G'day from Down under

[Gfresh]

Hi all,

Just downloaded the app and signed up

Love all sorts of vintage stuff and look forward to picking up an Airstream at some stage

I'm from Melbourne Australia, working 4500km away in Western Australia in the mines as a mechanic on mining equipment and fly in and out to home 2 weeks on 1 week off.

I've travelled quite a bit across the open plains of this country and there is plenty to see and lots of nothing in between stops too

I have a passion for early vw's and one project on my list is a "Splitstream" camper, but retaining the front panels and glass



Also looking to import an early airstream into Australia

Anyone on here done or know the cost?

Cheers, George

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

[DKB_SATX]

Greetings!

The folks at Airstream Australia may have an idea about the shipping part of the costs, because they were trying to set up an around-Australia caravan a couple of years ago. Of course, they'd rather sell you a brand new one.

[MarkR]

I like your sketch.

I think you could fabricate the "airstream" portion of your splitstream from scratch - certainly if you offset the costs of the donor trailer and shipping, you could buy lots of aluminum and all the appropriate tools . . . To get the "geometry" right (visually speaking) you'd probably be better off using the old school techniques but building it from scratch . . . otherwise it may end up as an "un-holy marriage" so to speak.

Welcome to the forum.

MarkR

[Gfresh]

Thanks for the warm welcome,

I might ask the Australian airstream guys for a shipping cost, thanks for the suggestion

As for the Splitstream I definitely had planned to build the rear section from scratch, I have an english wheel already and some donor cars lined up too, most of the tooling I need

The plan is to use a late vw bus chassis 74 to 79 and graft the front split bus front onto it, this will allow for a better steering box clearance and better rear suspension and gearbox set up

I will modify the engine to sit as low height as possible to enable a dinette arrangement on top

Something along these lines



My sister has been living in Canada for the last 5 years and tells me there are plenty of airstreams sitting idle on people's property's

I have considered importing one to restore on top of my vw project

G.

[Gfresh]

Here's another angle



Cheers G

[pan-european]

Hey Mate - good plan and fine sketch - but you can build it from scratch, if you are a mechanic.
The VW campervan is by far not so wide as an airstream, it won't match.
I built my own tiny airstream from aluminum tubes and stainless steel sheets.
You can do that and it will match the VWs size perfect.
Take a look HERE - if you are interested in more details I will send you the URL to my building blog.
Tom

[Gfresh]

Hey Tom cheers mate,

I won't be using an old airstream for my Kombi, I will be building one from scratch 😉

[pan-european]

If you build from scratch you may think about bulding the campervan front in aluminum ?

Original Campervans are very expensive, need much fuel with the vintage motor and the rear motor is weak and hot because its aircooled.

If you build all from scratch you can choose a modern front motor chassis from Toyota, Mercedes or Ford.
Give him the riveted face of a 1960 VW and you will get a reliable 100 hp diesel camper and the full freedom of space inside without a engine in your sleeping room.

Just my humble thoughts - Tom

[pan-european]

George, you need only the VW emblem, front bumper, two headlights and could get the cool split vent windows at your custom campervan.
Tom

[Gfresh]

Hey Tom,

I know Vw busses have a poor reputation for lacking in power and reliability, that the engine is under the area that I wish to have my table and seating and that they like to catch fire too

In saying that those things can be overcome, the engine posses a few challenges but I have some good ideas in that area

I much prefer to build it onto a Vw bus because I'm a huge Vw enthusiast, it's not just the look I'm going for but the whole package

Thanks for your ideas

George

[pan-european]

Have fun and provide us with pictures of your progress - I'm looking forward to see your cool camper
Tom

[Gfresh]

Will do mate,

It won't be started for a while though as I have a few other projects lined up in front of it

Cheers, George

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Gfresh

Hi all,

Just downloaded the app and signed up

Love all sorts of vintage stuff and look forward to picking up an Airstream at some stage

I'm from Melbourne Australia, working 4500km away in Western Australia in the mines as a mechanic on mining equipment and fly in and out to home 2 weeks on 1 week off.

