1956 Volkswagen T1 Split-Screen

It was on the 13 September 1956 that this Volkswagen Type 2 was built at VW’s new Hannover plant, opened only a few months previously specifically to build Transporters. Its VW Heritage certificate confirms it as a Type 224 (a nine-seater Microbus, in right-hand drive form, but with loading door on the left). Back then though, it wasn’t blue, but Sand Green with a Palm Green roof and Lime Green upholstery, and had the extras of a hinged windscreen (M113) and six hinged side windows (M114) fitted. Given the destination that it left the factory for on 20 September - tropical Indonesia - those fresh air choices weren’t that surprising; there was no doubt much less call for all-round opening glass on Transporters heading for Finland or Norway.

The early days of the Bus are lost in history now - unless first owner Faith Baker-Way or any of her descendants are around - but fast forward over 50 years, and in late 2008, it was imported into Britain. It was restored soon afterwards and, naturally, there was some customisation beyond the body colour just being changed to Dove Blue with white bumpers - for very few air-cooled Volkswagens escape without some sort of modification these days. In the case of this one, the alterations have been kept subtle and with some cool period touches; enough to signal that changes have been made, but not enough to detract from away from the van’s 1950s’ style. Responsible for the job was Stephen Brighton and team at A-List Finishing in Norwich. “When Paul (the van’s owner back then) brought his camper to me, it was in quite a sorry shape, but it was clear from the start he was after a show-winning bus,” said Stephen.

The engine is now a 1584cc Beetle unit, rather than the 1192cc motor that the the Bus left Hannover with. This gives a little more power than the original 30bhp; in stock form, 47bhp is the usual output, but with twin Webber carburettors on this one, it has been tweaked. The gearbox is from a 1970 Beetle, as are the driveshafts and rear brakes; the front ones are discs and a Creative steering rack is fitted. Naturally, the suspension has been lowered, and there’s an adjustable front beam and rear straight axle conversion. The Bus now rides on Radar alloy wheels.

Inside, the interior has been completely redone - it’s still in passenger-carrying Bus format, rather than being converted into a full-on camper, although it could be used as such. The woodwork is now oak, and the seats white and grey vinyl with blue piping. There are several three-pin plug outlets, a cigarette lighter outlet point for a cooler in the boot area, and oodles of storage compartments. You could lose a lot of things inside this van (but we mean that in a good way).

Following restoration, the Bus scooped both the Best In Show and Best Air-Cooled awards at the 2010 VW Whitenoise Festival, and in the following years was also used as a wedding vehicle and for company promotions, as well as being enjoyed as a very cool, very practical classic Volkswagen. It came to its current owner in 2017, but has been used very little use since then - hence the reason for sale. It deserves to be enjoyed, driven and seen a lot more.

When the van came into the UK, its mileage was recorded as 88,508 miles. It’s now 94,928, so in 13 years, it’s covered less than 6500 miles. Since 2015, it’s done under a thousand.

Over 450 hours was spent restoring this van, and while the job may have been a decade ago now, the Bus still shows what an extensive and enduring job was done back then. There was a complete stripdown to a rolling chassis and the removal of over half a century of paint, rust and material build-up. 95 per cent of the trim, glass seals and rubbers was replaced, and chromed Safari front and rear windows, plus opening side pop-outs, were installed.

Over 10 years on, and the Bus is still in excellent order. Just take a look at our pictures for yourself - while noting that the ‘spots’ you might see in many of the shots are snow flakes, rather than body marks. The UK in January isn’t an ideal month for photography, sometimes! The paintwork is still in extremely good condition; it’s remarkable how well that bluff front end has managed to escape any significant stonechipping. You will find a little, of course, with most of it on the white bumper, but you do have to look very closely. For those who really want to nit-pick, there are a few marks around the roof and guttering, from where that great-looking wooden-slatted roof-rack - with its St Christopher, Split-Screen Van Club and AA badges on the front bar - has been taken off and moved around in the past. The screws of the badges are one of the few places you’ll find any rust on the Volkswagen. As well as there being no body corrosion, the panel gaps are even and tight all around. This is an extremely straight van throughout.

