 |
| Me and the fam in 'Babs the bus |
On Friday the 9th of March 2012 i became the proud owner of this
VW 'Early Bay' T2 Transporter, converted by
Danbury in Chelmsford in '71 into a camper van after originally coming of the Wolfsburg production line in Germany in 1970.
After studying the extensive paper work that came with the bus i have already learnt a lot more of its history but hope to do an exhaustive 'forensic' study of its history later (The parts invoices alone are the thickness of a telephone directory).
 |
| Lots of reading material came with the bus, they all have a lovely '70's smell! |
Very exciting to find all the original sales literature: handbook, original service books and hand typed layout plan by Danbury of the interior and its many lay out configurations.
 |
| Babs in her raw, untouched state |
Originally i had planned to buy a T25 VW camper which is the the eighties redesign of the classic VW Transporter (Affectionately know as 'the brick' for its blocky shape) as i thought that the classic 'breadloaf' or 'bay' camper was out of my budget ; Early Bay campers like this go for silly money plus and original right hand drives are increasingly rare as they tend to dissolve in the British climate increasingly the only ones you see are 'dry' buses shipped from California where the climate means they last much longer.
 |
| The T25, more blocky than a T2 but still very cool, i still want one! |
However our wonderful neighbour Barbara (Hence the name change, Barbara called her Spitfire 'cos of the lovely noise she makes) who previously owned the bus kindly offered us a shared ownership arrangement....she gave me a set of keys, put me on the insurance and together we shared running costs. Was so excited when she was prepared to sell, i knew it was a difficult decision because she loves her so much, however we continue to share her and Barbara is looking forward to going to Latitude Festival and the
Alive & V Dubbin VW club meet in her this summer so that took the 'sting' out of her decision!
 |
| 16,000 GENUINE MILES, AND SINCE 1994 WITH A RECON ENGINE MEANS SHE IS ONLY REALLY JUST RUN IN! |
|
BABS GOOD POINTS :
*Road Tax exempt 'heritage/classic' vehcile
*Untouched and unmolested. Not lowered or pimped up in any way ; original tape cassette stereo, Danbury interior with pop top roof.
*Three owners from new. Original owner from Essex had her from '71
to 2004, two more owners since then.
*Extensive paper work and all original documents prove she has been much loved.
*Instant membership of the 'cool club', grins of delight from schoolchildren and driving it very much acts as an anti depressant without any side effects.
*Always starts and has only broken down on me once and Barbara whose had her for several years has only had a couple of breakdowns and she has been used almost everyday.
*Always got somewhere dry and a proper bed to sleep in at Festivals.
BABS BAD POINTS :
*She's a little crinkly around the edges, but for a 40 year old she's still pretty gorgeous and nothing a bit of welding cant fix. (See post : job list)
*25 miles per gallon, but with my heavy foot its probably more like over thirty. Could be improved with a new carb set up or LPG conversion, but she will always be thirsty.
•Risk of turning into a vw bore/nerd (to late already perhaps)
*Er, that's it.
 |
| £1,484 new in 1971! Wish i had a time machine! |
| Model
|
Type 2 (T2) mod. 234(0) :
- Kombi
- Sliding door left
- RHD
|
| Chassis number
|
2323122282
|
| Serial number
|
122 282
|
| Modelyear
|
1972
|
| Planned production date |
Thursday, 25 May 1972
|
Number for production planning
(temporary serial number)
|
7507
|
| Type of engine
|
Type 1 (AD) - 1584cc, 37 kW (50 bhp DIN)
|
| Type of transmission
|
Manual 4-speed gearbox
|
| Paint color
|
| L90D | -  | Pastel White |
|
| Interior color (doorpanels and seats)
|
51 - Dark Beige Leatherette
|
| Destination
|
England, Ramsgate
|
| 191 |
With outer and center underfloor plates (belly pans)
|
- |
|
|
| 793 |
Trumatic SB2000 heater
|
231, Campmobiles |
2x6 2 000 001 |
|
| A41 |
Specifications for Great Britain
Collection of M-codes: M 020/061/187 (1970-1972)
|
- |
2x0 2 000 001 |
2x2 2 300 000 |
|
020 |
Speedometer and odometer in Miles
|
211-274 |
|
|
|
|
061 |
Type labelling of seat mounting and identification plate for England and Ireland
|
- |
|
|
|
|
187 |
Headlamps for left-hand traffic (for countries with left-hand traffic)
|
211-274, Countries with left-hand traffic |
|
|
|
| A41 |
Specifications for Great Britain
Collection of M-codes: M 020/061/085/187 (1973-1976)
|
- |
2x3 2 000 001 |
2x6 2 300 000 |
|
020 |
Speedometer and odometer in Miles
|
211-274 |
|
|
|
|
061 |
Type labelling of seat mounting and identification plate for England and Ireland
|
- |
|
|
|
|
085 |
Filled in factory with double amount of
petrol (used for driving on and off the train, for example)
|
- |
|
|
|
|
187 |
Headlamps for left-hand traffic (for countries with left-hand traffic)
|
211-274, Countries with left-hand traffic |
|
|
|
|