I've travelled quite a bit across the open plains of this country and there is plenty to see and lots of nothing in between stops too

I have a passion for early vw's and one project on my list is a "Splitstream" camper, but retaining the front panels and glass

Attachment 206452

Also looking to import an early airstream into Australia

Anyone on here done or know the cost?

Cheers, George

G'Day mite, haw ya gowin?
Hopefully I got the accent correct with my crude spelling
I lived, worked & travelled throughout Oz for a year & a half, about 30 years ago. Hitch hiking up the east coast from Sydney to Cairns, across to Darwin, then south to Perth.

I'm also into VW air-cooled & water cooled stuff, & own two 72 Bay window buses (one of them a Westfalia), along with an 82 Rabbit (Golf everywhere other than North America) with a close ratio GTI gearbox & a 16V engine. I've owned 24 Rabbits over the years, but this one is my favorite, as I chopped the roof off, getting the idea after renting a Moke while in Oz. Kind of like driving a street legal go kart at break neck speed

Anyway, on to the cool stuff again, check out the "odd motorhomes" thread, post #58. You'll see an assortment of strange stuff, but there are two, what I suspect are photoshop creations of a VW style Airstream motorhome. They look pretty convincing, but the track is too wide proportionally & door joints are missing.
I've been toying with the idea of adding "Airstream-esk" type metal work to one of my Bay Window vans. I am in the process of having 50's era 13 panel end cap kits fabricated for Airstream restorations, & this idea may give me some drive to try fitting one onto the bus. I also have the front end from a 66 split window bus, which might also be an interesting addition. As far as the engine is concerned, there are a bunch of people over here that are installing water cooled VW engines in buses with great success.
All I need now is more time

Good luck with your dream, & keep us informed.
Colin

[KenSanLan]

You might want to get in touch with the Australian unit of Wally Byam Caravan Club (Airstream club). Most likely the Airstream dealer could give you contact information - or find them online.

[Gfresh]

Haha not bad Colin,

Sounds like you have as much spare time as I do

With my engine height issue I'm going to look at doing a gearbox drop by a few inches, running a late type 4 engine with side draught carbs or turbo injected to get the engine to chassis height down, then having an access hatch from the inside, with the fuel tank relocated this will give me almost a flat floor in the rear, a lot of guys who have converted busses they have no seating space



This is a mates bus being built, a bed over the cab and a day bed over the engine

[Gfresh]

Thanks for the info Ken

Cheers G

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Gfresh

Haha not bad Colin,

Sounds like you have as much spare time as I do

With my engine height issue I'm going to look at doing a gearbox drop by a few inches, running a late type 4 engine with side draught carbs or turbo injected to get the engine to chassis height down, then having an access hatch from the inside, with the fuel tank relocated this will give me almost a flat floor in the rear, a lot of guys who have converted busses they have no seating space

Attachment 208337

This is a mates bus being built, a bed over the cab and a day bed over the engine

Over here, the type 4 motor is also called a "suitcase" motor, as the fan shroud is horizontal, not vertical like the earlier motors. Both of my Bay Window buses have suitcase motors. 72 was the first year they put them in buses in North America, & both have twin down draft carbs & 1.7 liters. Later models had 1.8 & 2.0 liter versions, with fuel injection & had a tendency of dropping valve seats &/or burning up.
Any idea what your mates bus is going to weigh after it's completed. Its looking pretty big.
Colin

[Gfresh]

Based on the materials he's used to build it back up it should be close to the original weight, he has used all Ali tube and sheet in place of the steel, he's staying with the upright type one style engine

I have some other Vw things on the go

Here's a link to my side business

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-...59977840690147

G

[msmcv51]

Looking forward to watching your progress on the build. Please post lots of pictures.