Do you like camping? Do you like saving money? Do you dislike people that say they’re camping but what they’re doing is simply driving a completely furnished house between states and sneering at the thought of actually building a fire and sleeping under something at least partially made of fabric? Well…I may have just the car for you.
Call it a lack of open spaces from being walled in in a city, lack of interest, fear of bugs, lack of indoor plumbing and electricity, or just plain laziness but I have never been particularly fond of camping and most other outdoor activities. I hate that I’ve more than once been bundled in the ‘lazy, uninterested in everything millennial’ stereotype by some of my more outdoorsy colleagues, but it’s the way it is.
However, a lot of people would enjoy packing a bunch of things, driving halfway up a mountain, waking up early in the morning and making the most of that fresh, crisp and marvelous clean air by hiking up and down the other half of the mountain before taking in a magnificent sundown, starting a campfire, and then sleeping under the stars–and for them this admittedly ratty looking T2 may just be the ticket to camping Nirvana.
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price of its T1 predecessor. Not that long ago, someone with clearly way too much money in his hands (thus impairing his ability for rational thought) spent more than $200,000 on a Volkswagen T1. Okay, it was a 23-window T1, but for that kind of money you really have to have a deep emotional bond (and even deeper pockets) to ignore all other ways to spend that money and settle on a 50-year-old bus with a horsepower rating, 0-60 time and top speed all in double-digits. “Surely they can be found a lot cheaper”, I thought. I was right, but you’ll have to settle for a newer example with a more powerful engine. Woe is us.
Our featured example, which is described by the seller as ‘Ready to rock and roll’, is a 1971 T2, finished in blue with a white top and sporting a black vinyl and wood-paneled interior. In the back is your 50 hp, 1.6-liter engine, which is mated to a four-speed manual. It has an alleged 107,046 miles. The exterior is faded and it has some rust, but still looks perfectly serviceable. Inside, you get a functioning faucet, an icebox and an electrical outlet of dubious functionality. The top apparently has no leaks–amazing, considering that it’s mentioned that it has some tears. All of this and more can be yours for the reasonable price of $12,000. A lifetime of fun memories and outdoor adventures is not guaranteed in the price, nor is the Humpty Dumpty plate holder. And while it could use some TLC, I’m sure it could prove a faithful companion for creating new memories, don’t you think?
Prices on these Buses have gone crazy. A bus is a T2 or Type2, a Beetle is a T1 or Type1, in VW speak. The split window buses up to ’67 are also a T2 in VW speak. I should have hung on to my old 66 Sundial Camper with flip up windshields, in the beautiful condition it was in when I had it in the mid ’70’s it would be worth a lot more than this example. It wasn’t a pop top which I never really cared for anyway. I still wonder how much that Camper will sell for, I would pay at the most maybe half that. I do like 71’s they are the only year (in the US) you could get the power front disk brakes along with the simple to maintain upright motor.
I made my own ’71 T2; replaced the blown motor with a 1600 DP; first year for that engine. Then I bought a ’73 T2 from the wrecking yard and pulled the brakes and wheels and installed those on my ’68. Instant ’71 replica.
…”Prices on these Buses have gone crazy”….
That’s right. About 25 minutes from my home is a renowned VW T1/T2/T3 specialist and restorer. Most prices are “on request”, which mostly means “very expensive”.
A co-worker visited that place a few years ago, and IIRC a fully restored T1 Samba will do way over
€ 100,000. That’s around $ 110,000 these days.
Here’s the company’s website. There’s also a red well-used 1989 Westfalia 1600 TD with an acceptable asking price of € 9,500.
http://www.kieftenklok.nl/index.php?lang=UK§ion=4&ani=light
I’d love to find a beaten-up destroyed Samba around here. and not restore it with the express purpose of annoying collectors.
Picture of the 1989 turbo diesel Westfalia.
This is getting more serious….€ 29,500 for a 1978 T2 Baywindow Westfalia.
Concur with 67 Conti. Had a 56 type 2 in Panama and enjoyed it. Somehow as much as I like it I cannot see myself depending on it very much. Would prefer a teardrop behind my 4runner.
First paragraph grabbed me. I find myself laughing at the rolling mcmansions when I see them. Good find Gerardo.
I had a one of these lived in it and drove it around a fair hunk of Aussie before the inevitable engine demise 1600 twin ports have a design flaw in the block but mine broke a piston just to be different.
It’s not just 1600 dual ports that break cases. Had a ’68 T2 and that cracked right behind #3. That was a single port, I think 1600. Replaced it with a 1600 DP, went 30K and cracked behind #3 again. Is this the defect you mentioned?
My brother had the Westphalia in a ’72 T2. My dad and I borrowed it for a trip from Detroit up thru the UP. Down into Wisconsin and Illinois and around back to Detroit. My brother decided to do the same loop; got 100 miles from Detroit, in Jackson, when it dropped a valve. I’d taught him how to wrench, so he pulled the engine, fixed it, and sold it.
I love small vans, so a Ford Transit Connect is on the horizon….
Yeah only cure is to use Brazillian engine casings the originals cant be repaired effectively,
In today’s collector VW market, $12k is a fair price, not that I would pay it. The ’71 is probably the best, if you dont mind going very slow, or modding the engine, which generally burns a lot more gas. The new all-aluminum replacement blocks are reinforced in the area that was prone to cracking. The passenger cars typically didnt stress the engine enough for that to be a very common problem.
VW must have gotten a volume deal on that dull blue paint color. It seems that all lower trim Type II’s from about 1960 through the Vanagon came in either chalky white or that blue.
