OVERHAULIN' STAR

June 2008


Volkswagen's have never played center stage in Overhaulin', the well-known TV show created in 2004, but a long-awaited change recently
occurred as host Chip Foose decided to wrench on a Split Window bus. Here is the awesome result!

BY STEPHAN SZANTAI

From Monster Garage's furious Split Window to Pinks' drag Bug, air-cooled VWs have had the favor of TV producers in recent times.
Another show can now be added to the list -- Overhaulin'. The premise of the show revolves around a team of talented builders, who gut, refurbish, modify and paint a tired classic car (all in a week!), unknown to its owner. Obtaining the said vehicle is usually achieved through some trickery, such as pretending it has been stolen or impounded. Family and friends serve as accomplices, thereby making the prank appear more authentic.

The host of the show is the gifted Chip Foose, an honor alumnus of the famous Pasadena Art Center College of Design. A Hot Rod Hall of
Fame inductee, he now operates Foose Design, a company specializing in illustration, graphics, and complete construction of project cars and other automotive related products.

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TOP, The Overhaulin'project started with a '65 bus, property of Fred Waugaman, a.k.a. Hot Dog Fred. Here, Chip moves the turn signals
underneath the headlights. ABOVE, before work began, Chip made this quick sketch. Around are "before" pictures.

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FAR LEFT, team members Mark DePew, Pete Skiba, and Paul Lozzio study the gearbox supplied by Buggyworld. LEFT, both of the bumpers were heavily modified, evident by the wide notches. BELOW, just three days after the build began, Lanzini Body Works took delivery of the rolling shell.

--Text for Bottom 4 photos

Photo 1 -- Lanny Hussey (left) flew from Canada for a day to help Geoff Peterson (right) with the 1915cc engine assembly.

Photo 2 -- Laurie Peterson (left, with show co-host Chris Jacobs), the brother of Geoff Peterson, closed his "Canada Customs & Hot Rods" shop
for a week to join the Overhaulin' crew.

Photo 3 -- Drawing of the custom, one-off exhaust system built by Manuel "Tiger" Vasquez of A-1 Muffler. It uses a single Sidewinder-style
muffler with dual tips.

Photo 4 -- Pete Skiba modifies the studs of the Airkewld disc brake kit to fit the wheels.

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The team of Overhaulin', which incidentally airs on TLC in the United States, traditionally wrenches on a wide variety of domestic
cars. Ford Mustang, classic Ford F100 truck, boxy '70s Chevy van -- you name it, it has likely been revamped by the Foose crew. Yet, the new season -- the fifth -- has a great surprise waiting for all VS nuts: a build based on a 1965 Deluxe! Chip had been interested in working on a
Volkswagen for quite some time, but for one reason or another, the project never came to fruition. The situation changed recently when Tod
Mesirow, the new Executive Producer and former producer of Monster Garage, came into the picture!

Tod contacted Randy Carlson, one of the builders of the Monster Garage Split Window, as seen in our October 2005 issue. Randy brainstormed a list of people, who could potentially become victims of the Overhaulin' prankster, with the crew ultimately settling of Fred
Waugaman. Known as "Hot Dog Fred" in the Volkswagen community, he is often found at numberous VEE Dub events on the West Coast, supplying tasteful hot dogs and bratwurst to the crowd. "Fred is a top notch guy," comments Carlson. "He's a friend to everyone and the perfect target for the show." A good pal of Waugaman, VW gearhead/artist Tim Leventry, later played the role of the "accomplice" thus insuring the deception would work flawlessly.

Revealing all the show's secrets and the details of the hoax in particular might take away part of the excitement of watching the episode on TV! So lets just say that the prank ran around the idea of renting Fred's Deluxe for a Volkswagen of America commercial. In this scheme, he was supposed to receive the hefty sum of 5,000; but the bogus producer of the ad suddenly backed out when discovering the unrestored bus. Arguments and breaking a couple of side windows (!) on the vehicle ensued before Chip Foose came into the action. "I was stunned for a
moment," adds Fred. "I had seen Overhaulin' and could not believe it was true. How many of us have watched shows like this and think 'what a lucky guy!"

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While Overhaulin', uses a recurring cast for each and every show, producers occasionally invite a few guest to help with the work.

In the case of the bus build, they included the following: Mark DePew of Wolfburg West (his amazing knowledge of the Type 2s was an immense
help), custom VW builder Paul Iozzio, Geoff and Laurie Peterson of Canada Customs & Hot Rods (we featured Geoff's Hebmuller rod in our
February 2007 issue), along with Pete Skiba of Airkewld.

