Never seen before pictures of historic VW campervans
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MMM magazine went to the Volkswagen ‘Oldtimers’ campervan restoration centre in Hanover Germany - which is not open to the general public - to get a look at the hundred or so historic campervans that make up its exclusive collection. And here are the pictures!
MMM went to the centre because Volkswagen has just launched a new ex-works campervan restoration service at Hanover centre.
The new service means, for the first time, owners of any VW camper (from T1 right up to T5) can have their vehicle fully restored using original factory parts where possible and have the entire restoration documented and certified by VW.
VW also confirmed that the service is available to campervans that have been converted by third-party companies.
A spokesman said even if an entire bodywork restoration is needed, any non-VW third-party conversion can be removed and replaced if that’s what the customer wants.
You can read the full story of the restoration service in the next issue of MMM.
You can subscribe to the digital version of the magazine here or you can subscribe to the printed version here.
But, what also caught our attention, was that there were some 100 historic VW campervans in the restoration centre that the general public never get to see.
So here's a selection:
The centre opended five years ago, when the VW ‘Bus’ was celebrating its sixtieth birthday.
Now, as the Bus marks its sixty-fifth birthday, the Oldtimers centre in Hanover – the city that gave birth to the iconic campervan and current home to the VW California factory – has 100 fully restored historic VW commercial vehicles.
The campervans and other historic vehicles in the centre range from old fire tenders to The Who’s legendary guitarist, Pete Townsend’s bay window camper.
The centre is not only home to the 100 historical VWs, but also has the facilities to carry out full restorations, including a sheet metal bending bench, lathes and milling machines as well as a paint shop.
Indeed, anyone with a VW campervan who wants it restored can now take it to Hanover and not only have VW engineers carry out the restoration, but can also get access to this wonderful collection - this is the only way members of the general public can get to see all these campervans in the metal.
Volkswagen also confirmed to MMM that it is going to allow some of these historic VW campers to be hired to the public. More on this when it is announced.
More on this new rental service will be published when further details are announced.
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