Lightning apparently does strike twice, as yet another highly original Volkswagen Bus Westfalia / Campmobile conversion has popped up for sale. We just featured a time-capsule example with a mere 20K miles on the clock, and while this one doesn’t have the shockingly low mileage, it does wear original paint and feature some additional options that are coveted by Type 2 fanatics. Find it here on eBay with bids approaching $30K and the reserve unmet.
The seller notes how this particular Bus is outfitted with the SO42 and B42 options, which includes the pop-top roof and other camping-related equipment, along with the desirable pop-out Safari windows, roof rack, and tent. Also worth mentioning is how many of these camper conversions were painted all white (including the example we recently featured); as the seller points out, this one wears Velvet Green on the lower panels and Pearl White along the top. Sure, it’s faded, but it’s also original.
Inside, the living accommodations remain quite tidy, with the original Campmobile equipment surviving incredibly well. These features include a robust assortment of fixtures and sleeping spaces to make living on the open road a possibility, including the aforementioned pop-top roof, camper seats, rear “Z” bed, sink ice box, cabinets, spice rack, child cot, walk-thru jumpseat, and more. All of the original surfaces look clean and free from water stains and other damage, and the side curtains are a nice touch.
The Bus’ powerplant has been upgraded to dual carbs that the seller notes help it tolerate modern traffic, with enough get up and go to get out of its own way. The 1967 models were also the only year with the factory 12-volt electrical system, so the Campmobile has that going for it as well. Though it is nearly rust-free, the seller does note some rust peeking through in the lower rockers towards the rear of the Bus; however, he contends it is not worth fixing right now at the expense of having to repaint the original sheetmetal, a point that I agree with. Where do you think bidding will end up?
And here we go,,,so what, every VW bus that comes down the pike is 5 figures now? Have you any idea what kind of “campmobile” you could get for $30g’s today? A repo’d Prevost comes to mind. Anyway, these were fun little units, and if you think this has 20g’s “on the clock” ( one of my minor pet-peeves, clocks don’t have odometers) there’s some ( swamp)land in Florida you may be interested in too. I grew up with these things, and I’ll maintain my position,,,they’re nuts.
Sort of agree with you but how do you explain all the old Porsche’s bringing 6 figures?? That I don’t understand.These VW’s are meant for weekend trips and to relive our youth.Just my thoughts.
I’ll retract my swampland statement, but nothing else. While I’m not a fan of Porsches, they are fantastic sports cars, this is a glorified toaster. I don’t mean to be rude, but for me, $30g’s buys a lot more youthful memories than a VW campmobile, like a house.
Haha. Repo’d Prevost or any old high end RV you’ll probably spend $30,000 to drive it 10,000 miles.
Have you ever known anybody that owed one and asked about maintenance?
I have a friend with a Fleetwood. It is glorious. The batteries are getting weak.It is near $4000 to replace them. The central screen/ entertainment center by the driver went out. The cameras all use this. You can barely drive it without it. You cannot buy one new. He got it fixed for about $1000.The driver’s seat module got rain water in it. We had about 2 hour job taking wood parts apart just to remove it. Luckily he found a new board. We installed it to shed water next time.
Luckily this one has a Cummins engine. Probably outlast everything else. His previous RV had a Cat and he spent over $50k on that POS in about 5 years.
And you cannot see the beauty of a stone axe technology VW Camper?
A few others can.
Personally, I think the next generation newer models give better value than the splittie, but the splittie is better in extreme off road conditions because it has so much weight on the rear. I like 70-79 models the best. At $4000-$15000, one can get a decent ride.
Yes, Near EVERY one is worth more than $9999. Every one that is functional and doesn’t look half bad.
Howard, the author was referring to one recently written about having 20k “on the clock”, not this one lol.
Maybe it is because I am from the following generation (born in 1970), but I never got the appeal of these. If I wanted an air cooled Volkswagon, I would be all about a Karmann Ghia or a Thing, maybe a split or oval window bug, even a drop side pickup or a cargo van, but the campers never did it for me. I can’t tell you why. I guess the thought of sleeping in that just doesn’t trip my trigger & I have a hard time dealing with buying a vehicle & not using it for it’s designed purpose.
I think I will pass.
Maybe we should also compare the performance, mpg, and daily driver quality of this to the amazing 2018 Elantra Value edition! Someone more knowledgeable in these 2018 treasures should chime in with the specs as we are all waiting!
If I knew where you lived, I would make some measurements & see if you fit in the trunk of it. Drop it!
