Self-built Surf Bus!

After a particularly rainy weekend in Woolacombe, Colin Butlin realised that he’d finally had enough of sleeping in a tent.

- Dave Richards

He had always wanted a VW Camper, ever since going along with a mate to the old ‘Run to the Sun’ bash in a T3. He’d always loved the idea of a split screen bus, and then in August 2012 he found this T4.

“When I bought it, it was already fitted with the 18 inch wheels and matching 235/40 tyres from an A6. It was in pretty good shape with just a bit of rust beginning to bleb through the paint on the arches. I am a partner in my family’s classic car restoration shop Butlin & Son’s Classic Cars where we specialise in working on E type Jaguars. Consequently, we know a lot about rust! All of the affected steel was cut away properly, replaced with new metal, painted and given a good coating of rust proofing, paying particular attention to the return edge, a notorious rust trap. I then fitted the new Van X stainless steel arches which were originally powder-coated in Dark Admiralty Grey, and then installed JOM adjustable suspension which dropped the ride height by 70 mm. Fed up with the standard silver wheels and with the roof needing a fresh coat of paint, I had the bus repainted in Indian Blue with British Standard Dark Admiralty Grey roof and wheels. It was at this point I realised that I didn’t like the arches painted grey, so I had them re-done in matching blue! The grill and mirrors were painted in a contrasting gloss black, crystal rear lights and clear front indicators were fitted and finally the CMC sidebars were powder coated in Dark Admiralty Grey to match the roof and whe