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Hi Amnesia...welcome to UKCS ....someone will hopefully be along at some point to answer your question on what to look for regarding VW T2's...i my self have a T25 for the extra space....one of the top sites for buying and selling VW campers T2's and T25's is www.dubfinder.co.uk i think you will find the prices are competative.... hope this helps you a bit

best

Scratcher  

I have had a T2 and a T25 before our current van, personally if you are not a full VW enthusiast and don't want to spend most of your time doing maintenance and non-stop holding back the rust repairs, go for a T25 or even a T4.

Loved the T2 Westy Bay window we had, it was great fun to drive, we spent over 6k 5 years ago and although it was a good van, you could see that it was going to require money all the way to keep it on the road, would estimate you would need to pay 8-9k for a similar condition one now.

You could probably pick up a semi reasonable bay for 5k, but beware there are a lot of them that look good due to a re-spray etc that will be rotted through again in 12 months time.

The T25 we have was a 1990 1.6TD Westy Hightop, that was in excellent condition and the MOT man commented on the condition of the bodywork so you could see it was going to last a few years, the slightly bigger interior made a big difference and although the driving experience was as fun as the bay, it just felt more civilised and usable as a camper.

To be honest if I was to downsize I would probably look at the VW T4 autosleepers or something similar.

Have fun....

http://www.gsfcarparts.com/

these look ok for VW spares

Booo, mine failed its MOT today, needs more welding work at the back, not a happy bunny after all the work I have already done. Oh well, out comes the welding equipment again!!

I would advise taking your time when choosing and if you can take somebody along that knows them inside out as there will be lots you may miss.

Cheers Ratty

Some hidden areas to check. The battery trays in the engine compartment. If they will let you take off the front grill under the windscreen, its where the air comes in for the ventilation, always a good sign of the rest of the front panel.

Bottom two foot all the way round including the floors need checking as does inside the rear air intake vents (the ears). Bottom of the driver and passenger doors and the slider.

Also worth checking out the condition of the heating tubes and heat exchangers on the exhasut as its no fun in the winter as the heat from a descent system is minimal.

Have a talk to the guys on WWW.Volkszone.co.uk for all topics aircooled!!

Kev

Quote: Originally posted by Ratty on 14/4/2008

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Booo, mine failed its MOT today, needs more welding work at the back, not a happy bunny after all the work I have already done. Oh well, out comes the welding equipment again!!

I would advise taking your time when choosing and if you can take somebody along that knows them inside out as there will be lots you may miss.

Cheers Ratty

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I feel ya pain dude.......not heard a bloody thing yet about my Nannybus...

Scratcher 

Also don't take the "Rust Free" Import as that.

Ours was an import and although at that point the only welding you could tell that had been done was the bottom of the sliding door, it certainley was NOT rust free once you started digging.

Amnesia180,

I see you've had some good advice on Justkampers.  Didn't read all the thread, but did anyone mention kampman's webpage?  He's a top bloke and everyone says his site is very useful:  http://www.kampaman.co.uk/

Luckily my husband is a mechanic, but if I didn't have him I would definitely do a college course in mechanics and welding or as a couple of people have said get a T25/T4 - unless you've got loads of cash!

Either way buy in the winter, they start getting more expensive this time of year.

I would say double your budget to get something decent in a Bay Window T2. Check for rust, rust and rust, then look at the easy bolt-on type mechaicals. It`s the rust that will get you   Same goes for the T25, they can rust for England as well.

Check out http://forum.80-90.co.uk/  for all things T25, loadsa good buying info on there. Don`t believe everything you read, everyone has an opinion, sift through the info and make your own mind up.

A proper factory built T25 camper will be at least £5000 for something presentable, and it`ll still have some rust somewhere. If it`s had a fresh paint-job, expect the worst in 12 months.

Hi amnesia this is my first post! this site is superb and have gleaned loads of info already.

Restored a 1973 Devon Moonraker 6-7 yrs ago and spent a few months in Portugal and Spain - fantastic.Enjoyed every minute of restoring it and travelling in it

Prices at the moment in my opinion are really high and at 5k be careful of renovations. i thought i did a proper job with mine but had the dreaded blisters after 18 months.....my advice is similar to the other guys if you went for a T25 or T4 you may be better off in that price range. Have you thought of an aussie import or does anyone have any thoughts on that? 

Gotta be T4 way to go , hope you find what you are looking for and get out there and have some fun.

Aly