Sold
Thanks everyone who looked, cant believe the high amount of interest.
Testament to VW T4’s popularity!
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Rock n Roll Demo
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DESCRIPTION
Hello,
Sadly, we have decided to sell our beloved T4.
Reasons being:
-House renovation..
-Lack of time to do what I would like with the van.. and get away in it.
-Lack of use for the van itself
-and mainly because our first baby arrived recently impacting on all of the above (but this is also amazing too!)..
So we need to do a vehicle re-shuffle now.
I have dug out all the vans photos I can find, and taken some recent ones from every angle so hopefully these show the van ‘as it is’. Annoyingly driving it into muddy car park after giving it a good clean ready for the pictures!! Doh.
Please ask if there is a specific picture you would like.. or any questions you may have, etc..
THE VAN
1991 T4
H Reg
1.9 Diesel
168,000 miles
(may increase a little bit with usage after posting the ad)
MOT until 2nd November 2016
This was the very first of VW’s front engined vans. 1991 was the first year the Type 4’s were built.
I suppose you’d call it a ‘Day Van’.
We have had it since October 2008. Just over 8 Years now.
So considering its age, this van is doing great!! (Way better than much newer mercedes Vito’s I know of, for example 😉
Usage for us was mainly camping/surfing trips to Cornwall, Devon, Wales.
I used to windsurf a lot and the whole idea of the inside layout was geared to that.. The kit all slid under the seat, so you can still sleep in comfort.
And we actually Lived in the Van for a month on a campsite after selling our old house!
We have a drive away awning which makes the whole setup real luxury! Sleeping in the van, cooking and seating, bikes, boards etc in the awning.
(awning is not included)
His name is John [the Second].
As my first van was called John (1974 Bay), and this is my second van.
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INSIDE
It is fully insulated.. and I mean fully! I did it myself. Floor, sides, tailgate, roof…
I also redid all of the internal Ply (bar the floor as I couldn’t afford the floor) that the previous owner did and fully lined the interior with a kind of fluffy black fabric. See Pics.
There is one ceiling LED light, activated with the interior light, or not (toggle switch).
So its honestly the cosiest place you could ever sleep!!! I love it!!
Sleeping on the double rock and roll bed that is.. I made this out of what I suspect is an Ikea sofa bed.
It originally was too wide so I have shorted it, and added mounting points.. and legs etc.
I like things to be versatile, so the seat can be easily folded into a bed and back (see video). It can also be easily removed/fitted with just 3 bolts.
(It is NOT a legal seat – you cannot fix your children to it! You physically could, but I think it would be illegal;)
I also added a little tab inside the tailgate door so you can open it from the inside.
The steering wheel is not standard. It was on it when we bought the van, and is actually really comfy! and is not hard to turn (power steering) as people always ask..
Because the steering wheel isn’t standard, the horn is a button on the dash, to the RHS of the wheel.
The Oil light blinks! You get used to it.
I suspect its the PCB in the dash as I looked around online when we got it and found its a common thing.
I fitted a new Coolant header tank, but the light still flashes. So I just keep an eye on the level and ignore the light.
Fuel gauge is not trustworthy! It shows full after filling the tank and seems to be accurate, but I never trusted it!
I usually zero the trip counter, then fill up again before 500 miles.
Temp display is more trustworthy.. but I just keep an eye on the coolant level.
I read somewhere, years ago, that these are related to the oil light flashing? – poss the same PCB behind the dash??
Seats are in good condition, again for the age. They would probably clean up even better.
They are nice and clean, no tears, but we spilled water on the double once which left a mark, weirdly.
You can see this in the pics.
Double seat folds flat.
All interior stuff works fine (fans, directional controls, radio) and the radio is a good one from its day I think.. its Kenwood, removable face, but not a clue what model.
There are none standard speakers in the doors, and also i moved 2 Kenwood speakers into the ply side wall in the back too, as when I got it, it had some kind of speaker box taking up loads of space with a sub inside it! I sold the sub!
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OUTSIDE
Recently MOT’d in November 2015 – after the van had been SORN for most of the previous year as we did not really need to use it.
This was the first time I have got the garage to do the work.. usually doing it myself, but in November our baby was only 2 months old, so spending my paternity leave out under the van in the wind and rain wasn’t very appealing..
I will add a photo of the receipt for this work (£500) for you to see.. and the MOT sheet with the mileage and stuff on it.
There is clearly some rust! But nothing impossible.
Wheel arches. Round some of the windscreen. The front part of the chassis – the bit behind the bumper.. but this is Not an MOT fail..
3 years ago I began working my way round the rust, starting at the back left. I only managed to chop away the rough stuff and treat it on the wheel arches and make a new cill for along the sliding door (see pics)… and then we sold our house, moved to a campsite in the van for a month, then spent the time until now working on our new house…
If I were to keep it I see 2 choices:
– just keep on top of the rust and keep running it.. knowing its an old van, and not being too fussed.
– Or, lower it, replace all the wheel arches, sort the rust around the screen and behind the front bumper, and respray it 🙂 I think that would be cool!
I would also get the cam belt done as I never have done it. I don’t know when it was done before either?
But, the engine is brilliant. Its just the 1.9. (no turbo – so easy to work on) More of a tortoise than a hare..
It just keeps chugging away! and for the age I think 168K is pretty good, dare I say low!
But yep, I would give it a full love and care service.. it deserves it!!
As an example, there have been a couple of times of lengthy SORN as we just didn’t need to use it.. longest I think was a year!
I had to recharge the battery one of these times, but both times the engine started at the first heat of the plugs..
It only ever failed to start once, earlier when we had it. In Clovelly in biblical rain storms!! I think something just got damp and poss shorted?
Luckily, the car park was on a hill so we just rolled out and bump started it! Since that time I have removed a lot of awfully stupid wiring that was running some stupid LED lights in the grill, the light in the engine bay (sadly, as thats a great idea!) air horns too! So its nice and tidy now in comparison.
There is an Oil leak.
I drastically reduced the leak one year by replacing an oil temp sender.. you could see it spewing out through the sensor/sender..
But there is still a small leak – the recent MOT has an advisory for this, and says its from near the cambelt area. So again, I would suggest a good service if you buy it.
After the MOT in Nov, the wipers decide on their own now when they will go and stop when set to intermittent!!
its annoying, but you can still use normal settings fine.
Gearbox is ace. gears are all smooth. But again, worth an oil change if you buy I reckon.
Some of the wheels are in good condition, some are a bit rougher with kerb scratches.
The rear springs failed the MOT one year, both were broken!
I fitted 2 I bought from eBay.
I changed the power steering belt once to fix the full lock squeak issue (common).
One year the rear brake load compensation thingamajig failed the mot. It was just seized, hence the photos of it. It passed after that.
I have 2 spare tyres to include.
And have a standard bumper you can have too.
I bought the bumper as the one thats on is made out of 2 bumpers I think.?. again, was like it when we got it.
If we ever lowered it, which I always intended to do (easy on these apparently) then I though the current bumper may end up too low?
Fitted the door window wind deflectors too. I like the look, and they are really good to have fresh air with the draft!
The van is totally smoke free too – something I would always ask myself as I hate it!
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I think thats it
If I think of anything else to add I will…
Please ask if you need any more info, or pics..
May T 4orce be with you…
Luke.
