FROM TRANSPORTER TO CAMPER
Over the years the VW T2 Camper, or Transporter to give this ever popular model its official title, has gone on to creat a very special cult all of its own that’s deeply entrenched in the Californian surfing scene. This generally laid back life style is a far cry from from the immediate-post war years when the T2 Transporter first went into production in november 1949. Early versions were pretty basic affairs and power came form a standard 25bhp Beetle flat-flour engine driving the rear wheels through a set of simple hub reduction gears to make the most of the low powered air-cooled power unit.
From these humble beginnings, the flat fronted T2 Transporter would go on to become a vehicle recognised the world over as a panel van, pick-up, crew bus, ambulance, mobile shop, fire engine and, of course, a camper van. In 1968 the original split screen Transporter was eventually replaced with the slightly larger and heavier second generation T2 and the new model had now started to move away from its Beetle roots. Instead of using a separate floorpan/ chassis, the new T2 now featured a monocoque bodyshell that provided more structural rigidity and allowed for much larger windows including a curved front windscreen, a feature that gave the bus it’s Bay Window nickname.
By now the air-cooled Beetle air-cooled engine had been uprated to 1.6-litres and in 1971 twin-port cylinder heads raised the T2’s power output from 47bhp to 50bhp. The new model had ditched the previous models crude reduction gearing in the rear hubs and in 1972 the so-called ‘pancake’ engine from the short-lived VW411 saloon was installed. This design was considered more compact as the cooling fan had been relocated from above the engine to the end of the crankshaft.
a facelift for the Transporter in 1972 featured fitting bigger rear lights, slightly flared wheelarchs to accommodate larger rear wheels and tyres and bigger bumpers with the cab steps now moved inside the doors. Bigger engine cooling vents in the rear quarters improved the airflow for the larger enginesand in 1973 a power hike boosted the power output of the T2’s flat-four to 68bhp. This modification now provided a more practical 82mph top-speed. although the Transporter gained a 70bhp, 2.0-litre Porsche engine developed for the 914 sports car in 1974, by the end of the decade the air-cooled engine was starting to show its age when compared to more modern water-cooled designs.
In 1979 the ‘Bay Window’ T2 was replaced by the third generation VW Transporter, known internally as the Type 25. Early examples of the new model were air-cooled but shortly after launch, a new series of water-cooled engines were available for the revised Transporter. although this spelled the end of air-cooled VW’s assembled in Europe, production of the classic-style air-cooled, rear engine ‘bus continued in VW’s South american plants until 2013 and this version is the one that forms the basis for a lot of ‘nearly new’ T2 Campers.