[Closed] VW T25/T3 Camper

Go onto the 8090 website !

I have one - not 4x4 though

I missed out on buying my old work T25 synchro, having waited over 18mths for boss to decide to sell, I bought a car in meantime and he offered me the synchro two weeks later....I had no money...

How much was it going for Matt as prices seem to vary wildly!

unfit - let’s have a look then!! Thanks for the website recommendation

I’ve had 4 T3 Westfalia, they’re awesome.

It is not, has never been and never will be a T25, there’s no such thing.

on a more useful note, Club 80 90 forum has more info on Syncro than you’ll be able to take in, start there.

also pop over to Rocky Mountain Westy for a bit of cheque book dreaming.

This is ours 🙂

My father in law bought it as a project but spent the next five years using it for taking garden waste to the tip and for collecting logs from the woods.

Last year he decided he no longer wanted a vehicle and asked if we could make better use of it.

We spent a couple hundred quid on it and it's been in regular use ever since.

It's used daily in term time for the school run which is marginally cheaper than paying for school transport, we've had a few great weekends away and a couple of longer trips and music festivals. So far so good although I'm currently trying to solve a starting problem.

It's thirsty, the lights are shit, it needs regular oil and water, it's recently needed a new starter motor and I haven't yet worked out if the latest problem is electrical or fuel related. It only needed some welding for it's last MOT.

I'd like to spend some money on getting the bodywork rust free to prevent trouble in the future and it needs new window seals all round. I worry that the engine will fail catastrophically at some point and need replacing

All that aside we absolutely love it and it's changed our lives. We use it every evening through summer and cook all the kids evening meals in it. I'd lusted after a camper for years and wouldn't have gone for something this old and definitely wouldn't have gone VW, but she's got so much character she's like one of the family now.

Look for something with as little rust as possible - seams, sills, wheel arches and jacking points. Ideally any rust problems will have been welded rather than bodged with filler. Ours is water cooled which has a design flaw in the water jacket which means the cylinder bolts corrode making engine repairs an impossibility. Some modern engines will fit though. It will need ongoing maintenance and repairs unless you can afford something that's had a full resto.

Do it... why not? Sometimes a bit stressful but mostly smiles.

http://imgur.com/Hj6nBrJ

How much was it going for Matt as prices seem to vary wildly!

It was 1998, iirc it was £3k with 50k on clock for diesel minibus conversion.

My grandad had one, it was much more liveable than his old B reg T1 (which is probably worth a bloody fortune now...). It did need care and attention.

He had a patch that needed repainting on it and was very clear with the repair shop that it wasn't standard VW T3 cream but a specific Westfalia colour. They painted the repair the wrong colour. His suggestion was, instead of painting it the right colour, that they just repaint the whole of that side that colour! If you see one for sale that looks fine in profile but like a patchwork quilt in aspect then that'll be it!

This is the same man who wore a pair of glasses with only one lens in them, because one eye was fine, rather than get a plain lens in the other side.

I always wanted a camper, but the realities of 3 boys meant we got a Caravelle and tent(s) - works out pretty well, smaller tents can be picked up for bobbins these days, so we have a selection depending on the plans.

Went T4 partially for reliability but mainly as I got it at a really good price (funny auction end time, very near CHristmas, pick up from darkest Devon .. all added up to me paying less that I was prepared to lose compeltely on a functional van with 0 bodywork issues). Family love it , it was mainly to prove value for biking and holidays, but now I'm not allowed to flog it and get a T6 - everyone loves the fun bus! To be honest its better this way - as its battered and scraped and loved, it's a tool to do stuff rather than one of those showroom things you see parked at Woolacombe with a couple of chairs outside. Whilst you generally tdo pay 'scene tax' for a VW, the availability of spares and knowledge do seem to be worth the extra (or no extra in my case).

I have a 2.4D (AAB) - has nice big mirrors so I can admire the queue behind me 😀

Brassneck, we have just gone for a T4 also. Absolutely love it! Joined the Just T4s facebook group and the knowledge and help on there is great. Any issues, there is always someone knowing how to fix etc. I was not mechanically minded when I got her, but now I can do the basics OK, such as service, with oil change and all that jazz.

Our T4 was a bit battered, but opting for the handpainted route. Taken quite a lot of prep work, but so far it is looking great.

Mate had a T25 (it may well be a T3 but no-one calls them that, some even call the variant a Type 3 ...... man I'd love a squareback .......), anyway, back on topic, if memory serves it was a 'Joker'. They loved it and it was very handy in a wet campsite too!

As with everything of that era check for rust and bad repairs, a bad repair can be more costly to fix than rust (as I found out on my T2). An unmolested engine will go for years, the fuel injection's pretty robust if you get one with it - mine was an original factory K-Jet system that was faultless if not a tad agricultural by today's standards. Wheel arches and sills are a favourite for rust, as are rain gutters.

There are a ton of specialists out there who can supply parts if you're of a DIY persuasion and just as many more willing to take your cash and do it for you, most are honest but I'd go on a personal recommendation rather than a pin in the phonebook.

Also, check out the volksworld forums.

Oh and no, a Porsche engine doesn't just bolt straight in. Although saying that a 914 one might as it uses a 2L flat four.

mrwhyte keep an eye on the glow plug relay - have had a spate of crappy ones staying on to long and melting, even after changing the fuse box. Thinking of snipping off pin 50 which seems to control the 'after start' glow ... from what I can see this should make it cut plug power out immediately on start - I now have sufficient spares to try this 😀

Oh - and are you planning to roller it? Have half a mind to do that, the paints so flat now it mays as well be deliberately matt.

Just rollering with a 3" fine foam roller, from screwfix. It has come out really well so far. Flattening back this weekend, with a 2000grit, then second coat. I'll try upload some pictures. Spent £100 on materials and paint, so waaaay cheaper than a 4k respray. I know it wont have the same finish, but ultimately, it looks tons better and for a fraction of the cost. Check out the veedub handpainted page on facebook. Loads of advice and tips there.

@madhouse - Jokers are Westfalia conversions