Whoa! What’s that blur?
I call this the “CC effect”. I mean, only yesterday I posted this VW Beetle, caught while waiting for the bus. Well, today, while actually on the bus itself, I managed to play cat and mouse with this very worked Volkswagen Type 2 Pickup Truck. It was the combination of a very slow T2 acceleration, together with the typical stop\start bus ride, which led to the two running more or less side by side.
The bus has stopped at the station and the T2 overtakes us… just barely:
And just look at this. The Outback passing the T2 is huge compared to it. I had to remind myself that I’m looking at a utility vehicle, that was probably considered large at its day.
Stopping side by side at a traffic light allowed me to photograph and inspect it much closer. Not a single straight panel on there.
Starting to move again; the driver looks just as tired as the T2. No Air-Con, together with 30° Celsius and 75% humidity will do that to you.
I think this must be a commercial amount of bathroom sealant around the windshield.
While stopping at the next station, I managed to snap it up one last time before it finally vanished within the traffic.
As the local Israeli classic car commune is not large, and because I have a good memory for classics I see and photograph from time to time, I recalled seeing this T2 previously. A quick look through my photos confirmed my memory:
This photo, along with the next, was actually uploaded to the CC cohort a while back. The funny think is, it was snapped at a street just around the block from my flat…
I’m no expert on T2s, but judging from the indicator lights this example is at least forty-five years old, if not more. In 1972 the indicators were moved above, next to the grill. So this T2 was born sometime between 1967 to 1971.
It’s even more impressive when you notice the license plate; I’ve explained in previous posts that in Israel, if you want to register your over-twenty-five-years-old car as a classic officially, you have to agree not to drive it between 7:00AM to 9:00AM on week days. In return, you get a greatly-reduced MOT yearly tax, and a license plate marked “Collectible Vehicle”. This marking is clearly missing from this T2’s plate, so the owner decided to forfeit the reduced tax (this is madness to me) but in turn, is able to use the truck all day long.
VW T2s in Israel were very popular in their day, much like the T3s, T4s, etc. As a result, and with some cult following (no doubt influenced by the Beetle), quite a few have survived really well. Much like the Beetle, most T2 owners have meetings (mostly along side Beetles), service their vehicles by using specialized mechanics and so on. You know what’s coming next… Photos from various meetings for your pleasure:
Naturally, most T2s are the bus \ van types. Here’s one that its owner uses to promote a business.
Older, pre 1967 cars also exist- although getting very rare.
Here’s another T2 from the green truck’s era, 1967-1971. But this one’s state is a sharp contrast to the working truck.
I mean, have a look at the back of it- and notice the roof.
This T2 is a closed van, as you can see. And behind it…
… A T2 truck. This one is lowered, modified, and has certain goodies, as my sources informed me.
Here it is again, at another meeting. It actually belongs to a local Beetle specialist. Obviously, it’s neglected on purpose.
From the same meeting, this blue T2 truck looks a lot better.
I’ll leave you with a static photo of that neglected green T2 again… or is it?
Well, no it isn’t. Note the double cabin, and most importantly, the aforementioned “collectible” marking on the license plate.
Plus, it looks a lot better.
I think the truck on top is a 71, judging from the many brake cooling holes on the wheels . It was the 1st year with those style wheels. 72 was the 1st year of the much larger tail lights.
1971 was also the first year for front disc brakes. Boy, what a difference those made over my 68 bus. Even in tip-top shape, the dum brakes were only adequate compared to the 71’s new set up.
Amazing headache rack on that thing. Headache for a giraffe, that is.
What could it be designed to hold? Not plywood. Not pipes or ducts. Maybe plate glass, but it doesn’t have the padding you’d expect for glass. Cover it to make a camper? Way too tall.
I guess it’s a giraffe rack after all. Fits 4, facing sideways.
I’m thinking tall items such as appliances. Just strap them standing up to the rack. You really need to watch out for low hanging bridges and parking structures with this rack!
In the ’70’s I started off as a parts driver for a VW dealership just out of high school. Most of the dealerships used the single and sometimes double cab pickups. Ours had a ’68 single cable I drove in ’74/’75. The dealers would all go the VOA warehouse in Culver City to pick up parts, today it would look like a car show of rare VW pickups, most painted with their dealerships name and phone # on the side.
The one I drove was in great condition, looked like new. It got plenty warm inside sitting in traffic in the hot SoCal summers. Most of them were kept looking good as they were advertisement for the dealers. I drove weekly from Sunland to Culver City to pick up stock orders, that’s when the Bus would be loaded down with short blocks, batteries, starters,generators and lots of smaller parts. The daily orders were normally light and the Bus performed better. It was tough getting on the freeway with cars going 70 MPH+ pulling all that weight, and you didn’t want to cut someone off and have the dealership receive a nasty phone call. I never did, but I’ll bet today with cell phones and I’ll show this guy attitudes they would be more common.
Oh, that’s easy; this high rack tell me this truck served as a movers’ vehicle at one time. Think that you could load a large closet or a refrigerator, without having to tip them over.
Of course the rack was covered from the weather. You can still see many trucks with this setup working their way across many cities in Israel (on muck newer trucks, of course).
