To view the link you need to re-set your search area to the Rockhampton area - otherwise it wont come up.
Easy to do on a phone when you do a search but not sure with a computer.
The Rockhampton syncro is a tin-top so poses difficulty when camping with getting changed and ventilation.
The rest looks well looked after.
As Ken said - rust is your enemy so try to avoid a syncro with rot issues if you can.
Photos can hide a lot of sins so getting someone local to view it before you go and take photos of all the sins they can find would be ideal.
Yep I’m avoiding rust, interestingly I enquired about electric conversion and that is becoming a possibility however extremely expensive at present but the company I spoke to have a couple of T2’s lined up.
But for now let’s find me a Syncro Camper. Does anyone know of anyone doing pop tops for old vans?
I think Reimo is still doing Westfalia style pop tops and they also have got a distributor in AUS. However, it won’t be cheap to get one shipped and installed. I have got a number in my head around 7.5k, but that may be wrong.
The big benefit of the Westy type roof is a spacious sleeping area upstairs whereas the AUS design ones are just for made for standing up (or coffin like sleeping…).
Prices are just insane atm for Syncros, anywhere around the globe - not just in AUS. The biggest draw back on the Syncro in Eltham is the missing difflock. A Syncro without difflock is great around gravel roads etc, but going bush you will find it good to have one (or a limited slip diff). It’s arguable if you need a difflock and for sure I haven’t used mine a lot, but it is always a good back up option.
As Ken pointed out, the Eltham one has got a few missing features, but then also got a few nice gimmicks and looks like it has been well looked after and money spend. Is it worth 40k, well that’s something which just can the market decide. It has been listed for a while already…
Biggest hurdle for you on the hunt will be 4 legal seats as most of the Syncros have started their life as 2 seater Transporter. Big + for the Eltham Syncro imo.
Just keep in mind, no matter which Syncro you will buy, be ready to spend another 10-20k on over the next 12 month on repairs or goodies you want to add.
Be careful with the WA high top one, just have seen a guy on the kombi club forum bought a high top 2WD which was not engineered and had heaps of problems to get it registered (in VIC). But is seems to be great in price for a starter.
Are you and your better half short of stature? If so, then the QLD tintop may very well suit. With original roof still intact, offers the most body structural integrity, especially for off roading.
As well as the offside rear corner body damage, again there appears rust in the bottom horizontal seam.
Another common corrosion place is the full length seam at the rear of the bottom gutter of front panel. Needs checking, might be mistaken, but I suspect advanced corrosion is showing there.
If though you were set on a raised roof of some sort, I’d suggest patience and wait till a suitable one shows up. Leave the tin top alone, for many reasons.
For you, and anyone else, as luck would have it, there is the opportunity to attend the annual VW Nationals show in Sydney this May, to see what syncros turn up and you can inspect and ask questions to your hearts content between say 9am to 3pm. An event not to be missed for persons doing syncro research, to gain firsthand and near free assistance. See this link for further info:
Unfortunately quite a number of Syncros came without the difflock, like the Eltham one. And all Telstra imported ones haven’t had one either. If you find one with a Difflock, it’s been fitted later.
Just de Transported Deluxe and Caravelles came with a Difflock as standard.
Unfortunately both tall and two kids getting taller every day. Thanks for the VW Nationals link perfect. I think everything will have imperfections but rust needs to be avoided, unless I go for a project van at a good price, I could put up with a little rust if I was going break down and respray.
Forget the Reimo internal fit outs - they are just got LHD vans, so won’t fit here. Also the rock’n roll bed is not ADR approved. Unless you find a Syncro which is already registered as a 4+ seater, you most likely won’t get it certified. There are just two rock’n roll beds available in AUS which are ADR approved (Justkempers and Custom Kombis).
Keep your eyes open, the right Syncro will come up for sale eventually. You just need to be quick as good ones won’t last long out there.
I still think the Eltham one is not a bad choice, though being on the upper side of the $$$. What you have to ask yourself as well is, what bells and whistles do you want in your Syncro? If you want the lot, as Ken already pointed out, you may end up spending 50k nowadays + whatever needs to be fixed. They come up form time to time, maybe once in a year.
If you have got a Syncro in mind you want to check out, sure there will be someone in the community to check it out for you in case it’s a fair bit away from you. Happy to help out in the Geelong VIC area if something pops up here.
Researching whether a project wins out over a straight buy, I think I’ll head down to the VW Nationals in May to checkout first hand what’s around. I’ll talk to Reimo today as I didn’t see anything to suggest a fit out can’t be done, a conversation should confirm.
