My new (Non-Scooby) weekend & holiday toy.
 

Hello peeps.

Some of you who know me know that aside from my Subaru obsession I also love old smelly, oily classic cars. In particular old VW's. Anything with a boxer engine! :)

I have always had some form of classic VW beetle project on the go in the garage or on rare occasions one actually driveable and roadworthy. I still have my early small window 1963 beetle tucked away as I type this which now requires yet another engine refresh to get it back on the road.

On Monday evening I was lucky enough to win this VW camper on a facebook raffle site. I bought a single £4.99 ticket a couple of weeks back and completely forgot about it until I took the call Monday evening which was being screened live on their draw.

It's a rare early bay window crossover van. It still retains it's 50 year old bodywork in all it's rusty spendor showing all the battle scars, but everything else has been rebuilt ground upwards and the bus is essentially brand new. New floors, chassis including notching to lay the thing on the floor, 7.5" raised and 4" narrowed front beam, 1.5" engine and transmission raise, new air ride setup all round, new suspension, new wheels, new brakes, new running gear, new engine, new interior, the list goes on. It was built by one of the top UK renovation companies who make some of the top show winning cars in the UK and is incredible. Valued at £20k+

I take delivery tomorrow afternoon. Can't bloody wait!

I've worked every single day of lockdown in difficult circumstances and work has been mental whilst trying to balance 2 kids schooling. In the last few weeks it's really come to a head, but funnily enough this has really improved my mood again! :D

All for a single £4.99 ticket! haha.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...3ed4a050b3.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...65c85ad70c.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...ef887dda3d.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...3c05bab732.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...9ac881aa2e.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...c4c7695185.jpg

Congrats on your winnings! Nice to see its bodywork is all original, which is a miracle! I personally prefer a more OEM stance, I have never understood the whole dub camber and sliding on its arse thing.

fantastic way to spend less than 5 quid though :thumb:

Wow, congrats on the win!

Congratulations mate 👍 I’d be advertising it asap to get as close to 20grand as possible if that’s what it’s valued at 💰💰💰

I appreciate both styles, but if I were building one myself it would be fully painted and new looking rather than rat look. lol

I can live with the cool and will certainly take the worry out of kids bashing their bikes on the outside of the bus when it's in the garage. Also, the bus will raise up to standard ride height when required for driving. It has a full new digital airlift air management system fitted. Simples.

Cheers mate.

Nope, never selling this. It's going into my garage and getting used lots. Most certainly keeping this one. These old campers and beetles are going up and up in value every single year it's just crazy.

happy days mate 👍

Wow!! amazing

Thanks. :)

I completed a canopy for cab/ fold down open rear with framework now that a chap has converted into a hearse recently :)

reckons its 14k worth so far , engine refurb is next job

looks Spleet


he’s got two split screen As well

one that he saved from scrapper in 1991 for 300 quid

says worth 18 k now

Fair play to you engine bay looks very clean :thumb:

Wow, that's awesome for a fiver! :thumb:

Must admit, I love the old VW campers, particularly the original split screen! With restored bodywork and two tone paint job, they look totally mint!

The whole 6" upwards from ground have been replaced, so all the floors, engine bay trays and sides are all new. Just the hours and skills required to make those front arch tubs are crazy. They look OEM.

Yep, always wanted a split screen but never wanted to get rid of my 63 beetle and never had the spare cash to splash on a split. This has worked out very nicely indeed. lol

As I said to you the other day ...I am NOT jealous one bit!:cry:

haha. Thanks mate. I'll let you know when it arrives. :thumb:

lucky *******...we need some more interior pics

Presumably the ride-height is adjustable, otherwise the whole thing will disintegrate the second it even catches sight of a speed-hump.

Jammy baaaaaaastuuurd :top:go on bro!!

I'm jealous...











And bitter!!
Well won, it's always some other ****er.

It's on a fully programmable Airlift air ride system, latest generation. So it'll automatically raise to ride height when you start the car and can be raised even higher for speed bumps etc. The ride on air suspension is great too, very comfortable.

Will do once I've got it.

Haha. Thanks mate. :)

Same here, I literally never win anything. This is a first for me. :)

Well done , The Bay Window is becoming a rare thing , I used to restore them and split screens .

Thanks mate. When I was younger I never really liked the bay window and like most people really wanted a split. The bay shape had grown on me over the years and I especially like the early Bay model with the early small split rear end.

Help me out people, are these sort after? 20 grand plus valuation is a lot of doe and it looks like it needs bodywork..genuine question guys Btw. Cheers

LOL. Yes very much so. All classic cars are appreciating in price as demand way exceeds availability. Also, with classic cars the more original the vehicle the more it's worth. Ten years ago I could have bought a tatty split screen camper for £5k now even shells with no floors are worth at least twice that. A split now you're looking at £35k+ and a bay £10-15+

This bus is most certainly £20k+ all day long.

good on you mate 👍👍 especially since you said you had a tough time recently with the lockdown etc....enjoy mate 👍👍

It’s had new floors (basically being a monocoque that’s means a new chassis) but retained the top part above the sills. They like to call it rat look.

Im guessing this is a californian import being a left hooker with a small rectangle shadow on the front bumper from the US style licence plate and that fact that the outer panels skins whilst looking tatty are rust free. Any car that age that lived on European soil would definitely have rust holes in the door skins, front panel, roof etc.

In some circles ‘patina’ from age is a desired thing. Meh...I go into fits of depression whenever I see a tiny rust bubble on my cars :lol1:

Must admit whilst I like VW vans, and I get how the old ones hold good money, I really don’t get how stuff like T3s with PITA water boxers command silly money (unless fitted with a decent engine) and don’t start me on T4s T5s etc.


Nice win BPR, even better when it goes to someone who wants it rather than cashes in. Treat it like a Gremlin...keep it dry; don’t wash it and put it straight away again. :thumb:


I recently worked on a T2 that was the reverse of yours...pristine and tidy on top...rot box underneath. I call them pigs with lipstick ;) It came in with a alternator fault (not charging). Easy fix I thought until I lifted the engine cover and was greeted by a type 4 engine (Porsche 914 etc) which have the alternator buried underneath. Luckily it wasn’t the alternator. That’s the thing with these vans everyone is different in some way!

Thanks a lot mate. Has another stonker of a week this week, but the thought of this is most certainly keeping me going. Can't wait!!!

Cheers bud, yes you're bang on the money. Solid as a rock now, just cosmetic rust and character. Now I've located the previous owner and builder and looked into the history it seems this one in particular is very highly regarded and sought after. The engineering that's gone into this is something else.