[Closed] Any T2 owners in here

Er sort of had one did shit loads of welding never got to use it got bored sold it.

Bought t4

We had one when I was growing up.

What do you need to know

I hired a Brazilian Danbury T2 years ago, but now have had a T25 for 5 years. I still lurk

Brilliant, I knew this place would come through.

For starters

a) Some of the campers we've looked at (online only at the moment unfortunately) are full-width beds, and some 3/4. Depending on which you had, how did you find the trade off between the extra bed space versus (presumably) the extra storage? And how wide are the beds in either configuration?

b) Would a fairly bog-standard leisure battery have the capacity to run a small fan all night? Do they recharge from driving, or only on mains?

c) Some of the vans have hob and grill, some have an oven. Does anyone ever actually use the oven?

d) Did you have an on-board toilet and if so, how did that work out? Is it possible to be off-grid for a night or two (not really planning to, but it would be useful to know that we could).

Thanks

Rob

I have had my Bay for nearly 15 years.
Something to be aware of with the Danbury conversions of Brazilian Bays is the total lack of factory rust proofing. I have seen 3 or 4 year old examples with rusted out seams and window apertures. If you find one make sure it has been rust proofed.

My van (‘76 Devon Eurovette) has a ¾ RnR bed. It is ok for 2 adults but a bit cosy. If I ever refit the interior I will go for a full width bed. Yes, I’d lose a bit of storage space, but not a great deal. Most of our stuff when camping is stored in Plastic boxes which can be easily moved around and put in the awning to clear space in the van.

Leisure batteries come in a variety of physical and electrical sizes. I have a 100Ahr one that can easily run 12V lights in the awning, van interior lights and stereo and charge phones and iPads for a week. We have never run a fan from it but you shouldn’t have a problem. Just work out how much charge it will take based on the power of the fan.
My leisure battery is charged via a split-charge relay when the van is running but I usually put it on a charger at home for a day before we go on a trip just to make sure it is fully charged.

Hob and grill are very useful in a van but an oven is, in my opinion, a waste of space. A fridge is more useful.

We have a Thetford portapotti for use when ‘Wild’ camping. It’s fine for a few days and the tank and flush chemicals ensure there is no nasty smell. When we are on a campsite it is used only at night and there is a strict “No no.2’s” rule.

Anything else you want to know, just ask.

OK,

A) my current T25 has a 3/4 bed and a decent size pop top for sleeping in, the T2 we hired was 3/4 but only had the small pop top for storage not sleeping, assuming there are only 1-2 people it was perfect. The bed is long enough and wide enough for 2, less than full size mattress but more than a single. Preferred to have the storage for bedding, clothes etc.

B) Never had a fan in the van to be honest, just open the skylight in the roof or cranked down the windows behind the silver screens I have. Battery should be ok though, I can get 3 days 'wild' on mine. Run the fridge on gas if wild.

C) Hob and grill is all you need for weekend type trips, knock up a curry/chilli etc and drop in the fridge. Toast in the mornings.

D) Didnt have a toilet in the hired van, but I have a bog box and porta loo in my van, mostly sits in a bit of the drive away awning if we take it at all, but havent done only in europe when using the stellingplatz or aires.

@dove Brilliant info, thanks. Sorry to bombard you but:

Do you always put up an awning or if you were staying a single night is it possible to sleep in the van along with all your kit?

How important is an electric hook-up? How many days could you go without bothering? (I presume the fridge is mains electric)

LR

Fridges are generally 3-way, meaning you can run hooked up, leisure battery or gas.

I have 2 awnings, a sun awning which sits in the gutter rail and has a couple of poles. Fine for a night but lightweight and can catch a breeze. the drive away only goes with me for 3 days or more. Khyham motordome something or other, takes about a min to pop up.

I've gone to race/riding weekends and run my van without hook up, gas for the fridge but only a couple of lights work from the leisure circuit, its enough. My plug socket doesnt do anything so I take a portable USB charger for the phone etc

Our kids are grown up and so, whilst interested in using the camper, show no particular desire to come with their parents 😉

So, it would almost always be just the 2 of us, which I presume makes life a lot easier.

