1972 Westfalia - Sierra Yellow

Middleton · Apr 25, 2016

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, and new to Volkswagens as well, so I thought I'd show you my Westfalia (and introduce myself)! My name is Ben, I'm 25 and I bought this 1972 sierra yellow T2 about three weeks ago from London (I live in Staffordshire/West Midlands).

The van is completely solid, imported from California in 2008. It has had some fresh exterior paint from the gutter down. The exterior has a couple of flaws, but nothing major - and no rust!

The interior is original, although the upholstery has been retrimmed - with as close to original Westfalia gold/yellow vinyl as was possible (apparently). The cab was originally beige but has been changed to black; although I think the door cards were just spray painted. I'm in two minds about whether to refresh the original interior and make it look as it would have done when it was new, or retain the original patina - the cabinets in particular look a bit tired.

As for the engine, the previous owner installed twin 34ICT Webers and bored out the 1700cc Type 4 engine to 1800cc, so it certainly shifts! No problems with the acceleration and speed, but the mpg is currently about 14.5 so I definitely need to give it a re-tune. I'm planning on balancing the carburettors this week - I hope that'll cure it.

This summer should be fun!

Mr Bean · Apr 25, 2016

Nice looking bus fella
ENJOY

nobbly · Apr 26, 2016

Like it a lot!

Welcme from another '72 model year owner. Perhaps I should point out that '72s are referred to as crossovers as they are a transition year (early bay front end, late bay rear). IMHO the finest vintage of bus...

arty0007:

... though many [jealous] people refer to us as crossdressers :character0051:

Bluesnailman · Apr 26, 2016

looks good, any inside photos?

phil_n · Apr 26, 2016

That's lovely.

It looks just perfect at that height with the whitebands.

Middleton · Apr 26, 2016

Thanks guys, I'm really pleased with it! I'll take some good photos of the interior soon and add them to this topic. I did create another topic about two weeks ago asking questions about the interior, so if you're clued up on the Westfalia interiors, you might be able to answer one of my many questions in that topic!

I'm glad that it hasn't been lowered, although I do think they look nice when they've been lowered a little bit. I wasn't sure about the whitewall tyres, but I am growing to like them.

I was glad it was an early bay, although I'd been looking so long I'd have taken anything rust free! I like the 1972 crossover models because of the low lights, disc brakes and the rear lights, which are probably a bit safer in this day and age. I don't normally consider safety over aesthetics, but there are some seriously moronic drivers in the West Midlands that need to be avoided (particularly Birmingham for some reason)!