34 CAMPER&BUS
can see, Mike’s ’54 now has one
of those as well, only he made his
own entirely from scratch.
The paint work was turned
around in dizzying style by Ant at
ARG Refi nishers (Tel: 07811 490968).
Mike reveals: “I cleaned up all the
welding and Ant prepped, fl atted
and painted it. I dropped the Bus
off on a Saturday and it was ready
for me to collect the following
Saturday.” Wow!
Not only was that a rapid turn
around, it worked out cheaply for
Mike, too. You see the Bus was
rolling on a set of real deal Fuchs.
Deep sixes on the back and the
much coveted 4.5-inch rims on the
front. Mike’s not a fan of OG Fuchs,
saying: “You have to run inner
tubes with them and it was always
pinching them. Repros are easier tolive with and much, much cheaper
to replace if you damage one.” Mike
sold them and the money he got
in return paid for the paint job and
the set of replica Fuchs it now rolls
on today. And the new headlining!Clock work
That’s some pretty canny thinking,
as was the Deluxe clock in the
dash. Mike says: “’54 clocks are
almost impossible to fi nd and
when you do they’re a couple of
grand. I bought a 1952 clock, which
is much easier to source and stuck
a picture of a ’54 over the face. All
in it cost me just 70 quid!”
The interior is based on a Devon
set up and is another thing Mike
knocked up himself. “It’s made
from oak-faced ply with solid
corners. I’m a fabricator by tradeand will have a go at anything. I
also made my own door cards and
the sun visor. Again, OG Barndoor
ones are hard to come by and
expensive - so mine is a modifi ed
Oval window Beetle one.”
Mechanically, this Bus would
tick all of the boxes for a lot of
people. Well, it did at the time the
photos were taken. It’s changed a
bit since because Mike has taken it
in a new direction. He reveals: “It’s
rolling on a KCW-built narrowed
front beam with Porsche 944
disc brakes. At the back there’s a
Freeway Flyer gearbox and a 2232cc
engine with VW Speedshop throttle
bodies. It was a real monster, but
I’ve had big engines for years and
feel like I’ve ticked that off my
list. By the time this goes to print
the engine will be a John Walklett“I’m a fabricator by trade and
will have a go at anything”