After the Beetle (or Type 1) was developed in the 1930s, the next cool product to emerge from Volkswagen was the Kombi (or Type 2). It was also referred to as Transporter, Microbus, Bus, and a host of other names. From 1950 forward, you would see one of them almost anywhere you went, including the single cab “pickup” like the seller’s vehicle. This one was parked in 1970 and quite literally had the roof fall in around it. Located in Natrona, Pennsylvania, this rescued ride is available here on craigslist for $16,000 OBO.
Like its predecessor, the 1950 VW Type 2 had a rear-mounted, air-cooled 4-cylinder engine. It would become a trendsetter in the “forward control” movement, with the air-cooled Chevy Corvair Corvan coming close to emulating it. The Ford Econoline and Dodge A100 would follow suit, but with water-cooled engines that were perched more or less between the driver and front passenger. In the U.S. most of these machines would be seen as vans, but VW also built a utility vehicle like the one we see here.
As the story goes, this 1963 was already well-used when it was parked in a barn and would stay there for the next 50+ years. At some point, the roof or ceiling collapsed and tried to bury the Kombi, but some old furniture that had been left in the bed is said to have saved it from destruction. The odometer reading was only 51,000 miles when it was stored away.
We’re told the pickup is in original condition, which suggests the green paint and everything not consumable date back to 1963. The motor turns by hand, so perhaps reviving the Type 2 mechanically won’t be a herculean effort. The story of its captivity is as interesting as the vehicle itself. Would you restore it from stem to stern or just try fixing what’s minimally needed? At least someone else has already dug it out.
This will be brought back to life.Great find.
Cool, nice find
As the proud owner of a 66 single cab I am a big fan.The engine,IMHO, is the least of the problems as you can drop in a nice upgraded motor for not a lot of $$(I would go with a 1776). The big concern for me is the underneath as you can already see the road thro the floor. I would expect he/she will get the asking price but I’d start with a much more solid one..I did and it has worked out really well for me..
traveling in a fried out kombi, on a hippie trail head full of zombie. I met a strange lady, she made me nervous, she took me in and gave me breakfast.
My son liked those guys…me not so much :)
I’m wonder what the seller paid for this. Given the amount of work it must have taken to retrieve the old gal I’m guessing not much. It is original though.
Be interesting to find out what the seller sells this for as that would definitely set the bottom end of the value spectrum.
Motor is incorrect. Should be a 1500cc, looks to have a solid generator tower so it’s an early 1200cc 36hp motor.
I had a ’62 double cab we used as the shop truck for my repair business back in the 1970’s. That thing was virtually indestructible with the big-bore motor and trans I built for it. It got used daily, all day long for parts pickup, shuttling customers to and from the shop and everything else anyone could think of. VW type 2 vehicles were simply well built. Even as rough as this one is, I’d consider restoring it to some degree.
It certainly would be a head-turner. The younger gen folks probably have never seen one in the flesh, outside of old TV show reruns.