South African Westys...

[karlito]

Hi all, I've just bought a SA rhd 1970 Westy.
Does anyone have any information on these as I'm struggling to find anything at all!
It's missing the buddy seat and and sink unit.
Do these ever come up for sale, or do I need to get them made?
It's a dark blue, which is original, but has no code that I could find!
It would be great to hear from some other owners and see some other SA westy's for comparison.
Annoyingly I can't put a pic up as I'm in my phone, but there are a couple on Wolfsburg wizards Fb page if someone wants to add em here...
Cheers Karl

 

[gas1man]

Other than the plate behind the drivers seat, can't help.
However if you get out of your phone you will have more luck.... :lol: :lol: :lol:
Good luck, hope there is no hidden rust, all mine had rust out there.
Will be great to see pic's when available.

Happy travels.

J & P

 

[Clem]

Specific interior stuff may be hard to find. I'm not sure they had normal m plates and they had there own colour codes ... good luck!

 

[karlito]

It would appear info is scant at best!
As I'm still trapped in my phone I'm struggling to find anything at all out about these busses!
Does anyone know how many are about?
Have I accidently bought a rarity?!

 

[scott wilson]

Good Evening. These are reasonably rare as rhd earlybay westfalia`s were only produced in South Africa or for some kind of buy it in europe- tour in europe- then ship it back to Australia / South Africa scheme. That said there are enough of them to not be hens teeth or anything. Most SA busses have generally been hammered to death mechanically and anything that has spent time in the coastal areas such as Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape will also suffer from rust. A well looked after SA bus is a sight to behold and a joy to drive. The interior that is specific to these busses is of the So67r variety and you will struggle to find replacements for your missing items in this country( although it is not impossible). Personally I am a big fan of the layout and wish you all the best in your stewardship of your bus. There is a guy advertising on thesamba.com who sells busses from SA to folks in the UK on a regular basis that may be able to help you source the parts...expect to pay good money as the parts are in short supply and you will have to piggyback someones container. All the best.

 

[karlito]

Thanks for the info!
It seems my one has had an easy life by the sound of it!

 

[Graham L]

Hi Karl

Is it a walkthrough or not?, as lots of SA westys were based on non walkthroughs and had the standard sink unit with cooler and then a double buddy seat instead of the usual single one, its a really good layout.

As above SA buses dont have m code plates and they seemed to paint vehicles a range of colours regardless of whether they were used on bays or not!!

 

[karlito]

Hi Graham, it's a bulkhead model.
Annoyingly I had a double buddy seat in the loft for 5 years.... And sold it 6 months ago!
I'll have to keep em peeled for a sink unit

 

[james309]

I have a SO67r which if it's early will be a German built bus shipped to SA, not a CKD bus. Your vin / m code plate will tell you. The SO67r is unusual as its a bulkhead bus and was the 1st Westfalia to be built as a production model and not a special order.
I love it as they seat 8

James

 

[james309]

I have a SO67r which if it's early will be a German built bus shipped to SA, not a CKD bus. Your vin / m code plate will tell you. The SO67r is unusual as its a bulkhead bus and was the 1st Westfalia to be built as a production model and not a special order.
I love it as they seat 8

James

 

[karlito]

Hi James, she's a ckd according to the birth cert

 

[james309]

That's quite unusual, what model year is it or when was it built ?

 

[karlito]

March 5 1970 I think (birth cert is at work!)

 

[karlito]

Do you have any pics of yours James?

 

[james309]

 

[karlito]

Very nice!
Exactly the same as mine except mine is navy blue!
Could I be cheeky and request some shots of the interior?
Mines missing buddy seat, sink and overhead locker.
I'd like to see what it's supposed to look like in there!
Cheers

 

[karlito]

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://s11.photobucket.com/user/karlos53/embed/slideshow/Mobile%20Uploads"></iframe>

 

[karlito]

Rats! Just can't do photo bucket from my phone

 

[cotswoldiver]

Very nice!
Exactly the same as mine except mine is navy blue!
Could I be cheeky and request some shots of the interior?
Mines missing buddy seat, sink and overhead locker.
I'd like to see what it's supposed to look like in there!
Cheers

Hi Karlito

I have a soft spot for an SA bus. This is a link to when I first collected mine, 99% stock - still had the canvas bunk for the front in the correct space above the wardrobe, full westy curtains all round. This link should take you to some of the photos

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12632&p=114986&hilit=so67r#p114986" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

David

 

[karlito]

She's a beauty David!!