Originally, each team member signs for a specific job; but in the end, everybody ends up helping throughout the entire construction
process on very different tasks -- with little sleep. "The build takes seven days and on the eighth, the car is given back to its owner," explains Geoff Peterson. "My brother Laurie and I worked every day, a total of 150+ hours with a cold energy drink always within arm's reach!"

Thankfully, Fred's Deluxe proved to be in good shape, even though it looked a bit worn out at first glance. Chip's idea behind the
project toyed with the following idea -- What if Volkswagen had built a prototype show bus for the 1966 model year? The result might have been
what you see on these pages. We made a point of listing the

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Photo 1 -- Chip Foose draws the final rendition of the bus.
Photo 2 -- The last two days were very hectic with several people

working in and around the vehicle at the same time.
Photo 3 -- Chip enthusiastically participated in the build. He's seen

here putting the final touch on the side moldings.
Photo 4 -- The last staff meeting with Chip.
Photo 5 -- Dennis Ricklefs did an incredible job with the wheels and

body pinstripes.
Photo 6 -- The team
Photo 7 Here is the final rendering. Notice the lower notch in the front bumper.

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modifications Foose envisioned elsewhere in this article. Some, such as the relocated side moldings are obvious; others, like the reshaped "dog
legs" under the front doors could easily be unnoticed by even the hard- core Type 2 guys. Sure, not all alterations will please the VW crowd,
but keep in mind that they come from a talented designer specializing in custom cars rather than just Volkswagens. From Day 1, Chip always kept an ear open, ready for the crew's input, and the result is a beautifully finished vehicle that will leave its mark on our hobby.

With the bus now finished, some components unfortunately remain hidden from view, starting with the adjustable suspension (with Wagenswest beam) and four disc brake kits, offered by Airkewld. Buggyworld supplied the fresh gearbox to which bolts a 1915cc engine --
Fred won it at a raffle a few years ago! Vee Dub Parts Unlimited gave away countless components to make sure it would run properly, while

Lanny Hussey flew from Canada for a day

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Photo 1 -- A set of 16-inch "domestic" rims with VW hubcaps equip Fred's cruiser.
Photo 2 -- While the front bumper was notched at the bottom, the rear bumper was notched at the top to clear the modified engine lid -- nice

mods!
Photo 3 -- Fred patiently waits to see his freshly completed Deluxe.
Photo 4 -- Check out the side rockers and chrome pop-outs.
Photo 5 -- a happy Fred Waugaman now enjoys his overhauled bus with his wife, Debie.
Photo 6 -- Artist and gearhead Tim Leventry was one of the "insider guys" who helped this project car come to life. Photo 7 -- Interior
retains its vintage feel. Numerous speakers are hidden all over the place! Most alterations are very subtle, including the two additional skylight windows.

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in order to bring a varitey of LanD products for that motor. WolfsburgWest offered a staggering number of top-notch restoration parts as well,
but we should not forget to mention a handful of companies that made Chip's vision a reality: Wolfgang International, Econo Int'l supply, and

A-1 Muffler. Finally, let's give two thumbs up to some other non-VW- related partners, specifically Lanzini body works, Yoyi's (interior),
Arc Audio, Stockton Wheels, 3M and Artistic Silver Plating.

Fred was stunned and ecstatic when the Overhaulin' team finally unveiled the vehicle in front of the cameras. The week prior had
obviously been stressful, as he had no idea what Chip had in mind. "The bus is a pleasure to drive," says Fred who declares being very satisfied
with the final result. And like all the VW guest builders, he wants to point out how much he enjoyed dealing with Chip Foose, "a great guy, very easy to approach and to talk to." The date of Overhaulin's bus episode has not been confirmed yet, even though it will likely air in

May or June. Check out your TV listing or log-on to (www.overhaulin.com) for additional information.

THE LIST OF MODIFICATIONS ENVISIONED BY CHIP:

- Bumpers installed closer to the body
- Lower section of the front bumper notched, `a-la New Beetle
- Rear bumper raised and with deal exhaust cutouts
- Upper section of the rear bumper notched to clear the engine lid with

rounded counters
- Tab removed on each chrome headlight ring
- Lowered front turn signals
- Redesigned "dog legs" (under front doors)
- Shaved drip rails
- Peaked front visor
- Custom-made side mirror arms
- Side rockers
- Lowered Deluxe side moldings
- Two additional skylight windows
- Early Bus taillights (shape matches the radius of tailpipes, bumpers,

engine lid)
- Rims with "domestic" bolt pattern and custom hubcaps
- Chrome pop-out windows and front/rear Safari windows
* Radio opening filled w/original louvers