Sir, this is better than brand new. The last owner really loved and cherished this beautiful example of an excellent VW camper. Thankyou for sharing this with us all. An absolute beauty.
I had a friend who owned one of these...we'd take her 3 kids and my two boys to the lake, drive ins, anywhere, everywhere!! We put the tent up for the little ones to watch movies at the drive in..we all loved it! I have been wanting one ever since! (that was 17 years ago)! I hope to own one someday...I have a video of the kids in the camper singing songs as we drove along! Thanks for sharing! What immaculate quality...incredible! Oh, and everyone waving peace signs at us while driving was also a plus!
I had 30 or 40 of them as well, absolutely love them. I want that one badly, had a 78 and a 79 just like it, for some reason the green ones don't rust. That ones perfect.
Your video brought a tear to my eye. Bought a ‘79 in 1992. “Campmobile” with FACTORY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. It had a factory box between the 2 front seats with a pad on it that matched the plaid front seats. Green just like yours. Bought from the original owners with every-single-service-record! Drove in from the Bay Area up to Canada and down to San Diego. So many fun trips in it. I was in my early 20s and didn’t realize how special mine really was. The little old man added a 3rd taillight and custom rubber to protect the carpeting. It had a fan similar to yours on the dash. Everything worked! I think he may have added cruise control? Nonsmoker and spent more than 2 hours with me going over every nuance. Gave me the card to his mechanic. New tires. Whitewall tires rated for camping (thicker sidewalls)? I just felt honored to have it. I think he may have ordered it in Germany? The one flaw that just added to the character was the sheet metal right below the rear window was chalky green. Old man said he and his wife were back ended in a parking lot and they had it repaired at a body shop down there. He said the Mexican paint faded but he just put an extra coat of wax on it and that I shouldn’t worry about it. Thank you again for showing this and telling your stories. It would be a dream of mine to own another. I should start a secret fund and save for when we’re empty nesters in 5 or 6 years from now. 😊
Had a '77, loved it! Bombed around Florida for 3 months with the wife and cat. These are the best camper Van's, and I've owned a class a! Love these even more.
I clicked here because my one year and a half child has the " little model" ;) . it was a nice discovering of this legendary car. I m also a collector for the commodore amiga, yes it s a bit different but i understand passion in here.
+Viva Las Vegas Autos, Inc. Reminds me of the Orange 1979 Westfalia (pops bought in Germany while in USAF) It was a US version,and we brought it home. In 1987 it was traded-in for Brand-New Westfalia...VW dealer gave pops (trade-in value) more money than he paid for it Brand-New in 1979. 1987 Westfalia GL (Pewter metallic-green) is still in the family and in immaculate condition(Blaupunkt cassette still works,along with factory cruise/killer AC). People continue to bug him,asking to buy it...for ridiculous amounts. But he has yet to find a buyer that(pops can trust) will keep it pristine...so it remains garaged most of the year. And yes, Stock is the answer to preserving any vehicle...start to ghetto/customize any vehicle, few takers down the road.
Almost an identical twin to my dad's 1977 green camper. We had to trade it for a 1976 model (pumpkin yellow/orange) before we deployed overseas to Okinawa as there was a restriction on cars being too new. The green one we had included the propane stove which our orange one didn't have. They used the same plaid pattern on the seats and everything in that orange unit looked identical to this one. It went to Okinawa and back, stayed with us in Texas (I slept in it on a couple Scout campouts), And took it on road trips to other states. My brother inherited it when he went into the Army and he took it to Germany in the mid 80s. Sadly the "great pumpkin" as we called it caught fire and burned up completely when they tried to take it off the freight ship when my brother brought it back from Germany. But we got nearly 10 years of use out of that beastie!
This is a museum piece--haven't seen anything like it (no sun fading to the curtains? No wear or fading to the plaid upholstery?) Pristine. I don't know how the owner managed to keep it in such untouched condition. Thanks for uploading this--I enjoyed watching this.
+Viva Las Vegas Autos, Inc. Bought mine in Renton WA. in 2010 for 13k and I'm not just saying it but mine was in better condition. Same color and all. I just had a engine swap to a 05 subaru so it's water cooled and is way quicker. I love it and wouldn't consider selling it. I'll prolly have em bury me in it. haha!
+Bud Beazey original examples are what people are after. I have considered doing a Subaru swap to one of mine, but also know it will lower the value and take away from it's originality. Nice ones like this example really do drive beautifully.
Michael Converse Yes true but I won't sell mine and don't care what others are after. I'll be driving mine all over the US and will never break down and will keep up with any newer car.
I found the early VWs difficult to drive - gears did not seem to be synchronised and steering stiff. I appreciate that collectors think differently. I lived in a VW T4 camper!
A lot of metal, I’d freeze camping up north in that! I’m thinking the inside of the camper was redone or rearranged, it does not have the same arrangement in the camper area.
I bought a 1977 VW Bus brand new. Absolutely, the best vehicle I've ever owned!!! We (my wife and I, plus three little kids) would drive to the tip of Baja for 3 months every year! I am looking for a replacement now. HELP!
+serpantseed08 much better than you might expect. All 1973-up VW Type 2s came with a front crumple zone. Late models like this one had excellent brakes, good suspension, adequate power. Like ANY vehicle from the 1970s, it is unfair to compare it to something current, but they do better in a crash than you might expect. I speak from experience.
I can't wait for the day im able too get 1 i think when 2 kids are old enough to leave the house im going to sale every thing and jus spend the rest of my life camping out of 1
Exceptional condition considering the age of this vehicle. As much as I like these campers I couldn't justify the price of a van in this condition, which I know would be excessive.
Taking off the Bosch fuel injection and putting a Weber carb on it is definitely not an "upgrade". The fuel injection on this Type IV motor is reliable, efficient, and powerful. There are good shops and mechanics out there that can service it, but often times people get frustrated at the first hiccup and do exactly what this fellow did, yank it for a carb. Big mistake. I have a 77, same motor (same color actually), and I love the fuel injection.
When you try to switch lanes on the highway, don't use your blinkers, because every body will speed up in the lane next to you, not wanting to get stuck behind a slow VW Bus on a grade!
I hired one in the UK - was spotless - BUT - when I got it - it had just come out from getting a reconditioned engine...... work was very shoddy that was done on it, I don't think it had been tested first. Loose fan belt , engine kept stalling when I stopped, had to keep revs up on accelerator...... and tracking was way off...... I could not get above 40 mph without it pulling to the left... and going down hill had problems getting to a lower gear. I love these units but guess I got mine at the wrong time as the actual driving was a nightmare for me... I never even got a return on my money paid. as I had to cut short my trip for two days. The guy who dealt with the firm wasn't even around when I handed it back. Lesson learnt - test drive first before handing money over...... it has put me off hiring one again.
Is it mint? No. Is it 100% stock? Not entirely. Is it nice? Darned right it is! Light wear and stickers inside. Who cares? There are a lot of folks out there who'd love to have a late model bay window bus like this one. I'd put money on the fact that the new owners just love this bus and will make memories with it that 28 grand can't buy. No joke.
