Pictures of my 81 Groovy Hippy Truck

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Been threatening to go to library with a flash drive and upload some pix of this thang to a Pbucket for a while now. Well here we go ....

This is it after initial wash job just after arriving to CetaneCity.
Truck had been unloved and seldom used for past 6-8 years.
Had a little run in with a shopping cart as you can notice on passenger side about 10-11 years ago.

It cranked/started but not much power - almost got it up to 40mph - smoked like a train - and needed attention in a lot of ways here and there. But the Battleship Gallactica campershell and HD rear suspension had me sold at first sight. It was Love. Was ugly, but i loved it.












Okay .... it wasn't a shopping cart.

It was being pulled from behind a Motorhome and came loose, and ran over some stuff, and into some stuff. They put a used hood and used door from a Burgandy Rabbit GL, the door was nice, the hood had been repainted with lacquer a time or two and was cracking/busting up. The fender was new aftermarket and never painted - so it covered itself with surface rust.

This Truck was used by a younger couple back in the day for a lot of road trips and camping.
It had decals and stickers from about everywhere. From NC all the way to California.
Mostly they were following the Grateful Dead on concert tours. They were Dead-Heads.

The guy i bought it from about a year ago - bought it from that couple about 5-6 years ago.
The odometer had rolled over and showed 062,134.7 - and worked - when i bought it.
This guy tried to do the timing belt (good thing) right after he bought it- but never bought or borrowed the right tools - and never got it to run good again. And was scared to death to tinker with the pump timing or anything else.
So it just sat mostly. But he declared it had ran good when he bought it.

Then i got a hold of it and went through about everything front to back, replacing and repairing along the way as needed. And now its a permanent member of the family. Drove it to Canada and met Tyler and Giles on its maiden voyage. Its a good ol Truck - but will probably never be "Finished".

[rabbitman]

Wow, looks good!

[jack's lack]

Nice find, good save.

[ktzdsl]

I think I have a shell just like yours. Does yours have a manufacturer of a name on it any where?
I will seek my pics and post. Looks like a great dseal. Better than my 82 caddy $200.00 starter kit with engine and no head.

[Vincent Waldon]

Snowflakes and MK1s seem to go together... no matter what the MK1.

Good looking truck...if only they weren't complete rustbuckets where I live.   

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks fella's.

My session on the library computer was about to time out when i hit send on the first post. But there is plenty more to the story, naturally.

I'll add more to it every once in a while.

Yeps, the shell has Mfg metal nameplate inside and selling dealer name on the outside. Dealer decal was almost powder, but after removing its remnant it left an easy to read "ghost".

I'll get that info and post it Ktzdsl.
Knew there was no way it was one-of-a-kind,  but its the only one i've ever seen this large on a Caddy. And its made to fit perfect.
Supposedly it was put on the Truck right after it was bought new.
From how clean the bed floor is, probably truth.

Snowflakes can make anything look better ! 

[ktzdsl]

My shell appears to be older. See the re-enforcing trim around the bottom edges. Yours is more cleanly streamlined. Couple pics:
 

Hope this works.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Cool ! We've got cousin campershells !

They are different models though.
Mine has extra windows along top fronts, and ours are molded differently across the top back.

Probably same manufacturer though.

Viper Tops
Tri-Glass Industries
Daleville, Alabama

model # VW   0   4189

Selling Dealer:
Frye Camping Center Incorporated
Fayetteville, North Carolina

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Looks like mine overlaps the roof and B pillar more too.
Maybe not same manufacturer ... idunno

The strips along the bottom of yours were for cosmetics.
A rubber insert/trim would have been on it when new.
Sort of like body side moldings.

[burn_your_money]

Thanks for posting the pictures. From all the talking you were doing I was really curious to see how it started out. You've come a long way with it, keep it up!

[Luckypabst]

I love that shell!

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks for posting the pictures. From all the talking you were doing I was really curious to see how it started out. You've come a long way with it, keep it up!

I knew you'd want to see some of these, but wondered where the heck you've been. And when you'd be back again !
Glad to see you posting with us again. :thumbsup:

I didn't ever take any pix of underhood as bought.
It was just too much of a mess, and cobbled up stuff everywhere.
The interior was so clapped out looking, didn't do any pix there either. Just didn't want to remember it that way.

Everything is pretty spiffy now for what it is and how it was.
Still have piles and stacks of upgrade pieces and hours of chores in the waiting. But its at a good point. And just want to drive and use it for a while instead of laboring on it all the time.

Will still piddle with smaller upfits fairly regular.
I've handled almost every piece and part of this thing for one reason or another.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

I love that shell!

Thanks man.
It sold me on the Truck too, before i even called the guy.
I was looking at his ugly pics of this ugly dirty truck, and was like "whoooaaaa - where in the world would you find a shell like that again". And the arse end wasn't all squatted down.
And there was no rot, and bed floor was mint.

So here's how it started.
I was a full fledged Mk2 guy - Diesel Jetta's Only !
Liked these Trucks, but i'd want one to be a certain way, and you don't find many TD Trucks done nice around here. If at all.
And TD engines are virtually non-existent around here.

Bill (Wolfsburged) had a complete TD engine in his garage i had been chipping away at getting him to sell me for about 2years.
I had been AWOL from the forums for a while - out of the blue one day i checked back in. Be darned he had the engine listed for sale !

ZAP ! Bought that rascal !

The hunt for a Truck was ON.
Posted want to buy on local NCDub forum.
Wanted nice clean unrestored strait up original Truck 2000-2500.
Any drivetrain considered.
Few days later Bill sends me a message and calls me too - about this Truck.

Wasn't full criteria, but was only $800, and already had a TD engine with 5speed. And that damm monster shell on the back.

Got the guy on the phone, hung up and drove 2 hours, bought it.

And it had brand new tail lights on it too. 

So since it was so cheap, and i still had this complete TD engine, i casually started keeping an eye out for another Truck too. 2 weeks later found the Tan 82 thats slipped itself in a couple of these pix.
But thats another thread for another time ....

[ktzdsl]

Thanks for taking the time to find and report the info.
The old forest and trees syndrome; I never thought to look inside and there is nothing on the outside.
I will double-check. Also, The pics I uploaded were taken just as I arrived home and the cap may have slipped, it was only held on by three (3) c clamps. Will followup with my results. I might add, the only reason I bought it was due to the design, caddys set low and regular caps require crawling inside on knees, which mine are a little worn.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Your Truck looks Nice Ktzdsl.
I would have went and bought it too !

The metal ID tag on mine is riveted inside the shell on driver side rear rail (rail where shell meets bed - about 6 inches from very back corner).

The 82 i bought has the low standard shell, and they are much more cramped inside like you say.
My "plan" is to remove it and let it run around bare butt naked.
Not sure what year that will be done though.