Old Photos
These pictures were taken shortly after I purchased the bus, in September 2000. The paint was faded, the windshield was cracked and milky in the corners, the rear bumper was missing, and it had minor body damage on the right rear quarter, along with surface rust in all the usual places. The original canvas in the poptop was in decent shape, with the exception of one large tear in the corner. All the seals were old and hard, and the rear mattress above the engine compartment was missing.
Random Photos
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I would like to give a shoutout to Richard Atwell's VW Bus Pages and type2.com , both of which are tremendous resources for bus information.
Bus Parts Vendors
- Bus Depot A little slow on shipping, but stocks pretty good products at reasonable prices.
- Busted Bus No online inventory, but Chris is always fast to respond to parts inquiries, has a vast knowledge of bays, and can get hard-to-source parts.
- German Supply In addition to contributing a lot on The Samba , Scott at German Supply stocks a lot of high quality parts and even offers custom kits for Type IIs.
M-Code Plate
Every bus comes with this plate attached to it, containing a series of codes. They tell you what specifications the vehicle was originally configured with when it left the factory. On later model Type 2s, it can be found under the dash, riveted to the duct work on the driver's side. It's awkward to see, but I took a photo and managed to decipher all the codes, thanks in part to the the site Volkswagen T2 Production Codes and the book VW Transporter and Microbus Specifiaction Guide 1967-1979 . Below is the plate, and what each group of numbers means.
 |
82 145 764
227 246
945134 D52 P22 005 073
23 2 7243 UN 2319 61 |
82 : 1978 model type 2
145 764 : serial number
227 : detachable headrest in cab
246 : Windshield fee from import-duty for USA
9451 : paint code, L63H (sage green)
34 : interior, cloth camping green yellow
D52 : USA specifications group - speedo in miles, sealed beam headlamps, rear window defroster, back-up lamps, side marker reflectors
P22 : Westfalia interior type P22
005 : Heater outlet in seat box of rear bench seat
073 : Pop-up roof campmobile
23 2 : week of production and number of weekday of production, my bus was "born" on June 6, 1978
7243 : somehow related to production planning
UN : Export destination, New York was the port of entry
2319 61 : Type 2 model, 231 = Kombi sliding door right, LHD, 961 = VW Campmobile w/ 70HP engine, manual transmission
