Classic '71 VW Westfalia

I am sorry folks it has been sold

 

 

We have owned this bus for 10 years. We bought it in Vancouver, Washington while we were living in Portland, OR. It has been from there to Minnesota, to Kansas, to Boston, and now to Gainesville, FL. For the last several years it has not had many miles put on it each year for two reasons. One is that we have spent some time out of the country, and the other is that living in cold climates like Minnesota and Boston, we would park the bus in the winter to avoid exposing it to salt.

 

It was always our dream to fix the bus up. When we decided to have a baby a couple of years ago we decided either we needed to buy another vehicle or fix up our camper to take our daughter camping. We obviously opted for the latter. Unfortunately the birth of our daughter was accompanied by severe medical complications for my wife. She eventually recovered but only after weeks in the hospital and me missing about one quarter of the work year caring for her and our baby. In addition to this blow to our finances, we moved to Florida so I can return to my studies. All this makes it clear why, after months of trying to avoid it, we are forced to part with our camper.

 

After rummaging through a folder of receipts for the VW, I found more than $1,800 in receipts not counting the $2,000 for the materials and labor for painting. This of course does not include my hundreds of hours spent both during and after the painting process. I hope the pictures you will receive soon give you some idea of the camper?s condition and the work that has been put into it.

 

Before doing all this work we considered just trying to buy another bus rather than invest so much in ours. I found an identical model for sale little over a year ago near Boston. The guy selling it was trying to call it "90%" restored and was asking $4,800. When I went to look at it, I was sorely disappointed. It was in worse shape than our bus before we started work on it. It had rust (the heater boxes were completely rusted away), a poor interior, and the "restoration" was a quick, cheap paint job.

 

A list of some (I sure I will miss others) of the new parts includes:

Within the last 6,000 miles it also has had a new master cylinder and new carburetor. The engine was rebuilt approximately 15,000 miles ago.

The interior includes tile mosaics on the tables, custom curtains, and gray low-nap carpet. The upholstery in the rear could use some work?that was one of the next items on my to-do list.

 

I am asking $5400 for the camper. Please write to me at [email protected] or give me a call at (352) 271-9731 if you have any questions or would like to make arrangements to see the bus.

 

Sincerely,

Thomas Ruppert