• Solid, honest and usable campervan

• £6,000 recently spent on all-new interior

• Pop-top for extra practicality

• Solid up top and underneath

The Volkswagen Type 2 is a crucial ingredient in the automotive stew, deeply ingrained as it is in the rich flavours of modern (and not so modern) culture.

These things are rugged, simple, robust, dependable, practical, fun, and – crucially – extremely cool. They’ve been delighting enthusiasts for generations, and the versatility of the format has always ensured that there’s a model for everyone: panel vans, minibuses, pickup trucks, ambulances – you name it, the Type 2’s done it.

Of course, what the platform’s best known for is its lovable campervans, and that’s precisely what we’ve got for you right here…

This 1974 campervan belongs to a collector with a keen eye for quality vehicles. He took this on as a sort of pet project, the aim being to kit it out with the highest quality appointments available and just have a bit of fun with it. As such, he’s recently spent over £6,000 on the interior, kitting it out with all new trim as well as a new fridge, sink, cooker and bed, while it’s also had new brakes and various other bits and bobs.

However, with a number of other projects on the go (and trust us, there’s some very interesting stuff in his yard!), something has to leave in order to make room. And the campervan is the biggest, so sadly it’s time to wave goodbye to this bay window Type 2 and allow someone else to carry on the good work.

It’s near-enough finished – a running and driving example that’s had a huge amount of investment poured into it… so this isn’t a case of restoration or recommissioning, just simply finishing it off with a couple of easy jobs.

The V5 is present, showing that the VW was first registered on September 24th 1974 – a right-hand-drive UK-market example. There are a few receipts here too; one for the Porsche seats in the front plus a rock ‘n’ roll bed, another for the steering wheel, and one for the whitewall tyres. 

There’s also a comprehensive invoice from Kustom Interiors in Cornwall, who supplied the full interior pack including appliances, flooring, insulation, electrics and much more besides.

The interior of this campervan is something really special. It’s recently been refitted at huge expense and has essentially never been used. Kustom Interiors supplied all the fittings including real oak veneers, all sorts of storage amenities, a tripod table and fold-down seat, rock ‘n’ roll bed, fridge, gas hob, and sink with water pump.

They also provided the flooring, insulation, electric pack including three-pin sockets and USB sockets, speakers, 110amp leisure battery, 12v and 240 hookup, trickle charger and Zoe lights. You can see from the photos that it’s all trimmed absolutely beautifully in the back, and up front are a pair of Porsche ‘tombstone’ seats.

The new door cards aren’t presently fitted, as they’ve been left off in case the new owner wants to fit speakers in the front doors, but the door cards themselves are safely stowed in the boot.

There’ll also be a bit of tidying required with the wiring in the front, but that’ll just be part of whatever the new owner decides to do about fitting a stereo. However, all the hard work has been done in this interior, and at significant expense. There’s also a pop-top for extra headroom, which raises, lowers and latches correctly.

This is a very straight and solid old bus. You can see from the photos that there’s the odd blemish and patch of minor surface corrosion here and there – most notably on the edge of the passenger door and above the offside front indicator – but it appears to be pleasingly free of further corrosion and it all looks nice and solid underneath.

All the light lenses are good, save for a very minor crack in one of the rear clusters, and the window glass is all fine. The wheels wear recent whitewall tyres (the two on the nearside having a bit of overspray on them, presumably from another project). The paintwork is decent and the blue-and-white scheme really suits it.

On the whole, a solid, honest and charming campervan.

These things are pleasingly rugged, aren’t they? The air-cooled flat-four makes a supremely characterful noise and, while progress is never hurried, you wouldn’t want it to be – these campervans are all about leisurely cruising.

The engine starts and idles happily, and the owner reports no issues with the steering, brakes or suspension. Having taken it from Surrey down to Cornwall and back for the interior refit, it’s a mechanically proven entity. 

Campervans make for an extremely positive addition to one’s lifestyle. There’s something fundamentally joyful about ownership, a baked-in joie de vivre that encourages you to throw a toothbrush and a pair of pants in your knapsack and go off adventuring for the weekend. 

And this ’74 bay window would be an outstanding thing to do that in. The interior is superb and has everything you need in there – comfy bed, fridge, sink, hob – and it’ll only take a couple of easy jobs to get it ready for your next set of adventures. 

Wire that stereo in (or leave it out), pop the door cards on, and the job’s a good’un. A lifestyle of adventure is just moments away.