1951 Volkswagen Split Screen ‘Barn Door’ 23 A Kombi – One of the oldest 11 Window buses in England. Camper Van
£TBC SOLD
A vehicle of great significance amongst Volkswagen enthusiasts has always been the pre 1955 Split Screen bus, more commonly known as the ‘Barn Door’ due to its large rear engine hatch that opens upwards closely resembling that of an old barn door.
This bus speaks for itself in terms of its rarity. This bus is believed to be one of the oldest 11 windowed Kombis on the road in England currently. It could well be the oldest.
It is not often that a Barn Door bus comes on the market, and usually they are 1953-1955 buses. This bus was built on the 6th August 1951, which means it is 68 years old! The bus comes with its ‘Birth Certificate’ of authenticity from the Stiftung Automuseum in Germany and has its correct original VIN number stamped in the correct location in the engine bay compartment.
The bus has been meticulously restored and repainted in 1950’s Volkswagen colours Palm Green / Sand Green. The quality of the restoration is superb. You can even see all of the original factory spot welds down the roof where no filler has been used. This bus simply oozes charm and character in every department. There are so many early original features such as the bolt on high hinge door mirrors, separate locking cargo door handle, original dash pod & speedo, piano hinge quarter lights, ribbed front bumper and the missing rear bumper purely because this feature had not been introduced to the Kombi yet in 1951!
The mechanical setup on this bus has been based around usability. This bus deserves more than to be just a museum piece so is currently running on a later and far superior setup including a Beetle straight axle conversion at the rear with a reconditioned 1641TP motor recently fitted. New 12V electrics throughout. Originally, you would have topped 45MPH downhill with a tail wind if you were lucky but with the current setup the bus will comfortably cruise at 60-70MPH. The bus could easily be converted to original setup should you want but then it certainly will not be suitable for modern roads.
Complete with fresh upholstery throughout including original style cloth headliner and front bench seat. The bus currently features a retro 1950’s style camping interior the rear that compliments the age of the vehicle nicely and all of the seating arrangement folds down to make a reasonably sized sleeping arrangement.
PLEASE NOTE that we specialise in building bespoke camping interiors for these buses so if you would prefer one of our more luxurious interiors we would be delighted to convert the existing layout for you and let you choose the exact layout and specification. All of our interiors are bespoke and hand built to order. More details can be found on our website.
