Welcome to The Campervan Channel – the YouTube Channel for all things VW camper. We cover
campervans based on all types of Volkswagen Transporter but in this video, I’m shining
the spotlight on the third generation, the T3, T25 or The Vanagon. I will come to all
those different names in a bit. But whatever you call it, it is what many camper fans consider
the last and possibly the quirkiest of the classic Volkswagen Transporters. By 1979,
VW had built over 2 million T2, Bay Window, Hippie Van Transporters, many converted in
to much-loved campervans. And while versions of the T2 would roll off assembly lines in
Mexico and then Brazil for another 33 years, in Europe, it was time for a change. And what
a change. When the first T3 was produced in May 1979, it is fair to say it was a bit of
a shock. After the classic curves of the T1 splitties and T2 Bay windows, the T3’s hard-edged
angular lines took some getting used to. Of course, the purists hated it. Its sheer squareness
and all those straight lines led to some very rude names: Wedge; brick; breeze block. Very
unfair on breeze blocks. Only joking. This was the sharp new style that would drive the
Transporter through the 80s and beyond. The new T3 shared the family DNA. An up front,
forward-control driving position, a huge amount of cargo space between the axles and a rear-mounted
engine. And somewhat unexpectedly, an air-cooled engine at that. Yes. the shiny new Transporter
for the 80s had an engine that could be traced back the original Beetle in the 1940s. Before
I go any further, let us get this name business sorted out. In the UK, we tend to call it
the T3 because it is the third generation of the Transporter, which follows the T2.
Makes sense. Sometimes it is called the T25. Which is not quite right. Volkswagen officially
referred to this model as the Type 25. And if you are watching this in the United States,
none of this will make any sense whatsoever because you will know it as the Vanagon. Apparently,
because it is a cross between a van and a station wagon. I will stick to T3 to keep
it simple. The first ones from 1980 were somewhat underpowered by their 1.6 or 2 litre air-cooled
engines. You can easily spot these, because first they have blank panel immediately above
the front bumper. instead of two you see on later models and second because they will
probably be travelling very slowly. 1981 saw the introduction of a 1.6 litre, water-cooled,
diesel option, a unit previously used in the VW Golf, and by the end of the year, water-cooled
petrol engines finally arrived on the Transporter. Hallelujah! But it was another year before
air-cooled engines finally spluttered out of existence on German-built transporters.
They could no longer meet the emissions standards of a lot of markets where the T3 was sold.
1985 saw a full revamp of the model. It is claimed there were over 1000 individual modifications.
Who knows if that is true, but petrols got catalytic converters, diesels got turbochargers
and there was a really big breakthrough - the all-wheel drive Syncro. VW had dabbled with
four-wheel drive during the Second World War. Then the concept was revised in the late 70s
by chap called Henning Duckstein who worked in the R&D department at VW. He was a keen
off roader and fitted an all-wheel drive system to his own Bay Window campervan. As you do.
With hardly any funding, Duckstein and some of his colleagues managed to build five prototype
4x4 T2 buses. These did really well on the testing grounds as these great photos from
the Volkswagen archive show. Back then, the company felt there wasn’t a market for 4-wheel
drive. It was 1983 before they started working on it again and two years later, the first
Syncro T3 four wheel drive Transporter went on sale. There were two different versions
of the Syncro, one with 14 inch wheels and a much beefier version with 16 inch wheels,
stronger driveshafts, more powerful brakes and a reinforced chassis. It seems VW were
hoping the military would place orders. But they were expensive to produce and sales did
not climb as well as vehicles did. Here in the UK, a Syncro would cost you about four
grand more than the a 2-wheel drive version. Not so desirable then, but these rare beasts
certainly are now. There was more ground-breaking in 1985 when The T3 was used for a whole new
concept, the Multivan. VW had clocked that families and “outdoor types” had increasingly
been using their T3s as all-round family vehicles, not just load- carriers for business. So they
came up with a kind of half way house between a people carrier and a campervan. In the back,
the Multivan had seats on either side and a folding table creating creating akind of
lounge on wheels, a coolbox and a trademark bench seat that could be folded out into a
bed. Special editions of the T3 Multivan helped give it cult status and turned what had once
been dismissed as an ugly duckling into a van that could be sporty, exclusive and cool.
Cool maybe. But the T3s never stopped being just a little bit quirky. It seems something
definitely had gone off a bit off in the VW “Where shall we put things” department.
The fuel tank is usually under the drivers and passenger seat. Interesting. Where would
you go to refill the washer bottle – under the mats in the passenger footwell of course.
Topping up the brake fluid actually involves removing the top of the instrument panel in
the cab. Seriously. And if you just cannot find out where to top up the oil, where is
the last place you would look. Under a flap behind the rear number plate. Stupid. Quirks
and all, the T3 proved hugely popular with independent campervan converters including
Devon,Reimo, Danbury, Holdsworth and Autosleeper. In 1988, VW and its close partner Westfalia,
jointly developed a special model campervan based on the successful Joker camper. And
they named it The California. So yes, these T3s were the first Californias. Influenced,
officially endorsed and sold by Volkswagen, but not converted by them. The in-house VW
California did not arrive until 2003 when it adapted the T5. But that is another story
and another video. The original T3 California was an instant success, selling 5000 units
in the first year. Helped by the fact it cost a fifth less than the Joker. It had the basic
layout and many of the features that you would recognise in the latestest T6.1 based California
today. It had insulated double glazing, a pop top roof, and inside a smart grey interior,
individual swivel seats for driver and passenger and the folding seat bench that becomes a
bed. The driver side is dedicated to the kitchen where there is a fridge that runs on gas or
electric, a two burner gas cooker, in fact there is everything including the kitchen
sink. Hidden away, there is a separate leisure battery and tanks for fresh and waste water.
Apparently, VW has no official record of how the California name was chosen. But at first,
it only applied to the special model. Westfalia produced a more luxurious camper called the
Atlanic at the same time. But it was the California name that stuck and became the family name
for a whole series of top-end, well-equipped campers that we know so well today. The T3
California came along just three years before the end of the T3’s main production run.
Yet they managed to produce 22,000 of them before the Hannover factory stopped European
T3 production in 1990. But it was not quite the end of the road. The Syncro continued
to be built in Austria for a couple of years and South Africa built a version for another
12 years. All these years later, the T3s original detractors have been drowned out by an army
of fans who have given it cult status. The model certainly played a huge part in the
development of the Transporter It introduced the Multivan concept and the California name.
It was the first Transporter to offer diesel engines and four-wheel-drive. So, I hope that
has given you an overview of the T3/ Vanagon or Type 25. Keep a look out for our buying
guide to the model – and our video on what they are like to live with long term. Great
though they are. They do need a lot of TLC! That’s all I am saying. Please subscribe,
click on the bell icon and you will hear when my next videos go online. For now, thanks
for watching.