FOR SALE Silverfish

Discussion in 'Late Bay Classifieds' started by Big Ann II, Aug 21, 2018.

  1. [​IMG] BA II(1)-1.jpg BA II(1)-1.jpg Chilbolton family 048.jpg DSC00472.JPG DSC00704.JPG VW SILVERFISH - BCV 164 T
    Big Ann II is a VW Late Bay Silverfish – a limited edition Type 2, made exclusively for the German market as ‘luxury’ minibuses just before the presses were sent to Brazil. She was professionally restored over a year to as near original condition as possible, bearing in mind that we wanted her to be a useable campervan. We have now owned Big Ann II for just over 8 years & have had great fun driving her around the UK & as far south as the Italian Lakes. However, we are planning to build a new house on our garden & so the garage will have to go – we will have nowhere to keep BAII for the next 18 months or so and anyway, we could do with the money to help pay for the new house.
    Silverfish
    There were 1600 Silverfish manufactured - maybe about 50 still known to exist. BAII was built on 8th Nov 1978 & left the factory on 17th Nov (we have her birth certificate). All Silverfish were originally LHD and BAII remains LHD.
    Restoration
    She was restored (what we now know is called a ‘chequebook restoration’!) by Phoenix Coachworks (no longer in business, the owners having retired to Spain) near Exeter between May 2010 & April 2011. The restoration started with a full strip & media blasting & went on from there - 7 coats of primer filler, 4 coats of Diamond Silver metallic paint (the original Silverfish colour – Silverfish were the only T2 vans painted in a metallic paint) & 4 coats of lacquer. The wiring loom was replaced & the 2000cc twin-carb engine now has electronic ignition. Since April 2011, BAII has been looked after (with much TLC) by Dan Munday’s Bus Stop in Plympton.
    Mileage: On purchase, the odometer recorded 252337 km (156795 miles). The original odometer failed in August 2015 at 274678km (170863 miles). It was replaced with a Smith’s electronic odometer reading in miles. As at August 2018, the odometer reads 5025 miles. The 18740 miles travelled over the last 7 years have taken BAII to several festivals, around almost all the coast of the UK and as far south as northern Italy. BAII’s MoT expires on 28th April 2019. As she will then be over 40 years old, she will not require a further MoT & goes onto the free road fund licence scheme.
    Equipment fit:
    Mechanical:
    Engine: The original 2000cc twin carb engine died in northern Scotland in July 2016 and was exchanged for an identical one from The Engine Shop (at 1632 miles). Since replacement the carbs have been tuned by Alan Jeffery of Plympton – this improved the mpg by about 5%. The exhaust system is stainless steel.
    Gearbox: The original gearbox failed in May 2017 and was exchanged for an identical one from The Engine Shop (at 4235 miles). The guarantee expired in July 2018). The engine bay is fitted with a BlazeCut T3 automatic fire extinguisher system
    Bodywork:
    The bumpers, headlight surrounds, hub caps & spare wheel surround are stainless steel. There is an aluminium side step under the sliding door.
    The two-part roof rack is chrome plated with solid oak slats and shows some signs of rust. The sliding steel roof cables were renewed (twice! It took several attempts to get the alignment correct) during the rebuild. The whole body has been lined with Noisekiller barrier mat. You can (almost) conduct a conversation in a normal voice! Waxoyled.
    Internal:
    The bed is a full width rock & roll bed. Whilst this does limit storage slightly, the great advantage is the width (1.9m x 1.45m) – the same size bed as the new T6 California and bigger than any earlier VW conversion. There is a small safe in the old spare wheel well under the bed and a second ignition lock in the rear LH corner. The oak table (complete with a leg fit fitting into the centre of the floor & a leg + base for use outside) slides in above the bed. There are ceiling mounted LED lights on both sides of the rear half of the van. Storage nets are fitted in both rear corners and on the back of the rear & front seats and on the two front doors.
