1966 Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) Split Screen Camper

This very late T1, affectionately know as "Lucy May", started off life as an Austrian ambulance. Before current owner Matt brought it over from Europe to the UK five years ago, it had gone through a great deal of serious reconfiguration work. It wasn’t just a simple conversion to right hand drive: the main ‘barn doors’ were moved across to the nearside of the vehicle too. Naturally the bodywork was completely restored and repainted as part of the process.

What we have here is a well thought out conversion, providing practical, spacious and usable space for a family. Everything feels of great quality, with a keen eye on the level of detail and finish.

That’s what attracted family man Matt to this VW. Having brought it to the UK in 2015 with all the bodywork done, he spent a year restoring the electrics and the mechanicals, fitting a 1914cc engine to give the bus a genuine 70-75mph cruising speed and an ability to keep up with (not to mention overtake) modern traffic. Although he hasn't had anything to compare it to, the bigger motor almost certainly improved the fuel consumption over the standard 40 and a bit horsepower 1.5 litre by virtue of it not needing to be driven quite so hard to achieve and maintain higher speeds.

Matt estimates the total spend on the van to be in excess of £40,000. He is only selling it now because he’s a serial car-changer. For him to stick with any vehicle for five years, as he has with this one, is extremely unusual. ‘It’s an analogue driving experience and I just want to go digital at this point,’ he smiles. Matt drove it to the Goodwood Revival and back last year with no issues. Whoever gets it next will really have something to be proud of.

Whoever did the work on this conversion really knew their onions. It presents itself magnificently - the shut lines are very good and there’s an underlying straightness about the car’s structure, with the classic two-tone chevron-fronted paint really suiting this iconic shape, and these colours in particular are bang on for the T1.

The side elevating roof is known in the Dormobile campervan community as a Martin Walter roof. Originally fitted to Bedford vans and Land Rovers, it’s easily identifiable as a Walter roof by the two glass windows and the two opening vents in the fibreglass elevating section. We are assured that it provides a watertight and cosy ambience and is in excellent condition.

Some small areas of body paint are no longer completely perfect and there’s some cracking to the lens of one of the spotlights, but we struggled to find any signs of rust anywhere on the exterior bodywork or brightwork.

We love the ingenuity, simplicity and quality of the conversion work that’s gone into this bus. If your definition of a campervan is something with cooking and washing facilities on board, then you might regard our VW as more of a dayvan. That’s fine, but in our opinion the absence of all that gassy, watery, food odoury stuff is a big blessing. Have you ever wondered why you rarely see curtains in kitchens?

Why put yourself through that? And while we’re on it, why severely restrict the interior space of the van at the same time when outdoors cooking and cleaning equipment is so easily available? Surely it’s much better to set your van up exactly like this one, all maximising the interior space for your family to enjoy - and with a practical, yet very upmarket finish to the interior.

Proud parents will heartily approve of the easy-to-clean, speedboat-specification material used for the wipe-down seats, the immaculate chequered vinyl floor, and the high quality whipped carpets in the cab area. A cunning hinge system allows the front seat back to be rearranged to face the kids in the back, giving a far larger than usual "living space". Back to the kids, who are pretty much bound to love the whole experience, especially the presence of three 3-point plugs below the back seat if your outdoors idyll is temporarily interrupted by unseasonable rain. A Propex gas-powered heater provides blown-air heating in those situations. In addition to the leisure battery in the engine bay there’s a well-protected connection for a full electrical hookup under the side doors and a long extension cable in the spare wheel well.

The airy twin bunk setup in the roof section is also a pure delight for kids, providing for sleepovers with actual sleep, thanks to the curtained windows. Down below, mum and dad are well accommodated on the properly flat-folding divan, perfectly positioned for some surprise pre-breakfast dive-bombing......

The radio looks entirely period but it is in fact a state of the art, Bluetooth-enabled digital unit running through big rear seat-mounted speakers plus conventional door units up front. One of the roof lights has fallen out of its housing. but those cute sliding windows function perfectly. Lift the carpets on the passenger side and you can just about make out a few tiny spots of surface corrosion that are more something to keep an eye on than something to worry about.

Sound examples of the T1’s Bakelite-style steering wheel are thin on the ground nowadays, so it’s worth noting that the one here is in fine shape, as is the gearknob. The dash, speedometer and switch gear are equally clean.

As you’d expect from a restoration of this depth, there is none of the corrosion that typically affects the floors and wheelarches of all pre-Transporter VW buses. There are a few tiny brown spots coming through the paint in the area of one of the side-door hinges, but the road-facing panels of the floor pans are about as dry and clean as road-facing panels can be. The same goes for the exhaust system.

As you can hear on the video, the engine starts easily and runs sweetly with a purposeful rumble from the performance silencer. We’re told that the gearbox is from a Beetle, which is not the easiest to use at first, but you do get used to it.

The painted steel wheels and Moon disc hubcaps are in superb shape.

The paperwork folder contains a document from the VW museum in Wolfsburg confirming the van’s provenance as a 1966 ambulance. Although the log book does state the engine capacity to be 1800cc, we are assured that the engine is one of the 1914cc conversions that are now very popular for Type 2s and Beetles.

Most recently (in June) works undertaken for its most recent MOT included: a new battery and alternator, work to the brakes, wheel alignment and a small amount of welding and protection underneath. A retest on the car saw it pass with no advisories.

August 2019 saw some work carried out to repair the oil filter pipe and throttle linkage, to adjust some play out of the offside suspension, and replace the spark plugs along with some missing manifold nuts. 

As we went to press the personalised registration number was in the process of being removed. It’s hoped that an age-correct plate will be issued for it, which for a 1966 car would end with a ‘D’.

What a lovely thing. Everything’s been done, the conversion work is brilliant in both design and execution, and the recent fitment of a bored-out engine has brought real-world civility and performance to what most would accept was a fairly underpowered vehicle when new.

It’s important to remember that these VW buses were purpose-built for family use. Anyone who has a family will know how tough that kind of use can be. VW buses would not have been anywhere near as successful as they have been if they had always been breaking down at the drop of a hat, or if they needed specialist attention when problems did arise. They are not like that. Such problems as do arise can often be solved in short order and at minimal expense.

The trick to VW Camper buying is getting a solid one to start off with. Then, with a reasonable programme of preventative maintenance in place, what troubles you may have will almost certainly be insignificant and/or inexpensive to fix – and your chances of losing money on it are about as high as your chances of winning the Lottery, ie not very. That’s as near a guarantee as we can offer.

The world record prices paid at auction for ‘splitties’ currently stand at over $300,000 for a 21-window and $291,000 for a 23-window. Against that, our van’s estimate of £26,000-£34,000, with a reserve set below that bottom figure and an insurance valuation of £45,000 seems like something of a steal. It drives with sprightliness and solidity and comes with two sets of keys and a box of handy spare parts.

We always encourage viewings. This VW is located at the seller's home near Witney, in Oxfordshre. Just click the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to arrange an appointment. Ahead of that, or at any time during the process, you’re more than welcome to ask any questions or jot down observations in the comments section below. You won’t be shocked to hear that our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section will answer general questions that are frequently asked about how The Market works.