It’s almost as if the VW Transporter/Bus was conceived as a camper van from the very beginning. It just lent itself to the task better than anything before, and it arrived at a time shortly after the war when the yen to hit the road was becoming epidemic. It was the consummate rolling box, with just enough room to accommodate, as many as were willing to pile in, and get them there with a minimum of fuel and fuss. Just not very quickly.
This ’61 Transporter I found a few blocks from my house is still at it; there’s very obvious signs of life inside. For some folks, there’s just never been anything that could improve on the original.
Sketching one’s idea for a van seems to be a thing; Dutch VW importer Ben Pon made this one in his little notebook in 1947, he saw how the VW’s layout with its rear engine lent itself ideally to a box with a low floor.
It’s the counterpart to the sketch we saw earlier this morning made by Bill Collins for a rear engine camper van that would fit under his low garage door. Maybe he should have just bought a Westfalia?
The VW Transporter arrived in 1947, and we shall never know who was the first person to throw a mattress in the back and sleep in it. But already by 1951, Westfalia offered a camping conversion for it to make a cozy little rolling cabin.
And by 1955, the Westfalia already found itself on the cover of Popular Mechanics. (full article and history here). Van Life had arrived in America and would soon proliferate.
We all know how the VW bus became iconic as the proto-hippie van, but of course its appeal was much wider than that. And for this owner, it’s never ended.
I told you there were signs of life inside.
This survivor was a hard-working Transporter when it was first bought in 1961, just a year or so before the notorious “chicken tax” on imported trucks ended the VW’s career as a work truck and had to be sold as a “station wagon”, even if it was a bit different than the usual family truckster.
This one also came with the optional driver’s side rear side doors.
I can’t readily say when the massive roof carrier was first installed, but given the rust and wear, it might be as old as the van. The ladder is clearly a more recent addition. But what’s really curious is the black vinyl fabric cover for what is obviously a big sunroof. Now I’m stumped, because the Transporters just didn’t come with them; only the deluxe Samba people carrier did. Hmm… But then these Transporters didn’t come with a white roof either, although the Samba did. Maybe it had a roof swap at some point?
As to what’s behind the engine compartment door, that’s anybody’s guess. Most surviving old buses of this vintage have gone through several, and typically end up with something a bit more ambitious than the original 40 hp (34 PS) 1192 cc engine.
It’s a face I love dearly, having made such indelible memories in VW buses. It’s like running into a grade school or high school friend: you recognize them instantly despite the wear and tear the decades have imparted. And just like it’s getting harder to find folks of this vintage that haven’t had cosmetic work done it is with T1 VW buses. A rare unrestored survivor.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1965 VW Deluxe Micro Bus “Samba” – A Truly Revolutionary Vehicle
Vintage Magazine Article and Brochure: 1955 VW Westfalia Camper – The Beginning of an Icon
Curbside Classic: 1960 VW Bus – On The Bus
Curbside Classic: 1960 VW Bus – On The Road And On The Bus; Three Years, 40,000 Miles And Three Engines, So Far
I see a diamond in the rough!!
What a treasure!!
Gorgeous! A (mostly) Dove Blue bullet bus. Stuff dreams are made of. Judging by the “Jersey Look” correction and other mods, thankfully I feel this must be in good hands of an air cooled enthusiast.
This is a 1962 model # 211 1 ton ‘parcel delivery’ truck .
It was sold new as a truck because adding seats didn’t work unless there were also windows .
This had the last year of the 40hp engine .
Supposedly VW said they’d put a ‘sunroof’ on Commercial vehicles to better accommodate long / bulky loads .
There are _NO_ Typ I transporters ~ all are Typ II .
-Nate
No it’s not a ’62; that was the year the much larger front turn signal lights were first used.
There are _NO_ Typ I transporters ~ all are Typ II .
Nate, you say this every time, and I and others endlessly respond by telling you that I didn’t say “Type 2”; I said “T1”, where “T” stands for Transporter, and “1” stands for the first generation. That’s how they are referred to, by the various generations. Got it?
Reminds me (somewhat) of my old VW bus and first wife in the late 1970’s. Both are gone now. Wife had just got her Masters degree.
