Panel Van Project

Andrew Matthews used to spend much of his leisure time racing stock cars at weekends, but when he hung up his race suit and crash helmet in 2013, his wife Natasha suggested he needed a project to keep him amused.

- PAUL BUSSEY

That was the green light to acquire a Volkswagen bus,” enthused Andrew. “I’d always been interested in them, but never actually thought about owning one. My wife and I followed the UK Touring Cars race championship and having a campervan would be very handy for use at race circuits where we could camp overnight.”

“I wanted a hardtop van, as I don’t like the high tops and the elevating roofs can be a bit of a pain to repair,” continues Andrew. “After a year of searching, I eventually found a 1981 T3 on eBay, a Panel van that had after-market side windows fitted. It was the only example I could find in reasonable condition for the money I wanted to pay. My wife Natasha says I’m tight, I say I’m careful with money! The T3 was located in Wales and after looking at some photos, I decided to purchase and had it delivered to our home in Cambridgeshire. When it arrived I was fairly impressed and although there were a few things that needed attention, on the whole I was fairly pleased. That was until I started delving further into it and then I realised there was a lot more corrosion that I had first thought.”