Volkswagen Westfalia Campers
Encyclopedia : V : VO : VOL : Volkswagen Westfalia Campers
Volkswagen Camper at Texas Auto Show
Introduction
Volkswagen began subcontracting to the Westfalia-werke Wieddndruck, or more typically Westfalia, to build the official Volkswagen Camper cars sold in the early 1950's through 2003. Many models and interesting options were available for these vehicles. Early Volkswagen Split Screen windshield Kombi models between 1950 and 1967 are highly sought after collector vehicles. Beginning in the 1968 model year Volkswagen introduced the bay window replacing the split screen style. Production of Volkswagen camping cars continued well into 2003 and was based on the popular Volkswagen Kombi or "bus" as it is often referred to. Many other coachbuilders such as Dormobile, VW Riviera, and VW Sun-Dial also built camping cars based on the Volkswagen bus.Models
Between 1951 and August 1958 approximately 1000 Camper Box conversions were made by Westfalia the official Volkswagen Camper conversion coachbuilder. In August 1958 the SO models were introduced. SO is short for sonderausfuhrungen, meaning Special Model. Website located at [http://so23westfalia.com/about.htm] viewed 14 July, 2006.
Westfalia special models included the SO-23; the SO-34, SO-35, SO-33, SO-42, SO-44 and SO-45.
Volkswagen Campers were available from Volkswagen dealers throughout world. Vehicles were also delivered via the Tourist Delivery Program where a new owner would pick up their new van in Germany and transport it back home, typically to the USA. Many Volkswagen campers were purchased by USA Servicemen and brought back to the USA in the 50's and 60's.
M-Codes are used to identify the vehicle factory options. Beginning in 1958 a metal plate was riveted to the behind the right hand front seat. The plate tells the date of manufacture and various options that were incorporated into the vehicle.
The information included the date of manufacture, the option codes, the export destination, model number and paint finish (typically a durable finish referred to at Nitro-Lacquer), the paint color codes and the VIN or serial number.
Many factory and aftermarket options exist for these campers. Numerous owners of these Camping Vans and many Volkswagen clubs manage websites detailing these vehicles and their accessories.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.Standard Equipment
Optional Equipment
Identification
M Code Plate
This plate is located typically behind the front right rear seat on Volkswagen Buses. Website located at [http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/id.php] viewed 14 July, 2006.
DD M Y
DD=Day of Month M=Month (1-12) and Y Was the year between 1958 and 1964 (removed in 1965 and placed in first digit of serial number)
XXX XXX XXX XXX
M-Codes
XX
Export-Codes
XXX Y
Model-Codes Paint-Type
XX YY ZZ
Lower-Color-Codes
Upper-Color-Codes
Upholstery-Codes
AABCCCCCC
AA=21 for panel van or 23 for Kombi
B=Model Year after 1965
CCCCCC=Serial#
Options
External Links
-- 16:27, 14 July 2006 (UTC)References
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.