Vintage VW Campers

bennyyorkie

bennyyorkie

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Hi,
I've been looking into buying a camper for a while now. Was really impressed (maybe a little obsessed) with Mid 90's toyota hiace Japanese import campers. For 2 reasons really....I need an automatic (for my disability) and something very well built/reliable (rust free if possible). Unfortunately, after being advised by a parts supplier in Japan (and some very helpful people here on the forum) that parts can be difficult to get...I was a bit disappointed, and shelved the campervan idea for a few months.
But theres no rest for the wicked and I'm back with a fresh new idea! Hopefully....
As the vintage VW's are such a bigger market than Hiaces, with clubs and meet up's etc....are parts easier to find?
Also, how are they for rust and reliability? Can an automatic be fairly easily sourced?

I'm just getting started on them, so lots to learn :) but I thought it best to post now, before I do lots of research only to find what I need is just not there.
My budget is about 10000 and to be honest I am also concerned about whats its going to be like keeping a petrol or diesel engine on the road long term as we move closer and closer to electric and green energy. Apart from loving older, built to last models.....my thinking is that it will be harder (more expensive) to keep an oldish (10 to 20 year old) camper on the road when its not in the vintage category. Just a thought?
I'd really appropriate your thoughts and would love a fresh perspective before I start endlessly searching ebay for automatic transmission VW's. Many thanks :)
 
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I drive (and ride motorbikes) with just one usable arm. My 1998 automatic Compass Navigator is based on a VW T4 and has run faultlessly throughout Europe for 7 years. I paid £12,500 for it.
It's 'old school' basic; has no electronics, no turbo, no catalytic converter and drives beautifully, if a bit sluggish on hills, but I'm retired and after 45 years of tearing around to earn a crust I'm no longer in a hurry.
I looked at the Mazda camper (the Bongo - automatic ones are common) but two things I didn't like were that when the 'rock 'n roll' bed was set up (a tiresome fiddle) one couldn't get at cupboards. Secondly the pop-up models had the bed in the top 'tent' bit and climbing up was a real struggle.
Unless the vintage VW camper has a replacement or very well maintained chassis/body you need to be very careful about rust and corrosion. Before my disability (m/bike accident 9 years ago) I had spent 30 years restoring classic MG's. A pal had a beautiful VW split screen camper but it failed its MOT as the chassis and floor panels were hopelessly rusted and perforated - very expensive to repair. He sold it for spares.
There's a very active Owners Club and spares supply network for the vintage VW campers. I've never seen an automatic though.

The VW Camper Forum

The VW Camper Forum. A forum for Split Screen, Bay Window, T25, T4, T5 and T6 owners. With VW Campers for sale.
www.vwcamper.net
Whatever vehicle you look at (of any age) check its MOT history using the link below. It will give you details of annual mileages and past faults:
www.gov.uk

Check the MOT history of a vehicle

Check the MOT history of a vehicle from 2005 onwards, including if it passed or failed, its mileage and why it failed, download MOT test certificate
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
If anything else occurs me to I'll repost.
 
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You need to be very careful to older VW's can be rust buckets, awful lot of them about that have been bodged up. They is a guy around our way that specialises in repairing them, he had a customer that paid top dollar for one. Outside and inside were immaculate cost him over 5k to get the rusty chaiss sorted.
 
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With a budget of £10,000 and being disabled don’t even consider an early VW. Lenny above tells the story so well. They are a much sort after camper van for people with little money to spend who think buying into the VW name means rust and trouble free which is not always the case keeping in mind the age.
 
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By vintage, do you mean the T2 VW’s? We had two 1970’s VW’ campers, I sold the last one 19 years ago, after keeping it for 8 years. It was great fun, the engine was great, the gear change ( on both vans) was a little clumsy to say the least.
It was rusty though. I had to repair around the roof at the back, the front wheel arches and inner panels had to be replaced and the rear wheel arches were replaced.
The rest was pretty good, it passed its mot just before I sold it and it’s still on the road now ( I checked the mot history and it has passed every year with no advisories)
But, a half decent mainly rust free ( repaired) useable type 2 ( bay) Camper will probably cost you a little more than £10,000. Don’t even think about a split screen version though!
You will realistically be looking at the T25 and upwards.
They don’t have the magic of the earlier vans, but will probably be nearer to your budget and should be just as reliable. You should be able to find a decent later auto within your price range, don’t worry about spares, there are loads of specialist companies that will help keep you on the road.

