Volkswagen T1

Volkswagen Type 2. The different models are kept separate by T1, T2, and so on. The "Type 2" designation has naturally disappeared over time. Today, we have come to the T8.

Popular all over the world

If you own an old forest wreck that was once a Volkswagen T1, you can get a lot of money. These are today more popular in Europe and the USA than in Norway. There are stories of Central Europeans who pull up old forest debris from Scandinavian bogs and transport them south, refurbish them and sell them for a million kroner or more. Prices in Norway have also exceeded 1 million for special cars. For T1 owners, the number of windows counts. The more the merrier. You can get a bus with 11 windows, 15, 21 and 23. The cars with windows in the roof are called Samba.

Model history

First came the Volkswagen "Beetle". It was called the Type 1. Then came the "Transporter" as the Type 2. The first version of the Type 2 was called the T1. It was sold from the 1950 model year up to and including 1967. In the early years, the engine choices were the same as for the Volkswagen Type 1. After the Volkswagen 1500 (Type 3) saw the light of day, the Type 2 also received 1500 cc engines. The cars were continuously upgraded with improvements. From 1964, the model received visible changes, including larger marker lights/indicators and a wider rear window.

Ideal for van camping

I don't know if it was the Volkswagen bus that was first used for camping, but it is gradually becoming known for exactly that – a camper van or camper for hippies and travelers. I got to study many Volkswagen T1s at Volksworld outside London. There are companies that offer complete interior solutions for retrofitting in Transporters and Buses. You can choose everything from elegant wood veneer to colorful plastic that can give the cars more utility for hobbies and leisure.

Volkswagen T1 Camper/Bus

About the pictures

The bus in the main image – white over green – was photographed near a VW workshop in Notting Hill, London. The white over blue bus participated in a car show at the Folkemuseet, Oslo. The photo of the toy cars was taken at the Oslo Motor Show. The other series of photos were taken in connection with the Volksworld exhibition in Sandown, Esher, UK in 2017, as well as two different car shows Aircooled in Tossa de Mar, Spain. One of the photos with a white over red bus with French registration number was taken at a car show in Perpignan.

Volkswagen T1 Transporter

About the pictures

The red over white Transporter with toy car next to it is pictured at the Oslo Motor Show. The car with the TV company is Norwegian – literally a forest wreck. The white over blue is also Norwegian – called There Blaumann – photographed at Nebbenes, Eidsvoll. The silver-gray over blue Transporter is photographed outside a TV studio in Fornebu. The blue car in the photo below participated in the car show aircooled in Tossa de Mar, Catalonia.

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Volkswagen T1 Pickup

 
The pickup variant was produced from the autumn of 1952. The following year, a car with a double cabin was shown, but such a variant did not enter production until around 1958. There was a half-height wall between the first and second row seats, and access to the rear seats was through a single door on the right side.

About the pictures

The car pictured in the top main image is a single cabin photographed at Aircooled Tossa de Mar 2919. The black one in the image below was photographed on the occasion of a "driveout" from Sætre with the Veteran Volkswagen Club.

High ceiling

High-roofed cars are suitable as food trucks and – like this one – an ice cream truck. The military used these models for many years as canteen vehicles. When you are a soldier on field training, it was heavenly when the green Volkswagen buses with high roofs arrived with supplies. The car in the picture with Bulgarian registration numbers is pictured near a VW workshop in Oslo.
 

 
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