What it's like to own a 1975 VW Camper van
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Consumer editor Jeremy Korzeniewski gives us a tour of his 1975 VW Camper Van.
Foot to the floor, I glance at the speedometer. It reads 74 miles per hour. Incredulous, I thumb the button on my two-way radio and inquire from the van behind me how fast we're going. "About 75," I hear through the walkie. I nod. Must be pointed downhill.
This is life in the slow lane, and I'm relishing every minute of it. So far this year, I've driven two supercars capable of exceeding 200 miles per hour - the Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder and the McLaren 720S - a Hellcat or two, and I rode a Ducati throughout Monterey Car Week that can do 0-60 in the blink of an eye. But today I'm behind the wheel of my very own 1975 Volkswagen camper van.
The factory rated my van's air-cooled 1.8-liter engine at a little less than 70 horsepower, and that was probably generous. It's a high-top camper, which makes it even more brick-like than the more common pop-top conversions. Even with those cards stacked against it, my camper van mostly keeps up with traffic. As long as the road ahead is completely flat. And there are no significant headwinds. And there's a semi in front to draft. (Just kidding. Sort of.)
The Toyota Sienna carrying two videographers in hot pursuit has dual power sliding doors. My van does not. It also has no air conditioning. No power door locks or power windows. Heck, it doesn't even have power steering. But when we stop to grab a coffee halfway into our journey, each of my coworkers traveling with me on this two-hour road trip say they'd like to take a turn driving my van. Maybe later, I say.
We're caravaning our way to Deception Pass State Park just north of Seattle, Washington. It's a beautiful sunny day, and we're going camping. That's where my van really shines. It has hookups for electricity and running water, a refrigerator stocked with food and drinks, a stove we'll use for eggs and hash in the morning, and a nice, comfy bed thanks to the two-inch memory foam topper I keep under the rear package shelf.
My wife and I use this van as much as we can. Because daily life can really be a drag, right? Late in 2017, we made our first long journey in the camper van that its previous owner appropriately named Blue. We put a thousand miles on Blue making our way across Washington and Oregon, stopping along the way to take in the sights and sounds. And to replace a fuel pump (twice, though that issue has since been sorted - I think).
Blue is no garage queen, and he's got the chips, blemishes, and imperfections to prove it. I still think he's held up better than most of the rest of us. I keep a small bag of tools under one of the seats, an in-depth owner's manual in the glove box, and a smile plastered across my face whenever we head out for a drive. As I say in the video up above, I may be the last one to show up at the campsite, but at least I'll show up in style.
Back in the '70,s I had a 1959 VW Bus that two Vietnam Veterans drove across country ! 1 amazing journey and Ride that we still talk about... Sweet😁👍
Gary Schneider Do you still have the vehicle?
This is awesome I cant believe how authentic this is ...
5 of us (3 adults, 2 kids) lived in one just like this (even blue!) for 3 months in 1975. Best memories ever!
idk why but whenever i see one of these old vw buses, it just brings me pure joy
i really want one when i grow up, hoping the prices wont skyrocket too much :)
My first car (bus) was a 75, in 1982 when I was 17.My dads deal was he would give me $1 for every dollar I earned to by it. Consumer Reports said it was a coffin because of the lack of frontal crash protection and horrid cross wind control. It costs $2995, had 79,000 miles ( a lot for a 75 at the time), new orange and white paint. Fuel injection , which notoriously crapped out, in town usually. Through Manhattan it was reliable, thank G-d. It actually drove nicely, and steering was oddly pinpoint. OH, by the way it was an AUTOMATIC tranny. Which meant my girlfriend could drive it. That wasn't such a good thing, but she never crashed it. She once asked if she could take it on a trip to Maine with her "girlfriend". I wasn't sure if I should have been upset or just turned on!. I chose the latter when she , they, let me join one time. Wholly crap that was insane!. Give me back 1982 again. Now those were the days. Crosswinds would nearly tip the bus over. Not many people talk about just how dangerous it could be in cross winds. It was good in winter, but by the end of winter was nearly rotted out. It caught on fire literally while driving past a VW dealership. They bought it from me in 1985 for $1800. Which was actually pretty good, being that it was charred. I drove off the lot with a 80 Rabbit. It broke down weekly, and I mean weekly, on the dot. I still dream of that bus no matter how unreliable it was. I really miss it.
I have a 79 Bus, with 300,000 miles, (just had the 2nd rebuild) FI, rebuilt 2.0, and drive it daily. Paid 6000 for it in 79. Never gonna sell it. Lived in it for 4 months during divorce. Just bought a 71 Ghia and love driving it too. (I'm an amputee, left leg above the knee, but manage to shift (with my prosthetic leg) just fine. ) I'm 69 and get the same thrill as I did when I bought it nearly 40 years ago.
Great story and memories!
David Coats Awesome
I too have a 79' westfalia and LOVE IT! I don't foresee selling it anytime soon!