1971 was “Peak VW Van,” IMO. Last year for the upright engine, first year for front disc brakes.
A restored 1960 Kombi 23 Window Samba recently sold for $157,000 in Australia… prices are definitely going up.
$ 136,000 (€ 125,000) for this 1965 T1 Samba. Sounds like a real bargain !
I’d be in for $12k. I keep thinking that we need to sell everything we own, buy a bus and go on tour for a year. Haven’t done it yet.. 🙁
At any rate, this one is sold already. Plus it was in Washington State which is a bit of a hike for me.
I’m still laughing at the reference to saving money. I’ve been following a travel blog called Bodeswell.com for several years. A family travelled from California and all around South America in a similar VW Westphalia. It sounds like incredible fun but every third or fourth blog entry seems to be a story of yet another blown part and breakdown.
The same is true of yet another travel blog called Hasta Alaska. The writer has travelled from Chile up the coasts of South and now North America in a similar era VW Bus. Most of that blog documents long periods of breakdowns in Central America along with the inevitable crowd funding plea for financial help.
I’ll classify this into the “Labor of Love” category. I like the concept and have been researching camper conversions based off Ford Transit Connects.
VW van reliability is an urban myth
You can get a reasonable early ’90’s Toyota Estima full-time 4WD Camper (factory-fitted pop top roof) for around a paltry two grand here in NZ… reliable enough ..and they can actually top-up as well if you want to get quickly between destinations on 30mpg
Campers based on the Ford Transit have been very common for many years.
So far I’ve never seen campers based on the Ford Transit Connect, but it is done. Here’s a flyer: http://www.minicamper.nl/MiniCamper_flyer_Engels_02.pdf
The new version that came out last year is what most are looking at. Got a lot better engine/6spd auto, more glass, lots more room. Basically a ’71 Kombi done right, in that it’s able to go 200K miles on the OEM drivetrain, not a death trap in a head on crash, crosswinds and trucks don’t blow it off the road, and still get close to 30mpg doing it.
That kind of small vans, like the Ford Transit Connect, has been built for many years. Volkswagen, Renault, Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat (Ram ProMaster City), Mercedes and Opel all offer a full line-up of vans. Often developed and built in a joint-venture between automakers.
Like the small Mercedes Citan van, essentially it’s a Renault Kangoo.
Here’s the current Opel (GM) Combo for example.
Besides being horizontally challenged, the other big issue with using the current crop of city vans for camping is the dearth of opening rear windows. Oh, you can get them, but you have to get a wagon version that comes with space robbing rear seats.
Looks nice but not terribly space-efficient; only ½ the overall length avail. for living space.
But small biz & fleet buyers here seems to love ’em, a great canvas for commercial art too.
Vans (regardless the size) don’t come with a completely flat front -like this CC’s Volkswagen- anymore. They all have a “nose” (often concealed by a sloping windshield and hood), like the Ford Transit and the Transit Connect.
The reason: crash safety regulations. I’m sure the Japanese and Koreans still build some that way, but you can’t buy them in Europe anymore.
Getting there is half the fun! (c:
Where did I read that VW vans should never travel alone in case of a breakdown, but there is a critical point where if you have enough of them you never make any progress because one is always broken?
Too funny how some old Vdubs have gotten so pricey.
Way too funny I followed a mid-’70’s Westy junker on my way to work today. Slow, automatic trans, sputtering hunk of moldy mossy junk. I could smell gas following it in my car.
Sadly, this is how I remember them.
We had one as a van, I hated it, I got a hughe dislike for Volkswagens thaks to these vans, no feel when changing gears, but stirring in the oil, no heating in wintertime, boy was I glad when my father purchased the FIAT 238 van as its successor, FWD, water cooled engine, low loading dock in the back a van for grown ups.
I never caught the charm of these, some cars from the past like a 404 Peugeot are still good to drive in today’s traffic, this, this is antique .
And on the highway I see most drivers struggle with these than sit down and drive relaxed.
My dad’s boss bought a VW T2 double cab pickup in the early seventies. It was the successor of the Hanomag Henschel F20 (also with a double cab) they had.
The VW certainly was capable and could take some abuse, but it just didn’t have the more durable “truck”-feeling of the Hanomag with its diesel engine and more conventional set-up.
I found a nice picture of an F20 with a single cab, payload was 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) IIRC. Later these were sold with a Mercedes-star after the take-over of Hanomag Henschel.
You must remember them, many years after the production ended they were still used daily, having a hard life. Scrap metal dealers and the like loved them….
I got all the camping I ever wanted when I was in the army, thank you very much. I realize that many people enjoy this activity and bully for them; as for me, I don’t think so. There is just something about trying to sleep on the ground while being nibbled to death by mosquitoes that just does not strike me as a good time. My idea of roughing it is to stay in a motel that only has basic cable.
Here’s a kombi camper that our local ‘gypsy’ has been living in (in inner Sydney) for the past ten years.
Nice old truck .
I had many different VW Typ II’s over the years , they’re an aquired taste to be sure , bullet proof reliable *if* you take proper care of it and don’t thrash it’s little engine .
Don’t blame the machine when _you_ killed it to death .
Many fun memories of driving a 1963 Europen Spec. # 4241 DeLuxe 23 window bus across America , through Mexico in my old ’68 Westy , on and on……
Most folks are not aware they’re rated at one ton GVW from 1961 onwards .
Funny how the only folks who’ll pony up $100 K + for one are the idiots who will never drive them anywhere .
-Nate