CAMPERVAN CRISIS

One of my favorites about restoring VW's, was first shown on our screens back on 25th July 06' and has now been repeated again.

Discovery Real Time brought to the masses of VW fan’s, enthusiasts and aficionado’s a fascinating five-part series, that follows Nigel Isted, a Coventry resident and president of the Splitscreen Volkswagen Club, as he painstakingly restores his dilapidated but beloved, 1965 Splitscreen Devon Camper, Dipsy….

Bought 12 years ago for a mere £650, he embarked upon a challenge that would enthrall any VW lover, a restoration project that proves to be one of the toughest challenges of his life.

Embarrassed to be the driver of one of the dodgiest vans on the VW circuit and fed up of being ridiculed about the state of his bus, Nigel aimed to turn his cherished 'Dipsy', as she is affectionately known, from a beaten up old wreck, into a stunning, 100bhp (brake horse power) bus with attitude!

With a hugely ambitious six month goal in mind, He also hopes to achieve a quarter mile at the famous Santa Pod Raceway in less than 18 seconds.

A big feet seeing as Dipsy has previously only managed to splutter out 13bhp in a sluggish 27 seconds. If she's successful, this will be a massive achievement for Nigel and Dipsy!

To complete the impressive restoration project, Nigel is looking to give his VW camper a full interior makeover.
Despite having limited mechanical experience, a full time job and a young family,
Nigel decides to do most of the work himself in a purpose built 'Swiss chalet' style garage at the end of his garden.
And from working on my friends 65' Split screen bus I can say that he will have a lot of work ahead of him.

Over the years, Nigel has managed to keep his trusty van roadworthy, fixing up a few minor problems along the way - but 12 years on, there are major problem areas with the bodywork, including some very dodgy welding, rust and a nasty bash which has been left untouched for seven years! With new panels, paint, running gear, brakes and a powerful highly tuned engine to fit, Nigel has a lot of work to do. He plans to put £12k into the build and hopes to make most of his purchases at various VW shows around the country.

Ultimately, to confirm Dipsy's new status, Nigel plans to enter her into a 'show and shine' competition around the time of his clubs' Annual General Meeting, but will everything go to plan?!

This has got to be a must see for me (again) and thousands of other for what seems to me to be the most loved automotive group across the globe. From every country near and far there is a little bit of VW in all our lives.
Whether you're a VW enthusiast or not, you won't want to miss the extreme highs and agonizing lows of this inspiring and immensely challenging restoration that faces Nigel as he takes on this Camper van Crisis.

I'm sure that these 5 episodes will run for some time to come, and with me included should inspire plenty of other resto projects into beginning, making people want for more and more.

This series is being repeated every Sunday right after another VW favorite, Beetle Crisis, on Discovery Real Time.
Discovery Real Time is available on Sky digital 250 Telewest Broadband 271, ntl: 304/133 & Top Up TV 28.

To Find Out More on Discovery Real Time CLICK HERE
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