Date:         20 Oct 96 20:15:15 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "William A. McKinley" <75112.2101@CompuServe.COM>
Subject:      '72 Camper (non-Westy) FS in Milwaukee

Hey All:

I just checked out a '72 (Deluxe?) van that was converted when new to a camper
by Contempo Camper somewhere in CA. It has a double bunk upstairs, but this
isn't a pop-top. It has a permanent fiberglas shell that adds about 32" to the
height of the van (the only really negative thing about this van). It looks like
it was originally some kind of higher level of trim (Deluxe?) than VW sent to
Westfalia. It has the chrome (aluminum?) body molding, two tone paint (orange
bottom, white top), heating ducts on the front doors (rendered useless by the
refrigerator (12v 120v Norcold)/stove (LPG, 2 burner) behind the passenger, and
the closet behind the driver, which also has a LPG heater in it). The layout in
the rear continues with a rear-facing jumpseat behind the closet (behind the
driver), low sink to the left of the sliding door resulting in the fold out bed
facing foreward and up against the left side of the van. There is storage in
addition to the closet beneath both seats, under the sink, above/behind the
sink, and above the driver/passenger area (remember the fixed hightop. There's a
lot of luggage space up there). LPG tank (rusty on the outside, looks like it's
probably OK, but I'd definately have it checked) is under the slider. Looks like
it probably holds about 2 gallons. Jalousy windows left and right, but
non-westy. Only two panes of glass each, and they're screwed on through the
outside. Not real smooth. Screens intact, tho. 
Why's it parked? Bad front brakes. Those '72 calipers are about $250 EACH for
new ATE's, and the brake booster is about the same. Owner claims brakes worked,
just were metal to metal. Could be a fairly cheap fix. It's been sitting a year,
tho. Claims 27K on a rebuilt engine (151K for the van), which looks all original
with the exception of the distributor (only a single vacuum line here). All smog
equipment appears to be intact. Claims it runs good. General condition? The body
is virtually rust free with these exceptions: Minor rust bubbles under the
windshield rubber. Minor rusty spots on front skin from rock chips. Battery
trays rusty, but intact. The body is straight with these exceptions: LR quarter
panel has a minor dent down low. Engine lid has a minor dent. Rear bumper dented
near the middle, but easily straightened. All window glass is good, even the
windshield. All lamps are good with these exceptions: LR marker broken (where
the dent is). Rear tailight lenses minorly cracked, but very clear (OEM) and
serviceable. Paint is oxidized overall, and there's those rusty paint chips up
front. If the whole thing was rubbed out and the front skin was repainted, the
van would look very good even with the dents (except for that @#$!-ugly hard
top. Maybe it could be removed and a sliding ragtop installed? Hmmm...). On to
the interior. Sheepskins on the front seats, the upholstry underneath is
probably ripped/worn. Dash has the obgligatory cracks at the passenger grab bar.
Floor mat is good, but the rubber up over the wheel wells is falling apart (I
was suprised to even see it). The cabinets were pretty cheap from the get go,
and they're falling apart. I would probably trash them, or replace a lot of the
parts panels. The upper bunk is wide open for when you're not sleeping (kind of
like a Westy with the top up, standing headroom), and part of it slides foreward
to make it long enough to sleep on (kind of like the early Eurovan Westy
Weekenders). It all seems to work, but is really ragged, same for the upholstry.

All in all, this is an all original professionally (only because they got paid
for it) converted unrestored camper with an uncommonly straight and rust free
body. If I bought it I would strip the camping gear and use what I could in my
Westy (maybe the 'fridge), find seats and a sliding ragtop and restore it as a
station wagon. They have an advertised price of $2500  =8-0  in the paper, but I
have a feeling they will go down about 50%, considering it doesn't presently
start (claims needs battery, I found that the ground was poorly connected and
pointed it out to owner) and needs brake work. My gut feeling is that it could
be made to drive for under $600 with new calipers, much less if it just needs
pads/rotors. There was brake fluid in the resevoir, and no evidence of leakage
at the calipers. 

I'll be happy to do legwork for anyone who may be interested. E-mail me
privately for any details I may have left out. I'll probably be checking it out
again this week, to see if it'll start and if the 'fridge works. 


Andy McKinley
75112.2101@compuserve.com
'72 Westy