VW Continental: An “exclusively” British Westfalia motor-caravan

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The Westfalia Continental: An “exclusively” British Westfalia motor-caravan

As some of you might be aware, the Westfalia Continental, was manufactured exclusively in RHD - right-hand drive configuration and supplied exclusively for the British market, but some have emigrated over the years with their owners, to other RHD countries such as Australia, New Zealand & South Africa [all former self-governing dominions of the British Empire], although there was a 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravan (of different layout to the Westfalia Continental) produced in South Africa during the early-1970s for domestic use, of which several second-hand examples have been imported into Great Britain in recent years.

During the 1970s, the only VW Type 2 motor-caravans officially sanctioned by Volkswagen (GB) Ltd, which would not invalidate the Volkswagen warranty, were the Westfalia Continental conversion from Germany and one or more conversions by Devon Motor-Caravans in England, but there were several unsanctioned, non-official conversions by some of the innumerable British, large-scale & small-scale motor-caravan converters which existed here, such as the Dormobile from Martin Walter, Danbury in Essex (not far from my home in Canvey Island), Richard Holdsworth in Berkshire, unknown converter of the Viking & Viking Spacemaker, Bilbo’s Trading Company in Surrey and others.

Until sometime in the 1990s, I thought that ALL 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravan conversions, were Westfalia Continentals, because I had never seen, heard or read of any others!

During the 1970s, 1980s & 1990s, the only Westfalia Continentals I had seen and of which I was aware, were of the 1973 model-year (i.e. manufactured during 1st August 1972 to 31st July 1973) with British L-suffix and M-suffix registration-years (i.e. first registered during 1st August 1972 to 31st July 1973 and 1st August 1973 to 31st July 1974), with front-hinged elevating roof & large, approximately square, rear-mounted roof rack.

Bay Window Bus > Wheeler Dealers Dream Cars: RHD 1973 Westfalia Continental

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=780169

Reader's Rides > Our 73 Westfalia Continental

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=639151

Bay Window Bus > Looking for a Westfalia Continental Parts Manual/Catalogue

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=638376

Bay Window Bus > British Dec 72 RHD Continental Westfalia

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=598136

Bay Window Bus > I saw a 71 Westfalia Helsinki with a Continental bed today

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=284100

Bay Window Bus > Continental upper bed

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=275900

Bay Window Bus > 73 Westfalia Continental. Some help needed

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=207963

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > continental westy bed

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=206864

Although I was aware from an illustration in one of my Haynes owners’ workshop manuals, that a 1974 model-year VW Westfalia Continental existed, and that it had featured a longer rear-hinged elevating roof and a shorter front-mounted roof rack, I didn’t know until the 21st Century that the furniture & equipment layout had been changed.

Most noticeable, is that there is no longer a fold-down cooking stove, but instead a fixed two-burner cooking stove (possibly with a grill beneath?) and insulated food cabinet or refrigerator below, in the furniture unit adjacent to the sliding door. Instead of the large galley-sink above the insulated food cabinet, there was a small galley-sink in the right-hand furniture unit which also still incorporated a wardrobe. Where the water and LPG butane or propane gas-supplies are stored, I have yet to determine!

Australian Kombi Club > Why does my Westfalia look different from everybody elses?

http://forums.kombiclub.com/showthread.php?t=19605

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Got 1974 Westfalia Continental?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=348586
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

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Belated Acquisition of a Westfalia Continental Handbook!

When my father purchased our second-hand, 1973 model-year, RHD – right-hand drive, VW 1600 Type 2 Kombi based (specifically a Kombi with Volkswagen factory-created roof-aperture – Type 23-517 to be precise!) Westfalia Continental motor-caravan (manufactured in late-August or early-September 1972 | registered in mid-November 1972) at a mileage of circa 29,000 in January 1975, it came complete with two lifting-jacks & tool-kits, 1973 VW Type 2 owners’ handbooks parts 1 & 2, VW service computer punch cards, Cramer cooking-stove operating-instructions single-sided A5 format leaflet (torn & incomplete!) and an LPG cooker-system installation & test certificate (dated 14th September 1972), but no instructions or handbook pertaining to the Wesfalia motor-caravan conversion.

“Instruction Manual Part 1, Operation and Data: VW Transporter”, August 1972, Wolkswagenwerke AG, Wolfsburg, Typ 2 Englisch | VW part No. 2.83.562.006.20

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/8_72_bus.php

“Instruction Manual, Part 2: Driving, Car Care, Do-it-yourself – Type 1, 2, 3 and 4”, August 1972, Volkswagenwerke AG, Wolfsburg, Betriebsanleitung Teil 2, Englisch | VW part No. 2.83.5.69.001.20.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/8_72_ownersmanual_part2.php

Cramer fold-down, two-burner cooking-stove operating-instructions leaflet

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/cramer_stove.php

Westfalia Continental LPG-system installation & inspection certificate, dated 14th September 1972

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/9_72_westy_stove_certificate.php

When my father bought our 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 Westfalia Continental in January 1975, the availability of suitable owners’ workshop manuals was somewhat limited, so we purchased the following two Haynes publications, because there was no single manual available which covered the revised specifications, of the post-1972 VW 1600 Type 2s. The official English-language workshop manual, published by Volkswagen, was only supplied to official franchised VW dealerships and hence NOT available to amateur DIY mechanics.

J. H. Haynes & D. H. Stead, “VW Transporter 1600 Owner’s Workshop Manual – All Transporter based models 1968 to 1972 – 1584 cc (96•7 cu. in)”, J. H. Haynes and Company Limited, 1974, ISBN 0-900550-82-1.

J. H. Haynes & K. F. Kinchin, “VW Transporter 1700/1800 Owner’s Workshop Manual – All Transporter based models 1972 to 1974 – 1679 cc (103 cu. in) & 1795 cc (110 cu. in)”, J. H. Haynes and Company Limited, 1975, ISBN 85696-226-0.

Until late-2006, I was NOT aware that an A5 format (i.e. 149 mm x 210 mm) user handbook for the 1973 Westfalia Continental conversion had ever been published, until it was mentioned on one of the forums by a fellow 1973 Westfalia Continental owner, who kindly sent to me, A4 format (i.e. 210 mm x 297 mm) non-enlarged photocopies of theirs. Having not seen the original handbook, I cannot be sure that it is complete or is in the correct sequence as stapled together, because the pages are NOT numbered, but I have a total of seventeen different photocopy pages, which includes one of the front cover.

1973 VW Westfalia Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%20VW%20Westfalia%20Continental.php

According to the following topic thread on the British Volkszone forum in June 2009, the stool, rear-hatch aperture mosquito-net and awning (annexe tent?) were said to be “rare accessories”.

Volkszone > VW Westfalia dealer parts manual

https://www.volkszone.com/threads/vw-westfalia-dealer-parts-manual.564619/

We only had the stool, which served little if any useful purpose, and was later sold to someone who wanted one! Having the bespoke annexe tent would have been useful and the rear-hatch aperture mosquito-net might have been useful sometimes.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

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VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – Front Cover

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...r-Page.jpg

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “1st Page” (external nearside, rear & plan elevation drawings)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%201.jpg

Being 6 feet 8 inches (i.e. 2•032 metres) high when unladen, the VW Westfalia Continental only barely satisfied the maximum height limit, to qualify for the car decks on the Ro-Ro (i.e. roll-on, roll-off) ferry-ships across the English Channel & North Sea (also known as the German Ocean!) to mainland Europe and across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man or Ireland. If it had been slightly taller, it would have had to travel on the coach & lorry decks which would have been more expensive.

My family home on Canvey Island, Essex and my grandparent’s home in nearby South Benfleet, Essex, both had garages with 7 feet high x 7 feet wide garage-door apertures, so the VW Westfalia Continental’s 6 feet 8 inches height would fit inside either garage without making any modifications, although there was limited space around the vehicle in the relatively short & narrow Canvey Island garage, to do work on the vehicle or at the workbench, at the far end of the garage. However, the South Benfleet garage was 30 feet long and 11 feet wide between brick piers, so there was plenty of elbow room. Sadly, there was insufficient headroom inside either garage to raise the elevating roof.

The left-hand side elevation shows (a) the front cab-door side windows, including the non-opening triangular “quarter-light” window, (b) the left-hand sliding door with three-pane louvre windows (i.e. jalousie windows in USA parlance!?!), and (c) the rear left-hand side window-aperture with a circa one-fifth width opening rectangular “quarter-light” window (i.e. vent-window in USA parlance!?!) and a circa four-fifths width non-opening rectangular window.

The non-opening triangular “quarter-light” windows in the cab doors, are less amenable to car thieves, who would it less easy to unobtrusively gain entry through a window and unlatch the door-lock from inside. The left-hand cab-door’s non-opening triangular “quarter-light” window, also provides a convenient location, for a relatively-large, special side-view blind-spot Fresnel lens, to see low-level obstructions (e.g. bollards or small children) beside the vehicle, when manoeuvring at low speed.

Although the RHD, VW Westfalia Continental, typically has a rear right-hand side window-aperture with a circa one-fifth-width opening rectangular “quarter-light” window and a circa four-fifths-width non-opening rectangular window, the rear left-hand side window-aperture, would NOT have this window configuration, as an open “quarter-light” window could be struck by the opening sliding door.

On my family’s 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental, the satin-black painted, inner & outer mild-steel frames of opening rectangular “quarter-light” window, in the rear left-hand window aperture, had already started to rust severely when my father bought the vehicle in January 1975.

It was impractical to renovate these mild-steel frames, and the adjacent louvre window provided adequate ventilation, so we ultimately replaced the circa one-fifth width opening rectangular “quarter-light” window and a circa four-fifths width non-opening rectangular window, with a new full-width rear side window glass & rubber-seal, to match those on the left-hand side.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “2nd Page” (internal plan elevation drawings of furniture)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%202.jpg

Stool Storage Orientation

In the lower of the two diagrams, labelled “Sleeping”, it shows the stool turned through an angle of 90 degrees from the secured travelling position, whereby the stool would be a tight fit across the width of the aisle and the securing strap screwed to the underside of the stool, could be threaded through the strap-bridge on the side of the sink-unit, and the strap’s buckle fastened.

Practical Limitations on the Number of Sleeping Berths

One of the challenges confronting motor-caravan converters, is that of providing adequate sleeping facilities for several adults and/or children, inside a relatively narrow base vehicle like the 1968~79 VW Type 2. The VW Westfalia Continental is claimed to be a five-berth motor-caravan, but this statement needs to be qualified with details of the maximum size & weight limits of the occupants this will accommodate.

The 76 inches long (i.e. 6 feet 4 inches = 1•930 metres) x 55 inches wide (i.e. 4 feet 7 inches = 1•400 metres or 140 centimetres), full-width double bed in the main rear passenger cabin, is a usefully long & wide bed for two people, considering that a British domestic standard double-bed of that era was only 72 inches long (i.e. 6 feet 0 inches = 1•829 metres) x 48 inches wide (i.e. 4 feet 0 inches = 1•219 metres).

The 53½ inches long (i.e. 4 feet 5½ inches = 1•360 metres) x 38¾ inches wide (i.e. 3 feet 2¾ inches = 0•985 metres) front-cab stretcher-bunk of just 90 lbs maximum load (i.e. 6 st 6 lbs or 40•8 kg), would only be suitable for a small, light-weight child, of probably less than 11 years old. It would be interesting to receive testimony from people who either had personal experience of sleeping in a Westfalia front-cab bunk or have / had close relatives or friends who did.

The children’s average height vs age chart, at the following link, indicates that the median height of 9½ year olds is circa 135 centimetres or 1•35 metres (i.e. 53 inches = 4 feet 5 inches), so fully stretched out & flat-footed, this bunk would be barely long enough for 50% of 9½ year olds.