Nice old bus with lots of “patina”. Amazed it’s still in use!
Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a V-Dub bus
A little voice inside my head said “ain’t many left with this much rust”
I thought I knew these vans they, had no sunroof
But if you beg to differ, well here’s your living proof…
A new cover version of “Boys of Summer”, eh?
I tried to work in some reference to the shift pattern in the Deadhead sticker but came up dry…
Now that is rough looking. Reminds me of being called for jury duty at the Richmond CA County Court House. It is located in a really rough place of Richmond. Driving the streets to the courthouse I went down one that had five transporters parked on it that mimic the one above. Obviously a fan of some sort as I knew I wasn’t in Woodstock. When I got to the courthouse I was relieved to see provided parking surrounded by very tall fencing which isn’t needed at the other two County Courthouses.
My wife’s family had a VW bus (presumably a wagon) at some point when she was a kid in the Sixties. And she remembers they did use it for camping, though with a family of eight I assume that maybe only a few kids slept inside. Her family were definitely not hippies 😀. But had several VW’s when she was a kid. And on the East Coast, not California or Oregon.
Also rare is the non-bench seat “walk through” configuration. Sunroof was very likely an add on mod that was popular in the day. My ’60 Kombi had the surgery lines where someone was about to “install” one but never happened.
Absolutely agree with Paul on the T1 nomenclature. It’s not a type 1, that’s a Beetle. More specifically I see these called T1a – bullet bus, not fried eggs.
Great old bus, nice to see it on the road and not over restored like most of them seem to be in the UK.
As a former owner of a T2 Westy, as well as a T3 and a T4 I’m an obsessive and a couple of things sent me searching through my books ‘VW Transporter and Microbus’ David Eccles, Crowood Press and the same author’s VW Camper – The Inside Story.
VW usually claim to have introduced the Transporter in 1949, it was announced in November 1949, production of prototypes began in February 1950. It was presented at the Geneva Motor Show 8 March 1950 and sales began after that.
A left hand drive Panel Van with loading doors on both sides was a 211 from 1959-1967.
Westfalia were making trailer caravans from 1948 and say they built their first VW Kombi for an American Serviceman stationed in Germany in 1951. They introduced the ‘Camping Box’ in 1953, This was removable bed and kitchen units which allowed the van to be used for work during the week and camping at the weekends.
The oldest camper conversion David Eccles found for his book was made in May 1951 and converted in Dresden. But I’ve no doubt that as Paul says people were sleeping in the back of them as soon as they started driving them.
I couldn’t find reference to fitting the rag top to panel vans, but it wouldn’t be difficult to fit, these type of fabric sunroofs were popular after market additions to cars in the 60s.
Sorry if some of this contradicts what has already been said, my source is the books mentioned above.
I will defer to you on some of these details. I did not have the time for extensive research on this one.
I started fixing one of these and stopped after finding it was 3 different models under the filler, who ever sculpted it hid a lot of crash damage and the incorrect front panel was pop riveted on.
“who ever sculpted it” lol!
The VW Type 2 arrived in 1950, not 1947. If that was the case, it would have had ZERO developement time!
And if that was for sale it would be listed for $30k lol
They say these can’t be killed, but I’m happy to volunteer, and try. Blight-of-my-childhood, and here’s one STILL gassing and freezing (or boiling) its poor occupants, just before it finishes them off with boredom for the excessive time taken on any trip. That monkey isn’t being cute – he just wants his freedom, and I remember how he felt.
Our one really didn’t look a lot better than this one by the eighties, and many didn’t. We even had that huge-ass roof-rack on top, which, by the end, was pretty much holding on the roof on one side. Sunroof? We didn’t need no stinkin’ sunroof, the rains came in through the holes just fine!
This is a pretty remarkable old find today. It’s not even “preserved patination” with linseed and such – something I always find a bit affected, you know, linseed paint and an $8K 2litre motor with new chassis beneath. It appears to just be old and very used.
And, to my shame, I’ve got to admit I like it.
I must be getting old. Either that, or I’ve got a few sheep loose in the old top paddock.