@@davidcoats2897 I love your story. I think it's amazing that you had it since 1979. You were 29 when you bought it?. What is the color scheme. I remember there was a tan over chestnut brown. a tan over orange. A tan over green. A full white I think. I even saw a white over red which was rare. The Westfalia had a white, Forest Green, I think a Yellow also. Why I remember this is amazing. I was 14 or 15. I had the car literature plastered all over my bedroom walls. No one understood why I would want a Bus when everyone else wanted a Porsche or Vette or something teens would normally want. Of course now they are off the charts expensive and everyone wants one. So funny.
My parents owned a 1960's VW Van, back in the early 80's. We used it for our computer distribution business--to make small deliveries. Brother delivered the Los Angeles Times--heavy newspaper--for a few months in it. We took it on some camping trips. Eventually, we sold it to some blond college boys who were slouching toward hippie-dom...and were going to take it on a cross-country. I doubt we sold it for much--maybe a little over a thousand. I'm amazed by the prices these vans command nowadays.
I had a '77 pop top, loved it! Me and the wife and cat left the north east around Christmas and went to Florida for three months. Best time of our lives! I'd love to get another one some day.
In the early 1970's my auntie used to drive from the UK to Greece & the Greek Islands in one of these, what I would have given to do that as a kid! I drove it a few years later after just a few driving lessons, it seemed huge 😳
Been working on the same exact bus for the last 4 years I'm alm9sy finished with and the advice I always give to friends who are looking for one is if you want to buy one that you could just hop right in to drive around without a care in the world what you need to look for is the Toyota.
I really like the cheerful light blue color, our first 2 VWs were that color; it should make a comeback...
What is it like? We had a 1978 Devon Moonraker. It was slow, it was noisy, it leaked oil, the brakes were c..p, the roof had to be held up with "molegrips". I spent half my time grovelling underneath in the dirt or covered in oil in the engine bay.
He was called "Buster" and he carried our little family on holidays from the North of Scotland to The Alps as well as being my daily driver. Sadly he rusted out from underneath me. We had no money to restore him and we cried when he was sold on to a mechanic who could and now we can never afford to buy him back.
What is it like? .................. maybe think of an old family dog, slow, faithful, willing to please, occasionaly messy but you forgive him anything and you're lost without him.
Beautiful bus, mine is a pop top orange 73, the pop top that goes straight up
Had a 72 Westfalia VW camper! Some of the best of our camping days!
I often think about getting one of these old hightops. This is a very good example of this model.
BEAUTIFUL!!!
Check out the vintage speed exhaust I put on my 74 . Night and day difference from stock . Great little video
Is that Whidbey island (deception pass) at the end? I got a vw Westfalia as well...great video🤘🤘
Charming decor.
Just for the record, the 75 bus would have come with an electrical fuel pump to support the Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection system. It's apparent all that was replaced with a carburetor system on this application.
He says, "Spirit Campers no longer exist, but the van does, and that's all that matters." I would imagine the employees of Spirit Campers may have felt differently about that, but...
i love to use de original cassette radio with a cassette to aux device, merging de old with the new, listening Spotify on my old car radio, need new speakers, but you can buy new ones with the same size using the old grills.
nice, you can get all the heat ya need by installing a simple bilge fan blower in the duckwork up in the front area... 160 F out the defroster (in Iowa winter)
Love that van!
I haven't seen one of those in a very long time.
My favorite carvan
lindo vídeo
Inside @ 3:27
Who else things that looks like boomerang from Kombi Life?
yep, the boomerang is the og
TexasBlues I swear I was bout to scroll down and comment the same thing
😂💙👊
What a beauty wow
Great video! Not Van however, it's a BUS!
Good lord brother, clean that engine and engine bay! Nice ride other than that poopy diaper. And yes it looks like Ben & Leah's bus. ; )
Ima gonna go with something like owning a chuck wagon crossing Cumberland Gap.
So cool!
Anyone who owns a bus ever use those white walls you can mount onto the tire using the rim lip? The white wall ‘flaps’ they call them
that is cool
Not for joy of driving?? I guess it depends on what you think joyful driving is. I love driving my bus. It's fun to drive.
a 43 YEAR OLD VAN is just that. a break down waiting to happen, I had a 74 back in 98 and sold it..because by 2000 go carts on the hwy. was a stupid Idea.
Want! So cool.
I wonder when will VW start selling VW California campers in USA.
"...good solution... for poor people..." There's nothing about classic VW's that's remotely budget or for "poor people".
You got that right. These things are now in the heady realm of trendy, well off, young professionals who want something funky cool. That said, you can spend a lot on a newer, more readily available smallish motorhome or trailer, and have lots of issues with shoddy manufacturing, which is endemic in RV's. At least the VW buses were well made and simple enough that most people can fix them - IF you can now find parts. my da had a 71 passenger bus that he loved. We all loved it. Very reliable and far more rugged than it appeared. Later, I had a '67 Split window camper. It was mint. Today, that same rig is worth something north of $18,000. Stupid kid.