After infancy until the late teenage years, the average height of both male & female children, increases approximately linearly with age, so by the time children make the transition from primary-school to secondary-school at an average age of circa 11½ years, very few would still be able to sleep comfortably in a 1968~79 Westfalia front-cab bunk!

https://www.gigacalculator.com/calculators/height-percentile-calculator.php

https://www.who.int/tools/growth-reference-data-for-5to19-years/indicators/height-for-age

https://fitnessvigil.com/average-weight-for-children-by-age

By the age of about 12 years, more than 50% of children would be heavier than the 90 lbs maximum load limit of the single-berth, front-cab bunk or the 0•5 x 180 lbs maximum load limit of the two-berth, elevating-roof bunk! However, the two-berth, elevating-roof bunk with its 180 lbs maximum load limit, would provide comfortable single-berth sleeping accommodation for most teenage girls & adult women (hopefully, there are very few if any whose weight even comes close to 180 lbs!) and a significant proportion of teenage boys & adult men.

During all of the years that my parents and I periodically toured parts of Great Britain & Europe as a threesome from mid-1975 onward, I slept on the elevating-roof bunk from the age of 19½ years onward.

Practical Limitations on the Number of Usable Seating Positions for Travelling

The silver-coloured stickers, clearly state in both German & English, that the low-level side bench seat and the movable stool, should NOT be used when the vehicle is in motion. It’s also debatable whether the right-hand portion of the rear bench-seat could comfortably be used whilst travelling, owing to the need to rest one’s legs on the low-level side bench seat. With the two front-cab seats and two usable seating positions on the rear bench seat with provision for rear seat belts, this would limit the number of travelling occupants to a maximum of four.

The Westfalia Continental has seating for only two people in the cab, so when only three people are travelling in the vehicle, one is isolated in the back, on their own, out of earshot. Given that we are a family of three, who typically only had a fourth travelling companion, when touring on holiday, we sought some way of having a removable, supplementary seat in the cab aisle.

Imagine our surprise, when early on during our membership of the Motorcaravanners' Club, we came across such a seat, in the club magazine, being advertised for sale, second-hand, by a member in the Birmingham area. The seat, which had two removable cushions, comprised a storage box with removable lid, made from ½ inch plywood with decorative melamine laminate, plus a tubular steel back rest which slid into brackets attached to the box.

The seat cum storage-box assembly, was designed to be held in place, by means of two spring-loaded bolts, which would engage in holes drilled in the curved portion of the bulkheads, behind the existing cab seats. Rigging up a spare lap seat-belt, we tried out the seat for a while, before committing ourselves, to drill any holes. Unfortunately, the seat proved to be rather uncomfortable, mainly owing to the space between the existing seats, being too narrow.

Hence, we gave up the idea of having three seated in the cab, but the storage box which was a convenient place to keep our toilet bags, hand towels and wet-weather clothing, was retained and the other seat components were consigned to the attic. The complete seat cum storage-box assembly was eventually sold, sometime during the early-to-mid 1990s.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “3rd Page” (rear bench seat cum double bed & associated storage compartment)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%203.jpg

In the top, centre picture, note the small printed & embossed, aluminium, manufacture’s plaque, on the bottom, left-hand face of the rear bench-seat’s base-unit, close to one of the galvanised coach-bolt heads and the rear of the sliding-door aperture. There is a small “VW – Continental” sticker on the side of the combination galley-sink & insulated food-storage furniture-unit, but there are no “Westfalia” or “Continental” decals on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle!

We didn’t have the Westfalia Continental manual for our first 32 years of ownership, but we were fortunate to have in our lounge at home, a rock & roll sofa cum bed, so we were readily able determine how to reconfigure the Westfalia Continental’s rear bench-seat cum double bed. However, the instructions for converting the rear bench seat into a double bed and vice versa, are not particularly helpful in my opinion and should have been revised! Specifically, the manual fails to describe fully, how to manipulate the rock & roll mechanism, which involves listening for a click that indicates when a latch has engaged or released.

Rear Bench Seat

In the third sentence, under the “Rear bench seat” heading, the manual states, “In order to convert the back seat into a double bed the swivel table top has to be folded down”. However, without a clear picture to illustrate this (which might have been in the partially obscured, top left-hand picture!?!), it is difficult to interpret what the statement means. Our own experience, was that the swivelling table and its up-side-down L-shaped leg, ideally needed to be removed and stowed away somewhere, when sleeping on the double bed.

Although the rock & roll bench-seat cum bed, converted into a comfortable, full-width, double bed, comprising only three cushions, it was not so well suited as a bench-seat for travelling long distances; the backrest being too upright and too far, from the front edge of the horizontal seat squab for comfort. This was overcome by using a custom made, supplementary, wedge-shaped, cloth covered, foam cushion (of similar form, to the loose, back-rest cushion, for the small side-facing bench-seat), tapering from 4 inches thick at the bottom, to ¼ inch at the top of the seat back.

When used at night, this supplementary cushion, acted as a gently sloping bolster, inhibiting the pillows from sliding onto the floor; the rock & roll bed, having no headboard. A similar sloping cushion was also made for the elevating-roof bunk. The Westfalia Continental, upholstered stool, which resided in the aisle, between the furniture units, was too low for dining at the swivel-table and unsuitable for use whilst travelling, so it was merely stored at home and later sold to another fellow owner, who sought to restore his vehicle to the original factory specification.

Although the storage locker beneath the rear bench-seat cum double-bed, has a latched bottom-hinged flap, this was never considered to be a useful way of gaining access to the storage locker; our preference being to lift the horizontal, plywood-based cushion. This storage locker was used almost exclusively for the storage of bedding, which included the Black’s Norseland down-filled sleeping-bags, supplementary down-filled hoods, pillows, pyjamas, inflatable waffle mattresses for use in the annexe-tent & manually-operated inflator.

There was little if any spare room for much else, and one needed to be careful how stored items were arranged, because of the intrusion of the two steel bed-supports (as seen in the top, central picture) into the storage space, when the rear bench-seat cum double-bed was configured as a bench-seat!

The presence of the spare wheel, on the rear, left-hand side of the load area above the engine compartment, and the full-width storage cupboard above, prompted one to sleep on the double bed with one’s feet pointing towards the rear hatch, where the narrower bed-width was less critical and there would be no risk of bumping one’s head on the underside of the cupboard, if one suddenly sat up in bed.

In circa 1977 or 1978, after a few years of ownership, a lockable spare-wheel carrier was purchased from Richard Holdsworth Conversions, in Woodley, near Reading, Berkshire and fitted using M6 stainless steel screws, together with home-made, 1¼ inch wide, stainless steel reinforcing straps and captive nuts, behind the front panel. This was more fiddly to fit, than simply using the cavity fixings provided, but it conferred greater strength, plus minimising the likelihood of panel distortion or corrosion. The modest change in weight balance, from rear to front, also slightly improved the van's straight-line stability in cross-winds. The vacated spare-wheel well above the engine compartment, was covered by a home-made, supplementary infill cushion.

Richard Holdsworth, Installation Instructions for Front-Panel Spare-Wheel Carrier

When we later travelled in Eastern Europe, in the Soviet Bloc, behind the “Iron Curtain”, where road conditions were uncertain and replacement tyres and/or wheels might have been difficult to source, we again resorted to using this spare-wheel well to carry a secondary spare-wheel, in addition to the primary spare-wheel on the front-panel mounted spare-wheel carrier.

In the future, when I replace the original factory-fitted Volkswagen 5½ x 14 inch steel wheels and 185 SR14 Reinforced tyres, with substituted Mercedes C-Class 7 x 16 inch aluminium-alloy wheels and either 205/65 R16C or 215/65 R16C tyres, I shall need to revise the front & rear spare-wheel storage facilities, to accommodate these significantly wider tyres.

Rear Seat Belts

In the second sentence, under the “Note” heading, the manual states, “Do not forget safety belts.” I was intrigued by this statement, given that the Westfalia Continentals were NOT factory-fitted with rear seat belts, nor I have I ever seen any with Volkswagen dealership-fitted rear seat belts.

Bay Window Bus > 1968~79 VW Type 2, seatbelts, head restraints & airbags

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262433

Westfalia-Conversion Spare Parts

In the last two sentences, under the “Important” heading, the manual states, “When ordering spare parts please state type and running production number of the equipment. You will find this data on the typed label at the bottom of the box of back seat.”

On the black-painted aluminium plate, attached to the bottom left-hand corner of the rear bench-seat’s vertical, wood-effect, laminated plywood base-unit, close to the sliding-door aperture, there are brief details of the manufacturer [i.e. Westfalia-Werke in Wiedenbrück, Westfalia, Germany], motor-caravan model [i.e. VW Continental] and combined model-year & serial number [i.e. 3 & five-digit serial number – mine reads: 3 . 00071].

1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental manufacturer’s plaque with model-year & serial-number

Given that the new VW Westfalia Continentals were sold exclusively through franchised Volkswagen dealerships, one would presume that motor-caravan conversion equipment spares & replacement parts would be available through them, but when we tried to obtain a replacement component in early 1975, for our 1973 Westfalia Continental’s galley-sink water-pump, at our local franchised Volkswagen dealership Ecta Motors near Rochford, Essex, we were told that they did NOT deal in Westfalia-conversion parts and seemed unable to tell us where & how they were obtainable.

At least two of the nylon stays for the storage-lockers’ hinge-down flaps, were already broken by early 1975, for which the previous owner had given us at least one identical replacement item from an unspecified source, but if they were so susceptible to breakage, then a more robust substitute was required.

Bay Window Bus > Looking for a Westfalia Continental Parts Manual/Catalogue

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=638376
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “12th Page” (dining table & curtains)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...e%2012.jpg

Curtains

The long front-cab window curtain, which covers all of the front-cab windows, is attached & supported by just four press-studs, at the tops of the A-pillars & B-pillars, but there is no means of supporting the curtains in the centre of the front windscreen, apart from flipping down the sun-visors.

Sun Visors & Screens

In common with most vehicles, the VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental motor-caravan has fold-down sun visors for the front windscreen, but there are occasions during warm, sunny weather (even in Great Britain!) when some form of visor or screen would be desirable for the side windows.

With intense sunlight streaming through the rear side-window, when seated on the rear bench-seat during some of our travels, I commonly used to close the fabric curtain, to minimise uncomfortable glare in my eyes and infra-red heating to the side of my head, one or both of which would commonly result in me developing a headache. However, one cannot resort to drawing side-window curtains, when travelling in the front-cab, either as a driver or passenger!

Fortunately, sometime during the early-1980s, I discovered in a French hypermarket during one of our European motor-caravan touring holidays, two types of accessory, automotive, spring-loaded, roll-up, translucent sun blinds, which can either be clipped onto the top of the glass of an opening window or screwed onto the surrounding window-frame. The screw-on types, are also useful for a car’s rear window, because the sun’s infra-red rays on the back of one’s head, can also result in headaches.

The fabric used for the sun-blinds, was black close-woven mesh, similar to mosquito netting or privacy net-curtains, through which one can readily see when one’s eyes are close to the netting, which is essential for the driver’s all-round visibility in the front-cab.

https://www.carshades.co.uk

https://www.carshades.com/image-gallery/

https://www.carshades.com/where-to-buy/

Tables

The manual omits to mention that the sliding table-top support should first be slid out, before unfolding the hinged table-top to double the effective table-top area. The manual also omits to mention and explain, where and how the table and its support leg should be positioned or stowed, whilst travelling or sleeping. When travelling, it was our usual practice to swing the table into the central aisle between the cabinets, with the folded table-top parallel to the cabinet sides.

Assuming the Westfalia Continental to be a five-berth motor-caravan, the hinged table-top even when folded out to its maximum table-top size, is too small to accommodate five diners seated around it; especially those seated on the full-width rear bench-seat! Ideally, the table needs to be bigger, but the issue of how to stow such a table when not in service, would need to be addressed.