How is it with bikes? We'd certainly take 2, but I wonder if more is achievable. I have a 4 bike thule carrier for the car but it limits the places we can go (it grounds very easily) so I wa thinking to invest in a gravel bike for the Mrs and take just those to allow a bit of flexibility surface-wise.

Rob

I have a tow bar mount for 2 bikes, it has a 100kg limit I think, have had 2 full sus on without issues.

If its just me on the road bike, I have it inside for travelling then padlock to the van wheel overnight, or (and don't tell the Mrs) I put it in the pop up roof bed. I have not and will not attempt this with the full sus!!

i`m welding up a t2 at the moment...

I`ve gone for a bed width in between full and 3/4. bacically enough cupboard width to sit a hob on. some storage is useful.

i`ll be honest my vivaro is a much nicer/more practical van to drive places. the t2 looks cooler though.

I have a T25 which I've owned for 11 years. Currently going through a full renovation, I've built the interior with a standard double width bed. It's between a 3/4 and full width. Still space for side storage. Is a high top so bedding goes in the roof.

The guys that did the bodywork on mine had a Brazilian bay window in for work. It was on its second visit and wasn't that old. They suffer badly from rust.

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Postie rich had a nice looking one.

Any time I see them on site the owners seem to spend most of their time moving stuff either in and out or reorganising stuff to use various aspects of the van.

But as above. Looks much cooler than a converted modern van.

Why a t2.

They're slow expensive and can catch fire for fun... oh and they rot.

They're simple to fix and are very cool but it's like anything niche you buy into the life.

I'd say if you were not a classic car enthusiast and hated DIY mechanics dont get one.

If your handy love rattling around at 55mph and spending weekends doing odd jobs go for it.

By Danbury conversion, are you talking the water-cooled polo engined variety or classic air-cooled motoring?

I had one. It was a 1977 (albeit registered as a 76) Swedish tin top 2.0L complete with typically Swedish accessories like a sump-heater to make it easier to start in the mornings and an eberspacher slung underneath for heating. But then we had kids and the lack of seatbelts and space made it a tad impracticable so I sold her on before she turned into an orange stain on the drive, I'd rather someone else used it rather than it sit on the drive.

Mine was a blank canvas so I fitted a 3/4 rock'n'roll and built an interior. Think I fitted an 85Ah leisure battery with split charge and never managed to run it flat with stereo etc all running from it. Only ever put gas burners in it for cooking, you don't really need an oven and camping isn't really an activity where you end up needing one. In fact I made it so they were removable so I didn't have to go back to the van to make a cuppa when at the beach.
Had a fiamma bike rack on the boot lid, took two bikes easily and being up there meant no lighting or number plate issues.
I also lowered it a little, all that air underneath it played havoc with motorway handling so losing a couple of inches gave me a stable van, a comfortable ride and I still didn't need to worry about speed bumps.

One thing is that they are fairly small, if you're staying on one place for a bit I'd definitely recommend a drive away awning, they give good shelter on those dodgy days and give you a lot more space even if it is just somewhere to store all your stuff when you go out for the day. In fact I still use mine as a family tent!

The other thing is they rust. A lot. No matter what you do it'll rust, so be prepared for some bills, mine went in to tidy up a door sill and came back after having most of the side replaced at a not inconsiderable sum (££££'s). Then there was the time it went in for an oil leak and came out with a new engine, still can't believe it was still running though as the end float was huge, one of the pistons was shot, as was an injector - yes it had original K-Jet injection (cheaper than welding though!). I went like-for-like but if I did that again a Subaru lump would've been similarly priced, more powerful and more reliable.

If you get one, get to know your local club, they'll be a ton of help especially with garages and mechanics. I still see the guys from mine 🙂

All said and done it was awesome and I had some amazing adventures in it, 7 years on I still kinda miss it and it definitely isn't forgotten, although the last conversation it came up in involved that massive welding bill. Would I buy another? Now that's a toughie, nowadays I think I'd rather a modern van and a Squareback or Beetle to play with, but that could just be that I've scratched that T2 itch.

