1974 Westfalia Campervan

1974 Volkswagen Type 2 Westfalia campmobile.

We have owned this van for the last 10 years and it has been brilliant. It's been all over the UK. France. and a trip as far as Croatia and Bosnia with all the countries in between. It will be sorely missed. but a growing family means its time for it to move on for more adventures.

Features

Interior

Proper original Westfalia conversion. this includes a full width rock n roll bed downstairs with 2 good three-point seat belts and another double bed in the rear hinged elevating roof. The upholstery is in great condition. all in the rare blue check plaid fabric. The roof canvas has seen better days. but the front still unzips. and despite a couple of patches is still watertight.

The van has cupboards and wardrobes. and a stainless steel gas stove. The fridge / sink was replaced a few years ago with a box seat. with space for a cool box inside and this has proved more practical.

The interior was removed and refitted a few years ago when some body work was carried out. at this time everything was reconditioned. new wooden floor. carpet. insulation. new foam in the seats and beds. and the interior panels were sanded and re varnished.

There is a full mains electrical hookup. which includes a consumer unit and three plug sockets.

The cab seats have been replaced with good captains seats from a T25. These include arm rests for driver and passenger

The cab has full arch and step mats. plastic kick panels. a Sony radio/cd player (4 speakers) and additional engine gauges for oil temperature and engine revs.

Overall the interior of the van is really very smart and usable. as can be seen from the photos.

Mechanical

The van has its original 1800 Type 4 air-cooled engine. This has been fitted with electronic ignition and an uprated flamethrower coil. The engine is very reliable and has regular oil and filter changes. About 2 years ago the engine was converted to run also on LPG by Gasure UK in Chester. The LPG tank is fitted under the rear seat. The engine runs well on both petrol and LPG. although we tend to use LPG for the majority of the time due to the respective cost compared to petrol. The engine prefers to start on petrol to warm up for the first mile or so. and can then switch over easily to gas.

The LPG system was fully checked by Gasure last year to ensure it was in top working condition.

The van was originally fitted with an eberspacher (BN4) blown warm air petrol heater. which works ok. This is probably due a service though. I also have a newly powder coated exhaust pipe for this ready to fit. (The original exhaust has largely rusted away where spray from the rear wheel gets at it).

About 7 years ago we had the engine and gearbox taken out of the van for some work. At this time a new (reconditioned) gearbox was fitted. as well as a new clutch. In the last couple of years the van has had a new clutch cable. and a new exhaust.

The tyres are all decent commercial ones. and are all less than 18 months old. The van also has a proper Westfalia swan neck towbar fitted and wired with single trailer electrics.

The van is also fitted with an automatic engine bay fire suppression system. which gives a bit of extra peice-of-mind

All electrics work. lights inside and out (even reversing lights). wipers. washers. stereo. 12 volt socket. gauges etc. The van has recently had a new large capacity battery fitted. The van is very reliable and we have undertaken some pretty serious journeys without any mishap. The engine (even on LPG) will get the van up to about 70mph. although at this speed fuel economy will suffer quite a bit and its much happier at around 55-60 mph.

Exterior

As previously mentioned. about 5 years ago a partial restoration was undertaken on the van. which included taking the van back to bare metal and sorting as muich rust as possible. The van was fitted with a rust free tailgate (which included a heated rear window!) and passenger door. and all new window and door seals throughout. Some repairs were made to the sills and lower body at this time. The van was then primed and resprayed in Pastel White over Neptune blue. The only place that didnt get re-painted was above the roof gutters. which still is in very good shape. with no rust.

The body work is in pretty good condition overall. with some lower bodywork rust now starting to show through in a few places. I have tried to show the worst bits. The main chassis is solid as far as I know and the areas where rust is starting to show are only bodywork and I think are cosmetic only.

The exterior of the van still looks very good and the paint cleans and polishes up well.   I have a Just Kampers waterproof cover that I will include with the van.   Its old. but keeps the weather off.

Overall

This is a largely UK van (originally imported from Ireland) and so does need ongoing maintenance work (it is close to 40 years old!). Sometimes it goes straight through its MOT. but sometimes requires a bit of work. It had some replacement metal work on the chassis for the last one. and anything else that looked as though it could be a problem in the immediate future was done at the time as well. It has been well taken care of in our ownership and hasnt wanted for anything.   I have a file full of years worth of documentation for work carried out.   The van is perfect for holidays and has been great for us. but we now need something with a bit more space. Please dont expect it to be perfect though. as the price reflects the condition. I think quite accurately. The van is ready to go. has a decent length MOT. and with not too much work could easily be worth much more than it is priced at here.

The van is fitted with a number of features normally reserved for deluxe microbuses. including a dashboard clock (not working). and decorative alloy trim on the body. The original Westfalia conversion was carried out from new. and the vehicle was originally a Kombi from the factory. This is a pretty long description. but there is quite a lot to say about the van really. If there are any questions though. please do not hesitate to get in contact by email or phone. I would also strongly recommend viewing the van to appreciate it fully. and I would be happy to take people for a test drive.

Bank transfer or cash on collection before the van is handed over.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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