Alternatively, it might be possible to create two small individual tables, to be used by two people seated in the cab’s front-facing seats, with the tables supported by hooks locating in strap-bridges attached to the dashboard & cab-doors and/or one or two legs of screw-in, telescopic and/or folding characteristics. I am aware that a similar central accessory front-cab table was available for some other VW Westfalia conversions, but it’s unclear how one would sit in order to comfortably dine at an offset table or avoid risk of dropping food on the floor.

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Westy Cab Table?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604719

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > westy cab table

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572311

1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia front-cab central table

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “4th Page” (side seat & stool)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%204.jpg

Side Seat & Storage Locker

The foam & Autumn-Gold cloth upholstered side seat, illustrated in the upper, left-hand picture, was found to serve little practical purpose, other than as a storage unit which was more readily accessed by removing the horizontal plywood-based seat cushion, rather than crawling on one’s hands & knees to view & remove stored items via the hinge-down, latched flap, which we never did! It was this storage locker in which we kept our washing-up bowl, plus various non-perishable food in jars, tin-cans, packets & sachets, but so far as it was possible, we endeavoured to avoid carrying glass jars or other glass-ware.

The height of the side seat is restricted by the need to reconfigure the rock & roll rear bench seat into a double bed for sleeping. Hence, it is uncomfortably low if used for dining at the swivelling, folding dining table, so it only serves as a lounge seat, given that its use whilst the vehicle is in motion on the road is effectively prohibited.

The Legendary Westfalia Stool: Another “White Elephant”

The foam & Autumn-Gold cloth upholstered stool, illustrated in the upper, right-hand picture, is shown in its travelling storage position between the combination wardrobe & cooker unit and the combination galley-sink & insulated food-storage unit. If and when carried in the vehicle, the stool should be secured for safety’s sake by the leather strap attached to the underside of the stool’s plywood base, which feeds through a galvanised-steel strap-bridge (described as a “noose” in the manual, but would be better described as a “loop”, even though it’s not that either!) on the side of the combination galley-sink & insulated food-storage unit.

As stated in the manual, use of the stool whilst the vehicle is in motion on the road, is effectively prohibited. Besides that, the lack of a seat back would render it too uncomfortable for travelling anyway. In common with the side seat, the stool is uncomfortably low if used for dining at the swivelling, folding dining table, so it’s debatable as to when its use would be practical. Unless one used the side of the van as a backrest, it wasn’t particularly comfortable to sit on outside either! The stool’s thick, unstable, upholstered cushion, rendered it unsuitable for standing on inside the vehicle, to aid raising the elevating roof, climb up to the elevating-roof bed or similarly use outside to aid loading the external roof rack.

After our first European touring holiday in August 1975, the stool was left at home in storage, because it served little if any useful purpose and simply got in our way. This probably explains why after many years, the stools for most Westfalia Continentals and other 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravan conversions have become rare! If I were going to store anything in the central aisle between the furniture units, it would probably be a removable storage chest or locker, containing a portable chemical toilet (e.g. Elsan or Porta Potti) & toilet cum shower tent.

Lightweight, Folding Camping Chairs

If we wanted to sit outside the vehicle, our Andrews-Maclaren “Gadabout”, light-weight, tubular-aluminium framed, compact folding chairs [circa 3 lbs or 1•36 kg each | useful for both camping and other activities | on sale from 1961 onward], were lighter, smaller, easier to store and much more comfortable. Andrews-Maclaren, in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, England, also made similarly-folding children’s push-chairs / baby-buggies [i.e. strollers in USA parlance!?! | American patent No. 3,390,893A | on sale from 1967 onward].

Both were designed by Owen Finlay Maclaren, who had earlier designed the undercarriage for the Supermarine Spitfire; one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of World War Two, one of which (piloted by Squadron Leader Angus McVitie) I frequently saw & heard flying low at “tree-top height” over the aircraft hangars at CIT – Cranfield Institute of Technology during the early-1980s, when I was a postgraduate engineering student there.

The Rolls Royce Merlin engine, which has an unforgetably distinctive sound, was also used in many other iconic British warplanes (e.g. Hawker Hurricane, De Havilland Mosquito & Avro Lancaster) and the British specified P51 Mustang! I saw many other iconic aircraft at CIT, such as the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer and the Edgeley Optica. Previously, one of the prototypes of the BAC TSR2 (the World’s greatest early-1960s vintage supersonic multi-role combat aircraft, that never went into production!) was also hosted there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Finlay_Maclaren

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Finlay_Maclaren#Collapsible_baby_buggy

The three “Gadabout” chairs we bought in the late-1970s, had white & brown striped material, but they were also available with white & red, white & green or white & blue material. A recent trawl of the Internet, revealed several available for sale, at asking prices ranging from £40 to £55 each.

https://www.pineappleretro.co.uk/products/vintage-1970s-gadabout-chair-walking-stick-brown

Andrews-Maclaren “Gadabout” folding chairs

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “5th Page” (cross-cab stretcher-bunk & short-stem interior rear-view mirror)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%205.jpg

Sleeping Accommodation

One of the challenges confronting motor-caravan converters, is that of providing adequate sleeping facilities for several adults and/or children, inside a relatively narrow base vehicle like the 1968~79 VW Type 2.

The single-berth, cross-cab stretcher-bunk has a maximum load limit of only 90 lbs (i.e. 6 st 6 lbs or 40•8 kg, noting that 1 st = 14 lbs & 1 lb = 0•4536 kg or 1 kg = 2•2046 lbs) which would be insufficient for a typical female adult of short stature, such as my mother who was slightly built and 5 feet 2 inches (i.e. 1•57 metres) tall. Even for many older children, in the last few years at primary school, this bunk would probably be too short and possibly of inadequate load capacity.

At some time during the late-1960s, I had slept in a similar stretcher-bunk, akin to a casualty stretcher, in a British Commer "Highwayman" coach-built motor-caravan, that had been loaned to my father. As a consequence of impacting against the hard metal poles during the night, the experience resulted in bruised knees, if not elbows as well, if I recall correctly! Hence, one would probably need to place a thin foam camping mattress on the top of the stretcher-bunk, to avoid painful contact with the rigid poles.

Commer Highwayman coachbuilt motor-caravan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commer_FC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commer_FC#/media/Fil...opped).jpg

Being necessarily located above the level of the VW Type 2 dashboard & steering wheel, the cross-cab stretcher-bunk provides minimal headroom and would probably be too high for a young child to climb in; requiring an adult or much older sibling to lift them into and out of bed! I also wonder whether there would be sufficient “headroom” to turn over, without jamming one’s shoulders against the ceiling; something I have experienced in the past (1980 & 1981), sleeping in over-cab bunks, in motor-caravans that were hired (i.e. rented in USA parlance) in South Africa and the USA, for holidays of no more than two or three weeks duration.

From November 1972 to January 1975, the couple who had previously owned our 1973 Westfalia Continental, who had a young baby / infant, used the cross-cab stretcher-bunk for overnight storage purposes rather than for their infant’s sleeping accommodation. What they didn’t tell us and what is also omitted from the Westfalia Continental manual, is where and how the stretcher-bunk is stowed when not in use!?!

When in 1989, we substituted in the cab, a pair of Volvo 244GL seats with non-removable head-restraints, for comfort & safety reasons, it would no longer be possible to mount the cross-cab stretcher-bunk, even if we wanted to. Being redundant, we sold off the stretcher-bunk, mounting-brackets & screws, to another 1968~79 VW Type 2 owner who sought this facility.

Lack of Front-Cab Storage Space

With limited storage space in the cab, for our route-maps, guidebooks, music cassette tapes and other paraphernalia, we purchased & retro-fitted a pair of proprietary vinyl-covered plywood parcel shelves, which seemed like a useful accessory. We also purchased from a car accessory shop, a pair of moulded plastic door pockets, which were screwed to the forward, lower portion, of the cab doors. The backs of the Volvo 244GL seats, have the added advantage of magazine-pockets on the back, in which some maps & guidebooks that were not immediately needed could be stored.

I have since discovered that door pockets, salvaged from BLMC Austin Metros, are even more capacious and are available in a tan colour, closely matching the standard VW Type 2 door trim panel. Although the parcel shelves gave useful service, for many years, they were not ideal; being of limited depth and suspended less than 80 mm beneath the dashboard, immediately above the sheet-steel ventilation ducts.

Although bespoke and general-purpose, easy-access, audio-cassette storage-drawer options have been available from Fischer, BASF, Tudor and possibly other manufacturers, for a variety of 1980s vintage and possibly 1970s vintage vehicles, there have been few if any that can be neatly retro-fitted in a 1968~79 VW Type 2. However, if one were to fabricate a bespoke under-dashboard skirt or tall central console surrounding the handbrake linkage, it would be possible to incorporate several audio-cassette storage-drawer modules.

During the 1990s, I acquired several Tudor audio-cassette storage-drawer units (each holding four cassettes) which mount into a standard DIN-E radio aperture. These were salvaged from Austin Montegos at my local car breakers’ yards. I also purchased at car-boot sales (i.e. car-trunk or garage sales in USA parlance!?!), several Fischer and BASF individual, interlocking audio-cassette storage-drawer modules, which are mutually compatible. It is these that are used in combination with a bespoke moulded-plastic mounting, to create the bespoke audio-cassette storage-drawer systems for specific vehicle models. There are also some different patterns of general-purpose audio-cassette storage-drawer units, of which I also have a few second-hand examples.

General-purpose, accessory, audio-cassette drawer storage units

In recent years, there have been an increasing variety of uPVC products for domestic building applications, including white lipped boards of L-shaped cross-section, which are used as trim-boards for a house’s gabled roof. These uPVC boards with a circa 30 mm high lip, of which I have salvaged several long off-cuts (two of 1521 mm length, two of 1475 mm length and more of shorter lengths) from waste-skips, would be almost ideally suited as the basis for some garage storage-shelves and alternative, home-made parcel-shelves, to fit in a lower position beneath the 1968~79 VW Type 2 dashboard.

One source of uPVC Fascias, Soffits & Gutters

https://www.pvcbuildingproducts.co.uk

https://www.pvcbuildingproducts.co.uk/9mm-floplast-white-capping-fascia-boards.html

However, in deciding the best position to fit them, I will need to consider the positions of the left-hand fuse cum relay box, the RHD steering column and the substitute Swedish specification 1974~79 VW Type 2, eight-litre (i.e. 1•76 Imperial gallons or 2•11 US gallons) combination windscreen-washer & headlamp-washer fluid-tank behind it, whose fluid filler-neck needs to be accessible.

Front Windscreen & Rearward Visibility

In common with most if not all British specification, 1968~79 VW Type 2 vehicles, the Westfalia Continentals were factory-fitted with a zone-toughened (i.e. tempered in USA parlance!) front windscreen. Because these windscreens shatter into innumerable small fragments, through which it is difficult to see if the windscreen sustains significant damage, it is advisable to carry a steel-bar reinforced, roll-up plastic, temporary emergency windscreen, of which there were and still are, various sizes and types available.

Also clearly illustrated in the left-hand picture, are the standard 1973 VW Type 2 short-stemmed interior rear-view mirror and associated pair of sun-visors with mirror cut-outs. This might be satisfactory in some manifestations of a 1973 VW Type 2 van or minibus, but in a Westfalia Continental with high-backed rear bench seat and deep, rear ceiling-level, full-width cupboard, there is extremely limited rearward vision through the partially obscured rear window, using the short-stemmed interior rear-view mirror. Unless the nearest following vehicle is dangerously close, it would be barely visible.

Bay Window Bus > Minimising Blindspots: The Available Options!?!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=292964

Bay Window Bus > Extra long mirror?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=215391

Fortunately, it is possible to substitute a late-1969 model-year VW Type 2’s long-stemmed interior rear-view mirror (VW part No. 211 857 501B), whose spring-loaded mounting system is compatible with 1970~79 VW Type 2s. One can also substitute a matching pair sun-visors lacking mirror cut-outs, from a 1968 or 1969 model-year VW Type 2. The circa 3 inches or 75 mm longer mirror stem, which together with a ridged, flexible, PVC Fresnel lens inside the rear window-glass, provides improved long-range rearward vision through the rear window.