@littlerob For one night camps we don't bother with an awning. When the children were little they slept in the pull out bunks. Space was very restricted but we managed ok. When the RnR bed is set up there is quite a lot of space under it so stuff gets put under there and everything else gets piled on to the driver and passenger seats at night and moved in to the boot during the day once the bed has been folded back in to sitting mode. Now we just take a pop up tent if one of the children bestows the honour of their company on us. We also have a small sunshade that attaches to the guttering and provides a bit of shelter from the sun and rain. A tarp and 4 poles are very handy for creating a shelter as well.
As I mentioned above we use plastic storage boxes for food, cutlery & crockery and clothing. My van is stock height and they fit under the van if we want interior space.

For longer stays and holidays we have a Khyam Motordome Sleeper. It's huge but very quick and easy to set up. Once we are pitched up all our luggage, food and whatever else SWMBO decides is 'essential' gets shifted in to the awning, leaving the van nice and empty. The awning has 2 sleeping compartments so the children have one each.

Hook up is nice to have but not essential. If we want mains power I just run an extension cable with a 4-way gang on it under the van. It gets used mainly for lights, a laptop and a heater if the weather is a bit chilly.

The fridge in my van is 2-way: gas and 12Vdc. I tend to put it gas to cool down for a day before we go away, switch over to 12V for travelling and then back to gas once we are set up. Never run a fridge off 12Vdc when camping: it will flatten the battery in no time.(At least my 44 year old one will. Newer models may be more efficient.)

Bays are small and there is an art to camping in them. You have to be organised and decide where the best place is for everything, both during the day and at night. If it's just 2 of you though it's no problem.

I have a tow bar on the van and use a ball-mounted carrier for the bikes. You can get carriers that hook on to the tailgate but they are renowned for damaging the seal, leading to water ingress whenever it rains so best avoided if possible.

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I think I'd be happy with a different van, but there's family pressure to get something cute, which nothing else really satisfies.

I'm assuming that it's be the 1.4 petrol 80bhp water-cooled version.

I see several comments about the new ones and rust, but are they worse than the old ones? I'd assumed that an re-vamped old one would still have problems.

I get that they are small, we measure them as smaller than our car (XC90), but that is part of the attraction. I really don't want a massive thing, and the kids wouldn't want to drive one of those either.

Rob

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I've got a 1974 Aussie Kombi conversion with a 1641cc mildly tuned engine running twin Weber DLRAs. Interior was redone when we got it with a full-width bed, 2 ring hob / sink unit and electric fridge. We've got a leisure battery installed with 240V hook-up - it'll run the fridge and lights for about 8 hours - will probably look to get a 100W solar panel fitted to the roof and a heater now that we've moved to Scotland.

At first my wife insisted that we have a chemical toilet - so I made a special box for it etc. Didn't get used on a our first long trip of 4 weeks and hasn't been used. Box is good for extra storage though.

I have a Fiamma roll-out awning which with the 2 sides and front is very quick to erect. Also got a Vango inflatable awning, but only tend to use that for multi-day stays as it's a pain to put away and dry out afterwards.

The Aussie pop-up roof has a series of concertina boards, so you can put them half-way across and put all the day-to-day stuff, luggage etc into the roof space overnight. I also have a full-width pull-down screen, mini projector and DVD player that plugs into stereo for the full-on cinema effect when stuck somewhere in the rain. Pull-out the bed, lie down and enjoy the show.

As said, the later Danburys use Brazilian bays that use thinner metal and I've seen ones rust through in 5 years. There's lots of good T2s for sale - £20k should get you one that's had bare metal respray, all the welding done and maybe a bit of an interior tidy-up.

I strongly suggest you hire and drive one first as regardless of what anyone says, you're driving a vehicle designed nearly 50 years ago. Mine will cruise at 65mph, 70mph+ if you push it but wind noise is excessive - much nicer to cruise along at 50mph and enjoy the view out the panoramic windows. Mine's been very reliable apart from the time the VW 'specialist' insisted he rebuilt my carbs and didn't screw the main jets back in properly. Annoyingly it's in storage at the moment and won't expect we'll get it up here until next year.

