Wheels

Vespa’s

The very first wheels I got myself belonged to a Vespa 50 special, not knowing this would be the start of a never ending passion for old timers. I drove this Vespa every day to work, and after my brother got a Vespa of his own we drove them on several trips through Europe.

Vespa 50 Special 1982, picture is taken during a trip to France.

I was over the moon driving this Vespa, but with no real technical knowledge it was a really bad buy. Soon my first Vespa was rusting away from under my ass and I needed to look for a another one. Restoration on this first Vespa is going on for 2 years already, but 1 day it will drive again. You can check the progress here.

To get around and to do more trips I got myself a Vespa PK50, stripped it and repainted it orange. Originally made and driven in Italy, this 1988 Vespa was taken from the South of Europe all the way up to rainy and cold Holland. I used this Vespa for my daily drive to work and long trips through Europe with my brother and his Vespa. Now I still use the Vespa to drive up and down town, but a lot less than before.

Vespa PK 50 1988, Picture taken on Coll Du Glandon in the Alps.

 Honda

Bigger boys need bigger toys. After getting my motorbike licence I managed to get my hands on a Honda CB 750 KZ. Cutting it short and cleaning it out I got myself what I thought was my dream bike. Being an older bike it should not be too comfortable,but it is the only bike I know and I love it! During a trip through the Alps ,while doing some next to the road engine work, we found out the 750CC engine was replaced by a 900CC engine. All this makes me feel like a real bad ass!

Honda CB 750 KZ 1979, picture taken on the Zwiss Italian border.

 Volkswagen

Here it is, I am happy to introduce you to “The Van”. It was a whole process to find it, buy it, rebuild it and get it approved as a campervan. Of course it will never really be done, and that is just fine because working on the van is a big part of the fun. You might be interested in the process of buying the van or maybe the buildup to be a campervan.

Volkswagen Transporter Type 3 1989, picture taken near Oostende Belgium.

Some  facts about my van.

  • It is a Volkswagen Transporter 3, in the UK for some reason they call it a Transporter 2.5 and in the US it is a Vanagon.
  • When it rolled out of the factory in Germany in 1989 it had a 1.7 Diesel engine. Apparently a 1.7 was not strong enough because it go destroyed a while ago. Bringing it back to life it was fitted with a 1.9 Diesel engine, still not all that fast but I have been told it is a big improvement.
  • This kind of van is better know as a T3, and it is the follow up model to the hippie van, the T1 and the T2.
  • Loads of different models were made, mine was a 9 person Carravelle, interior was all taken out before I got my hands on it so it was barely a 1 person version when I drove it out of the dealers. It did however came with an “almost complete” Westfalia interior giving it way more options than when it rolled of the factory line.
  • Now the van is done it is fitted with a second battery for lights, running water and more of that campervan stuff. If you are interested in what camper stuff I am taking about you can check out the From van to campervan page.