Actually, I am pretty sure you live in your grandmother’s basement. Just grow the f@$k up!
The price doesn’t change the fact that you will be passed by angry semis going up virtually any hill and will need a brick to put on the gas pedal as “cruise” control on long trips because your foot gets so tired of mashing the gas pedal to the floor. No shower, no potty, owned them, no nostalgia for me.
@JayE. You are so right. I had a ’62 Kombi with the pop out windshields that was in third gear going up such a long hill that when I eventually reached the crown and started going downhill, I forgot to change into 4th gear. A little later I heard a funny noise, and looking in the rear view mirror thinking that I was about to be passed by a hot rod or similar, I noticed a lot of smoke so brought the Kombi to a stop, only to discover that the engine was now toast with a pool of oil underneath it! After paying for a tow vehicle the scrapyard gave me the equivalent of $ 2 for it ! But for all that I loved it and was very sorry to have to leave it behind.
And here we go again – Sad-Howard is bashing the VW buses again – always the first to write a comment when a VW pops up an BF – I really wonder if he’s waiting the whole day in front of the monitor – looks like he’s got nothing else to do in his life – what a sad life it must be he’s living –
Sorry folks – just had to say that once – it’s just so annoying –
And here WE go again. At least I said SOMETHING about the bus. Not sure why I should have to defend myself here. I’m upset these vehicles bring this much money with all the problems in the world today. It’s as if the people with the money say, “I’m going to pay so much money for this, you’ll all be left behind”. Sure, they are fun little vehicles, if you read my post, but at $30g’s, it limits the families that would actually have fun with this, instead of collecting dust in a garage. You going to drive your $30,000 dollar investment on the roads, at 40 mph wound out in 3rd gear with that dually Ram tailgating? It’s silly, and for the record, I’m retired and yes, I do enjoy this site, but I’ve led a life I highly doubt you could equal, that I’m taking a well deserved rest from. Thank you, BF’s for a great site, and I’m glad to be a member.
Dear Howard
If your enjoyment is to upset yourself about what other people like, and telling everybody else what is right and what’s not, than I don’t wanna equal your life.
And don’t defend yourself – but maybe, just once – try to reflect yourself, and maybe you’ll find out that many of these problems there are in this world are created by people thinking they have to tell others what is right and what not.
BTW, I do enjoy this site too (apart from destructive comments), and I really like this VW Bus, and I allways liked them, and drove them my whole life (first the splitwindows, than the 68 model and their larger brother, the VW LT, which you don’t have in the states, I guess) – and, for example don’t like Ford Mustangs, but still never had to bash them, cause I’m glad other people like them so our world stays divers and interesting.
Enjoy your day and hopefully – let others enjoy it too –
Well, thanks, jeff, that makes a lot more sense than your 1st post. Trouble is, you got 27 “Howard Haters” all angried up, again. I’ve been through this before here, and the good far outweighs the bad, but the day, our tasteful opinions aren’t allowed here, is the day I pull the plug, again. And I apologize if I offended you, no, I don’t want to belittle what some hold dear, it’s not why I’m here, it’s the variety of the vehicles, many of which I had. I’m just voicing my opinion, it’s the selfish greed that has replaced our hobby, that is bound to get some folks, like me, upset. This stuff, however ? Upset? Good heavens no, this is the beginning of the end, and you people are cutting your own throats and this silliness can’t last much longer.
And I don’t mean to be smug, but unless you were a trucker in the ’70’s and 80’s, only an astronaut could have had more experiences than us, 10 dash 4.
Howard, you do, have, and will always get more thumbs up than any poster on this site. The reason is clear to most folks. Your style is informative and interesting and is the go-to for down to earth opinion. opinionated at times? Yes, but not in a bad way. Nuff said……..jeff, your opinion is also valuable and this forum is liberal with commentary and personal opinion. Howard never has, and would ever bash another poster on a personal basis. There are many comments on this site I dislike and disagree with. I just move on. Get with the spirit of this forum, say what you will but please no more personal bashing. Howard is a valued friend of mine and I take offense. I’m not defending you Howard, I’m defending free forums for all of us to learn and enjoy.
This comment against Howard is the first time I missed the thumbs down button. If you want to be the first to post, try getting up a bit earlier. Plus, why would you post something personally against him? He never does that, just talks about cars and his experiences with them. And since many of the cars are the same week after week, why should the comments change? Not everyone has seen his old comments and they are just as appropriate the second or third time as they were the first. Get up early, post on BF and then enjoy the rest of your day. You wont even notice he posted after you then.