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Thats our sun awning and drive away set up, this was just before we got flooded on a beach in the Netherlands and not through a high tide just a teency weency 6 hour thunderstorm. What joy.

Sorry if I'm repeating:

1/ replace fuel lines to filter and carb with braided reinforced or better still Goodrich. Most fires are fuel leaks spraying the dizzy or exhausts.

2/ Don't use the heater unless the heat exchangers are in perfect condition, the carbon monoxide will make you drowsy.

3/ don't labour the engine uphill, you'll crack the heads. Keep it spinning which keeps the fan spinning which keeps it cool.

That was the advice given to me when I bought a 76 T2 Devon Moonraker which I ran reliably around Europe for five years including a year living in it. I sold it as a clean good runner for £1200, I reckon you'd pay 20 times that for something as good now.

Other things I fitted were an external battery cutout switch (again to reduce fire risk), a Nikki carb which along with a sesssion on the rollers dramatically improved fuel consumption and drivability.

Worst experience was running along Autobahns with it, it wasn't my fault it was so slow, they built it! People seem to love them but objectively they are aboslute rubbish compared with a 10-year-old Trafic for half the money.

Having owned two T2s, and five T3s, I'd strongly suggest you consider a T3 over a T2. T2s are slow, often rotten, and small inside. You might not mind going slowly but think how long that journey to Wales / Cornwall will take at 55mph instead of 70-ish mph.

T3s are a bit less slow, probably a bit less rotten, and much more roomy 🙂

Used to have a ‘72 Devon Devonette.
Loved it but I was quite into the VW air cooled scene at the time and I’d say that 90% of our trips were to shows, club meets etc.
They are ‘cool’ and loads of parts available for them but you will definitely need them!
It rusted for fun; we ended up with the bottom 1/3 of ours getting replaced, with a full paint job.
Easy to  work on mechanically but you’ll need to think of it like an aircraft, doing regular preventative maintenance, pre journey checks beyond the tyre pressures and fuel, make sure you carry spare bits and bobs.
They are pretty small inside, so we ended up using a drive away awning 99% of the time.
Sedate driving is enforced. Wringing the neck out of our 1600 twin port with dual carb setup, 009 dizzy and a load of tweaking and love from Kingfisher Kustoms we once managed to get an indicated 70mph on a downhill section of the A34 and it was pretty scary.
Fit a short shift kit so that when you stir the porridge with the gear stick towards where 3rd should be, you don’t punch the dashboard.

The crash protection isn’t something I’d like to think about either. That front panel is pretty close to your legs so a frontal impact of any force could be nasty.

Basically as a camper they are actually pretty rubbish, but as a cool little van to pootle about in, go to VW shows, or take Instabangers with the sepia filter, great.

There's a slight sense of "don't do it, it will rust in your tears" about some of the responses! and I guess we'll need to go slowly. I can't see that w'd get much use out of one this year in any case (but I want it *NOW*! obvs)

Are the new ones worse for rust than old ones (bearing in mind that they can by ~45 years old)?

There are some private, relatively high mileage, originals ones for around the £20,000 and then there are ones like https://www.vwkampers.co.uk/product/1975-vw-t2-classic-camper-nut-and-bolt-restored-huge-spec-39995/ which look lovely, but that's a ton of money on an old van.

I don't think the small size is going to me that much of a problem, there will only be 2 of us, and we've (hopefully) done enough camping/sailing that we're used to the lifestyle.

Keep em' coming. Especially pics.

Rob

High miles ain't an issue I'd rather refurb running gear than weld one up.

Australian imports can be a good shout

Have a chat to Johnson autoworks. https://www.johnsonautoworks.com/

They did the recent renovation on my T25. They normally have some bay vans on sale. The level of detail and quality of their work is brilliant.

