Panel Van Project
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial|Issue 151
Andrew Matthews used to spend much of his leisure time racing stock cars at weekends, but when he hung up his race suit and crash helmet in 2013, his wife Natasha suggested he needed a project to keep him amused.
PAUL BUSSEY
Panel Van Project

That was the green light to acquire a Volkswagen bus,” enthused Andrew. “I’d always been interested in them, but never actually thought about owning one. My wife and I followed the UK Touring Cars race championship and having a campervan would be very handy for use at race circuits where we could camp overnight.”

“I wanted a hardtop van, as I don’t like the high tops and the elevating roofs can be a bit of a pain to repair,” continues Andrew. “After a year of searching, I eventually found a 1981 T3 on eBay, a Panel van that had after-market side windows fitted. It was the only example I could find in reasonable condition for the money I wanted to pay. My wife Natasha says I’m tight, I say I’m careful with money! The T3 was located in Wales and after looking at some photos, I decided to purchase and had it delivered to our home in Cambridgeshire. When it arrived I was fairly impressed and although there were a few things that needed attention, on the whole I was fairly pleased. That was until I started delving further into it and then I realised there was a lot more corrosion that I had first thought.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 151 من Volkswagen Camper and Commercial.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 151 من Volkswagen Camper and Commercial.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من VOLKSWAGEN CAMPER AND COMMERCIAL مشاهدة الكل
Lance & Lisa Beaver tell the story of their...‘Old School' Westfalia Bay
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Lance & Lisa Beaver tell the story of their...‘Old School' Westfalia Bay

The history of our bus is varied. I heard that it used to belong to a soccer player who lived in it for a while, and a tale of a cross country trip that was taken in it. Since we’ve owned it, we have been to numerous car shows with our car club Kahiko Kula and enjoy that immensely, but taking it camping is our joy.

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Issue 156
Messing About in Boats
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Messing About in Boats

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

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4 mins  |
Issue 156
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Hector A Cautionary Tale.

We’d wanted a splitscreen bus for years. And first got the bug, after hiring one for a holiday in Cornwall in 2009.

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4 mins  |
Issue 156
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Ruby Red

Since the tender age of just 3, Joanne Dix has been into splitscreen Volkswagens.

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4 mins  |
Issue 156
Playing with Fire
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Playing with Fire

‘There we were, all just sitting around the campfire...’

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3 mins  |
Issue 156
Four lads take on Le Mans
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Four lads take on Le Mans

We’d had the Le Mans 24 hour race on our bucket list for a long, long time...

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4 mins  |
Issue 156
Happy 70th Birthday, Miss Sofie!
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Happy 70th Birthday, Miss Sofie!

This T1 Bulli from 1950 is the world’s oldest street-legal VW bus and is kept in VWCV’s Classic Vehicles collection in Hannover.

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2 mins  |
Issue 156
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay…
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay…

Lockdown Projects.

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2 mins  |
Issue 156
California Dreamin'
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

California Dreamin'

The beginning of our second week and we were being treated to a day out...

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4 mins  |
Issue 156
Brochure Line - A 2.6 litre T3!
Volkswagen Camper and Commercial

Brochure Line - A 2.6 litre T3!

Taking a peep at a highly desirable VW Bus few of us will ever see in its ‘Exclusiv’ finery

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2 mins  |
Issue 156