Posted on 08/30/2013 11:54:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
During my middle school and early high school years, my family owned a Volkswagen Type 2 Camper Van. We used to take it camping in the mountains or at Disney World, and it was as much fun as a conversation piece as it was as a vehicle. I wanted that vehicle for my own so badly, and my dad told me he’d give it to me when I turned 16. I imagined how great it would be to have a cool drink waiting for me in the icebox at the end of the day, and of course I knew it would be the perfect tailgate vehicle on fall Saturdays in Athens. Alas, my dad sold it when I was 15, and I never got to own one.
Volkswagen introduced the Type 2 (call it the Camper Van, Bus, Microbus, or Kombi if you want to) in 1950, and it was a fixture on American roads until 1967. Other countries held on to it longer, including Brazil, the last country to continue producing and selling them. Brazil began making the Kombi in 1957, an astounding record of longevity that, sadly, will end this New Year’s Eve, when the last van rolls off the assembly line.....
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
for those of us who came of age in the 80's.
CC
When I was stationed up in Great Lakes, IL, one of my buddies had a “hippie van” that a bunch of us sailors took on many road trips to Milwaukee (nobody cared how old we were in the bars there). After the first snow, my friend bought a white gas heater to keep us from freezing to death.
Now that I think about it, I’ve been to Milwaukee dozens of time, but don’t ever remember seeing it in daylight.
We bought a 1965 camper through a VW dealer in the US and picked it up in Germany. This was the last model with a split windshield.
It had its deficiencies—only the front seat was heated, and the louvered windows let in the cold air during the winter. However, it was great for camping, with a built-in sink and even a clothes closet, and we kept it for 17 years.
There’s a house a mile down the road from us that has one. I don’t think it’s moved in 20 yrs. Slowly returning to its elemental state I guess....
Back in 1974, I bought a VW THING. It practically fell apart setting in the driveway. I had nothing but trouble with it, but it was great when it did work.
I learned how to drive in one of these. I took it to a parking lot and found some gravel. I wanted to spin the wheels. I floored it and popped the clutch. She chugged away with nary a bit of gravel moving. It was truly an example of the minimalist movement. I believe it had a speedometer with a high-beam indicator light, and that was it for gauges. No fuel gauge, but it did have a spare fuel tank. It had brown curtains for the windows. My Dad pulled a snowmobile trailer with two snowmobiles with the poor old camper. I remember one time when he was passing a farmer on a tractor pulling a load of hay. The retaining pin broke on the snowmobile trailer and the back end of the trailer dropped onto the pavement. We were in the left lane, doing probably 25 mph and leaving a trail of sparks. I looked at the farmer’s face as we went by and he was terrified. Yes, we were the model for the Griswalds.
One of our friends still has a Westfalia VW Camper Van. Drives it everwhere.
Never owned one, but always liked the styling. I’m sure some guys have built them with Porsche power and have a cute “sleeper”.
Nein! Das ist nicht trüe!
How much did the optional pioneer tools add to the sticker price?
We now have a big Winnebago motorhome.
If you take a front end hit, you will definitely be the first one at the scene.
I think you would have had to use synthetic oil to do better up north, but they all leaked and that synthetic stuff decades ago was already $5 a can.
People are getting up to 23k today for one of those put back in great condition.
CC
Rumor was that the heater could melt 4-6 inches of snow off the body in a few minutes. A friend who ordered a smaller version ($700 - $800 option) when he bought a 911, c. 1970, claimed he could only run the catalytic heater for a minute or two because he was afraid his shoes would burst into flame. Seriously.
You would appreciate this...
I drove my VW bus out to Oklahoma City once (many years ago...from NC). 80-90 miles east of Fort Smith on I-40...normally a tank, the old girl’s engine blew. Nothing to do but walk and thumb as I was out in the middle of NOWHERE.
A trucker pulled over, offered me a lift, said he was from NC and had seen a VW back aways with a NC plate...thought it might be me. He said he thought there was a place up ahead I could go to see about my vehicle...he’d seen a VW on a pole. I thought he was talking about the VW symbol on a sign at a dealership. He starts slowing down along the interstate, points ahead...and sure enough, there was a VW beetle ON TOP OF A POLE...in a neighborhood that backed up the the highway. He let me out, I crossed the interstate, climbed the fence and found a couple of guys in the garage next to the VW pole.
The guy that owned the house was a VW mechanic. He called a wrecker and we drove to my bus to meet the wrecker. He opened the rear end, took about 5 seconds to fiddle with it, told me the problem, said he could fix it...the engine would need rebuilding. He said it would be roughly $750. I was kind of stuck, so I agreed to let him fix it. The wrecker towed it to his house.
He asked me how I was going to get to OKC, and I said I would rent a car. He volunteered to drive me to the airport in Fort Smith. He walked with me to the Hertz counter where I tried to rent a car, but I didn’t have a charge card (wasn’t something I used back then). I had several thousand dollars on me (that I was not flashing around), but Hertz wouldn’t budge. No card, no rental. The mechanic reached in his billfold, pulled out an American Express Gold, tossed it on the counter, and told the rental agent to rent me a car. He also told me that I’d better not abuse the gesture...”No sir, I won’t.” Got the rental car...off the OKC.
A couple weeks later, he called, said it was ready, I was able to get back to pick it up.
It was a frigging rocket. The guy was a master at what he did. Never had another problem with the engine.
There are still a lot of good people in the USA.
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