It helped that the Transporter was in such good shape before he started but you don’t get a vehicle looking this good without expending a huge amount of time and money.
Which is exactly what the vendor did. As you can see from the ‘before’ photos, the rear wheelarches had been modified so he replaced them with the correct ones. It was also fitted with a new front panel plus new jacking points, and an inner and outer sill. The rest of the panels, including the floors, were all good and were left alone bar cleaning them up.
Someone had repainted it in Pearl White at some point in its life, a period-correct colour that most of us think suits the VW better than the blue it left the factory with. They’d clearly done a proper job as even areas like the engine bay had been changed, so the vendor re-did it in the same colour.
We don’t have a figure for what the work cost but no matter what it was it was worth every penny because it looks absolutely sensational; VW build quality was good, even back in the day, but the shutlines and panel alignment are probably even better now than it managed back in the day.
The paint is probably better the the factory managed, too. Glossy and even, it shows off the quality and condition of the panels brilliantly.
The front and rear bumpers, complete with over-riders, are painted in pure white, a colour that simultaneously contrasts and complements the Pearl White body colour.
The inside of the loadbed is painted black, a colour that works well but does rather show the dents and dinks it has. The sides fold down and can then be removed, a feature that dramatically increases the pickup’s versatility. There are also huge storage lockers under the rear body; this might be an unusually elegant example of the breed but it remains a working vehicle at heart.
The 15-inch steel wheels are painted the same colour as the body. Fitted with chromed VW hubcaps, they wear matching 205/75R15 Marshall Touring M&S tyres, all of which still look like new.
As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.
Problems? Well, that depends on your attitude towards patination. As we mentioned earlier, the loadbed is a little dented and dinged. Also, the hubcaps and some of the other chromework is pitted and lightly rusted and the bumpers have a few marks on them, including some cracks in the finish on the over-riders.
But, none of this really matters and could easily be dealt with if any of it bothers you.