    The electrical system consists of a mains hook-up socket in the engine compartment, which is connected to a CTEK battery charger which charges both the engine starting & leisure batteries. It also feeds a 240v socket box on a long lead (capable of being taken outside) that lives under the back seat & 2 other 240v sockets behind the driver’s seat. One socket (within a cupboard) is for the Logik 240v cabin fridge (which can also be run off the inverter). The Polco 500w inverter feeds two 240v sockets (one for the fridge & one other). The Nespresso coffee machine will only work when the van is connected to the mains.
    The water – there is a 2½ gallon/12 litre fresh water belly tank under the driver’s seat. This feeds a Whale hand pump through a Whale filter.
    The internal furniture is oak. The flap above the fridge covers the BrightSpark single ring Butane cooker – which can be lifted out & used outside. The flap that lifts up above the cooker has a stainless-steel facing, as does the lift up flap to the left. The SMEV sink is inset into the surface to the right. The tall thin cupboard to the left is a 4-bottle wine rack. The water filter is in the cupboard directly under the tap.
    The two front seats are Newton Commercial blue leather Captain’s Reclining seats – the blue is as close a colour as we could get to the original vinyl Silverfish seat colours. The steering wheel is covered in the same leather. The passenger’s (RHS) seat swivels through 360°. The rear seat/rock & roll bed are upholstered in a tweedy fabric that is also v close to the original. The ‘seaside’ striped curtains (£242.50 for 8m) are top-hung & cover all the windows.
    Music is provided by an Alpine CDE-111R CD Receiver with 4 speakers (2 front & 2 in the front face of the bed. There is an iPlayer socket in the glove compartment & an oak shelf underneath the dashboard. BAII is also fitted with an oil temperature gauge and an illuminated magnetic compass (which has been swung so is accurate to about 10°). There are three sockets for charging the GPS, mobile phones etc. As noted earlier, the odometer has been replaced by a Smith’s electronic one & the (battery powered) clock is based on a Pakistan Air Force altimeter. The gear knob is also oak.
    Finally, there are two Fiamma wedges (under the driver’s seat) for levelling up the van & a hydraulic bottle jack (+ wooden block for spreading the load) for lifting the van to change a tyre if necessary (under the passenger’s seat). The original jacking points look OK, but I have not risked using them. There are also a pair of anti-slip grip mats and a spare clutch cable under the bed mattress.
    Additional Items
    BAII comes with a 3m square gazebo that has 4 oak plinths, so it can be set up over the van – allowing the roof to be kept open in showery weather or for a bit of extra shade for cooling.
    Library: BAII comes with an extensive library.
    Best Campsites in Britain & Ireland 2009. Alan Rogers
    Best Campsites in France 2013. Alan Rogers
    Best Campsites in Italy, Croatia & Slovenia 2013. Alan Rogers
    Camper Van by Igloo Books 2013
    Camper Van Coast, The by Martin Dorey. 2012
    Camper Van Mania by Ian Welch. 2009
    Camper Vans & RVs in Pictures by Henry Hirst. 2011
    Campervan Cookbook, The by Martin Dorey. 2010
    Campervan Crazy by David & Cee Eccles. 2006
    Camping Cookbook 2009
    Essential VW Campervan Life by Stephen Turnham & Mike Stevenson. 2011
    Fan of the Van 2010
    Favourite Caravan & Motorhome Recipes by Cindy Thompson
    Favourite VW Camper Recipes by Simon Heseltine.
    Guide des Aires Gratuites 2011 by Trailer's Park
    How to Keep your Volkswagen alive by John Muir. 1969 (7th Ed 2006)
    Keeping your Bus alive 2010
    Original VW Camper Cookbook by Steve & Susanne Rooker & Lennart Hannu
    Volkswagen Camper by Richard Copping. 2007
    Volkswagen Type 2 Owner’s Manual 1976 – a photocopy
    Volkswagen Transporter by Jonathan Harvey. 2008. The Haynes handbook – water damaged but fully useable.
    VW Bus by Richard Copping. 2006
    VW Camper & Microbus by Richard Copping. 2009
    VW Camper Inspirational Interiors by David Eccles. 2008
    VW Camper - The Inside Story by David Eccles. 2005
    VW Camper Van - A Biography by Mike Harding. 2013
    VW Transporter & Microbus by Vincent Molenaar & Alexander Prinz. 2005
    Magazines:
    Transporter Talk – the Magazine of the VW Type 2 Owners Club. Issues 109 (Oct 2010) to 119, 125-127, 129-150 (Feb 2018)
    Volkswagen Camper & Commercial Summer 2002 – “The Silverfish – Unique Limited Edition Special Model!”
    VolksWorld Camper & Bus March 2007, April 2010 to December 2017
    VW Camper & Commercial May/June 2010, Jan/Feb 2011

