Mint Condition and Color 1974 T2 "walk-Through/Double Door" Bus
There always exists certain confusion related to certain VW and VW Bus terms and definitions, and the subject of this story certainly fits that criteria. It is a common to believe that a "walk through" VW van is one with a space between the seats so that you can move freely from front to back; it is also common to mistakenly refer to as a "double door" van to a unit with two opening doors on one side of the vehicle. That said, you have read our title referring to the presented unit as "walk-through" and "double-door", so let's start by explaining.
A Walk-Through Van or a Double Door Van is a delivery van without side windows or rear seats that has cargo doors on both sides of the vehicle. In the case of our 1974 van, the doors are of the sliding type, which makes it even rarer than the conventional opening design.
These units were designed as working units, offering plenty of space inside with comfortable access to that space from either of the side doors, or the rear hatch door. For practicality and safety, an upright metal panel divided the cargo area from the front cabin.
The T2 van, beginning with the year 1973, saw noticeable exterior changes among whose: front turn indicators were squared off from the previous version and set higher in the front valance, above the headlights. Beginning with this year also, the unit brought new square-profiled front bumpers, which would become standard until the endof the T2 in 1979.
Crash safety was also improved dramatically with the new bumpers, as it integrated a compressible structure behind the front bumper unit. This change resulted in the VW T2 being able to meet U.S. safety standards for passenger cars of the time. This is of particular importance since the U.S. regulations did not require this from the van models.
Another change of those years was the use of the bigger 1.8 liter engine (1,795cc) that developed between 65-68hp depending geographical markets. Access to service the engine and mechanical components came via the outside rear engine lid, or through the inside, where a service cover was designed above the engine and axles.
This magnificent museum exhibit is in mint condition and its pale blue color underlines its Spartan looks. The front angle photos also show the front VW emblem that is smaller in size, compared to the large unit used in prior years.
The unit sits among other VW vans, trucks, campers and "splitties" in the service and utility section of the museum exhibition.