Back in the day they were affordable. Not so much now that they are classics.
reliability is a factor to be taken in
I like high top vans
my 1979 type 2 had a 1600cc air-cooled engine which was very reliable it had a carburetor and auto choke. did you say in this video your engine was a 1800cc tony Uk
When vehicles were still easy to maintain.
I love it
Had a 74,it was called A safari Van,
The holley/Weber carb conversion as installed on this bus stinks.They are horrible! It would be better to go back to the fuel injection or put dual solex's or weber's on it. I have a 76 Westy and love the fuel injection, runs very smooth.
I liked my fuel injection set up initially, until it kept breaking down on long trips. I solved it by installing a Type 1 stroker engine with dual 40 IDF Webers. Now I love it!
@@b.chuchlucious5471 Dual webers are a nice way to go, certainly better than the H/W center mount.
it's not the carb that stinks it the intake manifold that stinks they run smooth with injection why change
@@maryloublackwell5909 You are correct, I should have said the package stinks! Dual solex's or dual webers, properly set up run super. But many people can't figure out how to tune them properly, us old timers are dying out. I've seen dual Holly/Weber kits to (two-2 barrel carbs) and they work well to if set up right.
I have the same exact camper with the Z bed but can't seem to figure out the configuration of the bed as I have a seat on either side which seems like there should be a table in the middle but there isn't and wondering if you know how that's supposed to be? Thanks
I had a 1969 VW Camper Van, biggest POS I've ever owned. Going into a headwind it was 45 MPH tops, air cooled I burned up 2 engines and sold it to a VW mechanic blown up again. An icebox in the winter.
There was something wrong with your engines, should easily do 60 all day long if a good engine and set up right.
@@michaelibey6700 I don't know, I didn't know S**t from Shinola about VWs. Could have been a failure by the mechanic I used. In '69 I read somewhere the beetle engine was larger than the van. Still not meant for winter climate. Icebox in winter in Iowa.
aWWbS IT THE SUMMER THAT HAD LOADS OF HEAT!!
Lack of Horsepower will be an issue, it’s not enough power to move this van.
Zero front end crash protection ouch !
BUS!
Do you know if you can buy a classic campervan with automatic transmission ?
Yes from factory harder to find though
Does any one knows the dimensions of that roof ??
And how much did you overpay for it?
Hello there , can u tell me please the dimensions of the roof you have .. i have the vw but still with the original roof and i need to convert it using the fiber glass material but m really looking to have the same design ! Thank youu
If you could duplicate that fiberglass design bet a large aftermarket. The canvas wear out and cost lift a money to repair ppl say.
Yeah you drove the california van that’s not available in California lo
A fridgerator? 🤣
Looks like the same bus WanderBus has
and KombiCrew- with ben and Leah
I have the same exact layout in my 74 VW. Can anyone lead me to images/videos of the bottom bed folding out? He mentions a shelf that folds down to make a bed...mine is missing the shelf and I can't find anything on this particular bed style, with the table that turns into a seat (four cushions). Any help would be greatly appreciated as I want to keep my vehicle as close to original as possible. Thanks.
you might try sportsmobile instead of westfalia I think they originated in South bend INDIANA around1961 but located in Cal now and converting other vehicles besides vw the one I have currently is a 63 built by travel equipment Corp Elkhart Indiana which is quite different from westfalia I've restored many westy and a table/bed sounds like a off brand conversion there's also campmobil
@@maryloublackwell5909 thank you so much! I'll look into those now.
Have you searched the "Sambavw" site for best forums and tech info?
@@williamoorejr I have. Seems like this style was pretty rare. I actually switched to a standard Westy zbed. Now I'm binging UA-cam videos on how to add wood ceilings, panels, etc. Thanks for the suggestion.
@@abbiereynolds9267 Hey Abbie. It was pretty rotted out. I kept the stove top, but that was basically all I could salvage... And even that is in pretty bad shape. I also kept the sink.
Can the engine be modified? Or replaced with a more HP engine?
Sure if you know what you're doing.
why?
Did he say for poor people?
I wish we could get a modern take on these in the U.S., but VW are being absolute knobs about the whole thing.
Who the hell builds a functioning modern prototype of this, lets journalists test drive it in front of beach-goers all day long, names it the California, of all things, and then turns around and says they have zero interest of ever selling it? VW, that's who. Buncha jerks.
It would be nice to see, but how many could they sell at 80000 USD?
Show up in style? Your buddies will have 4x4 sprinters and just laugh at you.
what about top speed? dumbest question ever asked
the owner is not a camper nor a mechanic, sad when ppl just buy and explain it. boob
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
Chapter 112 Absoluteness - Al-Ikhlas: Verse .Quran
BEAUTIFUL!!!