1980 VW camper ...solid and ready for some fun! Finish the interior to suit you

Price: - Item location: Windham, Maine, United States
Description:

1980 Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon

NO RESERVE!!! 1980 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia camper ...Purchased after long storage in Texas - stripped to bare metal - rust free -originally from California. Maine is not a title state prior to 1995. I do have the Texas title and proof of registration in Maine with bill of sale usually suffices.The original fuel injected air cooled four cylinder was rebuilt by FAS (*check outwww.foreignautosupply.com) in Harpswell, Maine. This was/is a labor of love and a gift to my wife for 50-years of marriage. We had other VWs and we enjoyed family camping in our bay window Westfalia while our children were growing up. Fast forward and my wife was active with the BSA and would often visit scout campsites in the New England area. I purchased this camper so she could leave our home with little preparation and know she had everything needed to enjoy her time in the woods.We started with a redo on mechanical items, bringing the electrical, braking, shifting, and suspension systems up to snuff. New bumpers front and rear. New taillight lenses. New aluminum wheels from Go Westy were added in 15-inch diameter. This improves ride and handling over the entirely too small original 14-inch stock wheels that do not have the footprint or sidewall area to support the weight of a camper. Most people consider this the single most important safety improvement over stock that can be done to a VW camper. The clutch feels good and the transmission linkage shifts easily and smoothly. The exhaust system is new.The camper body was professionally soda blasted to bare metal for a better respray. The color is approximate to the original color in a yellowish beige that is popular and oft seen.Finally we contracted with FAS (Foreign Auto Supply) to take the engine performance and reliability back to peak. $8K spent in 2018 on engine.Following all this work I had a quadruple bypass after suffering a heart attack.Work stopped and the camper sat inside our garage for the next two years - ready to go camping, butnot our focus now.We are in our 70s and have made the decision to spend some of our retirement on the road in an RV. Clearly, even after 50 years of marriage, the VW would now be too confining for us to live our lives in that small a space. So regretfully we have decided to sell our "HAUS WEG" (German on our license plate for Home Away) before finishing the interior appointments.The camper has a very amateur upholstery job on the original swivel bucket front seats. I have another set of swivels to recover that go with the vehicle. We never used or serviced the stove, sink, and only a few overnight sleep-in campings were done following the engine work. There is uninstalled new carpeting and door panels as well as a used replacement cab headliner for recovering. The canvas pop-top is new.The odometer reads 60-some thousand miles and may well be original, but while the speedometer works the mileage remains stuck. The horn, lights, etc all work.The glass is good with no cracks, or chips. Front tires are Michelin Defenders with just a couple hundred miles. The rears are also older Defenders, but upon inspection they are showing cracks and should be replaced. I added some inner fender plastic wheelwell covers. Our intention was to pull all the cabinetry and freshen it all up. Clearly this will not be happening now. The good news is that these are the fun parts of the project. A new owner has a canvas to paint upon their own vision of their "HAUS WEG" for travel, camping, and more memories.*Do a google search for Foreign Auto Supply and watch the News Center Maine report on FAS, or read an article from the Portland Press Herald about FAS ...These campers are exceptionally popular and valuable. I have over $25k in this auto. The bidding starts reasonably with no reserve.
Camper is listed locally and the auction may be ended early for local sale. No warranties stated or implied.