For sale is our 1979 VW T2 Bay with the original super Viking conversion.
We bought this van in August 2024. It had a great shell and we caught it just at the right time before major bodywork was required. We had any signs of rust professionally removed, new metal welded at the front and offside rear wheel arch as well as a number of smaller repairs. The whole van was then repainted in harvest moon (a later VW colour).
With the bodywork resolved and looking amazing, our attention turned to the engine. In Jan 2025 the engine came out and was refreshed with new Twin Weber ICT carbs, alternator, heat exchangers, exhaust amongst other ancillaries all fitted by Mike at Way Out Westie. Unfortunately later in the year piston number 4 went so we used The Vw Engine Companies turnkey service to replace the 1800cc Type 4 engine. This was completed in August 2025 and came with a 2 year warranty. I had the van serviced including timing and valve checks at 600 miles as per the warranty instructions. The van has had another oil service in May 26 covering about 1000 miles since the engine was installed.
In addition to the above work we’ve also had the steering coupler replaced as well as front bushes so there are no knocks or bangs.
I’m terms of the conversion, you’ll see you have loads of space. There are 8 belted seats with 4 of those being 3 point belts so the kids can have their car seats. The conversion allows 4 to sleep at the top (2 adults and 2 children) in a rectangle shape and the seats below convert into a double bed. I’ve also installed a hammock which goes over the front seats, so if it’s ever too windy for the pop top, you can still sleep 3 with the pop top down. There’s loads of cubby holes for storage which is really useful. There’s a table that can be easily set up between the rear seats and stores away when not in use.
Key features:
- new 1800cc Type 4 engine
- newly refurbed wheels and new tyres (less than 300 miles on them)
- HS2000 propex heater with a full gas bottle
- sink and tap powered by a foot pump. This can be easily connected to a tank. I use a 26l tank so you’ve got plenty of water available. This will come with the sale.
- Fridge which works well and also has a small freezer compartment
- DAB digital radio
- split charge system
- main’s hookup although with the suitcase type solar panels we can easily get a long weekend without needing to charge the batteries
- 2 middle seats can be removed so you have a walkway through from front to back
- Tow bar with electrics
- Historic status so no tax or MOT
To note:
- The front windows need a helping hand back up. Common with T2s
- the interior is all perfectly usable but showing signs of age as pictured.
We’ve spent on excess of £15k to make this a useable reliable van. Our intention was to keep it indefinitely but we’ve decided with our kids getting older that we wanted a bit more space so have upgraded to a motorhome. We’ve had loads of great memories in the van and it will be missed. It’s in great condition, even underneath you can see there’s no sign of corrosion. I was going to under seal it but thought I’d leave it so you could see it’s actual condition.
Based in Bedfordshire
