My LHD 1972 VW Dormobile project (Canada) Update July 4

[72_dormobile]

Hey this is my van. I purchased it off the original family who bought it brand new, son inherited it when parents passed. It was in england before.. It had been sitting in a driveway for 15 years before i picked it up. So far i have installed an adjustable front beam, porsche phone dial wheels and an empi exhaust. Im keeping it rat style, i love the patina. Updates to come...

 

[Harlequin]

Welcome fellow "patina crossover" 8)

 

[Loxy]

Welcome to Earlybay, nice crossover dormobile 8) , reckon were going to need our own sub-club soon for all the crossover dormobiles on here along the lines of the PVP, partners in chrome, westy mafia etc
Got any pics of the interior? cant be too many LHD dormobile interiors around, interesting to see if its the same as our RHDs.

 

[72_dormobile]

Thanks guys! so is a crossover a right hand drive?? i guess thats wierd because dormobile is in england. I need to go back to the old guy who i bought it from and get the whole story but if i recall his parents had taken it to get the dormobile conv. and then had it shipped.. i guess over to mexico and then drove it down into canada. I was so excited when i got the van after seeing it and knocking on this guys door and having it towed away 30 mins later for ($400) i didnt pay much attention to the history.

I can get some interior shots. Everything came with it, 2 mint jump seats (folded up in covers, probably never used) the stool with toilet can and plastic ring for seat, original fire extinguisher from '72 haha, cupbords filled with old stuff from the 70's totally untouched and un-used for years! Cabnets in near mint condition, it has a fridge, i dont know if that is original?
I installed new roof window seals i had shipped from dormobile in england also.

More pics to come, going into the shop this week to get it running, and lowering the rear. And if anyone has info on dormobiles to share because i dont know a whole lot of info on them. thank!

 

[Loxy]

Crossover refers to the model year - its the year that they started changing things from early bay to late bay:
Big rear lights, flared arches etc etc theres a thread on here somewhere that explains the differences.
Dont think a fridge was standard, most came with a coolbox (insulated box that you used ice or ice blocks to keep things cold in)next to the rear seat.
The potti is quite a rare extra, again theres a thread on here somewhere that discusses its rarity!

 

[dp]

Bargain, and looking good! Teledials are definitely up there with my favourite wheels on a bay (though I'm sticking with my wide 5s for the minute) - they just seem to suit the lines and you don't see them that often.

 

[72_dormobile]

Thanks alot for the info. I have looked at interior pics on the internet and it seems some one has taken one of the cupbord doors off and inserted a fridge in the opening. My fridge is right under where the table would be set up. which to mention also was still in the van. I have a shelf above the window above the sink. I think it may have been added also. i have not seen another one with the propane tank door i have on the left side, so maybe it was put in with the fridge. Since it is a left hand drive, the bed covers where the spare wheel would go in the rear cargo area, so that is why it has probably been mounted on the nose of the bus.

I will take interior shots tomorrow, Im pulling it out to put 25mm H&R spacers in the rear because the 10mm dont do it. The tires rub on the inside. I may be rolling the rear lips in to make clearance but i guess we will see.

 

[72_dormobile]

I forgot to mention i do also have the ice box. it has a metal freezer rack inside it. And the stove and all accesories to go with it is there. It has an 8 track player which i have purchased some good old tunes to play in it! The porsche teledials were $100 cad. for the set, they are 16x7's and the tires i got for free. 205/55/16 up front with 225/60/16's in the rear, the wheels need to be refinished, But they look fine with the condition of the van haha

 

[Airtime]

Awesome van! :shock: 8) The Teledials look really spot on! 8) I want them too! :lol:

 

[Loxy]

I have a shelf above the window above the sink. I think it may have been added also.

The shelf is probably an original dormobile feature as they did come with shelves above the sink.

 

[72_dormobile]

Today i took tons of pics, installed new adaptors, front lenses. Note front camber is way out, just threw it together so i could get it towed away to the shop, it will all be sorted out soon. Enjoy!

