VW Splitty

jcb33 · 30 Sep 2006 at 02:11

Hi All, I am in love with these and VW campers (The older versions EG 1976), However it is nigh on imposible to track down one in good nick (At least for a decent price, Splittys are about 25k???), but there are plenty that need Restoring... However I have no idea about engines, or restoration. My questions therefore be this.

1) How much would it cost to restore one?
2) Would it be posible for me to learn to do this myself, or would it be a bit risky?
3) Has anyone restored one of these beautys, and wishes to tell me about their experience?

Thanks

Jcb33!

benneh · 30 Sep 2006 at 02:54

I'm currently restoring a '67 bug (or doing what I can).. In pretty bad shape, rusted through really.. Cost wise it hasnt really hit me yet because i've just been doing what I can do, my old man does any difficult welding and so on, but soon i'll have to seperate the shell from the chassis to do the sills properly, and someone elses doing that so it will cost.
It all depends on how much you can do yourself. I know next to nothing about cars really, but learnings not too hard, you can buy dvds on the ebay with good footage of people doing the work, or manuals etc. They arent really difficult cars to work on.

benneh · 30 Sep 2006 at 07:35

In-fact drop me an email (in trust), I have some vids that might give you a bit of insight.

johnny6 · 30 Sep 2006 at 07:54

The skys the limit as they say for a good restoration you're looking at about 10k minimum depending on the general condition of the actual van. If you want a custom restoration you could easily double that figure.

Lopéz · 30 Sep 2006 at 08:56

You will need the following.

Money
Time
Garage
Tools
Experience/Skill

Now, that's in an ideal world. Of course in reality most people do not have all that. They might have lots of money so they can pay someone to do the work, but no skill or experience. Sometimes you get folk with no money or time but are willing to work through the night using borrowed tools - but they generally know what they are doing/have done it before/learn quickly - I suppose I and many other OcUK DIY-ers fall into this category.

Out of all the above I honestly think the most important is a viable working space. You really do NEED a garage because when it comes to mid October and the weather starts dropping off you just won't want or be able to work on it properly and it will go untouched for months, barring flashes of sudden and temporary enthusiasm.

Tools can be borrowed, skills can be gained, experience is something you can get from Dads/Uncles/mates, the money can be spread out oover the weeks here and there but there just isn't any compensation for having somewhere to do it all effectively.

So, boring bit aside I don't actually think a Splitty is a particularly bad choice. Spares availability both used and new is fantastic compared to most classics due to the sheer market and following these things have. What might be worth doing is getting a fresh Arizona/California import as many of these are weatherbeaten but solid - much better than having one that has sat rotting in damp UK weather for decades. VW people may have other views, I don't know!
Mechanically speaking they are extremely simple, air cooled and surprisingly reliable when restored properly. They have a seperate body and chassis which means you can split the resto between pretty bits (body) and essential bits (chassis)

Last Splitty I looked at for sale was a running Arizona imort that really needed a resto but was generally sound and sunbleached. That was a fresh import at the time and I think it went for 1.5k. That was a couple of years ago, no idea on values now.

Hope this helps until someone with more specific knowledge on VW's comes along.

penski · 30 Sep 2006 at 10:32

Lopéz hit it on the head.

Be wary - I know of quite a few people who have bought a 'running, dry-state restoration' only for it to turn into a complete snotter once it's in the country. Funny how that happens, eh?

I'd say you're looking at £13-15k to get a nice split on the road in a condition that means you won't have to touch it for three MOTs.

Now...do you want to buy one outright or spend the money on a slow restoration that you may lose enthusiasm in and end up selling one cold day in January?

*n

MNuTz · 30 Sep 2006 at 10:58

there are plenty of websites out there about the resoration of VW campers, and a few forums too.

Ideally id spend some time googling and speak to the people that have already done it or are doing it. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know.

I plan on getting myself a VW camper within the next 5 years and doing a restore on the outside and a total new refit on the inside. Theres one in my local town but its been sitting for years now, its never used and i imagine in a right state. Just got to do a lot of research first as i dont know a lot about them.

Lopéz · 30 Sep 2006 at 19:56

penski said:
Lopéz hit it on the head.
*n

It's called "Learning the hard way"

When Kate & I started looking for houses in the Summer my criteria were

Must be liveable in
Must have garage

Got both \o/

Alu_ATC · 30 Sep 2006 at 20:08

Two threads on Vw Bus related matters in a single week?! Wow.

Great vehicle to do a restoration job on, but it is really important that you know what your letting yourself in for. Also, after a bit of time around these cars, you may decide that what you thought you wanted originally (for example, a complete resto camper), isn't what you really want. So make sure you've decided what you want from your VW before you begin to restore it.

I wouldn't get one from America, but that's only because I want RHD - this may not bother you. Check the ID of Buses carefully and paperwork still counts for a lot. Don't be too worried about different engine numbers though, Buses eat through a few in their life. You'd also be suprised how many Buses have been tampered with, different ID plates etc... be careful!

There are some great websites out there that will give you some information. Below are a few that sell VW Buses (they are garages / traders) that might give you some idea.

VW Relics

FBI VW

Kieft & Klok - Not UK, but some good Buses

My ideal Bus to start on would be a completely solid, but pretty tired '68 Bay. I wouldn't go near a Bus that has such awful bodywork as the amount of structural repairs are huge, expensive and time consuming. There are some great, original, honest Buses about, I come by a few every few months, but there are tonns of rotters too.

Stay away from early '72 and mid '73. Due to the being part of the 'cross over' years, they have a strange habit to rust very badly, a lot worse than other buses. In a resotration this can be sorted, but it's not worth it imo. If you do want to keep it all stock, go for a '71 Bay. It's got the good early looks of a Bay, slighly better engine and front disc brakes.

Finally, I wouldn't go for an already resotred Bus, as these vehicles are so flexable, it's nice to put your own spin on them and learn a lot while you do it. Hope this helps a bit.