I’ll be the first to admit that interesting color schemes can make me consider absolute basketcase projects. In the case of this 1974 VW Westfalia, which is described as having been sitting in the woods until recently, the surprisingly intact interior with its period-awesome orange tartan cloth interior makes me wish this one was savable. Sadly, it’s quite rusty and may be a parts Bus at this point. Find it here on craigslist for $2,500.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader leiniedude for the find. Check out that cabin – can’t you just imagine hopping in here after a winter stroll, grabbing a book and a cup of something warm? Now, I’m sure there’s plenty of bad smells and trash to eradicate first, but you get the point. For a Bus that’s as rusty as it is on the outside, the cabin appears to have held up nicely.
You have to admit, there are some camper vans with bodies that have smaller holes than this one and have actually been somewhat maintained with far nastier interiors than this one. Is there a chance this was a lightly-used Westfalia that was sent to an early retirement while still in good order? The interior seems to say so, even if the lower sills all around the body are completely rotten.
The seller provides very little information, other than the Bus has been sitting for 20 years and there’s no title or keys. The likelihood of this Westfalia roaming the open roads as its owners look for places to sleep in parks and campsites is seemingly low, as it’s not an early split window Bus; however, one can hope that sweet interior finds a way to live on.
If I were going to restore this I’d start by looking for another van in better shape around the same year that wasn’t necessarily a west valia equipt unit. Then I’d go about the task of making two into one. I’d also look at converting it over to a flat 6 turbo Subaru engine. I’ve always thought that these little mini campers were rather cool and it would be a cheep way to road trip, which is what they were made for.
That’s a good plan..I roamed around in a 1969 VW camper in the late 70’s…
This one must have been grabbed already..
Yup. I once stripped a wrecked 66 Westphalia and installed it lock stock and barrel into my cherry ’67 21 window bus. I took the wrecked bus apart in my garage. The right top front had been crushed and it was not salvageable then. Here’s a pix of the stripped Westphalia on the way to the boneyard. As an aside I sold my 21 window rig for 6K in the mid eighties….how did I know that thirty years later it would be worth an easy 100 grand! Just nuts.
Bought a 70 camper together with some friends when in high school. Not a Westfalia, but Dormobile with RHD. The Westfalia conversion is a lot more usable and sensible variant.
The second generation Transporter may not be as visually attractive as the splitty – but still has tons of charm and is the kind of vehicle that will put a smile on your face. Much worse splitties are being restored nowadays; sheet metal is available for this generation too so it COULD be salvaged. Some day will come when people will regret crushing examples like this one.
Cannot help but to agree I absolutely love the interior too…!
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