Just joined this merry gang

This morning a friend gave me "VW Camper Buyer's Guide" and your site appears on page 222 (the very last page!)

I visited, I browsed, I joined.

In 1977 my wife Bar and I bought a 1973 Continental simply on the advice of the accountant, who suggested that our daily driver (1958 Austin A40 Farina, bought by me in 1966 when I passed my driving test) was too old to claim depreciation on the business.

The VW was referred to on the accounts as "the delivery van" but of course we quickly fell in love with her elegant ability to give us inexpensive breaks and to meet fellow enthusiasts.

By 1990 the Austin was showing her age so she was treated to a full restoration and the VW became the daily driver.

Seven years later we were involved in a fatal head-on with an elderly lady who crossed in front of us. Both vehicles were wrecked; the police accident investigators estimated the closing speed to be "120mph or perhaps higher". From point of impact the two vehicles became stationary within 15 feet, the Mazda saloon embedded into the VW almost to the bulkhead behind the front seats.

The inquest was told that the exceptional strength of the VW carried us through the impact and the investigators expressed admiration at how our front doors had compressed to help with the deceleration along with the front deformation panel behind the bumper and the steel dashboard. As VW had anticipated, the steering column moved slightly forward and positioned the wheel down between the seats.

Every seam on the shell had split during the heavy impact but, again, the designers had factored that in as another stress-absorbing aid.

I share the above in order to help others appreciate how strong a well-maintained Type 2 is and to warn against removing the deformation panel in the mistaken belief that its absence somehow improves the look of the bus.

(I see that my battery needs recharging so please be patient and I will finish my story tomorrow - with considerably better news!)

 

Watcha. That was some entrance!

 

Interesting report...

Three crash tests (with car VW/NSU K70, with guardrail, with wall at 50km/h) are documented in old magazines.
Here from my German-language collection (with pictures):



https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/data/books/magazines/1974-03-lastauto-sonderdruck.pdf
https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/data/books/magazines/1975-04-vw-report-2.pdf
https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/data/books/magazines/1975-09-kfz.pdf
https://www.vw-t2-bulli.de/data/books/magazines/1975-11-lastauto.pdf


My uncle traveled a lot to trade fairs cross Europe in the 70s. He hated T1 and early T2a and had seen a lot of serious accidents with it.
He preferred to use a packed but safe Mercedes sports car instead - and is still alive

regards,

 

Welcome Keith to the forum. I look forward to part two of your story, and hopefully many more to come. Do you still have a Bay?

 

Thanks gang, especially the crash reports.

Yes, it took nearly two years to recover from. Mine were simple (simple??) crushed and broken leg bones plus many facial cuts from what was left of the windscreen as it headed rearwards, but poor Bar received life threatening damage to several interior organs as the result of taking the deceleration only on her seatbelt.

We returned to part-time work and mercifully the Austin is a very light car; the 948cc engine being very flexible meant town work is a doddle, only needing second and third. The damage to the right leg has left me with little strength in it so I brake/declutch with t'other one. (Surprising easy - just knock the gearbox into neutral by hand.)

But although the Austin did (and still does) sterling daily service, seeing a Type 2 rattling along gave us sad pangs. One day in 2000 the IT Manager at work announced the launch of a new search engine with the unlikely name of Google which claimed to find anything (eat your heart out, Ask Jeeves!)

In those distant days the museum staff had to submit queries only via him, and in a fit of mischief I asked him to find me a Type 2 Continental automatic.

He rather pompously asked what that had to do with archaeology so I baffled him by pointing out that such a vehicle possessed a table and an auto box, both quite useful for a limping illustrator!

That baffled him. To my astonishment just three weeks later the brute found one only 20 miles from home.

Soon after saw Bar, me and the A40 in Leamington Spa gazing at a very weary-looking '72 white example. Plenty of fun ahead hunting down the tinworm but, most importantly, the interior was in wonderful condition. She started and drove well; I quickly adapted to left foot braking, while that generously sized accelerator pedal was manageable.

Once home, I promptly took her to a local VW fanatic (G.E. Hartwell Services in Chacombe) who crawled all over, under and through the bus before announcing the very first thing would be a comprehensive service before he'd compile an action plan for the shell.

By 2003 the bus had been brought up to Gary's usual high standard and once more the A40 was sharing her garage with a camper: they make the perfect partnership with both doing what they're designed to do best.

With Gary looking after them, I hope they'll see me out. At 76 I reckon we'll all three come to the end of our respective motoring lives within the next 20 years, give or take. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for your patience in reading my ramblings. I shall try to share some photos with you in due course.

 

Fair play to you, I'd never get in another T2 if I'd experienced that crash..Showing off driving mine standing up on the M5 to the Run To The Sun makes me shudder now.

 

Welcome from West Lancashire - a head on crash is one of my worst nightmares -I have been lucky so far

 

Welcome from France, That’s one hell of a backstory.

 

Purple et al, nobody going about their legal occasions would wish to be involved in a head-on. We were sober, on our side of the country main road (A417) and driving west in fine sunny and dry weather in the early afternoon. Traffic was light when the car in question veered unexpectedly towards us.

With the few moments given to me, and the presence of mature trees bordering the road, I simply had nowhere to go.

Any fatality automatically involves a police engineer's report to the inquest. Both vehicles' roadworthiness and their drivers physical and mental health are subjected to intense scrutiny as is the road- and weather-conditions plus witness statements.

It was stated that in two vehicles of similar mass, that impact would have been fatal to both parties. The superior mass of the VW plus the planned inbuilt shell deformation saved our lives albeit with life changing injuries. The event happened 26 years ago; Bar and I continue to have issues but we're still above ground and making noises. What's not to like?

 

Welcome aboard great story I've only been in one accident and that was in 1986 sliding down a dual carriageway on the roof in a vauxhall nova (shell suits and cigarettes dont mix)
Ian

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

Welcome

 

Well, here are some photos, as promised earlier:

Our first VW (called Bethania afer the area in North Wales where we started camping in 1977). Here she is at the summit of the Col de l'Iseran which, at 9,068 ft is the highest pass in the French alps. Took a while to get up there!!

Next is the sad remnants of the cab after the crash: because both doors were destroyed, they couldn't be opened and the fireservice had to cut us both out. Didn't do the bodywork much good...

Our new Continental (called SNowdroP after her reg plate) waiting for us at Gary Hartwell's workshop (just off Junc 11 of the M40) and in fine company!

Bar and me in North Wales (Moel Siabog in the distance).

One of our favourite spots, a tiny hamlet called Llanbedr (near Painscastle in Powys with the farm in the distance). The hill is called The Garth.

One swelteringly hot day in Llanbedr with everything wide open to catch a draught.

And finally - and please excuse the intrusion of a mere Austin! - here's our 1958 Mk 1 A40 on a visit to her birthplace in 2008. She still remains our daily driver after we bought her in 1966 when I passed my test and is a testament to Gary's care. He put the cellulose paint on in 1993 and it looks almost as fresh today as it did then.

 

I wonder what your reception in Scotland is like with your plate?

Great photos

 

D'you know, it did occur to us to change her reg especially as we found that Beth's is still available...