Technical Volkswagenbus T2 info

Hi, this page is specially made for air-cooled Volkswagen freaks

What is a pano Vw bus ?
It is a Volkswagenbus type 2, the factory name is T2, he is built between 1968 and 1979. The bus is still manufactured in Brazil, only the shape is a little bit different from the German production.
For more information about other air-cooled Volkswagen types take a look at the VW familly name page.

Volkswagenbus T2 1968-1979

First the history of the bus
Probably the best thing Pon, the Dutch importer of VW, did for VW was the invention of the bus ! When he was at the factory in 1947 he saw a bug chassis with a big loading floor and a cabin above the engine. It was used to move parts inside the factory. The workers called it the Plattenwagen.
When Pon was back in the Netherlands he talked about importing into the Netherlands, but the position of the driver was unacceptable for the department of transportation. Pon started to think about a van based on the bugs chassis but with the driver up front. He made a drawing of his idea and at his next visit to the factory on April 23, 1947 (almost 50 years ago, there's gona be a party) he showed it to the manager of VWaG, who saw it's potential and in the fall of 1948 the first prototypes where built. The first prototypes used the normal bugs pan, but it had to be reinforced to take the extra load. Production started in February, 1950. In 1947 Ben Pon visited the Volkswagen factories at Wolfsburg in Germany. Previously, when he had visited in the Spring of 1946, Pon obtained the dealership rights for importing the VW-Beetle into the Netherlands. Before the war, in 1938, the Pon brothers made a deal which involved the importing of the VW through Ferdinand Porsche himself. During his visits Pon noticed the vehicles used for internal transport in the Volkswagen factory. These Plattenwagens consisted of the rolling chassis of the Beetle with a flatbed for transporting parts and a cab at the rear. Pon thought of getting these transporters onto the road in the Netherlands. But the Dutch Bureau of Transport did not agree with the plans for safety reasons. So Ben Pon made a new plan for a transporter and on April 23rd, 1947 he mentioned his plan to Colonel Radcliffe, the English military officer who was in charge of the Volkswagen factory at the time. Radcliffe didn't do anything with the Ben Pon plans. A year later in Autumn 1948 the plans were rediscovered by Heinz Nordhoff who had taken over the management of Volkswagen. Project type2 T1 was born in 1968 the T1 was replaced by T2 bus.

Example of T2 busses.

T2a. T2b.

Note the difference between the indicators.

There is a type2 mailing list send a email to:
listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with a body of : subscribe type2 firstname lastname
There is also a web page of the mailing list.

If you have a mechanical problem try this site : Busted bus

Links to homepages of other VW T2 bus owners

Volkswagen buyers are a special group. When you buy a Volkswagen, you don't just get a car or a bus; you also acquire a lot of friends - other Volkswagen owners. The Volkswagen is a way of life. More than that, it is a declaration of a certain attitude toward life and society. The Volkswagen owner is saying that he is concerned about economics, air pollution, and good craftsmanship. Volkswagen owners include students, professional people, and executives as well as a large number of older retired persons who appreciate economy and ease of handling. Creativity marks the Volkswagen owners. They usually take an intellectual and rational view of life. They are individualists. A Volkswagen owner is almost fiercely loyal to his "bug" and does not harbor secret wishes to own a Cadillac, a Thunderbird, or a Continental. -- from Is Your Volkswagen a Sex Symbol?, by Jean Rosenbaum M.D. pub 1972,

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