Q and A

Questions asked via e-mails and the answers returned.
From Janet
Your site was great - and has made me even more determined that I have to join this wonderful world of camper vans.
I'm literally spending hours trawling the net looking at various VW camper vans...I started out thinking I just wanted a bay - and now I find there's a million and one different versions out there! As a complete novice to this game, would you mind giving me some tips as to what I should be looking for? I would imagine body work is of prime importance?
I realise it's a bit of a cheek to ask ....but don't ask then don't get for definite! You've already been a great help anyway in giving me all that info on your site...it's great.

Hi Janet
Nice to hear some good feed back from the web site. I have more stuff that has to be unloaded so keep looking. Things to look for in a van! Thats one small question and a very, very big answer. First of all write down all the things that you would want from a van when you are away on holiday/weekend fun party and try to find a matching conversion. The conversion can and does effect the price. Westifilla are always more expensive than a Devon, Danbury or Viking of the same year and state of repair.
The next step depends on you budget. If you buy cheap, you WILL end up paying out lots and lots for repair work and bits that will turn up or fall off just at the wrong moment. If your budget will run to it buy the very best van you can afford, this will save time and pennies later.
Look under the van, the chasis is one of the main areas where the rust worm lives. Take a screwdriver with you and poke around under there. We saw some nice looking vans for sale until we looked under them!? The other places are the lower 6inches of the body panels and around the wheel arches front and back, this is where most vans rust first. Check the seat belt anchor points for rust / plating / welding. Also check the front axle for holes in the end plates and the main tube.
Next, can you smell petrol when you stick you nose in the rear side vents? If so the fuel line and breather system pipes will have rotted and could be a fire hazard, many vans burn this way. This is a simple fix but easier with the engine out. How old is the engine? Replacements are available but will cost anywhere up to Ł1000+. Engines are available in 1600cc, 1700cc, 2000cc. The bigger the engine the greedier the fuel consumption on a run. 1600cc runs around 20 to 25 mpg at 55 mph!
Does the paper work match up with the van? VIN plates are found behind the drivers seat and the vans serial number can be found in the engine bay as you open it on the left hand sill. Another plate is found under the glove box at the front, but this takes a little time to find and look at, a good torch is useful here and under the van. The engine number is found by looking at the engine, it is stamped on the block, on the upstand for the alternator/dynamo. These VIN numbers "must match" the log book. Sometimes the engine number will be different if a previous owner never re registered a replacement engine, this is not a big problem as you can do this later.
Most things can be put right with time and money, parts are available but the quality is very variable. Brazilian parts rust before they have been fitted, sometimes you end up using them because they are the only parts available.
We spent 3 months looking for Katy, just spend a little time looking at each van before you buy. That nice paint job can hide alsorts of problems that will come back to bite you later on. Just take you time, it's you hard won money that you are parting with and not someone elses meal ticket.
If you can, find your local VW Club, talk to them and ask for some help. Someone may be willing to go with you to point out faults and fixes. They normally are a friendly lot and are more then willing to help out.

From Noel
Came across your web page on Type 2 owners website and was really pleased to find information on the Devon Moonraker. I have a 1978 2.0 litre model which I am in the process of putting a 2litre vege engine in. I am only the third owner and have receipts etc going back to 1978. However I am missing the bunk beds which is an absolute shame as it now appears that I may now be needing them both. We bought the van in November 2002 in Bristol, having been looking for a good one for almost 2 years on and off. We actually live in Northern Ireland and found it on autotrader on a Thursday morning and flew out to Bristopl on the Friday and duly fell in love. ( Well she is rather beautiful!!!) . I had previously owned a 1973 T2 Westfalia which unfortunately had to sell due to moving house.
I see from your website that Katy has bunks and I was rather hoping that maybe just maybe you could point me in some direction to possibly get a hold of a pair of these.
I did buy a second hand pair of bunks from England but on arrival discovered that they did not fit my devon. They consisted of a sheet of material between two poles. The end of these poles did not have the brackets to fit the devon pop top. I can see from the material on your web pages how the inner side of the original poles attach to the devon fittings but am not sure how the outer poles are attached. If I am unable to find a pair of bunks ( I shall try ) it may just be possible that i can some how adapt my existing ones to fit. This would mean that I would need some pictures of how these attach, brackets etc. etc. and also how they are kept in place when the pop top is lowered. I do have stud fastenings which run along near the ceiling. I assume these are to hold some sort of bunk covering in place.
Once again I thank you for your website and hope that you may be able to help me in some way. If it would help I would be more than willing to e-mail you some pictures.

Hi Noel
Thanks for looking at my website. The question of buying a couple of bunk beds for the late Devon, this is a difficult one as I know of no one that makes new bunks. You do occasionaly came across bunks for sale at swop meets and shows, but being in Ireland makes it a little difficult just to go to a English show on the off chance of finding any! You could try contacting one of the brakers yards that advertise in the VW mags. By the sound of it you are missing the metal brackets that hinge the arm away from the wall of the van. The press studs on the wall are to secure a white vynle(sp) cover that the bunks sits in when not in use. The cupboard handles are no longer available but strangly the chatches are sold as "unicorn catches" at most English carvan shops. The plunger just need replacing with a short lenght of dowel.
Anyway, I will email the pictures to you A.S.A.P. and good luck looking for the right brackets. There are 6 bolts that attach the bunk the side of the van via the one pole.