1973 Volkswagen T1 Split Screen Kombi

Recently restored and modestly updated, we are told this is a Brazilian Volkswagen Type 2 15-window Splitscreen (or ‘Splittie’) Deluxe Kombi Microbus, built and first registered in 1973. It is believed to have spent the majority of its life in its home country before being imported here into the UK in November 2010. The vendor is the third UK owner.

The current owner has owned the VW for the past five years, during which time he has spent a fortune with Sharp Customs, commissioning the firm to create the excellent nine-seat minibus you see today. Beautifully finished inside and out, and showing the mechanically robustness for which they are famed, the Microbus comes with the private number plate ’20 WCX’, which is worth a hefty four-figure sum all by itself.

The two-tone, Turkis Blue-and-white coachwork is in wonderful condition thanks to a recent professional respray. The job was clearly done by someone who knew what they were doing as the finish is fabulous and the flanks are, unlike many VW vans we see, free of ripples and marks. The panel shutlines are tight and even too; this, combined with such that top-notch respray, means the van looks way better than the majority you’ll see on the roads today.

The brightwork is in fine fettle too, as are the painted bumpers and sidesteps. The painted steel wheels and chromed hubcaps look fabulous and are shod with tyres with plenty of tread.

The vehicle is solid too, having spent most of its life in balmy Brazil rather than being peppered with four decades of European salt water, snow and ice. This is an important consideration given the flood of poorly restored, heavily undersealed examples that are floating around the marketplace trying to find an owner with more money than experience…

Work still to do is pretty much limited to a couple fo jobs like sourcing and fitting the door rubbers that the restorer mislaid. Doing so should be a cheap and straightforward job and a nice way to spend a leisurely couple of hours.

Oh, and there’s a small crack in the paintwork next to the bootlid. It’s not at all serious, but a cautious owner would want to get it sorted at some point in the near future to stave off future problems.

All nine seats have all been professionally retrimmed in high-quality cream leather, including contrasting turquoise piping and embroidered VW logos on the upper part of the backrests. The finish is superb, and the carefully carpeted floor, pleated-and-piped leather side and front trim panels, and contrasting handbrake and gear lever gaiters all add to a wonderful and light ambience.

The painted dashboard is simple, featuring only a fuel gauge and a speedometer in addition to a modern, period-looking radio. We haven’t been able to get the radio to work but given its condition, we suspect that this is nothing more than a stray or dodgy power connection. Two front speakers sit in the scuttle panel.

The two outer front seats are fitted with seatbelts, and the offside outer middle seat folds forward to allow access to the rearmost, third row. The raised ‘boot’ area is a generous size, and has been fitted with a matching pleated seat cushion and two matching roll cushions.

Of course, the two rear rows of seats can be easily removed, turning the VW into a capacious, and highly fashionable, van should you need to carry a large load rather than a vast number of people. The twin side doors would make loading even the largest load a doddle.

Sadly, the keys for the doors have gone astray (the boot and ignition keys are present and correct), so the new owner will have to source some. This shouldn’t be a difficult or expensive job, even if the locks themselves need changing; few cars offer the same breadth and depth of spare and replacement parts as a VW bus.

Mechanically superb, the engine has been barely run in; it was fitted in 2011, and the vehicle has covered well under 2,000 miles since that time, which means there should be plenty of life in the old girl yet! We’ve got the vehicle here with us at Patina HQ in Abingdon and we’ve driven it around locally; we found that it starts and runs very well indeed (the engine can be seen and heard running in the video from the 2 minute mark), and performs, handles, and stops just like a VW ‘bus should.

The owner confirms that he is not aware of any mechanical woes, but why not come and see for yourself here at Patina HQ in Abingdon? We’d be very happy to show you round and might even make you a cup of tea or coffee if you ask nicely.

The Brazilian climate has preserved the underside of the Splittie in a way that is totally alien to Europeans; while our transport has to contend with salt-laden water and slush being pressure-fed into every crevice, the South Americans have no such problems. So, the underside of this van is clean. It’s solid, rot-free and looking fabulous thanks to neatly applied underseal and a fastidious approach to cleanliness. This is, in short, how the underside of an old VW van should look.

Please note that the ‘bus has all 4 chrome hubcaps, some of the photos show one missing – it had just fallen off and our photographer presumed it was missing completely!

The MOT certificate expires in March 2019 (nice to see, even though it is age-exempt) and the vehicle comes with some old invoices and bills. Unfortunately, Sharp Customs stopped trading shortly after finishing the VW, so there are only limited photographs available of the work being undertaken.

Please visit the Gallery of this listing where you will find the photos that we have along with other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored to the very highest standard.

We can see this well-restored Splittie going to a family who will use her for trips to the beach and countryside, perhaps with a modest day-van conversion to add a small, easily removable kitchenette. (The V5 shows it already recorded as being a ‘Motor Caravan’, so the paperwork would be very straightforward.) Thus equipped it would make a great  family adventure van in addition to being a sound investment; the price of good VW vans has been soaring for a while yet and with a finite supply of good ones left, we can’t see this situation ending anytime soon.

We think it will sell for between £17,500-£22,000, at which price point it represents a fraction of what it cost the cost owner in purchase and restoration fees. And, as ever, the reserve is set at an even lower point, so you might just be able to snaffle a bargain.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at Patina HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.