Late-1969 model-year VW Type 2, Long-stemmed, interior rear-view mirror (VW part No. 211 857 501B) & non-cut-out sun visors; reproduced from the 1968~79 VW Type 2, Robert Bentley Service Manual

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “8th Page” (line-drawings of gas-cooker & gas-supply for refrigerator)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%208.jpg

The left-hand picture shows the rigid pipework with flexible-hoses at either end, plus gas-pressure regulator with valve, for the butane-gas supply from the forward cylinder of the two refillable Camping Gaz 907 cylinders (the largest available size); noting that the lower flexible hose is too short to reach the rearward cylinder.

The right-hand picture shows supplementary rigid pipework, connecting to a butane-gas refrigerator if fitted. I have yet to learn of any 1973 Westfalia Continental that was factory-fitted with any refrigerator and sadly mine does not have a refrigerator, which would ideally be of the triple-fuel type (i.e. LPG, 12V DC electricity & 240V 50Hz AC electricity).

It is said that operations manuals for the cooker and refrigerator were supplied separately; although I wouldn’t describe a single-sided A5 sheet of paper as a manual!

The A5 format (i.e. 149 mm x 210 mm), single-sided, single-sheet, green paper leaflet of operating instructions that I have for the fold-down, two-burner Cramer cooking-stove, was torn and missing one corner & associated text; including only a partial address for the manufacturer.

Operating instructions for the Cramer two-burner cooking-stove with flame-failure device

The following transcript incorporates sequences of emboldened dots, the number of which are my estimates of the number of missing text characters / spaces, followed in some cases by emboldened, italicised, underlined blue characters, that are my predictions of some of what might be missing from the narrative.

« Instructions for the Cramer liquid gas built in cooker »

« Please see to it that this apparatus will be put in operation only under consideration of current regulations for setting up of and connection of gas equipment. »

« This cooker is DIN-approved. »

« On its type-plate you will find both the manufacturer’s address, the name of the type and the necessary particulars regarding the proposed working pressure in mm column of water, the nominal load of the burners in kcal/h, and the connected load of the apparatus in kg/h. We want this CRAMER-cooker serve you for a long time and therefore ask you to observe the following indications. »

« The cooker is provided with a thermoelectric ignition fuse which positively prevents escape of unburned gas. The little tracers at the sides of the burners feel the temperature at the burning area and cause the valve to close within about 1 minute, if the flame should be extinguished on any reason whatever. The gas escaping within this period is harmless as its concentration is too low. »

« Since the thermo-cell is responsible for the equipment to operate perfectly, it is of great importance that the thermo-tracers as well as its feed-line must be protected against damage and dirt. »

« The burners can be ignited only if the taps will be opened by turning them left and simultaneously pressing the clamp-handle against the stop. The clamp-handle should be kept in this position for about 10 seconds after ignition of flame in order to warm up the thermo-cell. »

« In case the ignition fuse does not react or if there are unnormally long times for opening and closing it should be checked whether the thermo-tracer is heated sufficiently by the flame. It can be adjusted if occasion arises. »

« If cleaning of the cooker is necessary the burner can easily be removed after unscrewing the locking screws. To clean these parts soap suds and brush are recommended. To clean the cooker through it is advisable to use a mild scouring powder. »

« Generally a further dismounting of the cooker is not necessary, but it is, however, not difficult at all for a specialist to remove the complete burner fittings from the stainless steel table by pulling off the tap clamp-handle and unscrewing the front screw-joint of the burners. By the same method a replacement of certain burner parts can be achieved. »

« In case it should occur in the course of time that a tap moves only with difficulty or sticks a specialist has to remove the respective plug of the tap from the tap casing, to clean it with gasoline, and to lubricate it again with a special tap grease. This trouble results from an overheating of the tap which cannot occur under normal conditions and is to be attributed to unappropriate operation of the cooker. Burner lids influence the operation unfavourably and might lead to breakdowns as . . . . . . . . . mentioned above, if the burner lids are not lying up properly or if they are damaged . . . . . . . »

« . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paying attention also to this point and your cooker will thank you by working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . correctly / reliably »

« . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cramer • Metallwarenfabrik • 575 Menden (Sauerland) »
« . . . . . . . . . . . erhutsmühle – Postfach 166 – Telefon 02373 / 4004-05 »
« Telex 08202801 »

Ideally, this important document should have been printed on thick card and laminated with a waterproof, transparent cover, rather than being printed on a flimsy piece of paper that is all too easily water-damaged or even completely destroyed!

I suspect that these operating instructions were written in German by a German technical writer and then translated by a non-fluent German into broken American-English (rather than ENGLISH), noting that no British person would use the word gasoline in preference to petrol.

The use of the word clamp-handle rather than knob, seems rather odd, and I have never encountered this term in ENGLISH; perhaps being a literal translation of a compound German word. What is described as a thermoelectric ignition fuse, I would probably call a flame-failure device, which I vaguely recall is the term that is used for British domestic methane-gas cookers and central-heating & hot-water boilers. Similarly, that which are called thermo-tracers, I would probably call thermo-sensors.

Sometime during the early-1990s, I found contact details for the Cramer concessionary / agent in Great Britain as follows:

Cramer UK Sales, 27 Church Drive, East Keswick, Leeds, LS17 9EP, England

Tel. 0937 - 72651

The installation test certificate issued by Franz Knöbel & Söhne K. G. Inspektion, at the Westfalia-Werke in Wiedenbrück, for the fold-down Cramer cooking-stove [i.e. kocher in German] of DVGW Registered Number 68 CR 11, in my family’s 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental, is dated 14th September 1972.

Westfalia Continental LPG-system installation & inspection certificate, dated 14th September 1972

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/9_72_westy_stove_certificate.php

On the cover page, which records details of the vehicle manufacturer [VW – Westfalia-Werke KG], chassis number [2332 006 163] & motor-caravan model name [Continental], it states that the LPG system is to be inspected by an experienced person at regular intervals of two years and there is provision on the test certificate for three further re-examinations & re-certifications.

Such biennual re-examination & re-certification might be required under German law, but so far as I am aware, it has never been a requirement under British law, although this might have since changed for trailer-caravans, motor-caravans and/or boats. Our 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental’s LPG system, especially the flexible hoses, which are still the factory-fitted items, has only ever been inspected by me since January 1975.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “6th Page” (wardrobe with fold-down cooker & LPG cylinder storage etc)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%206.jpg

Built-In Cooking Stove

Using the Cramer cooking-stove with flame-failure device is quite straightforward, which requires one to depress the gas-valve knob whilst also turning it to the on position, before lighting the gas (i.e. butane-gas or propane-gas | the word “gas” is confusingly used in American-English, as an abbreviation for gasoline, which in ENGLISH is known as petrol; an abbreviation for petroleum spirit) by some means.

The Cramer cooking-stove instructions state that one should keep the gas-valve knob depressed for about 10 seconds after lighting the gas, but in practice I found it took somewhat longer, so I typically kept it depressed for about 30 seconds, to enable the flame-failure device’s thermos-sensor to significantly increase in temperature, and hence avoid the gas-flame extinguishing when one released the gas-valve knob. Ideally, the cooking-stove should have a removable windbreak, to minimise the likelihood of the burners’ flames being extinguished by air-movement.

A Cramer cooking-stove with home-made folding windbreak

The Cramer cooking-stove is not equipped with an integral spark-igniter, so to light the gas during the first few years, we used ordinary safety matches, which sometimes blew out because of air-movement through the open window or sliding door (ventilation is essential for avoidance of carbon monoxide production), but ultimately sourced a hand-held piezo-electric spark-igniter, which was safer and more effective, and could be stored in the substitute, full-width cutlery drawer, when not in use.

Having a permanently built-in cooker, is one of the requirements for a vehicle to be officially classified by the British DVLA – Driver & Vehicle Licencing Authority as a “motor-caravan” (which is printed in the vehicle-registration document), rather than something else. To the best of my knowledge, there is no official classification as a “campervan”, which is effectively what some of the North American specification, 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia conversions would be, instead of a “motor-caravan”!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...cklist.pdf

Historically, motor-caravans were regarded as cars and hence exempted from the lower speed limits that were applied to the commercial vehicles derived from fundamentally the same base vehicles, of which the 1968~79 VW Type 2 panel van is a prime example. Before the United Kingdom joined the EEC – European Economic Community (later rebranded as the EU – European Union), “motor-caravans” were regarded as “dual-purpose vehicles”, in common with the Land Rover and hence exempt from purchase tax. Consequently, one could buy a new VW Type 2 motor-caravan, for almost the same overall sale price as a VW 15/1600 Type 3 car.

Small Storage Locker Below The Cooking-Stove

Although this storage locker is relatively small, it provides useful, easy-access storage space for frequently used things such as the stacking melamine drinking-mugs, plus cocoa, coffee & sugar etc, plastic screw-top jars (ex Manchester Hospital prior to January 1975!) and British made, quasi-rectangular, mid-1970s vintage, Tupperware® containers of maximum dimensions: 128 mm length x 116 mm width x 56 mm or 92 mm height and either colourless, pink, yellow, green or blue.

https://www.tupperware.co.uk/index

Camping-Gaz 907 Cylinder Storage Locker

The left-hand picture shows the upper cooking-stove locker to be closed, whilst the mid-level and lower lockers for small items (e.g. stacking drinking-mugs & food-storage containers etc) and two refillable Camping Gaz 907 butane cylinders respectively. The lower locker is ventilated to the underside of the vehicle through a grid in the floor, and when its hinge-down flap is closed, the butane-cylinder, storage-locker is effectively sealed-off from the vehicle’s interior. There is some surplus space in this locker, which can be used for the storage of small items, such as slender plastic bottles, soap, shoe polish & cleaning cloths etc.

Illustration of the three sizes of refillable Camping Gaz 901, 904 & 907 butane cylinders

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=369623

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campingaz#Sizes_and_availability

https://www.campingaz.co.uk

https://www.campingaz.co.uk/gas/

https://www.campingaz.co.uk/gas/refillable-gas-bottles/r907-cylinder/SAP_3000005493.html

In the picture, both individual white-nylon stays are intact (a total of two stays; one per hinge-down flap) for the mid-level and lower hinge-down flaps, but were broken when my father purchased our vehicle in January 1975. There was little useful purpose in replacing like with like, given that these stays seemed rather flimsy and susceptible to damage.

The single mid-level stay, was replaced with a pair of hinged metal stays (one on either side), which are still in good order after nearly half a century. There was no point in replacing the single lower stay; it being more practical to let the hinge-down flap open fully and rest on the floor, supported by the push-button latched handle. This makes it easier to manipulate the moderately heavy Camping Gaz 907 cylinders (circa 13 lbs = 5•90 kg when full and 7 lbs = 3•18 kg when empty) in and out of the storage lockers.

There are two separate elastic-rubber straps with end-hooks that engage with metal strap-bridges, which are designed to securely hold two 203 mm diameter x 235 mm high Camping Gaz 907 cylinders in place. The smaller capacity 200 mm diameter x 145 mm high Camping Gaz 904 cylinders are of approximately the same diameter, but because of their lesser height, the elastic-rubber straps would not hold them securely in position.

Camping Gaz storage locker, with two Camping Gaz 907 gas-cylinders

According to the data stamped on the side, a Camping Gaz 907 cylinder (the largest available Camping Gaz cylinder!) holds 2•75 kg = 6•06 lbs of butane-gas. There are no Camping Gaz cylinder options for propane-gas, although this would be preferable for “cold-weather” camping, for which butane-gas does not readily vaporise at temperatures below ZERO degrees Celcius.

There have long been alternative larger butane or propane gas cylinders, in Great Britain, such as those supplied by Calor or Shell, but there has not been the facility in mainland Europe to refill them or exchange them for full ones. However, it’s debatable whether even the smallest of these alternative butane or propane gas-cylinders, would fit inside the Westfalia Continental’s gas-cylinder storage locker, although I am aware that some 1968~79 VW Type 2 motor-caravan converters, might have housed butane or propane gas-cylinders in the engine compartment, which could be rather hazardous!?!

