Built Better
VW Bus T4&5+|Issue 90
If you’ve been customising and improving cars since before you were old enough to drive them, it should be no surprise when your T5 receives some attention too
Steve 'autoholic' Edwards
Built Better

Stuart Clark has owned many VWs in his time, including quite a few examples of the Golf model, MK1s and 2s and even a MK4 that he switched the front end to one from a Bora, a popular conversion. He also found that he was able to make a few pounds by buying cars that had been included in the Government’s 2010 scrappage scheme and selling the parts, it turned out that the only part of the cars that had been included in the scheme was the bodyshell. All other parts were recyclable, but only if you could remove them from the shell on site and take them away to sell individually. Stuart got good at stripping vehicles quickly and removed doors, wheels and pretty much everything else, so that all he left behind was an empty shell. To assist with that, he had a series of vans to move the parts. Parts were initially sold from his Mum’s house under the banner of Volks Bitz. But, as business took off it was clear that more space was needed and so a unit was sourced and all the parts were moved in. It wasn’t long before Stuart was looking to expand even further, as luck would have it the unit right next door became available. It was equipped with a couple of two post lifts which meant that installing parts to customer’s cars was now an option. A new company, Just VAGS was created, while Volkz Bitz concentrated on supplying quality used parts for VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat vehicles, Just VAGS carried out servicing, diagnostics, remaps and other mechanical and electrical work. People have been known to travel from all over the UK to the company’s Rotherham base to have Stuart and his team work on their vehicles, as they know he not only knows his stuff, but they can feel his passion too.

This story is from the Issue 90 edition of VW Bus T4&5+.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 90 edition of VW Bus T4&5+.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM VW BUS T4&5+View All
The Evolution of Van
VW Bus T4&5+

The Evolution of Van

To mark 100 issues of VWBus, David takes a look back at how updating the humble ‘Box on Wheels’ has gone from concept to reality

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 100
Wild Times
VW Bus T4&5+

Wild Times

Perhaps a sign of the wild times we’re in and a telling sign of how fast we’re adapting to the ‘new normal’. I decide to take a U-turn and zoom out on how things looked as that ‘new normal’ was taking hold, along with how that’s effecting our little sector

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 100
Story's Story
VW Bus T4&5+

Story's Story

With The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden under our belts and barely two weeks on the road, we were heading to the ultimate van life destination; Norway…

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 100
Karmann-Go
VW Bus T4&5+

Karmann-Go

When you own ‘The fastest motorhome in the world’,getting to the campsite on time shouldn’t be a problem

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 100
Gran Tourettesmo
VW Bus T4&5+

Gran Tourettesmo

This is a very cool and interesting project, but the question is,is this the ultimate eBay build?

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 100
CBBA
VW Bus T4&5+

CBBA

If there was such a thing as Cool Bus Builders Anonymous, then each meet in Leicestershire would start with the words. “Hello, my name’s Andy Stretton and I can’t stop building seriously cool buses.”

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 100
Honey I Shrunk My Bus
VW Bus T4&5+

Honey I Shrunk My Bus

When Grant Gwyn walked into a VW dealership to buy a Viper green Caddy, little did he know his future was about to be very orange...

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 100
Milk Float Influence
VW Bus T4&5+

Milk Float Influence

Nicknamed Ernie, we discover this custom-created T5 pickup won’t be doing the early morning milk round any time soon

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 100
Impossible Solved
VW Bus T4&5+

Impossible Solved

A while back we brought you a basic sketch of a proposed project, it was both wild and eminently practical. Well it’s finished now and already in service as a daily driver for a very special lad

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 100
An Alpine Summer
VW Bus T4&5+

An Alpine Summer

In the concluding instalment we pick up Richard and Jackie Pickles’ story of their eight-country Alpine summer adventure on the shore of Lake Como in Italy

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 100