Category Archives: T6

VW birth certificate

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Here we advise members how to obtain their VW’s Birth Certificate and Data Sheet, which is a nice novelty item and can also prove to be useful if you are missing important information from your V5 etc.

The certificate and data sheet can be obtained directly from VW using their Classic Parts online shop.

The specific web address required is detailed below:

https://www.volkswagen-classic-parts.com/en_uk/service/certificate-data-sheets.html

when visiting the site, you will need to enter either you chassis number (VIN) or engine number. Seeing as many VWs have had engines changed over the years, it is probably better to enter your VIN.

There are three purchase options:

  • Birth Certificate – €99.95
  • Data Sheet –  €59.95
  • Bundle (Certificate and Data Sheet) –  €129.95

We would recommend the bundle option, it is nice to have additional data about your vehicle if it is available.

This is what VW have to say about their service:

Original and exclusive.

With your hand on your heart: do you know the exact production date of your car? Do you know which special equipment the first owner ordered? Or which upholstery material you need to look for to restore your classic car to its original state?

You can find the answers from us – in the form of the Volkswagen certificate and the Volkswagen data sheet, which we issue exclusively on behalf of the manufacturer. By the way, this is not only for classic cars and modern classics, but also for more recent models, which were first registered at least 15 years ago! 

Just like it was ex works, once upon a time.

On the basis of the chassis number or vehicle identification number (VIN), the original delivery condition of each Volkswagen model can be determined exactly – regardless of whether it was built in 1949, 1989 or 2007. For research purposes, we have access to millions of records from the archives of the Volkswagen Group. Information on almost every vehicle ever produced is stored there – on car master cards, punched cards, microfilms or, of course, in digital form.

This documentation forms the basis for our “detective work”: using old lists, historical brochures, sales programmes, colour sample cards or fabric samples, we decrypt the codes for the engine and transmission, original paint, upholstery or additional equipment.

As well a great deal of expertise, this, of course, requires some time. Usually, however, the period between ordering and the delivery of a Volkswagen certificate or data sheet is a maximum of six to eight weeks. You will receive then a document specially issued for you, which contains valuable information on the original condition of your classic.

The next club magazine is on its way

The next edition of the club magazine has been finished by our Editors and looks fantastic. It should be arriving through your door soon! If you are enjoying the club magazine and have a story about a trip, an upgrade, a restoration or just a tip, send a contribution to our Editor at editor@vwt2oc.co.uk.

Time for bed!

As the long season comes to an end and following on from last week’s winterizing, some owners may elect to cover their pride and joy with a cover.

Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with little chrome covers on. Don’t cover your expensive paint work with a tarpaulin that will get condensation inside it, press that moisture onto your bodywork and accelerate the attack on the paint and the metal underneath.

If you don’t have access to a garage or a car port that will keep most of the weather off, try to invest in a good breathable cover. Get the right one for your vehicle and make sure that the material is not flapping around, abrading where it touches.

Ideally park on hard ground that will not have standing water. Parking on grass at the bottom of the field will collect water underneath which will evaporate upwards into your van and its little cover. A breathable cover will let some or most of that collected moisture out but ideally you should remove the cover over winter every month to let things properly dry out and then put it all back to bed once more.

If possible, get a cover with straps that go under the vehicle from side to side, so that the wind cannot lift the cover off the vehicle. It is disheartening to get home from work in the dark and find your expensive van exposed to the elements and a wet cover wrapped across your hedge.

For those of you lucky enough to have a garage, a dust cover is optional but again, think about the possibility of trapped moisture pressing against the bodywork. Does a quick dusting or a nice spring time wash and wax give more benefit than the winter cover?

Yes, it is that time again, winter is very much heading our way. For anyone with a vehicle, VW or not (apparently other vehicles are available!), winter in the UK is the worst time for metal on the roads.

Some suggestions:

Inside

Water

If you have anything containing water, drain it all out. Water tanks, boilers, kettles. Don’t just empty the tank, drain the whole system including the pipes. Remember that water in pipes still expands when it freezes, not just in the tank. It also goes stale after a period of standing. If possible take the tank indoors to keep it above freezing and/or clean it thoroughly.

We use a mild Milton solution to thoroughly clean ours including the impeller that sits in our tank and its associated pipe and electric cable. Then we rinse everything and air dry it all. Other options are available too!

Power

Leisure batteries like ambient temperatures and extreme cold will reduce their operational life. Keep them above freezing by removing them and keeping them in the garage or similar. Remember to keep the electrical contacts in the van safely insulated if applicable.

Keep those batteries charged using a trickle charger that is fit for purpose, which will also prolong their life.

