I just thought I would start this one as there are quite a few people who think that split vans are rare.
Here is why I think they are not.
1. tens of thousands of them were made.
2.Most VW enthusiasts know of at least one in a paddock or shed somewhere.
3.They only seem rare as you dont see that many on the road, due to the fact that they cost a hell of a lot to restore.
4.I know of 7 splits including two 13 window deluxes within half an hours drive of my house, the owners wont sell them and they will end up rotting away. I also know of 4 that are owned by VW enthusiasts including 2 barn door standard kombis and they are not being restored as yet(sorry I think one of the barnies has been started)
5. If they are that rare how come most can be bought(unrestored ) for under $2000??
6. Yes deluxes are rare and also Barnys as they were never made here and had to be imported but standard kombis are not rare.
Cheers
Dave
dave do you have one 😏
I was waiting for that,
I might have?
and I did have?
Cheers
Dave
& you will have soon👍
Or I might already have????
Cheers
Dave
good original splits are rare in proportion to the crap out there. Yes you can get a split for less than $2000.00 - getting one for less than $2k means you'll blow ten times that fixing it at a shop, harlf arsed resotrations and patched splits are common, great restos - tend to be snug in the garage of owners that have the scars to show.
I agree, just because it's a split don't mean its rare, but a good original one that you can finish in your lifetime without going broke or getting divorsed - a different matter.
Loves a lolcat
i have been bitten by the bug & have 3 to do as can beseen in my
signature.
im looking at $2000.00 at least to get restored, not silly the first is in now & its been promised to my better halve which allows me a free
reign after that.
you know i bought her a boat once for her b/day then a very good rod & reel for moms day heh heh heh
no not silly at all,risking decapitation but not silly.
is that 2000 or 20000? :o
1961 swb buggy
1960 karmann ghia
1963 Single Cab: "El Concreto"
1963 bent 23 window " Frieda Samba "
1963 Eriba Faun camper " Cara Van daCamp"
2012 Skoda Octavia scout
Get down low and go,go,go
I have looked at over 30+ splits here in S.A and ALL of them needed rust repair work, at the minimum they needed both inner and outer sills, outriggers, jacking points, center chassis section.
So why would you spend more than $2000 on any one of them. I mean the original purchase price.
I have seen ones that have had a supposed resto and you look at the sills or outriggers and they are rusty but have a nice paint job.
Why would you buy one of these for $7000+when you will still have to do the same work as you would to one that costs $2000, the paint will need redoing anyway.
Again they are not rare, its just that they cost too much to restore.
I also cant see the point in doing a rat one.
If you were going to drive it safetly you would still need to do the rust repairs and then you would loose the original paint after doing the sills.??
Its like that St George van at the Sydney Nationals, you will never see that on the road legally in the condition it was, it might have taken a trophy as best rat but why when it wasnt even regoed???
That means anyone can find a piece of crap and put some wheels on it, trailer it to a show and enter best rat??
Cheers
Davenn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by 57kombi ]
woops $20000.00
Rats ARE cool, and are a sub-culture all of their own. Rats are often a lifestyle thing, and the look is usually part of the owners wider interests. As long as the owners gets the max enjoyment from the time they spend working on it, driving it or the social scene that they plug into with it I guess.
Loves a lolcat
The St George van is beyond repair and will never be on the road, simple as that. Why not enjoy it, better that than no-one ever seeing it coz it went to sims.
I know I enjoyed it, and a lot of others did too.
Hey 57kombi if you know of that many splitties floating around, share the wealth. I very rearly see them floating around, as you said and the people that have them tent to hang onto them.
Thats my veiw.
57kombi wrote:I have looked at over 30+ splits here in S.A and ALL of them needed rust repair work, at the minimum they needed both inner and outer sills, outriggers, jacking points, center chassis section.
So why would you spend more than $2000 on any one of them.
I have seen ones that have had a supposed resto and you look at the sills or outriggers and they are rusty but have a nice paint job.
Why would you buy one of these for $7000+when you will still have to do the same work as you would to one that costs $2000, the paint will need redoing anyway.
Again they are not rare, its just that they cost too much to restore.
I also cant see the point in doing a rat one.
If you were going to drive it safetly you would still need to do the rust repairs and then you would loose the original paint after doing the sills.??