To changeover from one Camping Gaz 907 cylinder to the other, presently involves partially unscrewing the gas-pressure regulator from the gas cylinder and then completing the process by rotating the cylinder. One then needs to swop over the cylinders’ positions in the locker and connect the gas-pressure regulator to the replacement cylinder by reversing the process previously described. This changeover process is both awkward and inconvenient, especially if it becomes necessary whilst the fold-down cooking-stove is deployed, and one is in the midst of cooking food or boiling the kettle for tea.

It is difficult to assess in situ, how much butane remains in a partially used Camping Gaz 907 cylinder. Things would be much simpler, if one had butane-level gauges and a changeover valve of some sort with a Camping Gaz adapter, which seemed to be available from the Gaslow® range of products [Product Codes: 01-1645 with 01-1665], but the associated 1•0 metre long connection-hoses would be too long, so would need to be modified somehow. There is/was also a separate changeover valve [Product Code: 07-5050] and automatic gas-stop valve [Product Code: 06-5010] available.

Circa 1994 vintage, Gaslow® eight-page brochure re butane & propane refillable-cylinder gas gauges & changeover facilities

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/gaslow_gas_bottle.php

If the Gaslow® gauge could be remotely-mounted in the foldaway-stove locker, above the gas-cylinder storage locker, connected to the low-pressure side of the gas-pressure regulator by rigid pipework and a flexible hose, one could readily just glance at the gauge when the cooking-stove is deployed; avoiding the need to crawl on one’s hands & knees.

These days, there are alternative special Gaslow® butane or propane gas-cylinders, of the same size as Camping Gaz 907 gas-cylinders, which can be self-refilled at vehicle fuel-filling stations using appropriate adapters, in at least some European countries, but the initial capital cost of purchasing these cylinders and other hardware, plus periodic testing & recertification, is extremely expensive.

https://www.gaslowdirect.com

https://www.gaslowdirect.com/product-category/gaslow-lpg-refillable-cylinder-systems/

https://www.gasproducts.co.uk/caravan-marine/gaslow-refillable-gas-cylinder-systems.html

https://www.gasproducts.co.uk/caravan-marine/gaslo...gauge.html

https://www.gaslowdirect.com/product/twin-gaslow-2-7kg-cylinder-kit-with-in-locker-black-filler/

https://www.motorhomeworkshop.co.uk/fitting/gaslow/

https://www.gasproducts.co.uk/caravan-marine/gaslo...gauge.html

https://www.gaslowdirect.com/re-certified-gaslow-cylinders/
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “7th Page” (galley-sink unit, insulated food-cabinet & cutlery storage locker etc)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...ge%207.jpg

Sink-Cover & Work-Surface

Although the middle picture shows the swivelling, triangular metal-rod support, for the sink cover cum work-surface, there is NO visual or written warning in the manual, stating that this support needs to be swivelled out from its travelling position parallel to the cabinet-side, to a position at right-angles to the cabinet-side, before the sink-cover is folded out into the sliding-door aperture.

Although both white-laminate surfaces of the sink-cover are said to be both heat and scratch-resistant, it would be unwise to cut on these surfaces with a sharp knife, especially a serrated one, or place a hot kettle or saucepan on there, which has just been taken off the lit cooking-stove, as it will be visibly damaged (i.e. blistered & darkened) by the excessive temperature, as my mother once discovered to our cost! This is probably equally applicable to the white-laminate surfaces of the main hinged folding table and the hinged wash-stand.

Faulty Water-Pump, Broken Cupboard-Flap Stays & Inadequate Cutlery Drawer

During our 1975 shake-down trips, the galley-sink unit's reciprocating, hand-operated water-pump had failed, owing to a broken, internal nylon connecting-rod, of which we were unable to obtain a spare, through our local franchised Volkswagen dealership.

Bay Window Bus > Westy Hand Pump Faucet Leaking -Pictures-

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=373987

We also discovered that most if not all of the three cupboard-flap’s flexible nylon stays had broken and that the standard cutlery-drawer was too deep & narrow, to be conveniently used for its intended purpose. In those days, VW motor-caravans were sold through the franchised Volkswagen dealership network (rather than motor-caravan dealers), who didn't cater for motor-caravan-conversion spares; or so I was informed by our local Volkswagen dealership.


The nylon stays were replaced with hinged metal ones, which have lasted to this day. Fortunately, I was able to make a replacement connecting rod for the pump, out of duralumin (a tough, corrosion resistant, aluminium alloy) with a brass location-key of rectangular cross-section and fabricated a full-width, substitute cutlery-drawer, out of plywood with rosewood runners (using material off-cuts), in the workshops at the sixth form college where I was still a student, before we departed on our first VW Type 2 touring holiday.

Not only was the original cutlery drawer too narrow and lacking dividers, to enable convenient storage of enough utensils & cutlery, which could be readily found without removing the drawer to rummage, but being fitted in the bottom of the storage locker, the space above the drawer was completely wasted.

For non-British readers of this topic thread, I should perhaps highlight that cutlery is the term in ENGLISH for dining-utensils such as knives, forks and spoons, which in American-English are known as flatware. However, flatware is the term in ENGLISH for plates & saucers etc, whereas hollowware is the term in ENGLISH for items such bowls, basins, pots, pans, jugs, kettles & teapots etc, made from metal, china, earthenware, plastic or other materials.

Although ENGLISH and American-English share some common roots (inevitable as New England was a long-established British colony prior to 3rd September 1783!), they are far from being the same language; differing significantly in terminology, grammar use, spelling and pronunciation.

The substitute cutlery drawer is divided into five equally-sized compartments, by four 3mm thick plywood dividers, of two-thirds depth, parallel to the drawer sides, for a diverse collection of cutlery [e.g. knives, fish-knives, forks, fish-forks, dessert-forks, dessert-spoons, soup-spoons, tea-spoons, latté-spoons or soda-spoons (akin to long-handled tea-spoons, useful for scraping-out deep jars etc) – having been introduced at an early age to using "formal-dining" cutlery], piezo-electric spark-igniter, jar-opener, can-opener, bottle-opener, cork-screw and other essential kitchen utensils, providing space above the dividers for transversely orientated carving / bread knives and other long kitchen-utensils.

Supplementary home-made cutlery drawer, push-button momentary switch & in-line fuse holder for electric water-pump, splash-proof 12V cigar-lighter socket and substitute hinged metal stays to replace the broken nylon ones

Comprehensive set of cutlery items used for British formal dining

If one needs to attend a formal meal, either at an exclusive restaurant, in an officers’ mess (of which I was once a member), for a dining-in night at some prestige universities, or at the homes of “high-society” members or otherwise, it is crucial to be familiar with the sequence and use of formal-dining cutlery. Although my university had dining-in nights, they were more relaxed about cutlery use, and most of the students and catering staff, were unfamiliar with even soup-spoons, desert-forks, fish-knives & fish-forks, which were commonly used in my home.

Unless one had the legitimate excuse of having an injured left arm or hand, it would be considered extremely bad form to hold a fork in one’s right hand (i.e. a significant social-gaffe re dining etiquette, even in an informal setting!), which I have been told is a common practice in the USA, and is believed to have led to the demise of some OSS – Office of Strategic Services personnel, operating in occupied Europe during the Second World War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services

Some large kitchen-utensils could not be accommodated in the cutlery drawer, so we resorted to using a cut-down, cylindrical washing-up-liquid bottle to store these, which was located in the fold-down cooking-stove locker, that used otherwise wasted space. I cannot remember where we stored the manually-operated, hand-cranked Prestige food mixer, used for mixing desserts like Bird’s “Angel Delight” or custard (a British delicacy about which I have a South African tale to tell!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Delight

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27s_Custard

After fitting the substitute cutlery-drawer, the original cutlery-drawer was repurposed for storage of pickles & preserves (e.g. jam, marmalade, pickles, chutney & peanut butter), in cylindrical storage containers. The space to the right of the original cutlery-drawer, was used for the storage of tea-bags and other frequently-used food & drink products.

Sometime in the early-1980s, just a few years later, the Westfalia’s water pump started leaking from around the O-ring seals for the rotating water-delivery spout (i.e. faucet in USA parlance!?!) and/or the pump-operating handle. We were unable to obtain replacement O-ring seals of the appropriate size, so we resorted to substituting a Jupiter “Starlift” hand-pump with a straight up & down action (a type commonly used in 1960s & 1970s vintage, British-built motor-caravans & trailer-caravans), which is of much simpler design and more robust construction than the Westfalia’s original manually-operated reciprocating water-pump and probably had a greater water-delivery rate of two Imperial gallons (i.e. 2•4018 US gallons or 9•0922 litres) per minute.

Jupiter Starlift Hand-Pump

The Jupiter water-pump had a more slender external diameter (i.e. 1 inch or 25•4 mm) than the Westfalia Continental’s original water-pump, plus a relatively small mounting collar with small separation between the two mounting holes (i.e. 1½ inches or 38•1 mm between centres), so in order to neatly fit it in the large original hole in the top of the galley-sink, it was necessary to fabricate a large aluminium-alloy adapter-plate, which for neatness and avoidance of sharp corners, should ideally be circular. This avoided the need to make any additional holes in the stainless-steel galley-sink or underlying plywood cabinet.

Although it would have been possible to fabricate this using a drill, hacksaw and a selection of files, it was quicker and easier to do this using a lathe, for which I received invaluable assistance from the workshop technicians at the Haden Carrier, Group Central Engineering laboratories, where I worked during my university vacations, as a sponsored postgraduate engineering student, in the Cranfield Institute of Technology, Applied Energy Group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranfield_University#Cranfield_Institute_of_Technology_(1969-1993)

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Haden_Carrier

Haden Carrier & Group Central Engineering badges

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=2381097

Since the 1960s, Munster Simms Engineering in Northern Ireland, have continued to manufacture WHALE-brand, manual, hand or foot operated, fresh-water pumps, for use in motor-caravans, trailer-caravans & boats; of which the Whale V Pump is similar in operation to the Jupiter Starlift pump we have. Munster Simms also manufacture WHALE-brand electric water pumps and more sophisticated hot & cold water systems. In recent years, I have seen pictures of a few Westfalia Continentals, with substitute water-pumps, at least some of which were of WHALE-brand.

!973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental galley-sink with substituted Whale Flipper Galley Pump

Given that the Westfalia Continental was intended to be “exclusively” for the British market, it would have been more sensible to factory-fit a British made water pump, rather than one that is rumoured to have been sourced from the USA, as fitted to North American specification, 1968~79 VW Westfalia conversions, prompted by the commonly available RV – Recreation Vehicle products, already used for the ASI Riviera, from an independent VW campervan or motor-caravan converter in Vancouver, Washington, USA (not to be confused with the much better known Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!).

https://www.whalepumps.com

https://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product.aspx?Product_ID=10027

Whale V Pump (hand operated) | 8 litres per minute

https://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product.aspx?Cat...d-operated

Whale Flipper Galley Pump (hand operated) | 7 litres per minute

https://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product.aspx?Cat...d-operated

Whale Babyfoot Galley Pump (foot operated)

https://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product.aspx?Cat...t-operated

Nearly 10 years later, in late-1988 or early-1989, I retro-fitted in series with the Jupiter “Starlift” hand-pump, a British made, Denton Greenwood Evenflow self-priming, 12V electric water-pump, which radically increased the water-delivery rate and greater convenience with which we could fill the kettle and saucepans with water. If for any reason, the electric pump failed, we still had the manually-operated water-pump as a back-up option.

Denton Greenwood Evenflow 12V self-priming Water Pump Instructions

Denton Greenwood Evenflow Water Pump installed in the 1973 Wesfalia Continental’s cabinet behind the water-tank

Milk Bottle Storage

Sadly, the "milk-bottle" retaining shaped-rod in the door-moulding of the insulated food cabinet (i.e. ice box in USA parlance!?!), was not of the appropriate configuration for the milk bottles or cartons that were commonly available in Great Britain or Europe. It might be possible to fabricate an alternative retaining shaped-rod of a more appropriate configuration.