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I honestly don't see anything magic or special about vw campers. Nasty, noisy, slow, under powered, unreliable rust buckets. It amazes me when I see unrestored ones selling for many thousands, just because of the cult surfer following
 
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My last wheels before current mh was a 1974 VW Baywindow Westfalia Continental. I bought it as an MOT failure from a lady at work for £500

They are a rust bucket and you are forever having to keep up with them engine wise maintenance.
It became a labour of love.
I spent £1000’s on it.
It was nearly show standard when I had finished.
It’s a cult thing with the VW scene - there’s loads of shows, festivals, club meets etc.
Parts are generally easy to source - just kampers sell most parts and you can get the rarer parts off the web.
I loved mine but was a nervous wreck leaving it unattended as stuff gets nicked off them. My mate got his bumper nicked at a VW festival.
 
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Leave VW bays etc well alone it will end in heart ache.

T4 onwards can be ok but get a proper inspection done on it.

Good luck with your search ?
 
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You couldnt give me a air cooled VW camper they were drastically underpowered , and the last iterations were very thirsty . The best I have driven was re engined with a 6cyl subaru ! . They have become a overpriced fad vehicle JMHO . BTW never heard of a auto option . Have a look at Toyota Granvia :) Dont worry about electric , waay to go yet !
 
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This was on eBay today....
VW camper van 1978. A rare automatic 2 litre. MOT and Tax exempt. £6000.
Unfortunately, it’s now sold......

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Thank you SO MUCH for the replies. What an eye opener!! here I was looking on ebay, seeing these vintage campers (that look to be immaculate) and thinking...well they must have been built to last!! Rust is a word which makes me run for the hills! While, I'll still have a cautious look at mid 90's ones onwards....I'm beginning to go in the Mazda bongo direction....or at least thats the next make I need to research next. They are well within my price range and so great to see there are lots of automatics and Japanese imports (rust free or close to). They are compact but realistically do I need more than that? I think I can handle the rock and roll bed. if anyone has ones, do let me now how you find them. Thanks again, so helpful. Such a great forum. I hope in a few years time, when I actually know what I'm talking about, I'll be able to return the favour.
 
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Look at the avitar
A 97 4x4 auto freetop bongo
Unfortunately downgraded to a new rapido.
Had it for 6years with no major problems, loved it.
Not all have rock and roll bed, a variety of options available. A very good option but beware of tin worm, mecanical problems easy to sort. Good support out there, google bongo fury.
 
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the1andonly said:
Look at the avitar
A 97 4x4 auto freetop bongo
Unfortunately downgraded to a new rapido.
Had it for 6years with no major problems, loved it.
Not all have rock and roll bed, a variety of options available. A very good option but beware of tin worm, mecanical problems easy to sort. Good support out there, google bongo fury.
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I had a Bongo great to drive, but I had the diesel 4x4 it was very thirsty by modern standards, and would fail any low emission tests. If you go for a Bongo get a petrol one and convert it to run on LPG
 
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ever heard of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Old VW's are not something to embark on unless you have deep pockets, a DIY ability and a very large passion.
Whilst what they give you in being "part of the family" they take more than double back in heartache and pain, from rust to overheating to breakdowns.
Would I ever own one being a welder / mechanic / can fix anything...
Not a ****ing chance..
 
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The Bongos were good VFM , I bought a low mileage grey import for the wife , back in Australia
It wasnt a camper just a bus . It did however have a fully folding flat seat set up the second row could swivel to make a pulman dinette . It was a turbo 4x4 auto , it even had powered electric curtains . It had a cooler/heater box for drinks /food , a very good (even in Australia ) aircon dual system . Full length powered roof . It never missed a beat , we only got rid as she used to get travel sick if I was driving and it was windy ! Sold to a friend of hers , who had it for 4 years with zero issues. That was quite a few years ago now , hopefully later models are similar

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While I agree with the views on VW’s being slow, rusty and underpowered, there are a lot of good ones out there that have been well looked after and serviced regularly. Trouble is, a lot have been owned by people who just go for the looks and haven’t got a clue about the mechanical side of things.
Much the same as many other vehicle, especially older motorhomes!
A well looked after van will continue to plod on for years and probably sell at a profit I have had a 1974 Beetle a ’76 2 berth ( tin top) Camper and the last one was a ‘78 pop top.
Mechanically, they were very reliable. all I did to mine was service them every 3000 miles. The only repairs I had was a new steering rack in the Beetle and new sills ( kept for 5 years and 25000 miles). Spent nothing on the ‘76 Camper ( kept for 2 years and 12000 miles) and a new steering arm ( as well as the body repairs) on the‘78 camper which I kept for 8 years and covered over 60,000 miles.
I’d consider that pretty reliable, but as others have said, you need a certain amount of mechanical skills to keep these old vehicles going now.
 