Its like that St George van at the Sydney Nationals, you will never see that on the road legally in the condition it was, it might have taken a trophy as best rat but why when it wasnt even regoed???
That means anyone can find a piece of crap and put some wheels on it, trailer it to a show and enter best rat??
Cheers
i don't think the st george will ever be regoed ,its just a form of art nothing more.
but i agree i paid more then i should for mine , if i had my time again i would have bought a $1000 rust bucket .
not that i dont love her now.:kiss
bob
nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by kombibob ]
1961 swb buggy
1960 karmann ghia
1963 Single Cab: "El Concreto"
1963 bent 23 window " Frieda Samba "
1963 Eriba Faun camper " Cara Van daCamp"
2012 Skoda Octavia scout
Get down low and go,go,go
Also, why spend more than 2k on a resto project? - well if the thing is solid and original then you might pay say 5k for it, but then only 10k on rust, so save 5k.
Loves a lolcat
Rare I said. My mother in-law(who is from another era)replied;'there like arseholes', Everyone has one.. Or had one.
Why are these people who have one unwilling to sell ?.
Easy, they have formed a bond with the thing. Simple.
These Vehicles contain the aspirations of and craftsmanship of a Potent cumulative point of civilisation. The effort is evident to me every time I engage with a kafer or bulli.
Im young enough to recall the recovery of american steel from creek beds from farms , that were taken for free and now fetch heaps.
Kombi's Are a Passion and start at 2000 for a project, if you can demonstrate to the owner your keen,to take care of there history.and bring there friend back to life.
As I said the ones I know of around Adelaide will not sell them, they will end up rotting away.
I have approached one guy who has one of the 13 deluxe's every year for the last 5 and he will not sell it,.
One guy has 2 down the side of his house with tin on the roofs, they have now started to rust away along the roof and will be too expensive to repair.
He will not sell them and one is an early one (55-58) and has factory safari's.
There have been hundreds posted on this site over the years and lots of pics of them in padocks or in the bush and most end up staying there, How many have you seen that have ended up on the road, I know of only a few , not more than a dozen in the time this site has been going.
I have seen them change owners left right and center but they still dont end up on the road.
All I am saying is they are out there but it costs too much to get them on the road, that is why people think they are rare.
Also some get upset with people shipping them overseas, I would say that there are more restored Aussie buses in England than there are here.
If people were so worried about them going overseas wht=y dont they buy them?/
Cheers
Dave
my 60 panel is rare, v original and lots of work done in the last few years, but I have a wife, so will take yonks to get on the road, as it's not the only ones I've got. So, yes it would be for sale, but it would not be 2k, you get nothing from a good beater for 2k, so when thinking of selling...I then think, can I really be bothered with the dreamers, knockers etc., that will show up to tell me about my panel, when I know every repair, the time and cost of that repair and every inch of it ... too depressing a thought.
I've got history with the bus, but did have to get my fingers burned way before to really appreciate what I've got now - though might sell - maybe - if you get my drift.
Anyone that pays 2k for a split needs their head looking at. Better to pay nothing than 2k....but then sometimes you have to go through it to know it.
Loves a lolcat
yep theres a bloke in my village restoring one
now & me, theres one 4 k's away which looks solid from the fence line its going to england
the owner goes around hunting them & shipping
overseas, i asked how much $6000 to me & $8000 from england.
i think there will be less and less going over seas ,because the rich are starting to get a taste for them thanks to jamie oliver and friends , i am allways getting stopped by suits at servos saying wow nice ride, these things are rare do you want to sell?
but thats only because she is on the road.nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by kombibob ]nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by kombibob ]
1961 swb buggy
1960 karmann ghia
1963 Single Cab: "El Concreto"
1963 bent 23 window " Frieda Samba "
1963 Eriba Faun camper " Cara Van daCamp"
2012 Skoda Octavia scout
Get down low and go,go,go
This is my point, you buy the cheapest you can, never more than $2000 and then you restore it.
It is better to spend a little on the original purchase as they will all need the same amount of work.
I ended up spending over $20K on parts never mind the 4 years of my labour, Imagine if I had bought one for $7000 and then had to spend the same amount?
I have not seen a split yet (that hasnt been restored) that doesnt need the usual rust repairs.