If I was in the market I would definitely go for an old will renovated T2 rather than a new Brazilian one. Considering some of the stuff I've seen in their workshop.

all of them rust

buying a resto one is a gamble as there are many dodgy restos (there are also good ones but generally they are eyewateringly expensive)

if you have the cash get one and pay for a resto

if you dont have the cash buy one and made do and learn to weld/fix stuff because, wile you can take it tio a garage its expensive to do this all the time.

it doesnt need to be showroom perfect to be fun or work.

it wont be a safe vehicle to be in - ever.

Possibly looking at one that's a slightly odd configuration: Not a pop-top, and has 2 sliding doors (i.e. both sides open). Are either of these things a good idea, or terrible?

It *does* have a full-length roof-rack, which might be handy.

Rob

Don't know what your time scale is for purchase @littlerob but we hired a van first after a year of visiting shows, for sale vans and VW events then took another 2 before finding the van I have now. We went through the whole 'lets get a T5, hell look at the price!' 'Maybe a T2, my god how much' 'A T4 then, actually no' 'hello whats this T25 thing?'

Takes a while to find the right one and always worth hitting the road to look at vans for sale, talking to owners to find out pitfalls, good points, bad points and the joys to help you make the right choice.

Agree with this

it doesnt need to be showroom perfect to be fun or work.

I've got a 73 westy continental.
They all rust the imports even more the metal is thinner.all old UK rhd ones will have welding done or need doing during your ownership. If you go for shiny and new paint do your homework on the work.
Engine size is mute tbh even my brand new 1776 is built for torque not speed 60mph is plenty in a bus. Type 4 engine buses are a bit more usable but the parts are expensive heads,cam ect
My type1 engine was built with new parts dynamic balanced ect twin carbs a proper exhaust and was eye watering expensive. But it's a keeper and if I sell the bus the engine will go in my bug.

Earlybay.com
Latebay.com
Are the best place to go shopping the sites are ran by vw petrol heads so any dross or overpriced bays get pulled apart by the community.
Don't be put off by T25 vans the joker conversion is a good option
Working on them is ok some parts are rubbish quality but most maintenance is doable at home.
Be warned they are not a low maintenance vehicle they are world's apart from the cars we drive today you will need spanners, well 10mm and 13mm lol.

You want pics? You sure?

The clothing dates this one, a day out X-C skiing.

Edit: It's still taxed so still running after all these years.

It *does* have a full-length roof-rack, which might be handy.

Easily added after. Look at the base van not the accessories bolted too it.

Possibly looking at one that’s a slightly odd configuration: Not a pop-top, and has 2 sliding doors (i.e. both sides open). Are either of these things a good idea, or terrible?

Sounds like a double-slider panel van or microbus conversion. If you plan on camping consider where you could fit a sink/cooker/fridge. Also, a pop-top roof makes it a lot easier to move around - by the time you'd done both you could probably have got a proper camper conversion.

@dovebiker that is one of the issues. The only place to put anything is behind the front seats, so the local one that we might look at doesn't have a sink. Just a unit with cooker.

@trail_rat it wasn't so much that this particular one has a roof-rack. More: pop-tops, pros and cons:
Pro - the ability to carry a windsurfer or kayak might be handy.
Cons - Lack of space/headroom, but we don't need the extra beds.

@dovebiker has answered some of these, and perhaps a 'proper' T2 camper would be better, TBF they are selling it more as a 'day camper' and we were thinking that there would be budget to tweak it slightly (subject to there not being a "wall" against which to put anything.

Rob

Don't let your heart rule your head! Listen to Duncan and Educator.

I've welded loads of these in the past, but today I'd refuse*. You are sat behind a thin sheet of steel, if somebody rear ends you and pushes you into the back of an HGV you'll never walk again! The air cooled originals are environmentally unacceptable - they all leak oil and most burn oil. Utter junk.

Having said that they are iconic and I'd have one to look at on the drive, but I'd never drive it.

*Also applies to Citroen 2CVs

A sink isn't a necessity. Ours is just used as storage space for head torches, batteries, the first aid kit and a pack of UNO cards. I'd remove it if it wasn't part of the storage unit above the fridge.
A plastic bowl is all you need for the washing up.

