What makes a Westy?

[niklee1]

Just a thought, if a westfalia has the pop top roof removed and all the interior replaced with a different interior...is it still a westfalia?
Likewise if a Devon/Danbury etc has the same treatment are they still Devon/Danbury?

 

[Skyguy]

My Danbury has a westy interior.

 

[sparkywig]

My Dormobile has been through many incarnations, most recently Devon and now a Westfakia Continental.

 

[niklee1]

And my Danbury has a different interior but still retains its Danbury roof but if everything was changed what then?

 

[Marriedblonde]

My bus started as a west but is now just my bus.

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

A raw westy with the interior removed etc is a sunroof Combi without the sunroof I think
They all started out from the factory like this.

 

[Supertramp]

Westfalia is a way of life? :msn4: :lol:

 

[niklee1]

Agreed, I would say its a VW with a hole in the roof!!! :lol:

 

[K@rlos]

What makes a westy is a narrowed beam at the front and a massive motor in the back :msn4:

 

[sparkywig]

It's white.

 

[Graham L]

A raw westy with the interior removed etc is a sunroof Combi without the sunroof I think
They all started out from the factory like this.

Not quite, there are subtle differences between a sunroof shell and a pop top westy shell :lol: :lol:

To be honest not quite sure the original question is being asked, Westfalia conversions were the factory approved conversion that came off the production line with M Codes that identified it as a westy, no other camper conversion ever had that as far as I'm aware, so the shell would always be a westy shell as defined by the M Code plate.

 

[*Sam*]

Out of interest what are the differences, I find this kind of stuff interesting

 

[Graham L]

The westy shell doesnt have the drain tubes fitted (6of them) or the holes that they come through in the bodyshell to let the water out, its also missing the 'ramps' that are needed in the sunroof opening in order for the back edge of the sunroof to raise as its nearly closed, without these the sunroof doesnt work.

They are the 2 main ones I'm aware of but I'm sure there are a few others 8)

 

[*Sam*]

Cool always interesting to know these things

 

[JLT]

What makes a westy is a narrowed beam at the front and a massive motor in the back :msn4:

I think that, at least on the Westies intended for the US market, the beam at the front is identical to the type 2 passenger model, as is the motor.

FWIW, my bus started out as a tin top Westie. The original owner drove it to a coachworks on the same day he picked it up from Ben Pon's dealership in Amsterdam and had the Dormobile roof installed. But the furniture inside was still entirely Westphalia, and stayed that way for almost forty years.

Over the past few years, there have been subtle changes to the interior. I replaced the rear-facing seat with a pantry/gallley arrangement, and added a second cabinet in the back to match the first, but both were done with Westie hardware and paneling and look "stock Westie." So it's not original Westie anymore, but it's more Westie than anything else. My aim was for anybody who saw it to say "I didn't know that some Westies had that cabinet work" rather than "That cabinet work is definitely NOT Westfalia."

I think that if it came out of the Westfalia factory and still has most of its original furnishings, it's a Westie. If it came out as a passenger or a panel van and had the Westie furniture added at some later date, it would be a "Frankenwestie" like the '70 or '71 buses I used to own. But it really doesn't matter, unless you're going for a restoration. If you're using it for camping, the way it was intended, what difference does it make whose furniture you've got?

 

[magoo]

They are the 2 main ones I'm aware of but I'm sure there are a few others 8)

Can you fit a Westy birch headliner (with modification) to a sunroof roof or must it have a vinyl headliner?

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

A raw westy with the interior removed etc is a sunroof Combi without the sunroof I think
They all started out from the factory like this.

Not quite, there are subtle differences between a sunroof shell and a pop top westy shell :lol: :lol:

To be honest not quite sure the original question is being asked, Westfalia conversions were the factory approved conversion that came off the production line with M Codes that identified it as a westy, no other camper conversion ever had that as far as I'm aware, so the shell would always be a westy shell as defined by the M Code plate.

Im glad you find it amusing Graham............. I only said I think


Applying pressure helps stop the blood flow and the nosebleed will usually stop with 10 minutes of steady pressure — don't keep checking to see if the bleeding has stopped. If you get a nosebleed, don't blow your nose. Doing so can cause additional nosebleeds. Also, don't tilt your head back.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Danbury Doug]

My Dormobile has been through many incarnations, most recently Devon and now a Westfakia Continental.

Yes, you've got a proper transformer bus there Si. :lol:


I always find it interesting trying to identify the original conversions of buses that have been rebuilt/heavily modified over the years.
I saw the remains of a shell of a RHD early bay on Ebay recently. There was virtually nothing left of it, but one giveaway was the single black plastic curtain tie-back I spotted on one of the pillars. R.I.P. Danbury! :lol:

 

[subheatadey]

They are the 2 main ones I'm aware of but I'm sure there are a few others 8)

Can you fit a Westy birch headliner (with modification) to a sunroof roof or must it have a vinyl headliner?

Yes, I've just done mine I also left the rail in that holds the fabric just in case I change it later to a fabric one - but it's bloody highly unlikely I covered the ply in fabric for some reason that escapes me.