Dear Howard
I’m not a “Howard Hater”, and I hope the other 30 “thumb uppers” are also not.
I do enjoy your comments as long as they are informative and not bashing for example the VW’s/Porsche’s.
It seems that we are just having different views on what’s valuable and sensible in life.
For me a VW Bus is not about youthful memories, and definitely is not a “glorified toaster” while for example a Muscle Car is a “much better car”, cause after all the VW Bus provides about four times as much space to haule goods and people than any muscle car, while consuming maybe half as much gasoline and being built out of probably half the amount of material/resources, which means, the VW Bus is far more economical and ecological compaired to any muscle car which are nothing else but decadent – so why should they be worth more?
(That doesn’t mean I don’t like muscle cars, I do like some of them for their style, but still, they are decadent automobiles – so why glorify them as “good cars”?)
And for the prices of any of the old cars we like, they all where cheap a few decades ago, cause nobody wanted them ( I also bought two Splitwindows for $1000 in the early nineties, of which I brought one (rustfree) to the scrapyard because I didn’t needed it), but now there is a hype about them and everybody wants them and everyone who has got one trys to get the most out of it.
I don’t find that funny too, cause I also can not afford it, but that exactly is the nature of capitalism (while capitalism isn’t natural at all, but that’s another story).
And dear “On and On” and “Jay E”
I do get up early (the time listed with my comments on the BF site do not represent the actual time in the timezone where I life, so maybe you are getting this wrong) cause I’m not retired (and probably never will be) and have to work the whole day.
When I come home from work in the evening I take a few precious minutes to enjoy and share the old car hobby on BF.
And to the statement that “Howard never has, and would ever bash another poster on a personal basis”, maybe you should read he’s comments properly:
… I’m convinced Steve is a flipper …
… I’ve led a life I highly doubt you could equal …
… you people are cutting your own throats …
and so on ..
My comments are not “against” Howard, I’m not “against” him and I’m not a “Howard Hater”.
I just wish he would stop to “belittle what some hold dear”, and stay to the facts, so all the VW likers can enjoy the site too.
Enough said – no offend – no worries
Enjoy the hobby
jeff
What’s really odd is there is not one picture of the bus with the pop up top open. Not even a picture of it from the inside. I looked at over 100 pictures….Just sayin.
I had two vw,s my first and my last
We all know that these VW campers are highly overrated vehicles that are a pain in the ass to get around on the highway. But in the case of this one if it wasn’t so over priced there are things that could be done to liven it up. Don’t get me wrong I’d never want to own this thing but if I did the first thing I’d do is transplant a six cylinder corvair engine in there. Or better yet a turbo Subaru engine. But with that your then going to need better brakes and steering. As for the paint I’ve always been of the opinion that just like your tires or steering box or brakes paint wears out and it is there to protect the metal from rust. This van has some rust starting to take hold. Nows the time to do something before it’s a rust bucket. Paint it in original colours after a proper rust repair and metal prep. The one thing to remember while driving one of these buses is there is NO PROTECTION up in front of you. So you have to be aware that your life is at risk every time you drive it
There is at least one shop that can put a Type 4 engine in a bus, and here in SoCal there is a company that builds a 3 liter engine (air cooled VW). But the prices for these mills are in the five figures! My best camping was in a class C motor home not my 69 VW camper. To cope with freeways you would need at least a 200 hp engine, 2.5 liters displacement, and a head temperature gauge!
The paint on this isn’t “faded,” it’s “worn away to the primer.” Seriously, it’s over 50% gone, so what are you saving by not fixing the rust? Original is great but a pile of “original” rust flakes is worth about zero. Fix it now before it grows and give this a medium-quality paint job. Detail the snot out of the rest and call it good.
The Grand National of hipsters.
Much better example than the one last week-
I would be much more willing to DRIVE this one.
Price? absolutely nuts in my opinion too……
cool camper but not $30K+ cool.
Where can I find a coup;e of Safari windows?
There is a homeless older man that lives and drives in one of these in my city, panel side much like this was before the camper conversion. every time I see him I figure he could sell it and buy a house with how outrageous these prices are. if you pay 30k for this, well enjoy, i guess.
People pay premium money for 21, 23, 15 window versions. Single cabs, double cabs, and campers. This was a pretty decent ORIGINAL paint and body 1967 Westy.
