1972 VW Microbus - Damn Hippies

This 1972 VW Microbus popped up on Marketplace this morning for sale down in Akron, Ohio, maybe an hour southeast of the Triple Wide. Asking price is $23,000.

I can still hear my father snickering under his breath, "damn hippies," as we'd drive by long-haired people hanging out in the park next to our home on Long Island back in the late '60's and early '70's. He was convinced they were all part of the Manson family and were up to no good. That, and they were perpetually stoned and all drove Volkswagens, either Beetles or these things.

 

That stereotype was exacerbated in 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, when Jeff Spicoli and company emerge from the pot-smoke cloud inside a 1967 VW Microbus. 

Doesn't matter if you're into cars and trucks or not, if you're of a certain age, you may appreciate these old Volkswagen "buses." People freak out over these things, and no doubt this one gets its fair share of turned heads and finger-pointing.

This one's a beaut, Clark, but she ain't original and unrestored. The restoration was done seven years ago, and I take it the wooden cabinetry was added then as well. I've never seen the passenger compartment of these things be the same on any two. There are no details on these handsome buckets, for certain this thing was not born with these.

Our jaunty Microbus here is part of the second generation of these things, which first debuted for the 1968 model year, although production began in 1967. The original Type 2 debuted in 1950. The first generation, now commonly called the T1, was the famous split-window Bus. The second generation, commonly called the T2 or "Bay Window," got a larger body, a single-piece curved windshield and a more modern chassis.

The terminology can get confusing. The 1950–1967 T1s are commonly called "Splitties" because of their split windshields. The 1968–1979 T2s are the Bay Windows, with the single-piece windshield like our '72 here has. The 1972 model is generally considered a T2b, or Late Bay.

Contemporary reviewers applauded its practicality and space efficiency; you can stuff a lot of stuff in this little bus, but they lamented its heavy, slow and vague steering, spongy brakes, rubbery shifter and bog-slow acceleration. And while these things were never going to win many drag races, the 1972 U.S.-spec Bus actually got a 1.7-liter Type 4 air-cooled flat-four rated at roughly 66–67 horsepower. Older T1's had engines that made little more than the 50 horsepower. 

Still, and for whatever reason, they left an indelible imprint on the public's psyche for one reason or another.

A 1979 Microbus was cast in Little Miss Sunshine, as perfectly cast a vehicle as there ever was. Five buses were actually used during filming, and the VW became almost a character in the movie itself.