This 1959 Standard Kombi left the factory on the 9th March with the M127 option of no rear windowand a Golde sunroof! It was then fitted with a SO23 camping box by Westfalia before beingprivately transported to Australia. In the early sixties you could take your van to Westfalia to have the camping interior fitted instead of buying it from VW. This explains why this is a bit of a quirky van as SO23 vans usually have a hatch on the roof, not a Deluxe Golde sunroof.
Last driven in Australia in 1994, the van is now back in Europe and im tracking down all the parts to bring her back to the state she left Westfalia in.
The bus had a hard life in Australia, at some point some modification has been made to the the SO23 interior. The centre table has been replaced by a home made one, the washer cabinet has been modified to house 3 drawers instead of its door. The front bench seat, which doubles as 2 childrens bunks in a SO23, had been removed and 2 seats from a 70s hatchback had been welded inplace instead.
The body had also had its fair share of mods. The semaphores had been disconnected and fisheyes replaced them on the front with Australian / Italian spec Indicators on therear. The badge was off a bay! The paint is about 6 layers thick with the last coat being enamel ;( The TailGate has been replaced with a window option. The rear bumper was missing and the front bumper was a later type. A semi 12v conversion had been done. Rot had been disguised with filler leaving a bit of welding to be done. Oh and the engine was missing!
Mechanically it was tired too. While the body was being welded at the Paintbox I replaced the draglink, both track rods, all braking components, all shocks, steering damper, centre pin, front wheel bearings and fitted a lowered beam. The rear spring plate had been welded to the reduction box, the brake cables were incorrect and had been extended using wire connectors, the accelerator cable was extended also using some old wire. I guess this is what you get when parts aren't available for repair.
Originally the bus was L345 light grey all over. I intend it to be this
colour again.
Welding Work carried out so far:
Cab floor repaired both sides.
Front wheel arches repaired both sides.
Near Side A Post repaired.
To be done:
Weld holes left behind by indicators and mains inlet.
Weld cargo door sill, inner and outer.
Weld front panel and inner front panel.
Weld front window surrounds.
Weld battery pan.
I've been searching for the missing parts since buying the van in March 2002. So far i've picked up a standard bench seat (the one without the stitching on it (barndoor
style)), a pair of correct bumpers, a RHD cab floor mat (hard to find), a fuse box cover (again barndoor stylee), Pre 61 headlights with matching lenses etc, 58-61 rearlights, Engine Lid
stay, Radio blanking plate, ashtray, interior light switch, key (it didn't come with one!), correct NOS lights switch, cargo door lock barrel and some Westfalia interior parts from the USA.
