I wasn’t always a big type 2 devotee, mainly because I had a short love of beetles in my school days and to me the simplicity of the type 1 was unrivalled, but then just before I passed my driving test at 17 I bought a very cheap type 2 splitty. It was a so42 turret top and I had visions of using it as cheap accommodation for my surfing trips to Cornwall and South Wales, alas it had too much rot for my limited abilities and budget and I sent it to the great dubyard in the sky ( if only I knew then what I know now ) and went out and bought myself an Austin 1100. I never even considered another type 2 again until the following year my future father law took us to the beach in his beautiful Danbury camper. On the way we stopped for something to eat and my mother in law knocked up a meal for six of us on the little cooker. For me that was enough to convince me I needed that van in my life, the fact she drove as sweet as a nut and had four berths was a bonus. I told my father in law I wanted it. He laughed and told me how much it was if he was even considering selling, I just said I want it and can I pay you monthly. He liked my forthright approach and said yes. In August 1978 I began paying him monthly for my very own 1971 camper and have been hooked ever since. What’s your type 2 story?
As mentioned before, my mother passed away, three years after the old man. I told the ‘orrible 'erberts to choose a holiday. Any holiday, anywhere. They chose a vw hire, on the IOW at Carpenters Farm. It was brilliant. I bought one the next year. I have been back to Carpenter Farm many times in my own van. The only downside that I can see is that I have met many of you
Never really liked em. Always seemed to see em broke down on the way to or from Cornwall. A work colleague in the early 80s use to have a rotten one as his work van and he always seemed to have the engine in bits. Mrs C pestered the life out of me for about 2 years and thinking it would be more use than the stag I finally gave in.
Oddly I also chose one because they were renowned for their reliability back then. It was the in between years when spacemen with spammers got hold of them that they became less reliable.
It's my 3rd one I'm not one for camping in a refugee style camp site where you queue up to have a tom tit in the morning, queue up to do the washing up, queue up for a shave , where all the campers are parked up in lines and everyone nods to each other convincing themselves and each other that they are enjoying themselves, anyway my wife hates camping so I use it solely for my fishing trips, it's a fantastic bivvy I love my carp bus the only thing I would swap it for as you all know and make no secret of the fact is a mark 2 cortina GT or 1600E
Unfortunately I need to get some welding done on the front chassis but because of covid I'm a bit polo at the moment so it will have to wait
Why not, what’s to lose. I eventually learned to weld and I was totally rubbish at it for ever previously! Just buy the best welding machine you can afford.
My parents bought their first one around about 1976. It was a blue and white Westfalia (NDL 785M). I do remember many happy childhood holidays all over the U.K. in it and then later on in a Devon that they had. I always said that one day I'd get one but life just seemed to get in the way, so a few years ago I bought the Rusty bag of poop that I now own and keep asking myself that infamous question that we all do.................WHY?????????
My first ever car was my mum's Beetle, 1961 model with leatherette seats that formed a lasting bond with your back whenever I used it in the summer. We eventually found a man who could convert the candle light headlights from 6v to 12v, big plus but I managed to strip a plug thread....my journey into air-cooled engines began there...to be honest I'm still scared of stripping the threads!
I’ve always loved camping, and my old ‘Everest Base Camp’ tent was my Happy Place - despite the constant ribbing i used to get from my friends because it was so compact I could only sit upright in it in one place. More than 20 years of backpacking around the world, camping trips with friends, music festivals, and even living in it when I got evicted from my lodgings, it never let me down..... but I was getting older, and after a particularly wet and muddy festival I found myself thinking about a little more comfort in my advancing years. I remembered the old VW campervan that my Gran and her best mate used to go adventuring in around the country after they retired, and the first seed of a plan was sown....
We went camping in a tent for years but eventually MrsNtfc was getting fed up with lying on the floor so one day she said why not combine my enthusiasm for old cars and camping and get one of them there VW campers. Within hours I'd started researching what was what and arranged the money with the bank before she had a chance to change her mind
I wanted a mini a camper and a beetle ive had loads and loads of minis, then a metro TURBOOOO. Sold the metro to fund my drinking at uni (still had a mini) Got a Renault 5GT turbo super cheap , the profit paid my next years rent and most of my food. Saw what looked like a cheap beetle when at uni ( 2nd time ) bought it packed all my stuff into it to drive to Chichester, jumped in the seat to set off and it went through the floor , found a shelf in the under stairs cupboard wedged the seat up and set of for a comfortable 130mile journey which lasted about 10 miles just passed the top of the m32 it dropped all its oil , AA man said I was pretty bloody brave to be driving it restored it, swapped for a not very old Landrover Discovery , bloody good swap then almost 2 years no car , didn’t touch one , drive one etc , then a deal came along which paid most of another years rent . but I digress a friend had a bay and a car that needed welding so I welded it add a bit of money and got myself a bay, well I say got it but I was not all that bothered and it was a couple of years before it got delivered to my house. Joined this forum did a little fixing up and then came to techenders and the legend of Davidoft was born xx In the meantime had T25s, BMWs Volvos , Peugeot, Citroen , Ford , I should have a count up one day . T25s Rusty and I’m bored of welding so bought a T4 coach built so I can poop,shower and drive
It’s the only vehicle, (Besides an ice cream truck. ) I’ve ever known that when you drive down the street the children smile,point, stop and wave. It’s like a cartoon that’s come to life. Quite magical really,