However, sometime during the mid-to-late 1980s, I discovered that the 1•0 litre plastic bottles with pump-dispenser, for Tesco supermarket's own-brand, basic, low-cost hair-shampoo, was of ideal cross-section & height for milk-storage in the door-moulding. Although I could probably have retained the pump-dispenser, this was not a practical way of dispensing milk, but I discovered that one could substitute the screw-tops, that were used on disposable plastic soft-drinks' bottles.

Insulated food-storage cabinet with provision for "milk-bottle" storage in the insulated door

Fire Precautions

For my final act of vehicle preparation in mid-1975, I was recommended to fit two 1 kg Firemaster Commando, dry powder fire extinguishers, positioned close to the driver's cab door and the sliding door; following the fire officers' maxim, of locating them along the path of escape.

To the roof lining, just above the sliding door, which would be immediately to hand, when using the two-burner, cooking stove, I also later fitted an ordinary domestic, Addis Safety, fire-blanket dispenser (containing a folded 3 feet x 3 feet, glass-fibre fire-blanket, said to comply with BS476 Parts 4 & 7). The fire-blanket’s tubular dispenser is of 75 mm square cross section, which is of 1•33 times larger cross-sectional area than a 65 mm square-section of plastic rain-gutter down-pipe!

https://www.directplastics.com/guttering-downpipes/white-gutters-and-downpipes/65mm-square-downpipe

So far, I have yet to learn of any other fire-blanket dispensers, which could readily be mounted in the same convenient position. All of the fire-blanket dispensers I have seen recently, are much wider than 75 mm, for which the only practical mounting position might be either next to or on the wardrobe door, on the rearward face of the cabinet, which incorporates the fold-down cooking-stove.

Alternatively, one could acquire an approved fire-blanket and fabricate a custom dispenser out of 65 mm square-section, plastic rain-gutter down-pipe (I commonly find long white, brown or black off-cuts, discarded in waste-skips!), cut to an appropriate length to completely accommodate the folded fire-blanket. Less frequently discarded in waste-skips, are off-cuts of much larger, 100 mm square-section, hollow plastic fence-post material, which would probably be too large to conveniently fit onto the narrow strip of roof-lining between the sliding-door aperture and the roof-aperture!

https://www.decksupermarket.co.uk/products/upvc-post-sleeve-102mm-x-102mm

In the absence of a dedicated fire-blanket to smother an oil or fat fire on the cooking-stove, one should use a wrung-out, wetted towel or tea-towel etc. Wringing-out is important, to eliminate the possibility of any water-droplets, dripping into the hot cooking oil or fat, which would immediately vaporise the water and exacerbate the spread of fire! One could alternatively use an appropriate fire extinguisher, but one needs to be wary of using some types in confined spaces, owing to the risk of asphyxiation, and others such as dry-powder types can be messy.

In October 1975, at the start of my first year at Chelsea College, University of London, I was introduced to the use of BCF fire extinguishers, for extinguishing accidental chemical-solvent fires in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Several years later, in 1988 or 1989, I attended an in-house training course where I worked at Fulmer Yarsley (a recognised fire-test laboratory, amongst other things!), in Redhill, Surrey, England, about different types of fire and fire extinguisher, including BCF fire extinguishers which are/were appropriate to electrical fires as well as petrol, diesel, oil & fat fires, which might occur in a motor-caravan.

1980s vintage, Yarsley & Fulmer Yarsley stickers

This prompted me several months later, to buy a pair of second-hand 1½ kg Swordsman, trigger operated, BCF fire extinguishers (without mounting brackets), from one of the recognised fire services exhibiting at the Essex Show; one of which I substituted in place of the dry powder type, near the cab door. In late-1990, at the Royal Military College of Science, I later discovered that the Defence Fire Service also widely employed 1½ kg Swordsman, trigger operated, BCF fire extinguishers, for which they had two surplus mounting brackets that I was able to scrounge.

Volkswagen, Westfalia & Continental Decals!?!

Although not visible in the left-hand picture, or any other pictures in the Westfalia Continental manual, the following sticker on side of the furniture unit, close to the front of the sliding-door aperture, is the ONLY indication that the motor-caravan is a VW Westfalia Continental conversion; apart from the small printed & embossed, aluminium, manufacture’s plaque, on the bottom, left-hand face of the rear bench-seat’s base-unit, close to the rear of the sliding-door aperture. There are no “Westfalia” or “Continental” decals on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle, and to the best of my knowledge none have ever existed!

“VW – Continental” sticker on furniture

1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental identification plaques with model-year & serial-number

Apart from the large white-plastic roundel clipped onto the front panel, which was sacrificed in late-1970s in favour of a front spare-wheel carrier, there have never been any Volkswagen roundels, badges or decals on any exterior or interior surfaces of the vehicle. Past experience of common corrosion sites, has made me extremely wary of external badges or decorative-trim, which involves having holes in the bodywork or using metal retaining clips. However, I have never been averse to using self-adhesive badges or decals.

The following were a first attempt during a basic computer course in 1994, at designing some elevating-roof (i.e. pop-top in USA parlance!?!) & rear-hatch bespoke decals for my family's 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental motor-caravan, with a substitute 1911 cm³ displacement, VW 17/1800 Type 4 style air-cooled engine, based principally on a 1972 VW 412LE fuel-injected engine.

VW 1900 Type 2 Kombi EFI decals

The designs were prepared in 1994, using Microsoft Word or Works for Windows 3.11, on a 386 desktop computer, and printed on A4 format tractor-paper using a 9-pin dot-matrix printer. My intention was to photocopy suitable designs onto a self-adhesive, white (or clear / other-colour if available) of plastic sheet, that is compatible with laser printers. I possess a single A4 sheet of such material, but so far I have yet to persuade anyone to let me use it in their photocopier!

Several years ago, I bought a self-adhesive, black & silver, metallic-foil, VW roundel sticker, for placement above the central rear-hatch lock, in a similar position to that of the badge on the Brazilian-built, 1997 onward, “bay-window” VW Type 2s. There are also more complex VW roundel bodywork-stickers, with multiple overlapping, increasingly-diffuse ghost-images, intended for the bottoms of VW Transporter T3 (i.e. VW Vanagon in USA parlance!?!) cab-doors, but these were too expensive for my budget!

Castle-brand, black & silver, VW roundel bodywork-sticker (diameter = 73½ mm or circa 2-29/32 inches)

Useful Addresses

Addis Safety Ltd, Ware Road, Hertford, SG13 7HL.

Denton Greenwood Ltd, Kingsditch Trading Estate, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 9NX, England
Tel. Cheltenham 514 711 [outdated number?]

Jupiter Pump Company Ltd [part of Denco Holdings Group], Bitterne Park, Southampton, S09 1WS, England
Tel. Southampton 29021 [outdated number?]

Munster Simms Engineering Ltd, Old Belfast Road, Bangor, BT19 1LT, Northern Ireland
Tel. +44 (0) 1247 – 270 531
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “9th Page” (folding wash-stand, “spice-rack” & rear ceiling-mounted cupboard)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%209.jpg

Folding Wash-Stand & Spice-Rack

The “Wash-Stand with Folding Table” heading is something I found both intriguing and confusing; perhaps being written in American-English rather than ENGLISH!?! What was the intended purpose of that white-laminate surfaced folding work-surface, which protrudes through the sliding-door aperture when deployed. We occasionally used it as a stand for the plastic washing-up bowl, but I cannot recall it being used for much else; especially as it cannot be used when the sliding-door is closed.

Below this is the “spice-rack” (a description that seems to commonly be used in the USA for this storage facility!), which was used for a variety of whatever small items could actually be fitted into this awkward storage space, but I don’t think we stored any spices or other condiments in there.

Tupperware® Circular-Lid Storage

Owing to the limited amount of suitable storage space available in the Westfalia Continental, for food-related items, we chose to hang the circular lids for the Tupperware® bowls, on a bespoke Tupperware® lid-storage hanger, which were generally available in the 1970s, for screwing to the sides of kitchen cabinets. The only suitable place in the motor-caravan, was on the side of the cabinet close to the sliding door, above the folding wash-stand & spice-rack and forward of the swivelling, triangular support for the sink cover cum work-surface.

The Tupperware® lid-storage hanger was too long, for the sliding door to be closed, so the hanger was shortened, providing a clearance gap of circa 1 mm. During windy weather when the sliding door was open, the Tupperware® lids often got blown off the modified Tupperware® lid-storage hanger, which was ultimately prevented by the simple expedient of fitting a spring-loaded washing-line peg.

Sliding-Door Closure From Inside

The presence of the combination furniture unit, close to the front-half of the sliding-door aperture, makes it more difficult to open or close the sliding door from inside the vehicle. I have yet to design & fabricate a viable solution to easier door-opening, but easier, less-violent door-closure, can be readily achieved by the simple expedient of retro-fitting a pull-close handle or strap, to the rear interior of the sliding-door, using the forward pair of four existing hinge-mechanism, M6 x 1•0 mm securing-bolts.

Some North American specification, 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravans or campervans, have a Volkswagen factory-fitted pull-close handle, as illustrated in the replacement parts catalogue & microfiche, but being unaware of this option until relatively recently, I had in the early-1990s, designed and fabricated a cheap & simple pull-close strap, using off-cuts of duralumin and of 25 mm wide nylon webbing.

Volkswagen factory-fitted, 1968~79 VW Type 2, interior, sliding-door, pull-close handle

My self-designed & fabricated, 1968~79 VW Type 2, interior, sliding-door, pull-close strap & component details

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > 78 Westy, knob on sliding door

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=295325

Bay Window Bus > Westy interior sliding door handle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589832

Bay Window Bus > Closing sliding door from inside

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=142619

Bay Window Bus > Do You Have to Slam Your Sliding Door?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56088

Obscured & Restricted Rearward Visibility

The bottom picture on the left-hand side, clearly illustrates the reduced rearward vision through the rear-hatch window, owing to the presence of the high, full-width, rear bench-seat’s back-rest and the deep, full-width, rear ceiling-mounted cupboard.

With the factory-standard, short-stemmed, interior rear-view mirror, rearward visibility from the driver’s seat, through the rear-hatch window, is particularly poor, only partially mitigated by having a large, flexible-plastic Fresnel lens fixed to the inside of the window-glass. This was a problem for my father, who being virtually blind in his right eye, found it difficult to use the right-hand cab-door’s exterior rear-view mirror. Fortunately, the driver’s rearward visibility through the rear-hatch window can be improved by substituting a late-1969 VW Type 2 long-stemmed interior rear-view mirror.

Unlike the North American specification, 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravans & campervans, the Westfalia Continentals were not equipped with an electrically-heated rear window, which can be a distinct disadvantage, especially if reversing during cold, damp weather, when the rear window and other windows become misted over.

I have since acquired an electrically-heated rear-window glass, which I shall substitute in the future, but will also need to complete the associated electrical circuitry, comprising the wiring, a relay and a dashboard-switch with integral tell-tale light, of which the VW Type 2 pattern (dimpled, truncated cone shape) is rare in Great Britain, so all my dashboard switches are of VW Type 3 & 4 pattern (stepped, truncated cone shape).

The rear window is similarly obscured when travelling at relatively “high-speed” during “dirty wet weather”, because vision through the rear window is reduced by the deposition of dirt-laden spray, but no 1968~79 VW Type 2s were factory-fitted with a rear-window wiper & washer system. After several years of searching, I finally discovered in 1989, an unusual and almost optimal rear-window wiper system (as factory-fitted to late-1970s & early-1980s vintage, Vauxhall Chevette & Astra Mk.1 estate cars) that would overcome this deficiency, after making some minor modifications.

