The Snail

J

JohnRussell

0
'A Lumassa' or The Snail is our Commer PB Camper Van. She was born in 1966 and when we bought her last year she was in good condition but needed a bit of TLC. We've always wanted an old classic camper and we were looking for a VW until this rare beast came along.

In the last couple of months we have had her resprayed, the wood around the side windows and on the pop up roof have been replaced, the seats have been reupholstered front and back and a lot of engine work has been carried so that she is an enjoyable ride (lol).

Since the pictures have been taken we have had the dashboard and inner doors resprayed and the bumper has been painted to match the bottom burgundy colour. Next job is to re-carpet her front and back.

Hope you enjoy!

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Lovely job! Hope you can attend the next meet :D

Who did you have do the upholstery?
 
quote:
Originally posted by admin

Lovely job! Hope you can attend the next meet :D

Who did you have do the upholstery?





Would love to attend the next meet and look forward to receiving details.

Re interior it was done by a friend of a friend who I believe does all of Jaguars show cars. It took a few months for him to do the work inbetween his main jobs but it was worth the wait and relatively inexpensive cost.

Interestingly, I believe the front cab is slightly different to the original spec and fitted with 3 level seats which fold out into single bed.

The rear seats have been trimmed exactly the same as the front and I'll post some pictures of them along with the resprayed dash and bumper next week hopefully.

I also have the orginal purchase receipt, the envelope it was sent in along with the 1st owners hand written notes of all the buses he had to catch in order to pick the van up (he purchased in December 65 but couldn't collect until Jan 66 hence it being a 'D' reg.

The 1st owner was an Italian who lived in Coventry. He bought the van solely to drive to Italy once a year to visit his relatives. We also have what he called his 'Captains Log' which details every year he drove her abroad, what country he visited and how long/many miles it took him. Hence the name 'A Lumassa' which he had originally hand drawn on the front of the van and we had professionaly copied after the respray.

Great site BTW and appreciate all the comments.
 
Beautifull van :p During our weekend jaunt, we discussed re-trimming the seats and what colour. As ours are exactly the same (standard Autosleeper), we now know what they will look like :)
 
Very nice indeed. The front seats where an Autosleepeer option to expand the sleeping capacity. Mine has the same set up but slightly shabbier than yours as they have been the victim of 35 years use and a leaking shed roof [V]
 
quote:
Originally posted by commerchris

do the side windows open outwards?



Yes they do but I was reluctant to try them out until I had the wood casings replaced. The wood was so brittle you could push your little finger all the way through to the inside.

Luckily we had a building contractor who was doing a lot of work at our house and likes a challenge. He replaced all the rotten wood.
 
thought they did they look really nice,could do with some work to my windows,before they get to the stage where you can put your finger through the wood [:0] ps mine are sliding windows.haven't seen these type before :pdo you know who did the conversion?
 
Must be an Autosleeper, but earlier than any other we have seen. :)

Interesting to see it has painted front bumper and no rears, just like mine.
 
quote:
Originally posted by commerchris

thought they did they look really nice,could do with some work to my windows,before they get to the stage where you can put your finger through the wood [:0] ps mine are sliding windows.haven't seen these type before :pdo you know who did the conversion?



Hi Chris,

It is an Autosleeper conversion.

Will post more pictures towards the end of the week.

Thanks.
 
Our 1967 Wanderer had a painted front bumper, but also had rear bumpers (also painted). Another unusual feature was that the front number plate was mounted on the bumper, not the front panel.
 
Hi all,

Due to a new business venture I have decided to sell The Snail. I will be advertising elsewhere in the next couple of days but I would sooner give an enthusiast the opportunity to consider beforehand.

The van is the same as the pictures below which were taken in Autumn 2007.

Please feel free to contact myself @ [email protected] .

Many thanks,

John.
 
Best of luck with the sale but a shame you need to sell. It's exactly what Harvey should look like [8D]

'Harvey the RV'
 
Tell me about it!

Restoring her has been a labour of love and I know I'll regret it as soon as she goes.


quote:
Originally posted by Panky

Best of luck with the sale but a shame you need to sell. It's exactly what Harvey should look like [8D]

'Harvey the RV'

 
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