Why a classic T3 VW camper van could be the ultimate lockdown antidote
Those who know VW van vernacular will tell you that a ‘Split’ is the original split-windscreen Volkswagen Type 2 van. Its replacement had a single piece, curved front window, hence ‘Bay’, and when European production of that stopped in 1979, its successor had a raked windscreen, earning it the ‘Wedge’ sobriquet.
Good Splits and Bays are highly collectable, and already healthy values have shot up as travel-starved Britons have bought motor caravans for the first time as lockdown antidotes. These vehicles are still very usable and charismatic, but the later Wedge (or T3/T25 in official VW-speak) is roomier, has better road manners, is less rot prone and is safer in a front-end smash. It’s cheaper, overall, because it’s a bit less hip and happening.
Having said that, T3 values have also increased, and these vehicles go rotten and go wrong too, but a good one is perhaps a more pragmatic and interesting (if antique and eccentric) choice than a huge, modern, plastic palace motorhome with a name like Bloodhound Octave Supreme.
If the idea of owning a T3 appeals, the usual caveats apply of not rushing, looking at several examples, not buying the first one you see and making sure that all the mechanical and camping bits work properly. Getting a classic VW specialist mechanic to check a vehicle is highly recommended.
Be prepared to poke and prod about underneath, and ask to see a van started from stony cold, as this can reveal unwanted mechanical clonks and bangs.
T3s were built in Europe from 1979 to 1992, starting life with clattery, air-cooled 1.6- and 2.0-litre petrol engines. The former provides glacial performance, the latter likes a drink but is better overall. Smoking and a complete lack of go could indicate mechanical wear or an overheating problem.
These are ‘boxer’ engines, because the pistons move from side to side rather than up and down, and these low-slung motors live under the boot floor, accessed by a hatch. Have a good check around and use common sense when looking for signs of neglect and fluid dribbling.
From 1982 onwards, the vans had water-cooled motors in 1.9 and, later, fuel-injected 2.1 petrol guises. There were also 1.6 and 1.7 diesels. Both can suffer internal gasket failure, resulting in overheating and mechanical doom.
Water dripping from the bottom of a petrol engine is a bad sign. Service history evidence of regular anti-freeze replacement provides some reassurance.
Seek vans that idle smoothly and pull well. Gearboxes are generally tough. Gearchanges aren’t the acme of precision thanks to lengthy linkages, but obstructive vagueness is a sign of worn bushes.
Driving-wise, the steering shouldn’t be sloppy, and if you hold the wheel lightly the van ought not to veer off course. Brakes should be judder-free.
The body has seams filled with mastic, which hardens with age and lets in water; rotting panels are generally the result. Wheel arches go frilly, water in the front footwells implies rot behind the windscreen rubber. Look for rust eating the door bottoms, and make sure the sliding side door isn’t flapping about on worn runners.
The youngest T3 is heading for its thirties, so physical frailties can emerge. Generally, we’d recommend a professional camper conversion, rather than a DIY effort, to ensure things like gas cookers and fridges have been properly fitted (companies that turned T3s into motorhomes include Autosleeper, Holdsworth and Devon).
What should you pay for a T3? According to Simon Davey of Surrey-based classic campervan specialist Cherry Tree Classics, about £5,000 would buy something scruffy with an MOT, double that for a solid, presentable example, £15,000-plus for a shiny one.
Ian Cushway, editor of Volks World Camper & Bus magazine, thinks these figures are conservative. He said that the much-prized, German-made, left-hand-drive Westphalia conversions are being offered for £20,000-plus.
Buy a good T3 and you’ll have an appreciating asset that can create a lifetime of memories, is straightforward to maintain, easy to buy bits for, and looked after by a network of old VW specialists.
Pardon the pun, but the negatives are just the thin end of the Wedge.
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