Moving to those Radar alloy wheels, they’ve very smart and, because the tyres are thicker than the rims they surround, they’ve been well-protected from kerbing. You will find some marks here and there, but nothing to write home - or to Hannover or Indonesia - about. The front tyres are Sonar SX-608 165/50 R15 72V items, their rear equivalents Achilles Platinum 195/60 R15 88H ones (date-stamped 2008, so we assume they were fitted during the restoration). The difference in sizes gives the van its distinctive slightly nose-down stance, beloved of many air-cooled VW enthusiasts.

Exterior accessories include bolt-on steps under each front door, headlamp eyebrows, extending nose-mounted aerial, chrome twin reversing lights, and a single red stop lamp mounted above the offside rear bumper.

Thanks to all the pale oak, white and grey-coloured vinyl and all those windows, the interior has a very airy feel to it. There’s a lot of space and light inside. And it’s all in an excellent state of preservation. The seat coverings still look brand new, as does the wood. All the seats have storage compartments underneath them, plus there’s a cupboard affixed to one of the side doors, that swings out when it is opened. The flooring is oak-effect vinyl, which matches the genuine stuff above it well. The headlining has no blemishes, although the section over the driver’s seat is a little ill-fitting, with a small gap between it and the roof, at its rear edge.

The driver’s compartment is in as good order as what’s behind it. There’s a lot of bare, blue metal, and it’s all superb and unmarked. The main speedometer obviously dates back to when the Bus was new though, and have a rather endearing slightly mottled look to them. You don’t get a lot of information from the dash of a ‘56 Transporter - just that speedo with three warning lights inset. Quite wisely, supplementary VDO oil temperature and pressure gauges have been fitted under the dash (for in an air-cooled vehicle, the oil is all important) - they have a nice period appearance that suits the rest of the interior.

Down in the footwells, the carpets are holding up well, but there’s some inevitable scuffing to the footwell trim alongside the organ-type accelerator pedal, from shoes. These Type 2s weren’t really designed for people with substantial feet. The ivory, alloy-spoked steering wheel is just lovely, and is complimented by a classy EMPI ‘trigger shifter’ gearstick.

No radio is fitted, and the original metal blanking plate is still in place, surrounded by the speaker grille in the centre of the dash. As there’s so little work to do elsewhere, the new owner could do a lot worse than source a suitably period Blaupunkt or Becker unit

The rear cargo section, above the engine, is nicely carpeted, with the spare wheel vertically-mounted on the left. It doesn’t look like it’s ever been used.

Inside the engine bay, everything has been nicely detailed, with a lot more brightwork than when the Bus would have left Hannover with during the 1950s. The fan shroud is chromed, as is the front surround. There is some surface rust on this, around the right-hand side aluminium ducting. The engine looks to be completely oil-tight and has been kept clean. The engine starts easily and runs very sweetly.

Underneath the vehicle, the chassis has been undersealed and, as far as we can make out, looks solid. Looking back over the MoT history, no major work has needed to be carried out since the Bus’ restoration. The rear exhaust system does have quite a bit of rust though. The last MoT expired in July 2019, although, being a historic vehicle, this Volkswagen is now exempt from testing.

While there’s no information from the Bus’ previous life in Indonesia, there are lots of bills from the point when the VW arrived in the UK. These include invoices for £778 for glasswork and £1923 for the steering rack, front disc brake kit, master cylinder and Samba trim. This is accompanied by a lot of the MoT certificates, plus the official Volkswagen heritage certificate. There’s also hand-written details from the past owner detailing some of the modifications that have been carried out.

There’s no reserve on this Bus, but given the standard of the restoration, how few miles have been covered since then, and the huge interest in and enthusiasm for these first generation Volkswagen Type 2s, we’ve estimated between £30,000 and £40,000. We’ve seen comparable examples from the 1950s go for far in excess of these values. This is a classic Bus with a lot of personalisation and a great deal of character. The extra period touches throughout just add to its considerable appeal. It’s an eye-catching machine that will turn heads either in everyday use or at shows - where it would probably be very capable of winning more prizes. Practical and stylish rarely go together quite so well as they do here.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near 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’.