Cheers
Dave
i got touched by the first one $4000😬
the second in much better condition $750
the third $200 & $100 of that was to bring it
down the mountain
oh i just realised going by the above the next will be
freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by winerot ]
Thats what I am on about, they are out there and the more we educate people on this site that they are and the prices they are worth, the more they will save and the more money they will have to restore them.
Cheers
Dave
dave do you have any left over parts
i can take them off your hands for you
that will make room in your new shed
sorry but, who gives a sht! seriously. they are a great piece of VW history to own, and far fewer than fatchicks or beetles. they can carry heaps; parts or mates. they turn heads and bring back a lot of memories, that make a lot of people smile, stare and point as you travel down the road.
and you can have the windscreen open, so that you can actually take in the real life feel of the great australian land you are travelling in. making them fun to drive, cruise or commute. 😏
Simply Cruzin'...
Dave sometimes your a #%@*...
The St George bus was never meant to be registered or passed off as regsitered...next year we are gunna take a pallet of crushed steel on wheels and push that around, should please the organisers, at least then no one will smile and have a bit of fun, because we wouldnt want to be different and offend anyone..."You just cant tell some people"
Someone infact said it was disrespectful to the old Kombi...I guess crushing is more respectful???
As for rare, I ve been driving around Sydney, the city, south to the Shire, out to Penrith, up to the Blue Mountains, over to Manly and the Northern Beaches, went up and surfed Kiddies Corner at Palmy (good little uncrowded wave by the way, Manly was a bit local...but had some fun) for the last two weeks...I travelled from Byron (800ks) and the last two weeks and havent seen a single split (except DSK members who i visited at their homes) oh and one at Classic Vee Dub...but not another single split driving on the road, in the greatest city on earth and not another splitty...you're right dave, they're not rare...
greatest city on earth???
Dave doent have a split to keep him busy so he must antaganise us (if thats how u spell it )nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by Resto 64 ]
Yep, Daves getting withdrawal symptoms.
But I agree with some points.
When I think of the word 'Rare' I visualise cars that were not built in mass numbers, hand built cars like 10 a day.
Splits were mass produced, in 1954, 40,000 were built. In 1966, 176,000 were built in Hannover alone.
Times that by the number of years splits were available and you have a fair number.
I think it all boils down to price for unrestored splits that put people off.
I know of 20 for sale now, all different prices, 21 windows, 23 windows, barny's, dual cabs the lot. If you want one bad enough you can find one.
What really pisses me off is the people that sit on them, hoping that they are going to be worth more than thier weight in gold itself. They are not, if it gets to the stage where an unrestored 11 window split is fetching nothing less than $30,000 people won't buy them, simple as that.
So the end result is that all the splits in peoples paddocks are gonna rot away (unless you buy a van cover from CVWP) and never given a chance. This dosen't include the people with genuine intentions.
The way things are going you will soon be able to buy a left hooker and convert it with new parts. Buy an 11 window and convert it to a 23 window.Turn an 11 window into a 15 window delux, Not original? who cares!!
Driving on the Gold Coast you can see a split a day, I saw another yesterday that I haven't seen before.
Price you want to pay? for an unrestored split thats down to you but the resto bill is high on all of them to bring them up to a roadworthy standard. There is rot in them all, you just got to find it.
The reason you dont see them everyday, all day long is that they are not a practical everyday vehicle, they are over 40 years old.
The other thing that puts people off restos, is the stigma attached to doing a split back to its original state, bullshit, you can do it to your own style, slam it, raise it, chop it, resto it, what ever takes your fancy.
Don't get me started on Rats !!!!nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by ClassicVW(pacific) ]nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by ClassicVW(pacific) ]nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by ClassicVW(pacific) ]
Byronbus, I drive my split to work in Sydney CBD each day. All my colleagues have HSV's Jap cars and 4WD's. My split is no show winner but it see's daily regular service. I occasionaly see the odd split, but I stress occasionaly. I just wonder where all the splits you see at shows go to after the show!!
Dave maybe uncommon is a better term than rare!
Cheers Steve
the sticker on top is going on each of mine when they hit the road & no way are they going to be garaged no way
& the other sticker is going on each as well as they wont be going at a snails pace
i suppose a rare one is one you dont havenn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by winerot ]nn[ Edited on 16-7-2005 by winerot ]