Gas

Butane or propane tanks and bottles should be removed from your vehicle and stored safely with their openings closed properly – don’t leave the regulator open relying on the gas tap on the cooker as these can fail. Now is a good time to weigh them against their empty counterparts to know when you need to change them!

Boring cleaning

Now that you have opened up your van, removed the relevant tanks and bottles, you can get all misty eyed and miss the peace and tranquility of your van by getting in there and cleaning it all. It gives you a great sense of personal achievement as well as going into the winter with a nicely clean kitchen area, the fridge has been bleached and rinsed, and if applicable the bathroom, the shower and maybe the hot tub are all clean. Leave internal doors slightly ajar to keep mould and mildew at bay.

Soft furnishings

If possible, remove curtains, bedding, that emergency woollen blanket from Granny and take them indoors for a good wash or airing.

Ingress

Don’t be tempted to leave doors open or windows more than cracked open. All sorts of miscreants can get in and eat your lovely interior.

Outside

If possible store your vehicle in a garage. If that is not possible, a car port will do a similar job. A breathable cover can be good but make sure it is listed as fully breathable otherwise moist air gets under the cover, rises when things warm up and the vehicle will get wet, holding that wet against the bodywork. Avoid a heavy cover for sure!

Tyres

Tyres degrade from extreme temperatures and long periods of standing still. Winter does that very well! Inspect the tyres, check the pressures and consider putting the van on axle stands if you are not using it for a very long time, taking the wheels into the garage or shed. It also makes theft more difficult!

Moving parts

Lubricate everything. Hinges, moving parts, sliders, mechanical parts. Check the oil level. Use the right lubricant for the part in question. It will pay dividends next year and will keep water away, which is good for the life of the part.

Boring cleaning

Again, give the outside of your vehicle a proper clean, ideally by hand. Dry fully including the fiddly bits inside doors and between panels. Give it all a good quality wax polish. This also keeps water away and prolongs the panels and parts. It also makes you happy as you pass over the cold season when you don’t want to be away.

Underneath

If you are an advocate of underseal and waxoil, get the old visible stuff removed and apply new underseal to dry clean parts. The jury seems out on the benefits of underseal against the downside of it trapping moisture but waxoil or similar applied hot into cavities must be better than not applying it?

Engine

Some texts state to start your engine once a month and run it on idle for 30 minutes. More than that is not necessary and I don’t touch our air cooled engine at all.

An oil change just before the winter alongside a fuel-storage additive in the fuel tank if you like that sort of thing.

Main battery

We leave the main battery connected and the solar panel bolted to the roof of a van in a car port for the leisure battery. If that was not the case, we would trickle charge the main battery once a month over the winter. Again, this just makes sure that you don’t degrade the battery and end up having to replace it all of the time.

Got to dash, I think my van might be snoring.

Winterizing your vehicle

Yes, it is that time again, winter is very much heading our way. For anyone with a vehicle, VW or not (apparently other vehicles are available!), winter in the UK is the worst time for metal on the roads.

Some suggestions:

Inside

Water

If you have anything containing water, drain it all out. Water tanks, boilers, kettles. Don’t just empty the tank, drain the whole system including the pipes. Remember that water in pipes still expands when it freezes, not just in the tank. It also goes stale after a period of standing. If possible take the tank indoors to keep it above freezing and/or clean it thoroughly.

We use a mild Milton solution to thoroughly clean ours including the impeller that sits in our tank and its associated pipe and electric cable. Then we rinse everything and air dry it all. Other options are available too!

Power

Leisure batteries like ambient temperatures and extreme cold will reduce their operational life. Keep them above freezing by removing them and keeping them in the garage or similar. Remember to keep the electrical contacts in the van safely insulated if applicable.

Keep those batteries charged using a trickle charger that is fit for purpose, which will also prolong their life.

Gas

Butane or propane tanks and bottles should be removed from your vehicle and stored safely with their openings closed properly – don’t leave the regulator open relying on the gas tap on the cooker as these can fail. Now is a good time to weigh them against their empty counterparts to know when you need to change them!

Boring cleaning

Now that you have opened up your van, removed the relevant tanks and bottles, you can get all misty eyed and miss the peace and tranquility of your van by getting in there and cleaning it all. It gives you a great sense of personal achievement as well as going into the winter with a nicely clean kitchen area, the fridge has been bleached and rinsed, and if applicable the bathroom, the shower and maybe the hot tub are all clean. Leave internal doors slightly ajar to keep mould and mildew at bay.

Soft furnishings

If possible, remove curtains, bedding, that emergency woollen blanket from Granny and take them indoors for a good wash or airing.