Bay Window Bus > 1968~79 VW Type 2 window wiper & washer upgrades

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=186468

Vangard™ Fresnel lens & unusual GM-SWF cross-over-arm, double-linkage, pantograph rear-window wiper

At a very early stage, we retro-fitted a large-sized Vangard™, rear view lens, which is a ridged, flexible, PVC Fresnel lens, which when fitted to the rear-window glass, confers a larger field of view, to aid reversing. When sitting in the driving seat, I found that with the aid of the Fresnel lens, I could see the feet of a pedestrian, standing not less than 2•8 metres (i.e. about 9 feet) behind the vehicle. It was discovered, that the lens also gave a partial view of the rear-quarter blind spots, on both sides.

https://www.justkampers.com/backsee-wide-angle-rear-window-lens.html

Rear, Ceiling-Mounted Storage Cupboard

Although the rear, ceiling-mounted, full-width, two-compartment storage cupboard, significantly obscures the rear window, its limited height & load-capacity and division into two halves, restricts what can be stored in it. One also needs to consider that in the event of a vehicle collision, the latched, hinged cupboard-flap might burst open, discharging its contents like projectiles.

Being unsuitable for clothing, bedding or tinned-food, we used this cupboard for the storage of stacked melamine plates & bowls, empty Tupperware® polythene storage-containers, aluminium cooking pots, pans, tea-pot & kettle, plus other small items relating to meals and meal-preparation. The stacking melamine drinking-mugs, were more conveniently stored in the small storage-locker below the fold-down cooking-stove.

One could conceivably mount onto or into the cupboard’s front face, either small audio-speakers or supplementary interior lamps, on either side of the bottom-hinged cupboard-flap. Whether anything could usefully be mounted to the bottom-hinged cupboard-flap, is something I have yet to explore!

Not shown on any of the Westfalia manual’s pages, is the full-width, lipped shelf at the rear of the rear, ceiling-mounted cupboard, to which one can only gain access when the vehicle’s rear hatch is open. The shelf’s 3 mm thick plywood lip that was held on by just a few panel-pins, severely restricted what could be stored there, so my father removed it!

In Germany, it has long been a legal requirement to carry a first-aid kit in road-vehicles, even if one did NOT know how to use one! With the shelf-lip removed, we were able to store the 1972 vintage South African Automobile Association first-aid kit, together with my father’s other emergency medical-supplies, the washing-line & pegs, boxes of toilet-tissues and the steel-bar reinforced, roll-up plastic, AA Emergency Windscreen, which was always carried as a precaution against the zone-toughened (i.e. tempered in USA parlance) front windscreen shattering from a stone-impact.

AA roll-up, temporary, emergency front-windscreen

The 1972 vintage South African Automobile Association first-aid kit (potentially a sought-after collectible these days!), had been given to my father as a memento of the England Southern Areas judo team’s unofficial tour in 1972, of South Africa & Rhodesia [both then subject to the World’s economic and other sanctions], for which he as a general medical practitioner [M.B., Ch.B., D.R.C.O.G. | graduate of the University of St. Andrew’s, Queen’s College medical & dental school, in Dundee, Scotland] had been the team’s medical officer & deputy tour-manager. Historically, 90% of Europe’s medical practitioners undertook their medical training in Scotland; something that is not widely known!

Commemorative Plaque of judo team’s 1972 tour of South Africa & Rhodesia

Feeling the need for a comprehensive, anti-theft security system, I later fitted a Sparkrite AT80 Alarm & Ultrasonic Intruder Detector, whose control-units could be conveniently mounted in the otherwise unusable space above the rear of cupboard, which can only be accessed after the cupboard is removed and wiring concealed behind the plywood headlining. The associated pair of ultrasonic transducers, were neatly flush-mounted into tight-fitting circular holes in the outboard, lower corners of the front-facing, laminated cupboard face.

Sparkrite automotive electronics accessories brochure & December 1984 price list for self-assembly kits

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/sparkrite.php

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “10th Page” (louvre windows)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2010.jpg

The three-pane louvre windows (i.e. jalousie windows in USA parlance!?!) with mosquito netting, usefully provide passenger & cooking-stove ventilation, both when stationary and on the move. Although these windows let daylight in, the three-pane configuration & mosquito nets, severely restrict outward visibility for rear-seat passengers and for the driver when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “11th Page” (rear-hatch mosquito net & interior fluorescent strip light)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2011.jpg

The illustrated mosquito-net for the rear-hatch aperture, was not included in January 1975 with our second-hand 1973 Westfalia Continental, and I don’t know whether it came with one from the Westfalia Werke in Wiedenbrück, Germany. However, there are press-studs already fitted around the rear-hatch aperture.

The illustration of the Hella 8W fluorescent strip-light with prismatic lens & integral on/off rocker-switch, on the right-hand side of the vehicle (i.e. opposite the sliding door on the left-hand side of the vehicle), recessed into the plywood roof-lining just below the roof-aperture to the elevating roof, is consistent with the installation in my family’s 1973 Westfalia Continental.

Hella 8W fluorescent strip-light with prismatic lens

Dashboard switch of the type used for the rear interior fluorescent light

The fluorescent strip-light is normally installed with the rocker-switch towards the front of the vehicle and connected in series with the interior-light switch on the dashboard. I later repositioned the strip-light with the rocker-switch towards the rear of the vehicle (easier to operate when in bed) and reconnected it directly to the fuse box in the mid-1990s; reallocating the dashboard switch for another purpose.

During the mid-1990s, I retro-fitted an additional Hella 8W fluorescent strip-light with prismatic lens & on/off rocker-switch (bought second-hand from someone breaking an accident-damaged 1973 Westfalia Continental for spares) on the opposite side above the sliding door.

Bay Window Bus > Double Westy Fluorescent Lights?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249149

During the process of removing and repositioning the original left-hand strip-light, I discovered that the four crimped connections, to the strip-light’s PCB – printed-circuit board, were fragile and very susceptible to irreparable damage, owing to flexing of the wiring, so I designed & fabricated some bespoke 2•8 mm (i.e. 1/8 inch), PCB-mounting, male spade connectors, from off-cuts of sheet brass, which I mounted & soldered to the PCB, and then 2•8 mm (i.e. 1/8 inch), female blade connectors, were crimped & soldered onto the original cables. As a precautionary measure, I also made this modification, to the supplementary interior, recessed, Hella 8W fluorescent lamp, which I had later retro-fitted.

Hella 8W fluorescent strip-light – modified PCB electrical connections

It’s my impression, that 1968~79 VW Type 2 Westfalia motor-caravans & campervans supplied to the North American and other markets, were NOT equipped with a fluorescent strip-light, but instead had a conventional light with three 10W incandescent-filament bulbs. I am aware of an accessory Hella 8W fluorescent strip-light of similar appearance, but it is of a surface-mounted type rather than a panel-recessed type.

French specification, VW Westfalia P35 & P36 Manual - Interior light with three 10W bulbs

During recent years, some owners have modified both interior fluorescent strip-lights and conventional interior incandescent-filament bulb lights, by substituting LED strips or LED bulbs.

Ideally, I would like to fit another fixed or demountable light of some kind in the elevating roof, to facilitate late-night reading or an unscheduled toilet trip.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “13th Page” (elevating roof and associated children’s double-bed / adult’s single-bed)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2013.jpg

The left-hand line-drawings, illustrate the interior of the front-hinged elevating-roof (i.e. pop-top in USA parlance!?!), showing the foam & Autumn-Gold cloth upholstered, plywood based two-berth children’s double-bed with a maximum load of 180 lbs (i.e. 12 st 12 lbs or 81•65 kg | n.b. 1 kg = 2•2046 lbs or 1 lb = 0•4536 kg) and a hinged pillow section to provide access. However, no information is given in the manual about the length & width of the elevating-roof bed.

Nor are there any suggestions about how one adult or two children, might climb up into bed without the aid of a ladder, which is what one might typically have at home, for children’s two or three tier bunk-beds. I used to step with bare or stockinged feet onto the main double-bed cushion, and then haul myself onto the elevating-roof bed from there, but I was already a young adult when I first did this, so I am not sure what children would do.

My own measurements of my family’s 1973 Westfalia Continental two-piece elevating-roof bed as illustrated below, indicate that the main section is 1,300 mm long x 970 mm wide (i.e. 51•2 inches long x 38•2 inches wide) and the hinged pillow section is 315 mm long x 890 mm wide (i.e. 12•4 inches long x 35•0 inches wide). At the foot-end of the bed, there is a contoured upholstered cushion, which lies on top of the vehicle’s steel roof, that extends the effective length of the bed by about 100 mm and reduces the likelihood of one’s feet touching the cold steel roof.

Hence, the overall effective size of the elevating-roof bed, is circa 1,715 mm long x 970 mm wide (i.e. 67•5 inches long x 38•2 inches wide or 5 feet 7•5 inches long x 3 feet 2•2 inches wide). Although this is shorter than ideal for an adult, it was adequately long enough for me on my own, despite being 1•79 metres (i.e. 5 feet 10½ inches) tall.

Schematic, dimensioned drawing of my 1973 Westfalia Continental elevating-roof bed

In the manual’s upper drawing, the bed is shown with the hinged pillow section folded-up beneath the main bed section and raised in the storage position, supported by the rubber elevating-roof fastening-toggles, to provide headroom in the main passenger cabin. In the lower drawing, the bed is shown with the bed horizontal in the sleeping position and the hinged pillow section unfolded and supported by the swivelling profiled-rod support.

In September 1998, I had the opportunity to inspect a French registered, European specification, LHD – left-hand drive, 1973 model-year, VW 1600 Type 2 Westfalia Helsinki SO72/3 motor-caravan, with single-berth folding canvas bunk for the elevating roof; which with the exception of the elevating-roof bed, was an exact mirror-image of the RHD – right-hand drive, 1973 model-year, VW 1600 Type 2 Westfalia Continental motor-caravan.

Couchette dans le lanternau – single-berth folding stretcher bunk on the right-hand side of the elevating roof (maximum load 90 kg), in the French specification, 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia P35 & P36 Models

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973westfalia_french.php

Single-berth folding stretcher bunk on the left-hand side of the elevating roof (maximum load 150 lbs), in the North American specification, 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/aug72westy.php

Given that both the North American and French specification 1973 VW Westfalias are LHD – left-hand drive, it seems strange that their elevating-roofs’ single-berth folding stretcher bunks are mounted on opposite sides!?! Some features of this single-berth folding sretcher bunk, are illustrated in Chapter 1 – Body & Frame, Pages 34 & 35, of the Robert Bentley manual for the 1968~79 VW Type 2.

Volkswagen of America, “Volkswagen Official Service Manual Type 2 – Station Wagon / Bus 1968~1979”, 4th Edition, 1979, Robert Bentley Publishers, ISBN 0-8376-0094-4.

The Westfalia manual omits to mention the overnight deposition of condensation on the underside of the 1973 Westfalia elevating roof, which was a common occurrence even in summer. I invariably needed to have a cloth or towel wrung out several times, before all of the condensation was wiped off! Whether the flock-lining of later-model Westfalia elevating roofs, significantly inhibits the deposition of condensation, is something I have yet to learn.

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > That fuzzy stuff inside the pop top of my camper

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=332680

Although I was usually quite snug up in the elevating roof, in my Black’s Norseland down-filled sleeping bag (in common with the polar sleeping bags with integral hoods, it was constructed with connecting walls between the outer-cover & inner-lining to avoid cold-spots), it would probably be advantageous for cold-weather use, to insulate the elevating roof by affixing a layer of low-density resilient foam to the interior GRP surface, and provide a supplementary “pseudo-fly-sheet” akin to what is commonly used with conventional hiking tents.

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Camper canvas top insulation

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=529388

By 1996, having reached the age of 40, the Westfalia Continental elevating roof, seemed less easy to lift, than it had in my youth. Given that the 'Zenith', Viking 'Spacemaker' and Devon 'Doubletop' side-hinged, elevating roofs were equipped with gas struts, I surmised that the front-hinged, Continental elevating roof, might also benefit from this facility. After some research in my local car breakers' yards, I deduced that a pair of 550 mm long gas struts (with ball joints at either end - an important feature), salvaged from a Volvo 300-Series hatchback, would be suitable for the purpose.