A sink isn’t a necessity. Ours is just used as storage space for head torches, batteries, the first aid kit and a pack of UNO cards. I’d remove it if it wasn’t part of the storage unit above the fridge.
A plastic bowl is all you need for the washing up.

Just chuck a mattress in the back of a van......

Plumbed in sink is a godsend for making life simpler ,....but then you don't buy a T2 for a comfy simple life....it really is for the image.

Mine is a 77 type 2. 2.0litre type 4 on 40idfs. Circa 85-90 bhp. Not fast but will climb hills.
Converted microbus. Full width rock and roll bed. Propex, Tiny wink and cooker. Bunk over the front seats.

No fridge, we use a cool box, generally use the jetboil for drinks.

Drive away awning is great for more than one night.

@marko I get that, and for a while your comment made me thing "Oh yeah", but then I also ride a motorbike, so all of these risks have to be put into some sort of context.

I gather they are fairly gutless. Has anyone ever been anywhere where they really struggled? We'd like (I'd like!) to be able to head off to the mountains.

Rob

I've driven all around Cornwall, Devon and Scotland in mine - air-cooled engines don't pull a lot of torque so you need to keep the revs up. I did have to drop it into first gear on the Bealach na Ba on the hairpins as I had a bicycle in front and traffic coming downhill.

Buy a T6 or any model of builders' van if you're expecting a great driving experience, but that's not the reason why people drive them.

T3. 😑

No such thing as a T25. 😑

I've had four T3's, I loved the whole old VW camper experience, so much fun, good luck with whatever you buy. 😎

Buy a T6 or any model of builders’ van if you’re expecting a great driving experience, but that’s not the reason why people drive them.

You say that like your beloved T2's were never used as builders vans......

But then time does cast rose tinted specs.

Owned a '71 Devon conversion bay for 10 years, but spent the first year welding to replace pretty much the whole of the bottom 18 inches.

Sold in in ~2001 when I could see the same bits going rusty again. I see that it was still MOT'd until 2 years ago.

I gather they are fairly gutless

I strongly recommend that you drive one before committing - they don't compare any sort of modern car. If it's one of the air-cooled originals, they are massively heavy for the power available so don't accelerate noticeably, more gradually gain momentum... You learn a lot about momentum driving one... Overtaking anything faster or longer than a bicycle is a thing of the past.They are quite low geared, so will get up pretty much anything you point them at, just very, very slowly and noisily. You might see 60mph flat-out, but it will feel a lot faster. 50 - 55mph is about it on the flat, and you will have HGVs up your backside on the motorway.

ETA: They also DRINK petrol - maybe 23mpg on a good day - 18mpg if you're thrashing it.

Type 4 motors give a bit more. I reckon mines about 25mpg cruising at 55ish. It’s been past 80 and on towards 90. But that needs an empty motorway and the middle lane. Directionally stable they are not. Basically it’s a 50year old commercial vehicle it needs to be driven, but it’s a lot of fun.

Bit of a thread resurrection.

We've moved on a bit, and are just back from 2 nights in a rented (M-reg) Westphalia converted T2. We had a brilliant time, and also took the chance to look at:

a) A local VW repair shop (Rusty Campers in Kent)
b) A modern Transporter conversion (South Coast Campervans)

The rented van was pretty stock, so drum brakes, 'manual' steering (i.e. Not power), and pretty gutless. Has anyone ever driven an old van to the alps, and how did it handle the hills (both up and down)?

Rob

I think my T25 (or T3 to keep Picton happy) has about 90bhp on a 1.6td engine, it flows quite well on roads and can tackle a decent hill as long as it gets a running start, I hate getting stuck at the bottom of a hill and pulling up it can be a bit painful and pretty slow. It is 5 speed and power steering.
The T2 we hired years ago was 1.4 petrol I think and pretty much the same as my van, pulled along nicely but didnt fly up any hills without plenty effort and gearbox work.

You have to work these vans gently and remind yourself they are old and nowt like getting in a modern car.