Ingress

Don’t be tempted to leave doors open or windows more than cracked open. All sorts of miscreants can get in and eat your lovely interior.

Outside

If possible store your vehicle in a garage. If that is not possible, a car port will do a similar job. A breathable cover can be good but make sure it is listed as fully breathable otherwise moist air gets under the cover, rises when things warm up and the vehicle will get wet, holding that wet against the bodywork. Avoid a heavy cover for sure!

Tyres

Tyres degrade from extreme temperatures and long periods of standing still. Winter does that very well! Inspect the tyres, check the pressures and consider putting the van on axle stands if you are not using it for a very long time, taking the wheels into the garage or shed. It also makes theft more difficult!

Moving parts

Lubricate everything. Hinges, moving parts, sliders, mechanical parts. Check the oil level. Use the right lubricant for the part in question. It will pay dividends next year and will keep water away, which is good for the life of the part.

Boring cleaning

Again, give the outside of your vehicle a proper clean, ideally by hand. Dry fully including the fiddly bits inside doors and between panels. Give it all a good quality wax polish. This also keeps water away and prolongs the panels and parts. It also makes you happy as you pass over the cold season when you don’t want to be away.

Underneath

If you are an advocate of underseal and waxoil, get the old visible stuff removed and apply new underseal to dry clean parts. The jury seems out on the benefits of underseal against the downside of it trapping moisture but waxoil or similar applied hot into cavities must be better than not applying it?

Engine

Some texts state to start your engine once a month and run it on idle for 30 minutes. More than that is not necessary and I don’t touch our air cooled engine at all.

An oil change just before the winter alongside a fuel-storage additive in the fuel tank if you like that sort of thing.

Main battery

We leave the main battery connected and the solar panel bolted to the roof of a van in a car port for the leisure battery. If that was not the case, we would trickle charge the main battery once a month over the winter. Again, this just makes sure that you don’t degrade the battery and end up having to replace it all of the time.

Another one in the bag – Brooklands – German Day

A new club event near Weybridge at the Brooklands Museum.

Management team member Wendy Marriott reports:

On arrival at the gate for display vehicles, we were met by the lovely Wade, who on seeing club entry ticket in the van window said “You must be some of Lorna’s lot” and ushered us to the front of the queue.  Lorna, your fame precedes you!

Five vans from the club attended the event. There would have been more but unfortunately it was discovered that dogs weren’t allowed, and so some members had to cancel. Although overcast for most of the day, the weather was kind to us, and it didn’t rain.  

There was a great deal of interest in all of the vans, especially from those with young families (future owners perhaps?). The majority of the vehicles attending were Porsches, but there were also lots of other interesting displays from many other vehicle clubs.

The museum itself was amazing, with exhibits of planes, buses, racing cars and motorbikes of all eras and of course the history of Brooklands circuit.  At an extra charge of £6 per adult, we had a guided tour of the Concorde which is on permanent display at Brooklands and heard all about its history.

Everyone we spoke to said what an enjoyable day it had been.  Hopefully this is something that the club could take part in again.

Upcoming event – Brooklands German Day

Are you going to this one day event? We have about a dozen club vehicles attending!

A day devoted to all things German as Brooklands welcomes a host of German cars and motorbikes. 

Expect a wide range of cars to admire from the Porsche to VW, Audi to Mercedes-Benz – see the best examples of German engineering through the years.

It’s not just German Cars and bikes that will be filling up the site, the Paddock will be alive with German themed entertainment, food and memorabilia. 

Sunday October 1st at Brooklands Museum, Weybridge from 10am to 5pm

Upcoming club event – Busfest

Our most popular event with around 100 club vehicles, our own club field, the marquee, the BBQ, Lorna James singing, kids looking after each other and the occasional glass of wine.

To get on the club field, you need to be an active member and book through http://www.busfest.org selecting the correct club and using the discount code. Sadly bookings for 2023 have closed some time ago, but we hope to see you in 2024!

New product offer

Our friends at Just Kampers have reduced the price of the excellent and regularly recommended Propex heater.

Make Heat While the Sun Shines (or tries to).

Save money on the Propex HS2000 heater unit at Just Kampers and install a new gas heater in your camper before the weather really takes a turn for the worse. The JK Team are offering £55 off their Propex HS2000 bundle kit (J19842), which gives you the super popular Propex heater as well as the gas fittings you’ll need to get it installed.

While they’d always recommend you get gas appliances like this installed by a registered professional, fitting a new heater is one of those jobs that’s better done in the summer, and you’ll be able to enjoy off-season trips in your toasty new camper!

Propex Heatsource HS2000 12V LPG Gas Heater with Fitting Kit

J19842

£518.78 – Save £57.68