    And a couple of boxes of assorted VW van bits (including the original gear knob, 4 chrome hub caps)


    Limited Edition T2 1978 Silverfish. Professionally and authentically restored as a campervan 2010-11 & meticulously maintained by VW specialist since. Engine & gearbox replaced in last 18 months.
    £35,000 ono. Lots more pictures available if you're interested.
    DSC00704.JPG
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Aug 22, 2018
  2. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Looks nice.
    Stick up a few photos of the important bits.
     
    Razzyh and Jack Tatty like this.
  3. It must have taken a few hours to do that write up
     
  4. Merlin Cat

    Merlin Cat Moderator

    Nice looking bus. Good effort on the write up :)

    @areksilverfish another like yours?
     
  5. areksilverfish

    areksilverfish Supporter

    ..yeah..it looks like


    Wysłane z iPhone za pomocą Tapatalk
     
    Merlin Cat likes this.
  6. Jack Tatty

    Jack Tatty Supporter and teachers pet

    Looks gorgeous. I do wonder why there’s a gazebo over the roof in one picture. Does the sun roof leak?
     
    Baysearcher likes this.
  7. The roof doesn't leak (to be honest - it doesn't leak at the moment - it has in the past - as all those who have a sliding steel roof will know, they need to be exactly aligned & the gutters need to be kept clean to keep them watertight). The gazebo allows you to keep the roof open when it's showery & provides shade when it's really hot.
     
    Jack Tatty likes this.
  8. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Got any photos of the important bits?
     
  9. Exactly what would you like photos of? I've already put another half dozen up.
     
  10. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    The important bits.
    Door bottoms, steps, arches, chassis, jacking points, cills, how well the doors close etc.
     
    Iain McAvoy likes this.
  11. Big Ann II is being auctioned by Charterhouse at the Royal Bath & West Showground at 1200 tomorrow. Estimate £30-35k
     
  12. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Got any photos of the important bits?
     
    Iain McAvoy, Razzyh and Babble like this.
  13. Nice looking bus but sheesh thats a hefty price tag! good luck with the sale though!:thumbsup:
     
    Kevinthedog likes this.
  14. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

    Pop up a link to the auction please
     
    jivedubbin and paradox like this.
  15. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

  16. Dubs

    Dubs Sponsor supporter extraordinaire

  17. Nice but big money + buyers premium .
     
  18. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Be interesting to see what it goes for.
     
  19. What happened to the original interior? Does the owner still have it? I'd imagine it would be nigh on impossible to sort another! And without that surely it's just a 1979 bay with a silver spray job and the price tag of a very sorted split! Or am i being silly?:rolleyes:
     
    redgaz, nobayinhell, cunny44 and 3 others like this.
  20. The only way I could see it reaching 35K if it was mint unrestored ,as left factory ,numbers matching .etc . Whilst it is very nice its not original and regardless of how much was spent i don`t see 35k .(sorry)
    I also think naming a vehicle especially at auction will not do it any favours ...plus time of year etc ...
     

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