The lower ends of the gas struts were attached to the rear end, of the roof-mounting hinge-bracket and the top ends, fastened to the wood & glass-fibre reinforced polyester elevating roof, by means of bespoke, home-made, duralumin brackets (made using duralumin off-cuts that I salvaged from the scrap bin, when I was a postgraduate engineering student at Cranfield Institute of Technology).

One of the gas struts incorporates an electrical switch (originally for the Volvo interior courtesy light), which has been incorporated into a circuit to operate an ignition controlled, roof-up warning device. The elevating roof can now be raised easily, using only one hand and is virtually self-supporting, once raised about half way.

Volvo 300-Series gas-strut assistance for Westfalia elevating roof

There are now commercially available gas-strut upgrade kits, for both the front-hinged, 1968~73 model-year and rear-hinged, 1974~79 model-year, Westfalia elevating roofs, but some are poorly designed and many are extortionately over-priced; considering that they comprise simple, generic, mass-produced components. So far, I am aware of kits being available in Great Britain, France and the USA.

Even if I had needed to purchase all new materials and components, I doubt whether my DIY gas-strut upgrade would have cost more than about £25~£30 in 1996.

Gas struts for Westfalia elevating roof

http://forums.kombiclub.com/showthread.php?t=21732

Bay Window Bus > Gas strut assisted pop tops?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=178584
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “14th Page” (rear-mounted roof rack)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2014.jpg

The rear-mounted roof rack shows six of the twelve galvanised-steel strap-bridges (designed for 25 mm webbing straps), riveted to the four inside edges of the GRP – glass-fibre reinforced plastic roof-rack moulding (i.e. three equally spaced strap-bridges along each edge).

During the early years of our ownership, I secured luggage (i.e. soft suitcases, annexe tent, low-profile Paddy Hopkirk 5-litre “Explosafe” petrol can etc) on the roof rack, using an old washing line (i.e. cord for suspending laundry to dry), which proved to be satisfactory, but fastening & unfastening this, was a time-consuming process. Eventually, I acquired a 25 mm wide, nylon ratchet strap, which was quicker and easier to deploy & tension.

Accessories/Memorabilia/Toys > "Explosafe" Safety Fuel Cans

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=652305

Given the size & shape of the luggage we carried, it would have been much more secure if there had been another 25 mm wide, nylon ratchet strap and an additional eight equally-spaced galvanised-steel (or preferably stainless-steel) strap-bridges, positioned between the original twelve, on the four inside edges of the GRP roof-rack moulding. This is something I intend to implement in the future, if and when I manage to source some additional strap-bridges!

Our first touring-holiday experience, convinced us that the Westfalia Continental roof rack, ideally needed a waterproof roof-rack cover, which needed to be easily fitted & removed. To the best of our knowledge, there was no suitable readymade cover, so I made one from a surplus, stretchy, butyl-rubber, ornamental-pond liner, incorporating large brass eyelets, with the holes in the stretchy butyl-rubber reinforced by circular pieces of leather, affixed to the butyl-rubber with Dunlop Thixofix, thixotropic contact adhesive. Being made from a stretchy material, the roof-rack cover conformed to the shape of load, did not flap in the slipstream and might have diminished the aerodynamic drag.

Several aluminium hooks were attached using brass machine-screws, nuts & washers to the outer edges at the rear and both sides of the GRP roof-rack moulding. For the first few years, I used nylon cord threaded through the eyelets and around the hooks to secure the roof-rack cover. It was time consuming securing one end of the nylon cord to the right-hand front strap-bridge and then iteratively tensioning the nylon cord & stretching the cover before tying the free end of the cord to the left-hand front strap-bridge (accessible from the sliding-door aperture), so I ultimately substituted elastic bungee-cord in place of the nylon cord. In addition to providing weather protection, the roof-rack cover also increased stability / security of the load.

Some of the aluminium hooks for the roof-rack cover retaining-cord, are just about visible in the pictures below.

The front of the roof-rack cover was tucked under the trailing-edge of the elevating roof, but this soon became untucked when travelling at relatively high speeds of circa 40~55 mph, so I eventually fitted five or six turn-button fasteners on the front outer edge of the GRP roof-rack moulding, which proved to be very satisfactory.

Turn-button fasteners of the type used on the Westfalia roof rack

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “15th Page” (Westfalia free-standing annexe tent)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2015.jpg

VW Continental Manual for Camping equipment (Edition 8/72) – “16th Page” (Westfalia free-standing annexe-tent frame)

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1973%...al%20Owner's%20Manual%20Page%2016.jpg

According to the following topic thread on the British Volkszone forum in June 2009, the stool, rear-hatch aperture mosquito-net and awning (i.e. annexe tent?) were said to be “rare accessories”, of which we only had the stool.

Volkszone > VW Westfalia dealer parts manual

https://www.volkszone.com/threads/vw-westfalia-dealer-parts-manual.564619/

Although the 1973 Westfalia Continental makes overnight sleeping provision for two adults and up to three children of modest stature & weight; the single-berth cross-cab bunk and nominally two-berth elevating-roof bed having maximum load limits of 90 lbs (i.e. 6 st 6 lbs or 40•8 kg) and 180 lbs (12 st 12 lbs or 81•6 kg) respectively, noting that 1 st = 14 lbs & 1 kg = 2•2046 lbs or 1 lb = 0•4536 kg. As a consequence of the burgeoning obesity epidemic of the 1980s onward, an increasing proportion of teenagers and adults weigh more than 180 lbs, so the elevating-roof bed would not be suitable for them!

https://www.gigacalculator.com/calculators/height-percentile-calculator.php

As a young adult of 5 feet 10½ inches (i.e. 1•79 metres) tall and 8½~9 stone (i.e. 119~126 lbs or 54•0~57•2 kg) in weight, the 1973 Westfalia Continental’s two-berth elevating-roof bed proved to be satisfactory for me alone, when only my parents and I were touring on our own. However, when accompanied by one or other of my college friends, we needed additional adult sleeping accommodation, which could only be provided by having a free-standing annexe tent.

We already had waffle air-mattresses and Black's Norseland, down-filled sleeping bags, which had originally been bought for our 1971, Icelandic package touring & camping, summer holiday, with Mini Trek. If the weather became particularly cold, there were separate, supplementary down-filled hoods with large yokes, for use with the sleeping bags.

Not having a bespoke Westfalia annexe tent, and anticipating that for our 1975 European and subsequent tours, sleeping accommodation for four adults would be required, we bought in a clearance sale, at a local camping equipment suppliers, in Shoeburyness, Essex, a generic free-standing, motor-caravan-annexe frame tent, intended for motor-caravans with a side-access door. Our twin-colour, light-green & dark-green annexe frame tent, had a porch & full-width access-aperture with roll-up zipped flap at the front and a non-central, half-width access-aperture with roll-up zipped flap at the rear.

I have never seen a Westfalia annexe-tent pitched anywhere, but there is an illustration of one, on Pages 197 & 209 of the Haynes owners’ workshop manuals, for the 1968~72 VW 1600 Type 2 & 1972~75 VW 17/1800 Type 2 respectively.

Both identical illustrations show the longitudinal positioning of the annexe-tent relative to the vehicle, to be different from that in the Westfalia manual. The Westfalia annexe-tent appears to be longer than our generic annexe-tent and overlaps the passenger-side cab-door as well as extending rearward of the vehicle, so unless one enters & exits via the driver’s cab-door, one would be obliged to come & go via the annexe-tent.

Side-elevations of British specification, RHD 1968~79 VW Type 2s

Top picture: side elevation of a RHD VW Type 2 Devon motor-caravan conversion, with "Weathershield" elevating-roof (i.e. pop-top in USA parlance!?!)

Bottom picture: side elevation of a RHD 1973 VW Type 2 Westfalia Continental motor-caravan conversion, with front-hinged Westfalia elevating-roof and what appears to be a bespoke Westfalia annexe-tent

Unlike the bespoke Westfalia annexe tent, which was designed to suspend the tent inside the tent frame, our generic annexe-tent was designed to fit the tent cloth over the outside of the tubular frame, which enabled one to attach one or more interior tent-lights (8W or 13W fluorescent strip-lights available) to the interior tubular frame. We had a single 8W fluorescent strip-light, whose fluorescent-tube was protected by a high-impact, cylindrical ABS diffuser, with clips at either end, to attach it to a tent-pole.

Through-bulkhead-mounted BNC socket with a weather-resistant cover, retro-fitted prior to mid-1982, to be used as a 12V accessory supply socket for one or more fluorescent strip-lights inside the annexe-tent

Note the retro-fitted North American specification, red, rear side-marker lights and the inquisitive Swedish red squirrel.

Through-bulkhead-mounting BNC socket & dust cap

The tent frame had two-piece telescopic upright poles, which made it easier and less hazardous to erect and dismantle the tent, by progressively raising or lowering the height of the frame, especially during windy weather; a facility which was to prove invaluable, during our 1976 summer holiday in western Scotland.

In parts of northern Scandinavia, each camper acquires their own personal midge squadron (which follow one everywhere and some even perform kamikaze dives into one's tea, coffee or soup!); particularly in Myvatn, Iceland, as we found from personal experience. Hence, we ideally needed to acquire an inner bedroom-tent, which were commonly used in conventional large frame tents.

In another clearance sale a few months later, at Camping & General, on Canvey Island, Essex, we bought a two-berth, inner bedroom-tent, having fly-screens, a zippered entrance and a sewn-in, high-lipped groundsheet, which would isolate bedding from running ground water during heavy rain, be more snug (i.e. less draughty) and provide greater privacy, plus keeping the mosquitoes and midges at bay. The top of the inner bedroom-tent, was suspended from the annexe-tent’s tubular frame, by means of four fabric tapes & plastic clips.

The tent-cloth & “bedroom” inner-tent and the galvanised tubular-steel frame-poles, in two separate storage bags, were carried on the roof rack together with two soft suitcases, a low-profile 5-litre “Explosafe” petrol can and other items, secured by a 25 mm nylon-webbing ratchet strap and protected from rain by the home-made, stretchy butyl-rubber roof-rack cover.

Having an annexe-tent that is closely-coupled with the vehicle’s door-aperture, is okay if one doesn’t intend to go out on excursions, leaving the erected annexe-tent behind and returning later. Unless one is very skilled at accurately manoeuvring the vehicle into exactly the same position that it was previously, preferably without demolishing the annexe-tent, then it would be difficult to properly realign the vehicle with the annexe-tent.

Being virtually blind in his right eye (a “lazy-eye” associated with a severe squint), and possibly for other reasons, my father was far from confident about reverse parking or otherwise manoeuvring in confined spaces. I too would have found manoeuvring with the required accuracy quite challenging! After a few such attempts, we simply pitched the annexe-tent several feet away from the vehicle.

Having a close-coupled annexe-tent, also obliges one to enter & exit the vehicle via the annexe-tent, unless one uses the front-cab doors, which would be impractical if the fold-down cooking-stove is deployed or the front-cab stretcher-bunk is fitted. If one had an annexe-tent of a different design, with a porch having roll-up sides, that could be extended several feet, to cover the intermediate space between the annexe-tent and the vehicle.
_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

https://vwt2oc.co.uk

[NASkeet]

Sun Visors & Screens

[NASkeet]

Portable Chemical Toilets & Toilet Tents

[Jalabert]

Wow Nigel, thanks for the exhaustive reference. I have this layout in my '73, although I have to admit to having long ago got rid of the coolbox / sink unit and stripped out the cooker, neither of which I regret - the coolbox / easicool was functionally useless, and I loathe cooking in the bus...

Other than that, it's a great layout. As you say, the seating around the table can be pretty snug.

Cheers!