Did anyone notice the motor was a bit of a hot rodded dual port with 2 single barrel Kadron (Brazil Solex) carbs? This could be good for 55-60hp, depending on camshaft, valve size and exhaust configuration. BUT absolutely NO heater blower hoses from the fan housing. An okay desert car, but what happens when you drive it up the mountains and need heat/defrost? The seller might be having to give the buyer his money back because of implied warranty.
BTW, $30k won’t buy much in rich boy toys. And the prices are headed back down on these.
WRT the guy living in a splitty panel? That might be its highest and best use.I feel like it would take a pretty good splittie panel to bring more than $10k in a real sale.
And sure, an old Dodge or Winnebago would be a damned lot nicer than a VW splittie. And be even cheaper.
Have you priced TINY HOMES these days? And you cannot easily move your tiny home to a different locale very easily.
Cope with the freeways? For fun or why would you? The freeways are to driving what Ramen noodles are to dining.
To be endured, not any sort of enjoyment.
I have a 1956 VW Single Cab pickup. Bought it apart. It has a redline on the speedo at 48mph. I’m putting in a bigger engine than the stock 36hp. Going way up to 40hp. I’m hoping for 55mph.
What mileage do you get?
In my single cab, 40hp? I don’t have it driving yet. I would hope 27-30ish miles per US gallon. I drove a stock 1969 double cab for about a decade would get 18-22mpg with the stock 1600single port, what 48hp?
I’m eventually gonna put on a canvas covered wagon actually called a TILT. It’s a metal frame front and rear. with wood slats between them and a very military tan canvas tent cover. Very nearly waterproof. I’ll try to sew up the cover myself. Might be tempted to make it only cab height. The originals were about a foot higher. Great for hauling one’s camel around, I guess. The cab height tilt will probably save 5mph top speed and a few mpg.
I find it the height of arrogance that one poster says “do it right” and that means making any vehicle into a modern street rod. A very big part of the old car hobby enjoyment is sort of an historical reenactment. Put yourself into a different time and situation. You’ll not get into very much trouble with any vehicle that will maintain 45mph, but at that speed, blue highways and the checkered ones on the maps will be a lot more fun anyway. If you get a few people behind you, pull onto the shoulder and let them by. I don’t even slow down!
I don’t need to drive a VW bus 80mph to enjoy it. (BTW, I have a twin turbo Audi and a 3 liter 911 that will go fast RIGHT NOW if that’s what I need.)
But right now, I’m with Sammy Hagar: “I can’t drive 55” (in my 40hp VW bus.)
I own a 64 VW bus in which I get great enjoyment. It is heavily modified with rack & pinion steering, disc brakes, regeared transmission, & 1915 hopped up motor.
It runs with traffic flow just fine. I am fully aware of the front end collision danger, but since I have driven for decades without an accident or a ticket, I don’t even think about it. It gets great attention where ever I go & I get sick of people bashing the asking price when a restored early mustang goes for just as much.
I’ll be polite, since everybody jumps me for saying my opinion, but doug, A) this particular bus is not highly modified like yours, they can be made roadworthy, and at $30g’s, what’s another $10g’s to make it right and B) it’s not a classic Mustang and I drove lots of cabovers and never hit anything either.
An opinion is just that, an opinion, and your opinion is as acceptable as anybody else’s Howard. Although I don’t always agree with you, and I’m sure you don’t always agree with me, I look forward to reading your comments on BF and other sites as they are always very informative whereby I learn a lot about the American cars, and industry, from days gone by.
The nostalgia for old VWs is rampant where I live (San Clemente CA) and within our city limits you can find one of each model ever sold in the US, but they are not driven on the freeway, just surface streets. I love old VWs but they are IMHO not safe for freeway driving without increasing the power. I have never seen one on the Autobahns in their homeland, that’s for the Mercedes, Beemers and Audis and NEW VWs!
I had a similar bus in 1967. The official German names of the paint were indeed samtgrün and perelweis (velvet green and perl white).
After 10 year and 2 engines, the car was completely rusted away. Worst car ever!
Let’s not compare a Used RV with a Volkswagen camper.I purchased a used RV two years ago for $40,000 and just sold it after using it six times with only 40,000 miles on it for $22,000. I think a Volkswagen van is a much better investment and will only increase in value. irrelevant to what you pay for a old Volkswagen Van it’s a lot more fun to reminisce and drive one of those Around just my opinion I think I would’ve had a lot more money selling the Volkswagen van today. It’s the classic car world and many people buy these to remember the old days as well as investments. I say buy what you like and pay what you want and when your done with it hopefully you make some money on it. What a great way to do things.
Pretty good shape but the price of these are way out there!!!