 

[72_dormobile]

I just got the cocoa mat for the front foot area, but i need to get it cut in 2 places to fit around the e-brake and the steering column. the rear will be lowered to match with notched spring plates also. floors are solid. and the rear wheels fit perfect i didnt have to roll the fender edge.

 

[Loxy]

Looking good, interior looks pretty much all there, couple of previous owner mods to the cupboards by the look of it (chrome trim & handles, the cut out bit behind the passenger seat & big hole for fridge), you got any bunks in the roof & over front seat & a mirror in the roof?.

Whoever is sat in the drivers seat in that last pic needs to smile a bit, shes driving a cool dormobile :lol:

 

[Loxy]

Just in case you didnt know, the table should store under the back seat, theres two "runners" that it slides into then the base of the seat hinges down over it.

 

[72_dormobile]

Yeah you can tell he put a new cupboard face on from the ice box to the back of the left front seat. Its almost a match but a little off colour haha, and yeah i have the cotts and the mirror that goes above. i took it off the replace the plywood it mounts on. I knew the table slid in under the seat i figured that out one day!

Haha in the laast pic i cought my girlfriend off guard she didnt know i snapped it.

 

[72_dormobile]

.

 

[dagboyblue]

HI

great crossover !!

iu have a crossover with teledials to go on, seems like i got the wrong thickness adapters - wheel won't fit on the back

what have you got??

mine is also lowered on adjusters - about 5"

cheers
D

 

[72_dormobile]

I have 16x7's all the way around. I have 205/50/16's up front and 225/60/16's in the rear. I have not lowered the rear yet. The 10mm adaptors did not work on the rear so i used 25mm and there is perfect clearance on the inside and out with those wide ass 225 tires.

 

[Guest]

I have 16x7's all the way around. I have 205/50/16's up front and 225/60/16's in the rear. I have not lowered the rear yet. The 10mm adaptors did not work on the rear so i used 25mm and there is perfect clearance on the inside and out with those wide ass 225 tires.

what width wheels have you got on? did you say 7J? :shock:

do the teles and cookie cutters have a similar ET? youve given me some hope that my cookie cutters might still fit.

 

[72_dormobile]

So today i decided to stop by the house i found and bought my van from. I knocked on the door and the old guy was suprised to see me, i told him i had just come by to get some history on the van. Here is what i was told...

His parents bought it brand new in 1972 and were living in England. They immediatly shipped it to Quebec Canada to where they set on a 2 year road trip, mainly to visit their son (who i purchased the van off) and their daughter who had also moved to Canada.
The daughter was living in Ontario and the son was in Prince George B.C. So they traveled all through Canada and then made it down to mexico (the 1973 decals on the window). When they were done and on their way back to Quebec they went back through the states and when they were in montana, the father had a heart attack and passed away.

The daughter then flew there and the son drove with his friend in a car to Montana to see the mother and then drive the van back to prince george where he lived. So the van never made it back to Quebec to where it was supposed to be shipped back? or is that why it is left hand drive because they were to leave it here in Canada and not take it back?

Mr. Scott who i bought it off had used it for a few camping trips with his kids back in the late 1970's and 80's after he had taken it over after the tragedy. He moved to Vancouver to where he is now and said he would just take it around the block at midnight every few weeks to keep it alive. Then finally in 1990 it was left to sit in his driveway to where I found it 15 years later. He told me he is going to dig out some old pictures and try to write down some stories from the van. He was so pleased to hear we are keeping it alive, he was all tearing up.. i guess it was sentimental because of whos it was and the circumstances with it.

I asked why the cupboard had been changed and he couldnt remember. The he said "wait!" I remember my parents were camping while they were on the trip and they had gone for a walk and had come back to a fire truck putting out a fire in their van. He said the propane was kept inside the van when purchased and there was a propane leak and it lit up!. The cupboard face, part of the headliner was patched, and the bunk and cover got melted. He told me they had to have it fixed and they put in the metal door on the exterior for the propane tank and that was done in Texas U.S! so lots of history. A true one owner vehicle, and those are original Miles!

I will be speaking with him soon to see the pictures he digs out, i am going to ask if they were planning on leaving the van here and if thats why it was bought in lhd. I will update when i hear more.