how did stock VW kombi's become campers when new?

[Doris]

The reason I ask is....I found the original sticker and M code for my bus as L282 Lotus white.The L282 is everywhere, engine bay, inside front panel etc - the only part that hasn't had the Lotus white painted over is the cargo floor under the R&R bed - its like a grey colour but doesn't look like just primer. Did Dormobile strip it to a shell and paint it?

This got me thinking about how far the likes of Dormobile, Danbury etc went when converting a bus, so.....

Did each company (Dormobile,Westfalia etc) buy a job lot off VW then sell them themselves?
or Could you go into a VW dealership and order a new Bus, they would say,"yes sir, what conversion would you like?" and then have your bus made into a Dormy,Westy,Viking etc?

 

[Araon]

westfalia was the only VW recognised conversion.....If I'm not mistaken (waits for the barage of abuse)

the other conversions generally were bought in by the company or customer, usually as a basic running shell...

a little bizarre that its the floor beneath the RnR bed only thats original after all it should have been painted before that went in.

interested to hear any other comments

 

[58herbie]

Did Vw not also sell the Devon in the seventies along side the westy from the dealership??

sure i have read this somewhere

Jon

 

[halfpint_fighter]

westfalia was the only VW recognised conversion.....If I'm not mistaken (waits for the barage of abuse)

the other conversions generally were bought in by the company or customer, usually as a basic running shell...

According to David Eccles, in the late 60's Danbury, Dormobile and Devon were the only 3 officially VW-approved UK converters and by 1972 Devon got the exclusive contract until 1977.

That meant in 1972 you could go into a VW dealer and order a Devon Caravette and get full warranty and service.

Some M-codes give away how the companies ordered buses for converting. My Danbury was ordered as a UK spec RHD microbus but without the rear seats and no rear rubber mat.
Meaning they could get straight on and cut the roof for a pop top and put down the vinyl flooring then build the units.

 

[Joval]

maybe under the RnR was the only bit that was painted.... :wink:

 

[Danbury Doug]

My parents bought their Danbury from our local VW dealership in Portsmouth.
I remember as a little boy climbing into a new Danbury in the showroom (1972) and my parents talking to the salesman and placing an order.
Certainly in the 70s I remember seeing Devons and Westy Continentals in the showroom at that same dealership, as I would always go with my dad when he took the Danbury in for a service, and it was a treat for me to be able to go and poke about in the showroom and be able to take home the latest brochures... all of which I still have.

The way I think it worked was that each (VW approved) converter ordered their base vehicles from Volkswagen in batches, and in the case of Danbury, as Halfpint_Fighter mentions, they would have arrived on these shores minus rear seats, floor mat in rear etc. either in Microbus or Kombi form, and pretty much the same with the other converters.
Once converted, the kitted out campers went to VW dealerships, but whether Devon, Danbury or Dormobile sold direct aswell, I know not. I assume this not to be the case when they were VW approved.
The reason why nearly all late bay Danburys are panel van conversions is probably that if Volkswagen no longer approved them as converters, the customer or Danbury themselves had to source a panel van, which would have been a fair bit cheaper than buying a Microbus or Kombi with seats in the rear (assuming that they could not be ordered individually minus these items).

Doris, a mystery with your van. I would be surprised if Dormobile themselves went to those lengths. I would have thought it more likely that all that extra painting was factory applied, but then I would have thought somewhere it would have shown up on yor M plate, as a 'special' or something?

Doug

 

[Loxy]

My van was purchased by the original owner then driven to dormobile to be converted by them (after getting it ziebarted & waxoyled :wink: ). So perhaps the original owner did the same with yours and had some paintwork done at the same time???

 

[Doris]

Interesting replies - Thanks, I think it'll be a mystery for ever then. I'm sure it has had the new very early on though.

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

westfalia was the only VW recognised conversion.....If I'm not mistaken (waits for the barage of abuse)

Just wondered if anyone knows, most roofs are obviously cut in (by blind monkeys with a hack saw looking at some of them :lol: ) but when you remove a westy roof the roof of the van has proper pressed and folded edges. We couldn't work out if VW did this or if westfalia had some special piece of kit?

 

[HotVWheels]

'The base vehicle for a Westfalia conversion was the sliding steel sunroof version, or VW option M560.

The sliding roof was not installed by the VW factory at Hannover, and brand new Kombis with the M560 option could be seen on trains heading for Wiedenbruck with tarpaulins covering the hole in the roof...'

Re-typed from Simon Glen's book 'Volkswagens of the World' which I regard as the definite VW bible

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

Ahh! Interesting!
The way the paint was covering everything suggested that it was a factory done thing but didn't know for certain.

So I'm guessing M560 should show up on every pop top westy?

 

[aogrady]

Hi!

Well, AFAIK, on my 70 westy, the pop top hole is where the sunroof would normally be, drain holes etc are all there.

Alistair

westfalia was the only VW recognised conversion.....If I'm not mistaken (waits for the barage of abuse)

Just wondered if anyone knows, most roofs are obviously cut in (by blind monkeys with a hack saw looking at some of them :lol: ) but when you remove a westy roof the roof of the van has proper pressed and folded edges. We couldn't work out if VW did this or if westfalia had some special piece of kit?

 

[Loxy]

Re-typed from Simon Glen's book 'Volkswagens of the World' which I regard as the definite VW bible

My missus isnt happy with you :evil: , another bible for me to buy.... :lol: