed at a low speed/poor road rural
peasant market and Morris Minor that was designed for a market that had no
motorways.
The jeweled one-
millionth VW Beetle
Heinz Nordhoff
Major Ivan Hirst
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Beetle sales boomed in the 1960s, thanks to clever advertising campaigns, and
the Beetle's reputation for reliability and sturdiness. On 17 February 1972, when
Beetle No. 15,007,034 was produced, Beetle production surpassed that of the
previous record holder, the Ford Model T. By 1973, total production was over
16 million, and by 23 June 1992, over 21 million had been produced.
As of 2009, the Beetle is arguably the world's best-selling car design. More units
of the Toyota Corolla brand have been sold, but there have been 10 total
redesigns of the Corolla, each amounting to a new car design with the same
name.
Worldwide end of production
As of 2002 over 21 million Type 1s had been
produced, but by 2003, annual production had fallen
to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. VW
announced the end of production in June 2003, due
to decreasing demand, and the final original Type 1
VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) rolled off the production
line at Puebla, Mexico, on 30 July 2003 – 65 years
after its original launch and unprecedented 58-year
production run. This last Beetle, nicknamed El
Rey (Spanish for "The King" after a legendary
Mexican song by José Alfredo Jiménez) was delivered
to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.
To celebrate the occasion, Volkswagen marketed a final special series of 3,000
Beetles marketed as "Última Edición" (Final Edition) in light blue (Aquarius Blue)
or beige (Harvest Moon Beige). Each car included the 1.6 engine, whitewall
tires, a CD player with four speakers, chrome bumpers, trim, hub caps and
exterior mirrors, a Wolfsburg emblem above the front trunk's handle, chrome
glove box badge, body coloured wheels, tinted glass, a rear parcel shelf, and
VW Ultima Edicion plaque. At 84,000 pesos, the model cost approximately
$1,300 more than the typical model.
The final original Beetle
(No. 21,529,464)
The first VW Beetle Factory in Wolfsburg, Germany. The foundation stone was laid by Adolf Hitler on May 26th 1938
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For sale
Chevrolet
Pickup Year of Manufacture: 1938 Registration Number: Q 98 Price: 1,000,000 Negotiable The car is currently undergoing bodywork repairs Contact Crispin Murua for more details: 0723-323189 Please note: The car pictured above is not the one for sale.
Wanted
sokoni
To advertise for any parts or cars
for sale or wanted, please email the
product as well as a picture to [email protected]
16 www.vccck.org
The 2011 Concours D’elegance took place on Sunday the 26th at the Ngong Racecourse. Sponsored by Access kenya, this event gives everyone a chance to showcase their prized motor vehicles to the public as well as be examined by a panel of judges on various criteria such as external finish, engine, road worthiness etc. The VCCCK returned with its club stand this year after a 1 year absence due to a conflict of interests between the club and the organisers. The stand provided information to any non-members about the club as well as a hospitality tent
serving bitings and drinks to all members. Many thanks to Mr Johnny Wroe who kindly lent 5 Vintage and Classic cars to display at the club’s stand.
‘Hapa Kwetu’ – 2011 Concours
D’elegance
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2011 Concours D’elegance Results
Position Entrant Car Make and Year Of Manufacture Total Points
1 Diccon Wilcock 1934 Railton 274
2 Phoenix Aviation 1928 Ford Tudor 271
3 Matthias Koehler 1972 Jaguar E-Type 268
4 Julia Wilcock 1952 MG TD 267
5 Sati Gata Aura 1977 Nissan 160J 267
6 Gayling May 1967 Alfa Romeo Sprint 264
7 Vitafoam Products Limited 1972 Austin Mini 263
8 Karl Pleitz 1973 MGB GT 263
9 Phoenix Aviation 1958 Volkswagen Beetle 262
10 Michael Tilley 1972 Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider 255
The results of the top ten positions are shown above of which those highlighted are members of the VCCCK. A big congratulations to Mr Diccon Wilcock and Phoenix Aviation who came first and second respectively.
Photos of the VCCCK Stand at the Concours D’elegance will be included in next month’s magazine.
18 www.vccck.org
Chill out Corner
5 Germans in an Audi Quattro arrive at the Italian border.
The Italian Customs Officer stops them and tells them “It’sa illegala to putta 5 people in a Quattro.”
“Vot do you mean it’s illegal?” asks the German driver “Quattro meansa four” replies the Italian official.
“Quattro is just ze name of ze ferdampt automobile” the German says unbelievingly. “Look at ze dam papers: ze
car is designed to karry 5 persons”. “You canta pulla thata one on me!” replies the Italian
customs officer. “Quattro means four. You have five-a people ina your car and your are therforea breaking tha
law.” The German driver replies angrily, “You idiot! Call your
zupervizor over. I vant to speak to someone viz more
intelligents!” “Sorry” responds the Italian officer. “He can’ta come.
He’sa busy witha 2 guys in a Fiat Uno”.
Courtesy of Robert Poole
Identify this car and stand a chance to win a VCCCK Polo
shirt! Answers can be
emailed to [email protected]
19 www.vccck.org
New Caps & Shirts arrived!
*per annum rates
Club Page
Please support our club and your
business by advertising in the VCCCK magazine.
Ad Size Price
¼ 1/4 Page 4500/-
½ 1/2 Page 9000/-
Full Page 15000/-
Item Kshs Tee – Shirts 200/- Lapel Badges 50/- Polo Shirts – White (Small) 300/- Polo Shirts – White (Medium) 300/- Polo Shirts – Green (Medium) 300/- Polo Shirts – Green (Large) 300/- Polo Shirts – Green (X Large) 800/- Polo Shirts – Green (XX Large) 800/- Polo Shirts – Green (XXXL) 800/- Shirts – (Green Medium) 750/- Baseball Caps 700/- Key Rings 100/- Pens 100/- Engraved Plates 700/- Engraved Mugs 700/-
20 www.vccck.org