An M-reg should have had discs up front which were fitted from 73 on. There's no power steering on any of them, and not much need as there's very little weight on the front wheels and a huge steering wheel. The later ones didn't have reductor gears on the rear axles and were more efficient - there's a reason I bought a P-reg, the later the better IMO, they did improve over the years.

I used mine in the Alps. It ran a bit rich on the high passes but that was no doubt a good thing as petrol is the main coolant for the valves and seats. It clatterd its way up and then went down almost as slowly using engine braking. With a set of snow chains traction was very good.

@littlerob - I'm guessing the van you rented was a 1.6.
My 76 Devon is 2.0l and has plenty of power for hills. It's not particularly fast but it keeps going. I have driven it over the Picos De Europa mountains in Northern Spain without any problems.
One thing you have to be careful about with air-cooled busses is long downhills. Because the engine is air cooled and relies to a high degreee on the engine revs to turn the cooling fan low rev driving down hills for a long time can lead to overheating.

@dove1 yes it was a 1.6 It cruised along motorways at 55-60 relatively easily, but even the slightest hill caused it to lose speed. I can't imagine what the last few miles into a ski-resort would be like, or do they just soldier on?

I can't believe that the brakes were disks on the front as they were shockingly poor. Again, the idea of a twisty descent seems unimaginable. That said, I gather that servo-assisted front discs is a standard upgrade, so that would be a possibility.

No such thing as a T25. 😑

I had an '80 air-cooled 2.0 and was sure they were T25s? Learn something every day.

Mine left Wolfsburg as a panel van and was home-converted into a pop-top camper long before I bought it. So when I moved to Spain I couldn't import it without getting an engineer to homlogate the conversion (€€€) as the official papers said 3-window van. Left it parked up in an industrial estate while I figured out what to do with it and at some point it was towed to the pound and by the time I realised, it'd been crushed along with all my tools and a fair bit of camping gear!

At the time I was almost relieved, but whenever I need a 1/2" socket set or Fluke or torque wrench, whatever, I always think "ooh I've got one somewhere" before remembering what happened to it!

I'd have it back, great fun. Biggest problem was top speed of about 85kmh fully laden (really, not mph), crucially 5kmh slower than a French lorry - as they can't usually overtake on 2 lane motorways they sit right on your bumper and bully you into leaving and rejoining at the next exit - repeat ad nauseum on the A63 south from Bordeaux...

55mph is about it on the flat, and you will have HGVs up your backside on the motorway

Edit, just seen this above!

There are power steering conversions for T2 but I don't feel you really need it (in comparison to a 1939 Citroen I owned). My 1974 has front discs - no problems on the braking front. Also have a CSP or Berg gear-shifter makes the frequent-stirring of the gear stick a bit easier - wear of the gear selector linkage can also make gear shifts tricky but can be sorted.

I can’t believe that the brakes were disks on the front as they were shockingly poor.

Brakes shouldn't be that bad* - maybe a previous hirer had cooked them?

A '73 should have had discs, but may be non-servo (I think servos came in 72-73 sometime - our '71 had discs from new (non-servo)).

Likewise, can't understand why you'd want power steering? Unless you were trying to grind the wheels around on the spot, rather than rolling a little as you steer?

They will get up any alpine pass you care to point them at, just very, very slowly and noisily! 🙂

(They're actually quite good in snow with decent tyres, too.)

*With the exception of the handbrake - they're really crap. You need good arm muscles for a steep hill start.

Speed wise, there’s a lot you can do to a standard VW engine to get extra power, from big bore barrels and pistons, twin carbs and all manner of tuning stuff. If buying a T2 worth getting the engine and gearbox checked out and if necessary rebuilt and tuned. If the engine has been run with low oil it’s easy to cook.

To be fair like land rovers you have to really want one.

I drove a Cali import T2 microbus and it put them off me for life

Nervous handling at middling speed , crap brakes , lacking power for modern roads (this was 2008ish) lack of connection feeling between the steering wheel and road wheels. And even as a Cali import the owner was still chasing rust.

Can't imagine they got any better in 12 years