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Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:01 pm

Found another bus today. I know it is a Dormobile but beyond that I'm clueless. I'm not real familiar with Westys let alone Dormobiles. I looked through the gallery and didn't see any Dormobiles with this interior. Can anyone identify this?

Any help appreciated.

-Dan

(Sorry the pictures aren't much better but there were a lot of hornets in the bus and I was wearing shorts)

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:10 pm

cool find...did you buy it?

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:13 pm

Does that deluxe have bellypans?

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:27 pm

vw7266 wrote: cool find...did you buy it?

Yes, I bought it.

Hella Bro wrote: Does that deluxe have bellypans?

Yes, and they appear to be in pretty good shape

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:33 pm

That would be the first I've seen belly pans on a non double door or factory hard top deluxe? I've seen dormy's and they where made out of sun roof standards for the body shell. But a belly panned non sunroof deluxe????
any m code plate #'s

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:45 pm

EmpiGT wrote: That would be the first I've seen belly pans on a non double door or factory hard top deluxe? I've seen dormy's and they where made out of sun roof standards for the body shell. But a belly panned non sunroof deluxe???? any m code plate #'s

Unfortunately there is no bulkhead so no m-codes. Due to the hornets I couldn't tell if that was factory or not. It has the extra factory sheetmetal on the underside of the roof for the sunroof - Factory Sunroof deluxe but without skylight windows. That is about all I could detirmine before the hornets started getting pissed off.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:52 pm

...and the square stationary glass in the back of the bus appears to be whited out (like the ambulances). Again, hornets and the piles of junk in the bus kept me from investigating closer.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:10 pm

Cool find.
Interior looks like a hack job, bad one too. I'd chuck it and build my own or install SO-42 or SO 44 components after I put the bulkhead back in.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:42 pm

Bellypans on this deluxe means it was a 21 window, since its not a double door deluxe.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:51 pm

Hella Bro wrote: Bellypans on this deluxe means it was a 21 window, since its not a double door deluxe.

Dormobiles had belly pans. Maybe it was special ordered as a 13-window with belly pans? Maybe someone welded shut the forward skylight and there are skylihts behind the dormobile top?

Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:03 pm

I learned something new about belly pans on dormo's. More "busfo. for the braino"!

Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:54 pm

Don't throw anything away until you have positively identified it.

What you have there is a real Martin Walter Dormobile. Martin Walter was the company that made the Dormobile roof. The white cabinets are original Martin Walter. The stove and sink and accompanying cabinets should sit next to the tall cabinet above the engine.

Did it have the "Dormatic" seats in the back?

FWIW, early MW Dormers were usually based on non-sunroof Kombis, with the roof hole hacked in and no belly pans. Early MW Dormer interior cabinets were made of Hammerited sheet steel; later ones were Formica.

Here are some pics of my 63 RHD Martin Walter Dormobile:

Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:18 pm

Wow. Could be the first recorded sunroof deluxe with no skylights. But first, one has to rule out that the last two windows are not hacked in, meaning its a sunroof standard or kombi. If the rear windows are real, and it has belly pans, and it has the frame for the skylights then it is certainly a very specially ordered bus. I doubt anyone would go through the trouble of welding in a roof and belly pans on a hard top deluxe.
--Dan

Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:30 pm

you mean the rear window trim is not a dead giveaway? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:31 pm

EmpiGT wrote: That would be the first I've seen belly pans on a non double door or factory hard top deluxe? I've seen dormy's and they where made out of sun roof standards for the body shell. But a belly panned non sunroof deluxe????
any m code plate #'s

Not all dormobiles were made out of sunroof buses, and I havn't seen one that had a factory sunroof hole in the roof. I believe factory Wesfalia Dormobiles were Kombi or Standard models that were not sunroof bodys and factory M-coded for belly pans. I don't know what body the Martin company used but I would assume they went with a Kombi or Standard with belly pan M-code option to cut down on the cost of using a sunroof body and just cutting the hole in the roof themselves (same thing Westfalia did).

Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:37 pm

volkscafe wrote: EmpiGT wrote: That would be the first I've seen belly pans on a non double door or factory hard top deluxe? I've seen dormy's and they where made out of sun roof standards for the body shell. But a belly panned non sunroof deluxe????
any m code plate #'s

Not all dormobiles were made out of sunroof buses, and I havn't seen one that had a factory sunroof hole in the roof. I believe factory Wesfalia Dormobiles were Kombi or Standard models that were not sunroof bodys and factory M-coded for belly pans. I don't know what body the Martin company used but I would assume they went with a Kombi or Standard with belly pan M-code option to cut down on the cost of using a sunroof body and just cutting the hole in the roof themselves (same thing Westfalia did).

Our '65 dormobile is based on a kombi body, has belly pans, and has no evidence of ever having skylight pressings on the inner roof.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:07 pm

True that! The sunroof opening is quite a lot smaller than what's needed for a Dormer. Not to mention that the hinge placement for the top would be severely impaired by the skylight stampings! :?

Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:06 pm

Braukuche wrote: Wow. Could be the first recorded sunroof deluxe with no skylights. But first, one has to rule out that the last two windows are not hacked in, meaning its a sunroof standard or kombi.

The rear windows do not appear to be hacked in. The tag on the overhead vent says Type 24 so it is a deluxe. It appears to have been repainted but there is no indication there was ever deluxe trim on the body or bumpers. If you look closey it has the rubber bumpers on the cargo and front doors as well. Obviously the deluxe trim could have been removed and the holes welded up and the bumpers added but why would someone go to the much trouble to down grade a bus? Maybe they would do that on the beltline trim if it was messed up but why do it on the bumpers?

As far as the roof it is possible that it is a 21 window and that the skylight holes have been covered. As you can see in the following picture the bus is covered with Lichins (sp?) so it is not real apparent what has been done to the roof. I hope to bring it home later this week and get it cleaned up. I'll be able to tell more then.

As the day goes on I'm realizing I either found a strange Deluxe Dormobile or a hacked 21 window so I'm pretty happy either way. :)

Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:14 pm

fig wrote: Don't throw anything away until you have positively identified it. What you have there is a real Martin Walter Dormobile.

Did it have the "Dormatic" seats in the back?

Woo Hoo! Thanks for the info! ...and you have a very beautiful bus!

There is so much crap (and hornets) inside the bus that I can't tell what is or is not in the cargo area of the bus. I'm not thinking those seats were in the but who knows. If not in the bus they may be in the farmers shed. Now I am more excited than ever to get it home and explore.

Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:28 pm

I'd dig it out, then go straight to the car wash and blast that thing!