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I'm sure it's not much comfort but I had a hiace briefly some years ago and that was a real rust bucket. Worse than the vw rusty bay I had, though that was bad enough.
 
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Allanm said:
While I agree with the views on VW’s being slow, rusty and underpowered, there are a lot of good ones out there that have been well looked after and serviced regularly. Trouble is, a lot have been owned by people who just go for the looks and haven’t got a clue about the mechanical side of things.
Much the same as many other vehicle, especially older motorhomes!
A well looked after van will continue to plod on for years and probably sell at a profit I have had a 1974 Beetle a ’76 2 berth ( tin top) Camper and the last one was a ‘78 pop top.
Mechanically, they were very reliable. all I did to mine was service them every 3000 miles. The only repairs I had was a new steering rack in the Beetle and new sills ( kept for 5 years and 25000 miles). Spent nothing on the ‘76 Camper ( kept for 2 years and 12000 miles) and a new steering arm ( as well as the body repairs) on the‘78 camper which I kept for 8 years and covered over 60,000 miles.
I’d consider that pretty reliable, but as others have said, you need a certain amount of mechanical skills to keep these old vehicles going now.
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That's all well and good if you have the money to buy a good one in good repair. for what you get for your "Scene tax" I think I'd rather buy a yacht...
 
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i had a hiace tipper we used for the business, the rust was so bad that it fell to pieces literally. but with the petrol tank held back on with rope it was driven to the scrap yard and never missed a beat
 
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we
mitzimad said:
ive never seen the attraction with aircooled vw ,engine takes up a quarter of the van slow and thirsty by todays standards vastly over priced
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True( apart from the engine taking up 1/4 of the van) but most vehicles designed half a century ago ( or even 5 years ago) will be slow and thirsty by today’s standards.
 
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Reallyretired said:
I'm sure it's not much comfort but I had a hiace briefly some years ago and that was a real rust bucket. Worse than the vw rusty bay I had, though that was bad enough.
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Thats pretty surprising. my hiace research to date has said the opposite, and a few local tradespeople swear by them in terms of built quality and rust...but you never know. Do you live in an area where the roads are salted regularly for snow? Maybe a stupid question but only thing I could think of. Just never heard about that before.
 
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TheBig1 said:
i had a hiace tipper we used for the business, the rust was so bad that it fell to pieces literally. but with the petrol tank held back on with rope it was driven to the scrap yard and never missed a beat
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Gosh, your the second person to say that on the thread and it goes against all my research so far...would love to hear more on that. Very salty roads? I dont know.....maybe because they are legendary for reliability...people naturally assume they are great as far as rust goes too...like other mid 90's toyotas and then when you ask...its in their heads "O, they'll last forever!" Things are never straight forward are they :)

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I had a VW T4 2.5 Tdi Automatic camper for 10 years. Only available in LHD and all are grey imports. The low diesel consumption was nice and it was a pleasure to drive, but it was quite costly to maintain and repair.

I would not buy a T4 Auto camper if my budget was only £10k. A late model with good mechanicals and reasonable mileage will be £15k or more. Rust is going to be a recurring problem at that age.

The Bongos are long in the tooth now, although if you are lucky you might still find a good one. I would look for Wellhouse conversions on more recent Toyota base vehicles in the private used market.
 
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benn(y)orkie said:
Thats pretty surprising. my hiace research to date has said the opposite, and a few local tradespeople swear by them in terms of built quality and rust...but you never know. Do you live in an area where the roads are salted regularly for snow? Maybe a stupid question but only thing I could think of. Just never heard about that before.
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No snow round here but we are by the sea.
 
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Reallyretired said:
Agree that the hiace is great for mechanical reliability
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ours was mechanically brilliant with very few breakdowns and could pull a house down. just let down by rotting out. rear wheel arches and petrol tank fell off and you could push your foot through the cab floor. oh and passenger door top hinge rusted out so door dropped

the engine and running gear would have been good for another 50kmiles plus when we scrapped it
 
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