Found a photo of a more modern incarnation of this VW mover:
And this is how they usually look, covered:
A pretty rare beast here due to the chicken tax, a local garden center has one of these.
Awesome article! I’ve seen plenty Bay Window buses and panel vans in my lifetime, but I’ve never seen a Bay Window pickup truck.
yohai71, Great T2 retrospective. These were really popular when I was young. Lots of Grumman Aircraft engineers had these, probably because they were so darn efficient and easy to fix with house hold tools.
Do you think the owner/driver put some white Styrofoam on the roof to keep it cooler given the heat and sun? Or is that rough front edge indeed the bathroom sealant you mentioned.
That camper with the golden hued lighting looks really inviting.
Bathroom sealant for sure. 🙂
The ’71 was the first year for disc brakes (front) and last year for the upright engine, at least in the US… I miss mine!
This thing comes up on the Israeli collector car FB group to always raise a collective sigh of desperation and/or derision. Chap would not sell until it falls around his ears and, even if he did, a restoration would not make economic sense (even with the prices these start to commend these days).
Here in California, a restoration would make economic sense, believe it or not. In that shape, including the rust under that bathroom sealant, It would fetch $10k as is.
Owned a 56 T2 once for a while. Never ran as good as my other vws so I didn’t have it long. That was in the Panama Canal Zone so no need to go fast. Looks like the traffic is reasonable in Israel because it could not easily keep up otherwise.
Had a 57 chev for a dd about 10 years ago. Still have it but it’s parked. Never got the classic tags because it would keep up with traffic and I wanted to drive it a lot. The last vw I had I installed an electric motor and it would keep up with the traffic in my area. Lots of respect for the beetle but the bus always seemed to me to be underpowered. YMMV
Nice article .
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Here in So. Cal. those closed bed racks are used to move tires .
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Carefully loaded at angles you can interlock an amazing amount of tires in a Pickup bed , only restricted by height .
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Usually used tires to the recycling place as they’re considered Haz-Mats these days , used to be Schools would line up for old work out tires , use them for swings and edging of gardens , playgrounds etc.
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That single cab Pick Up is a ’71 , nice if battered .
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Sunland VW ~ was that Plunkett ? . no , I can’t quite remember the name , it was on Sunland Bl. ,not far from where the then new interstate 210 was placed .
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-Nate
That indeed was Plunkett. The dealership was sold in the ’80’s and apartments or Condo’s are now built on the old lot.
The dealership also had what was called the “Volks Toter”. It was a split window single cab Bus that was shortened and had a fifth wheel hitch. It pulled a car carrier that was used to deliver and pick up cars. It would got through the 1835cc engines quite quickly, even with big oil coolers. Right after I started a salesman had a ’74 Dasher as a demo and he had a head on with an Oldsmobile in it. He was not seriously hurt but the totaled car was disassembled and it’s water cooled engine and rear mounted radiator was installed soon after it blew another air cooled motor. I remember picking up the adapter and special flywheel from Kennedy Engineering for the conversion. The Bus never had engine problems after that, and had more power as well.
I was assigned the duty of hauling the Dasher parts upstairs in the parts department. I doubt much of the sheet metal, transmission and interior parts were ever sold. There was an old Cord convertible in the shop, along with a Meyers Manx Dune Buggy. I saw the now restored Cord in a classic car with the man himself standing next to it.
Edit. Last line should read “I saw a picture of the now restored Cord in a classic car magazine from the late ’90’s with the man himself standing next to it”.
The VW dealership was on Foothill Blvd. in the City of Sunland, right across from Sunland Park Recreation Center.
I tried to post a photo of the Freewheeling Dylan Album cover to show a T2 photobombing Bob and Suze, but the site is not letting me do it.
I must have forgotten how.
Dagnabbit.
Here you go.
That’s a T1, though.
Attaching photos to a comment is easy; just use the “browse” button at the bottom to find it and open it. Well, you probably knew that already…
Thanks Jim, I was a 19 year old college sophomore when that album came out and I spent a long time looking at that cover photo. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Suze Rotolo, who appeared both angelic and erotic at the same time.
I hardly noticed the VW bus. But now in 2016 I do.
Oh dear. I’m going down hill.
Rumor has it that when her parents saw that photo blown up as a Times Square billboard, they sent her to Europe to get her away from hippy folk singer Dylan. She broke his heart, but that broken heart led to some of his best songs up to that time.
Greenwich Village in the early 60s was quite grungy. Now it’s quite expensive, like most of NYC.
Just saw an early 1960’s split window single cab van at the Tim Horton drive through this morning. It was blue had the front opening safari windows in much better condition than this one and seemed dwarfed by the lifted bro trucks in line beside it…
Friend of mine has a T1 and its amazing how damn small it is, I had a 68 T2 first of the bay windows and I’m sure it was a reasonable size slow and noisy sure they all are but it seemed quite roomy inside, The dropsider Yohai found is early 70s it has the small bolt pattern wheels but the small taillights and low down indicators the transition model before the suitcase engine model came out actual year depends on where on the globe you are nice find.
Ah me,
Memories of transiting the USA in my ’59 transporter pickup in 1968 with (what may have been) the first “tiny home” built on the back.
Thanks for the post!