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😁👍
@jent82334 жыл бұрын
Gary Schneider Do you still have the vehicle?
@KristenBritton4 ай бұрын
5 of us (3 adults, 2 kids) lived in one just like this (even blue!) for 3 months in 1975. Best memories ever!
@eatwellnesshalalalternativ46024 жыл бұрын
This is awesome I cant believe how authentic this is ...
@tellulaire8168 Жыл бұрын
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 :)
@ggolds55 жыл бұрын
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.
@davidcoats28975 жыл бұрын
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.
@sdnlawrence56405 жыл бұрын
Great story and memories!
@dumptuckk5 жыл бұрын
David Coats Awesome
@jamie-r20345 жыл бұрын
I too have a 79' westfalia and LOVE IT! I don't foresee selling it anytime soon!
@ggolds55 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@swicheroo15 жыл бұрын
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.
@curtismarean69634 жыл бұрын
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.
@Masterchief68a3 жыл бұрын
Had a 72 Westfalia VW camper! Some of the best of our camping days!
@dandare25863 жыл бұрын
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 😳
@robertaxel5 жыл бұрын
I really like the cheerful light blue color, our first 2 VWs were that color; it should make a comeback...
@thelittleredbarn1744 жыл бұрын
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.
@dancingpawz19632 жыл бұрын
BEAUTIFUL!!!
@leilal80533 жыл бұрын
Charming decor.
@tonyb42594 жыл бұрын
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.
@1SemperDad5 жыл бұрын
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.
@LivingBGLegend4 жыл бұрын
Beautiful bus, mine is a pop top orange 73, the pop top that goes straight up
@gillowens23504 жыл бұрын
My favorite carvan
@letsgowestfalia24055 жыл бұрын
I often think about getting one of these old hightops. This is a very good example of this model.
@Bandit-Iggy4 ай бұрын
Is that Whidbey island (deception pass) at the end? I got a vw Westfalia as well...great video🤘🤘
@RobMoses5 жыл бұрын
Love that van!
@taurusguy89834 жыл бұрын
What a beauty wow
@antonionascimento53194 жыл бұрын
lindo vídeo
@SergeoGabrielloGomez4 жыл бұрын
Check out the vintage speed exhaust I put on my 74 . Night and day difference from stock . Great little video
@karongoodine32884 жыл бұрын
So cool!
@Marsupial25 жыл бұрын
Who else things that looks like boomerang from Kombi Life?
@edmundszalitis5 жыл бұрын
yep, the boomerang is the og
@lilkong-sl7fv5 жыл бұрын
TexasBlues I swear I was bout to scroll down and comment the same thing
@rimbluebooks5 жыл бұрын
😂💙👊
@mikewiremt3 жыл бұрын
Great video! Not Van however, it's a BUS!
@robozstarrr89305 жыл бұрын
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)
@kevinrichards2545 жыл бұрын
I haven't seen one of those in a very long time.
@jamiep57804 жыл бұрын
Want! So cool.
@maxeluy5 жыл бұрын
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.
@paultennis95694 жыл бұрын
I love it
@jimihendrix1575Ай бұрын
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...
@sailawaybob3 жыл бұрын
that is cool
@LilacDaisy25 жыл бұрын
Inside @ 3:27
@allenschmitz96445 жыл бұрын
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.
@LivingBGLegend4 жыл бұрын
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
@markreeder60105 жыл бұрын
Ima gonna go with something like owning a chuck wagon crossing Cumberland Gap.
@notchboy5 жыл бұрын
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. ; )
@alanbstard44 жыл бұрын
reliability is a factor to be taken in
@mm-hw1ms3 жыл бұрын
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.
@johndewey63582 жыл бұрын
I wonder when will VW start selling VW California campers in USA.
@tonyn98584 жыл бұрын
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
@rr7firefly4 жыл бұрын
When vehicles were still easy to maintain.
@thelittleredbarn1745 жыл бұрын
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
@TheOnlyOneStanding80798 ай бұрын
I like high top vans
@mr.robinjamessuriano10895 жыл бұрын
Had a 74,it was called A safari Van,
@michaelibey67005 жыл бұрын
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.
@b.chuchlucious54715 жыл бұрын
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!
@michaelibey67005 жыл бұрын
@@b.chuchlucious5471 Dual webers are a nice way to go, certainly better than the H/W center mount.
@maryloublackwell59095 жыл бұрын
it's not the carb that stinks it the intake manifold that stinks they run smooth with injection why change
@michaelibey67005 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@skeleguns10oooooo104 жыл бұрын
Lack of Horsepower will be an issue, it’s not enough power to move this van.
@brianb88305 жыл бұрын
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.
@michaelibey67005 жыл бұрын
There was something wrong with your engines, should easily do 60 all day long if a good engine and set up right.
@brianb88305 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@hughjazzole20375 жыл бұрын
aWWbS IT THE SUMMER THAT HAD LOADS OF HEAT!!
@charmainhehewuti21223 жыл бұрын
Do you know if you can buy a classic campervan with automatic transmission ?
@edstababy3 жыл бұрын
Yes from factory harder to find though
@dflf4 жыл бұрын
And how much did you overpay for it?
@ils3604 жыл бұрын
BUS!
@terrywbreedlove5 жыл бұрын
Zero front end crash protection ouch !
@CaptainGnarkill5 жыл бұрын
Looks like the same bus WanderBus has
@williamoorejr5 жыл бұрын
and KombiCrew- with ben and Leah
@boudyayoub64705 жыл бұрын
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
@robertjackson41215 жыл бұрын
If you could duplicate that fiberglass design bet a large aftermarket. The canvas wear out and cost lift a money to repair ppl say.
@212caboose5 жыл бұрын
"...good solution... for poor people..." There's nothing about classic VW's that's remotely budget or for "poor people".
@OutnBacker4 жыл бұрын
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.
@mkshffr49364 жыл бұрын
Back in the day they were affordable. Not so much now that they are classics.
@277kne5 жыл бұрын
Can the engine be modified? Or replaced with a more HP engine?
@habyss5 жыл бұрын
Sure if you know what you're doing.
@robozstarrr89305 жыл бұрын
why?
@jcnredpizzawindow22194 жыл бұрын
Yeah you drove the california van that’s not available in California lo
@boudyayoub64705 жыл бұрын
Does any one knows the dimensions of that roof ??
@colinl59855 жыл бұрын
Did he say for poor people?
@wkndsurfer5 жыл бұрын
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.
@maryloublackwell59095 жыл бұрын
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
@wkndsurfer5 жыл бұрын
@@maryloublackwell5909 thank you so much! I'll look into those now.
@williamoorejr5 жыл бұрын
Have you searched the "Sambavw" site for best forums and tech info?
@wkndsurfer5 жыл бұрын
@@williamoorejr I have. Seems like this style was pretty rare. I actually switched to a standard Westy zbed. Now I'm binging KZbin videos on how to add wood ceilings, panels, etc. Thanks for the suggestion.
@wkndsurfer5 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@jonny_mazerati94102 жыл бұрын
A fridgerator? 🤣
@gyneve6 жыл бұрын
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.
@thefatherofdavid5 жыл бұрын
It would be nice to see, but how many could they sell at 80000 USD?
@kdrguru5 жыл бұрын
Show up in style? Your buddies will have 4x4 sprinters and just laugh at you.
@tj-kv6vr4 жыл бұрын
what about top speed? dumbest question ever asked
@yoniantheangrypaladan88465 жыл бұрын
the owner is not a camper nor a mechanic, sad when ppl just buy and explain it. boob
@aichakermal13255 жыл бұрын
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