The story of the renovation of my 1972 bay window camper...

I bought the camper in august 2005, I had long been looking for a �tin top� camper and as this was at the bargain price of �700 (oh so I thought), I bought it.

The next thing on the agenda was to surf the web and talk to people who had experience with the renovation of classic Volkswagens. It wasn�t long before the name Accrington beetles and campers was the forefront of most peoples conversations, with this information I picked up the phone and had quite a long conversation with Dave the owner of the establishment about what I needed, he was very knowledgeable and I was instantly filled with confidence that this was the man for the job. Our discussion then turned to when it could be fitted in to do the work required, a time was agreed to take down the camper and it was given the once over by Dave. It was soon abundantly clear that the work was not just superficial as I thought but quite a serious restoration job. My only regret was not to of known Dave before I bought the van, as I never had is experience to properly check, what I had thought was a good solid base.

After the first visit to Dave�s he gave me a estimate on what things would roughly cost, what was needed and a guide to how long the job would take. Over the next eight months Dave carried out all the necessary work that had to be done and kept a detailed photographic document of all the works done, most Saturdays I would go down and Dave would talk me through what work had been done. The vans bodywork has been virtually been re-built, a brand-new engine fitted and a full re-spray inside and out. I have had the camper back now for two months, and like all things new there are teething troubles, but when I ring Dave to ask, or enquire about anything he always has the time to answer my questions or solve the problems. I can thoroughly recommend Accrington, beetles and campers to anyone whether it is for a service or a major restoration like mine.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people involved with this restoration�.

Dave and Dan at Accrington beetles and campers