1966 Volkswagen T2 Samba

This particular VW Splittie, Samba, Micro Bus or whatever you are most comfortable with calling it, depending on where in the world you are, is a real peach. It has a fabulous pedigree having been exported to San Antonio in Texas in 1966, then to Hawaii, passing on to Colorado before ending up in Los Angeles. What a road trip and just the sort of journey a 21 window Vee-Dub should take. It eventually ended up here in the UK by late 2008 when it was imported by 3 Counties Ltd before it was sold to the present custodian. It has enjoyed a very tasteful restoration before coming to our shores, and by golly, it still looks good. The beauty isn’t just skin deep either. It’s had an extensive professional engine build, an interior re-trim to simply die for and a whole host of nice little upgrades while keeping an eye on originality. This is most certainly the real deal when it comes to Type 2 VWs as it is bristling with all the accoutrements you’d insist on finding on an original machine, but with plenty of personal touches that set it out from the rest. Definitely a VW with its own personality.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say, and this vehicle is a sight that will please the most critical eye. It is simply a real head-turner. The photo shoot became quite time consuming with the amount of attention it created in what would normally be a quiet Derbyshire village. The colour scheme is obviously the first attention grabber with the customary white top and not so customary metallic purple lower half. The paint finish is still very good and has taken the few years since it was applied in its stride. The whole restoration took place some time before reaching our shores. Don’t get us wrong, there are a few imperfections in the form of the odd chip and little scratch, and there is a little ding on the driver’s side rear quarter that has come from inside but hasn’t broken the paint. That could likely be massaged out by one of those clever ‘no paint’ dent fixers. So, back to the good points, of which there are plenty. The ‘Custom’ feel of this VW is further enhanced by the fact it has a delightful set of 15 inch BRM Alloy wheels and as the suspension has been tastefully lowered, the appearance is very sleek. Additionally, there are numerous stainless exterior parts: Cab door tops (which are very hard to come by), front and rear bumpers, pop outs and safaris, wiper arms and blades and elephant ear mirrors and arms. The car is also fitted with its original Golde Sunroof.

The interior of a VW Bus is as much of a clean slate to be customised to your personal taste as much as the outside, and in short, the inside is….bright. Space is always at a premium in these vehicles but the pale scheme makes it feel absolutely huge. It is now fitted out with period seating and chrome SO42 flip seat brackets at the front, which allows the occupants to sit facing inwards which is ideal after a hard day doing very little and enjoying a beer or three from the little built in fridge. If the conversation begins to wane, there is of course the Bluetooth stereo system which has been carefully hidden away so not to spoil the period appearance. Fitted inside is a 3/4 width Rock and Roll bed. Carpeting has been taken care of with some fun sheepskin which enforces the care-free avant-garde feel of the whole vehicle. A major part of the roof area is taken up with a fabulous sliding roof which when opened brings the outside in, and we can just imagine a chilled drink while gazing up into the heavens. At the front end where all the buttons and switches are, is a tastefully period protected area which is dominated by the huge Moto Lita steering wheel and a customary simple dash. The purple dash dials have backlighting. It does have some lovely personal touches though with a pool ball fixed to the parking brake lever and a very cool Gene Berg T Bar fitted to the shifter. For security purposes, there is a Rotary immobiliser as well. There is also interior LED lighting, high and low level.

Getting under the skin of this gem of a VW reveals that it is not just the aesthetics that have had a lot of attention. The oily bits too have been treated to a full workout. During its time in Colorado, the engine was rebuilt by the venerable engineer Tim Case, and it now boasts a healthy 1915cc displacement and is attached to a Freeway Flyer gearbox. A tasteful Vintage Speed stainless exhaust gets rid of the fumes nicely too. Front disc brakes have been considered essential and the rear drums have been upgraded to the larger ones from a Type 3. The steering box has been raised which is particularly important now the vehicle is lowered. Assisting with a lit bit of extra comfort during our chillier evenings is a Webasto petrol parking heater. Well, Derbyshire can be a tad cooler than LA sometimes. The underside has been fully protected from the environment with a copious anti-rust coating and the floors and panels have a more than generous amount of Dynamat sound proofing. The VW has been mildly lowered on flipped front spindles and straight axle rear conversion. According to the owner, quiet conversations can be made, even at motorway speeds.

There is a good deal of paperwork that supports the life and times of this VW Bus. Naturally there are plenty of invoices from the UK and its extensive life in the USA and in particular, an itemized invoice showing the extent of the engine build. On top of all this interesting reading, the Bus comes with a ‘Birth Certificate’. This is effectively a Heritage Certificate that acknowledges the build date and origins of the VW from whence it came. There is naturally a UK V5 document which shows just the one previous owner in the UK.

If your life is at a stage where the halcyon days of the 60s and 70s are calling you and your inner surfing Hippy is fighting to be heard over today’s hum-drum existence, then this is the kind of vehicle that will help you reach your ideal lifestyle. There is no doubt that the work undertaken on this machine has been extensive as well as expensive and the result is a very clean and reliable leisure vehicle. It already has oodles of personality and charm - what split screen Vee-Dub doesn’t - but there is still room for someone to make their mark on it and make it their own. The market will always be strong for the 21 and 23 window buses the world over and this one has a lot of appeal and will certainly garner a fair bit of attention. With that in mind, it would be sensible to act fairly quickly, otherwise that inner Hippy may just have to go ignored. We estimate that this fine Type 2 will sell for between £50,000-£60,000, an excellent proposition considering its insurance value of £64,000-£75,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Ripley. 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’.